My husband and I host a tabletop gaming group at our house at least one Saturday every month. I wrote a blog post about how we run our game days. You can also take a look at additional photos of our gaming spaces at home. I also wrote about how we organize our games (and asked others how they organize their own shelves, too!).
International gaming events that I participate in:
- International Games Month (Fall)
- Extra Life – Gaming For The Kids (Fall)
Conventions I have attended:
- SaltCON (Tabletop Gaming; February/March)
- Adepticon (Miniatures Gaming; Spring)
- Geekway to the West (Tabletop Gaming; May/June)
- Origins Game Fair (Tabletop Gaming; June)
- American Library Association Annual Conference (GameRT booth, game night, and program sessions; June)
- Gen Con (Tabletop Gaming, some video/retro; July/August)
- Protospiel Chicago (Tabletop Gaming; Fall)
- Bit Bash Chicago (Indie Video/Arcade Games)
- Chicago Toy and Game Fair (Fall)
I outlined how our game days work in this blog post. If you are looking for inspiration for hosting themed game days of your own, check out the lists below for themes that we have already hosted. Included with each list is the theme and a menu of games along with player count information and a link to the game’s page on BoardGameGeek. Themes we choose range from genres, mechanics, designers, holidays, etc.
Our group has enjoyed theme days for various reasons:
- Faster decision making means more time for playing
- Focus on getting unplayed games to the table
- Someone has already read the rules and is ready to teach
- It is fun to see the variety within some of the themes
Game lists:
- Travel-sized Games That Can Fit on a Coffee Table
- Games for Two Players
- Quick to Teach, Easy to Learn
- Twenty Essential Board Games for a Public Collection
Themed Menus:
- Alchemy & Magic: games that feature witches, druids, alchemy, and magic
- Area Control: games that feature area control as a mechanic
- Fairy Tales: games that feature classic stories and characters from The Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Andersen, etc.
- Fantasy: games that feature fantasy elements such as dragons and magic
- Great Old Ones: games features stories and monsters (C’thulhu, elder gods, etc.) from the worlds of H.P. Lovecraft
- Medieval: games that feature elements from this time period
- Mythology: games that feature gods/goddesses, religious aspects, creation stories
- Nostalgia: games that first got us into the hobby/first gaming loves
- Pirates: games featuring buccaneers sailing the open seas and looting treasure
- Space: games about exploring space, worm holes, piloting spacecraft, etc.
- Stonemaier Games: games from this publisher
- Superheroes: games with comic book-like superhero characters
- Tile Placement: games that feature tile placement as a mechanic
- Tiny Boxes: great games that comes in tiny boxes
- Vine & Hops: games that feature wine making, beer crafting, prohibition, and taverns
- The Written Word: games about books/words and games based on books