Hi all! I meant to have books ready to go today, but you know what it’s like the first day back after vacation…
So, bookish posts resume tomorrow, but in the interest of getting a post out today, I thought I’d talk about gaming in my library.
I love tabletop gaming. Board games, roleplaying games, card games, I love them all, and I love getting kids interested in games beyond the usual ones. In the beforetimes, I had a pretty successful weekly tabletop gaming program at my library; I used to joke that it looked like I was running an illegal gambling ring, with tables full of kids playing cards and rolling dice. Now that it looks like in-person programming is back for good, I am thrilled at the hopeful return of my gaming group.
I’ve been warming the kids up with a gradual return, putting out a handful of the usual suspects: puzzles and matching games; Candyland; Connect 4; Uno; Chess, and Checkers. Tomorrow, I’m bringing some of my own games in to jumpstart the gaming: Monsters in the Elevator, which I’ve blogged about before, was a big fave before and I’m hoping will be again. It’s cooperative, easy to learn, and has kids laughing and doing math all at once. I’m going to bring my copy of Takeout: The Card Game, because I think it’s easy enough to play and it’s fun: create a perfectly balanced takeout meal!
Our library system’s Gaming Committee was the recipient of one of our system’s Innovation Grants, which they used to buy copies of different games that will circulate in bins between different branches. My branch received our first bin last week, while I was on vacation, so I’m getting a little bit of a late start. Our first bin has 10 copies each of 7 Wonders and Carcassone, both of which I’m trying to learn well enough to teach. News on that as it develops; I’m hoping my 18 year old Kiddo will be of some assistance on that front.
I’ve got more gaming to talk about – I want to start a Dungeons & Dragons campaign this summer, and have been reading one-page dungeon adventures while I try to get ready to do that – so I’ll be posting more about that in the future. In the meantime, if you have gaming experience, I want to hear about it! Please chime in, and thanks.
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