On June 30, 2021, I jump started a new weekly game group, meeting Wednesdays at Purple Dragon Games. After 15 months of semi-quarantine we all needed some cautious face to face contact with other like-minded gamers.

From the ashes of defunct groups in North Adams, Dalton, Bennington and Williamstown we built a core of friendly gamers who want to explore the world of modern board games, learning new games while making friends and welcoming newcomers to the group. I set modest goals of consistently having 2 tables of gamers by Labor Day weekend and 3 tables per session by Fall. Those goals have been met and exceeded.

Our first session had 6 gamers – Armando, Mike, Ben, Sean, Sandy & Steve. We started slowly with party games around a single table to get to know one another and added more like-minded folks every week. We added filler and mid-weight games to the mix. Gradually the refugees from those defunct groups heard about our journey and were assimilated into the group seamlessly. We run the gamut from 15 year olds visiting for the summer to seniors. We’re averaging 3 tables per session since Labor Day. In a male dominated arena, we’ve managed to draw nearly half female gamers.

We all have been cautious during the current pandemic – bringing our proof of vaccinations for Purple Dragon owner, Niko, to record and to diligently wear our masks. Inconvenient to be sure, but necessary for all who attend to feel safe.

Twenty sessions later we are truly flourishing with friendships forming outside the group. As the attendance leaders below indicate, we have a solid core of regulars and a growing number of those who attend at least 1-2 sessions per month.

Attendance leaders

Armando            18
Sean                   18
K-ban                  17
Sandy                 15
Wendy                14
Danny                  13
Tim                       13
Drew                     11
Quinn                      9
Zach                        9
Margaret                  8
Emmett                    8
Ben                          5
Kitty                          5
Edward                    5
Emily                        5
Mike                          4
Kaleb                        4
Sofia                          4
Mike                           4
Dwayne                      3

We have put an emphasis on developing a solid core of table leaders – people who can teach new games and make sure that no gamers get left behind.

Table Leaders (games led)

K-ban       48
Sean        23
Drew        21
Tim           19
Armando   16
Wendy       16

I could not have accomplished all this without a LOT of help, especially from Sean Kelly. He not only brought his entire family to the group but understood the group dynamic I was trying to create and sustain.When I’ve been unable to attend, Sean has run sessions without missing a beat. He’s constructed a set of interlocking spreadsheets to track who has played, led and what we’ve played – becoming Assistant organizer for our MeetUps group as well as group statistician. Sean will share those statistics on a quarterly basis.

I’ve been organizing game groups since the mid 1970’s – Backgammon, Strat-O-Matic Baseball and Eurogames… and have learned many lessons along the way. This is, by far, the friendliest group of gamers I’ve had the pleasure to be around. Your enthusiasm to fearlessly learn new games is contagious…..and the best is yet to come.

Thanks to Niko White for making his store available to us rent-free, so all can play for free. Please continue supporting the store by buying and ordering games at Purple Dragon.. Thanks to all who have attended any of our first 20 sessions .

—
K-ban