The analog world of board games is in the midst of a renaissance in the digital age. Yet we shouldn’t be surprised.
In an age when we’ve become more connected than ever we’ve lost touch with an important aspect of our being – true face-to-face, personal connection.
We spend most of our time consumed by social media and living anywhere but the present, constantly worried about what the future holds. We struggle to make ends meet. We’re worried about the dangers that lurk around every corner. We’re discontent.
We lack true connection. We lack community.
Presence in the present is a thing of the past.
Why board games?
Board games are social. Board games are tactile and tangible. Playing board games is a mental practice. It’s mindful in every sense of the word. We strategize, we socialize, we bluff. We experience highs and lows, not alone, but through face to face social interaction with others.
There are no screens or highly polished digital representations to guide what we see or what we think.
Board games are beautiful and deliberate. They’re art, yet they provide only a framework and require our imagination to fill in the gaps.
They give us shared experiences with old friends and new that we’ll reminisce about for days, weeks, and sometimes even years to come.
We work together. We face conflict together. We overcome obstacles together. We play board games together.
We’re social creatures. Board games help to fulfill our biological need for connection. So why board games? Board games build community. Board games strengthen relationships. Board games leave us with a sense of achievement, belonging, and happiness that pervades into the rest of our hectic lives.
No matter how many victory points you tally, with board games everyone wins.