Group connects Airdrie residents with weekly games night

Did you grow up playing Monopoly, Operation or Clue?  If you’re a board game fan and live in Airdrie, you’re in luck.

The first Sunday of every month a group of board game enthusiasts meets for a rousing eight hours playing their favourite games.  Young and old are welcome.

The games begin Sunday at noon and run until 8:00 pm and are hosted by the Airdrie Co-op on Main Street.  Airdrie resident Derek Strong and his wife take about 50 board games to the weekly gathering and include all the traditional favourites.   These range from the super easy Snakes and Ladders that is always a hit with the youngsters up to more advanced games that involve strategy and intense focus that often take many hours to finish.

Strong told the Airdrie Echo that he believes there’s a suitable game for every type of person in every age range. He encourages everyone to come out and try a game even if they’ve never played before. 

The only rules of Strong’s group, which he organized through the meetup.com website, is that no one gets an opportunity play and no one can be left out.

The Strongs are also involved in a Calgary group, FallCon, that hosts similar meetup groups across the city including some for women only and specific groups for those who play war games.  Derek Strong says they’ve been thinking of starting one in Airdrie but they were waiting until there was a critical mass to make hosting one feasible.

The Calgary group also organizes a board game convention for game lovers in Calgary.  Thousands attend to meet new people and to play games they may never have heard of.  There are apparently more than 80,000 board games out in the market.

Benefits of Playing Board Games

Sitting at a table with like-minded people is a healthy way for people to escape from everyday life says Strong.  It’s a release from the pressure of work or perhaps family issues.  He candidly admits that people see very attached to their mobile devices and people of all ages, including teens, could benefit from more interaction with real people.

He says playing a game is forced interaction and rather than watching a game or watching animation on a screen, you are playing out a story.

In an age where sitting is the new smoking, some may balk at coming out to an event where you are sitting even more but Strong says there are games where players rise from their seats and are active for certain periods of time.

In fact, according to Healthfitnessrevolution.com the benefits also include:

• Improved memory and enhanced cognitive skills.  Thinks like problem solving and retention well into your senior years.
• Reduced risk for mental illness:  Using your brain and keeping it engaged is a form of exercise and helps to keep it strong.
• Lower your blood pressure:  Usually people laugh a lot while playing board games which releases endorphins and promotes healthy blood pressure. 
• Improved response times:  It’s suggested that spending time in deep thought with cerebral games like chess will help with the thought-processes that help you find things in your homes, like car keys.  There was actually a study about this at the University of Toronto.
• Your immune system will be improved because the experience releases those hormones that reduce stress.
• Enhanced development in children:  Playing games helps kids develop skills like logic and reasoning, better critical thinking.  Playing a variety of games can help preschoolers with verbal skills and communication with other family members.  It also provides them with an opportunity to focus for extended periods of time.

 People hoping to join the fun on Sundays can check the group out on the Meetup website by searching for Airdrie Groups.