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Board Game Happy
- by aliciak
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- August 28, 2009
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Board games are not merely for kids anymore! Remember when Taboo and Guestures and Crainium came out and you were all, "OMG, cool board games for adults! I think I've died and gone to heaven." Okay, well that's what I said. No longer were you stuck with Scrabble or Trivial Pursuit if you wanted to play adult (ahem) games. New York loves its board games, as evident from how many bars just in the last 5 years have added them to the "entertainment."
The Board Game Bar
Bar games used to conjure up images of pool-hustling, disgusting beer pong, dangerous darts and the occasional arcade game. Now you can expand your horizons with the sit-down kind of games—board games!
Dare I say it? They are a bit more intellectual-stimulating than the aforementioned games, unless we’re talking about Hungry Hungry Hippos…cuz then I’m just trying to get as many white marbles as possible and that’s it.
Manhattan-style
Kettle of Fish
59 Christopher St Frnt 2, New York, NY 10014
You don’t usually find board games at sports bars (Scrabble isn’t exactly popular among the regular sports bar patrons, myself included), but at Kettle of Fish you can have your football on the telly and Scrabble on the table.
You don’t usually find board games at sports bars (Scrabble isn’t exactly popular among the regular sports bar patrons, myself included), but at Kettle of Fish you can have your football on the telly and Scrabble on the table.
Dive 75
101 W 75th St Frnt 1, New York, NY 10023
There are lollipops! And Connect-Four! And a fish tank! Um, but “Dive 75,” despite having a nice ring to it, does not ring true—it’s NOT really a dive! But the Upper West Side isn’t exactly overflowing with cool bars that aren’t filled with the Gin Mill crowd, so it will do. I don’t know why, but I am completely entranced by the fish tank.
There are lollipops! And Connect-Four! And a fish tank! Um, but “Dive 75,” despite having a nice ring to it, does not ring true—it’s NOT really a dive! But the Upper West Side isn’t exactly overflowing with cool bars that aren’t filled with the Gin Mill crowd, so it will do. I don’t know why, but I am completely entranced by the fish tank.
Common Ground
206 Avenue A Frnt 1, New York, NY 10009
They have Scattegories, which is the first “smart” game I ever played. And by “smart,” I mean “word game” that isn’t just moving little markers around a board or pressing on a bubble or Hippo or gun.
They have Scattegories, which is the first “smart” game I ever played. And by “smart,” I mean “word game” that isn’t just moving little markers around a board or pressing on a bubble or Hippo or gun.
V-Bar
225 Sullivan Street New York, NY 11231
Dad, Sis, Me and my Candyland Cake!!!
Candyland was possibly my favorite kid board game. Only later would I find out that there is NO strategy involved and every player is passive—there are no decisions to be made at all! The images of the Candyland board floated around in my head all the time and they kind of still do. Gumdrop Mountains, Lollipop Woods, Molasses Swamp and all the rest.
For my 3rd birthday, I wanted a Candyland cake and I got it! I distinctly remember shopping for all the candy and building a special little house out of Legos (which looked nothing like the iced or peanut brittle houses on the real board).
Brooklyn Representin'
Lighthouse Tavern
243 Fifth Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11215
Playing board games in the back room of Lighthouse is like playing board games in a living room. So, in other words, it’s perfect. Order up some buffalo chicken fingers or the “small” basket of fries that is huge!
Stain Bar
766 Grand St, Brooklyn, NY 11211
Stain Bar, on the other hand, is one giant living room, so that works too. Also, it has craft nights! Along with your gaming, you can eat soft pretzels and propose to have any kind of event at Stain and they will happily oblige.
Stain Bar, on the other hand, is one giant living room, so that works too. Also, it has craft nights! Along with your gaming, you can eat soft pretzels and propose to have any kind of event at Stain and they will happily oblige.
Camp
179 Smith Street Brooklyn, NY 11201
If you’ve got a hankerin’ to be an awkward 12 year old at camp again, stop by to eat some s’mores and play games! I never went to camp, so I relive absolutely nothing by patronizing Camp, but I can’t say no to some s’mores and a little Jenga. Jenga! Jenga! JENGA! (Remember that commercial?)
Lighthouse Tavern
Buttermilk Bar
577 5th Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11215
I got made fun of at Buttermilk by my friends while playing Scrabble because I got all serious and took too long. Again, I get caught up with thinking about words and get lost in that thought. I basically want to think of every single word possible that can be formed. One of said friends “accidentally” knocked the board and thus ended the game.
I got made fun of at Buttermilk by my friends while playing Scrabble because I got all serious and took too long. Again, I get caught up with thinking about words and get lost in that thought. I basically want to think of every single word possible that can be formed. One of said friends “accidentally” knocked the board and thus ended the game.
Operation
We never had Operation, so it was a special treat to go over someone’s house and play it. I gotta say though, I was so distracted by how cute all the little organs were that I couldn’t concentrate on the object of the game. At least it taught me that being a rich surgeon was NOT in my future.
Pacific Standard
82 4th Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11217
Board Game Stores
Well, there technically aren’t stores specifically devoted to board games, but I think there should be. There are video game stores, and the chess shops, but no board game shops that carry checkers, Battleship, Trouble and Monopoly that don’t fall in the chain store/toy store category. As lame as it sounds, I’ve always meant to build up my board game collection; as of right now, I’m limited to an incomplete Bingo set I found on the street and the Sesame Street version of Monopoly, a gift from my parents. Sigh.
Village Chess Shop
The Board Game I Absolutely Hate the Most
Apples to Apples. When I say I hate a game in general, it either means it’s stupid (like the ebay board game) or I don’t understand it. For Apples to Apples, it’s the latter. I. don’t. get. it. Which makes me feel stupid, even though not understanding the simple is a common occurrence for me.
I’d like to think it makes me superior, that I don’t even have the brain for such mundane things, but really I think I’m missing some brain cells. So yeah, I tried for at least an hour and simply could not play this game. Too bad it’s one of my friend’s favorite games and she has parties just to play Apples to Apples!
Another Board Game I Hate...Coming in at a Close Second
Life. I hate Life. Not LIFE life, but the game of Life. Again, I don’t understand it, but this time it’s not a malfunction of my brain, but rather, a malfunction of my personality. (Again, I’m going to play the superior card when deep down I think maybe something’s just wrong with me?) I do not operate in the real world like you probably do and I was definitely not made to live in a capitalist society.
Salary? I’ve never ever had one in real life. Stocks? I can read you the definition I found on Wikipedia but I don’t truly understand what a stock is. Retirement? I have never ever wanted to retire and never will. I’d much rather do the happy living, enjoying life thing NOW and always, incorporating it INTO my life and not existing as something I do in my free time exclusively. Plus, see the above—I will never have enough $$$ to be able to retire! I wouldn’t ever buy these life or fire insurance policies because they don’t make sense to me. I mean, you die or your house burns down…that’s life! Why all the paperwork?
Finally, there is no job called “Hustle” or “Jack-of-all-trades,” and thus, I am not interested. I don’t have “real” jobs, I’ve never had a career path and I’m not really motivated by money (which is probably why I don’t have a lot?) I guess I just don’t “get” Life and that’s kinda OK with me.
Chutes and Ladders
Funny story about this particular Chutes and Ladders marker. I used this in grade school for a diorama or project, and when I brought it home, I took it to my room. I guess I took it apart and the marker was on my dresser. My mom hounded me and hounded me to put the marker back into the Chutes and Ladders box downstairs.
WELL! I am stubborn and it was one of those “don’t tell me what to do” moments—of course I was going to put it back. But because I was told to, repeatedly, I refused. 10+ years later, this marker is STILL on my dresser at home. Hahahahahahhaha.
Gaming
Did you ever try to make your own board game?
Not just make a board, but come up with the concept and everything. My cousin and I “made” a game called Money Trouble when we were little. We made little cards for it with pictures of money bags and such but never came up with a concept. It never went anywhere, and maybe that’s why we both have money troubles today? Hmm.
The Problem with Board Games
…is that someone has to lose. I know that this seems like a given, but no matter how fun a game is, its loser is pissed. At least a little bit. If you’re like me, a sore loser, you aren’t just pissed, you are PISSED. If you’re like the 5-16-yr-old version of me, you’ll cry, stomp off to your bedroom and not talk to any of the other game participants for an hour—three hours of Monopoly for nothing! What’s the point?!? I hate everyone.
It’s a Catch-22ish situation though, because if someone didn’t win and someone didn’t lose, no one would be interested in playing. Would it even be a game? Hmph.
Look, sometimes it’s warranted to get like this when you lose at Chutes and Ladders!
Additional Resources for Gettin' your Game on
Board Game Olympics!
No, really, there IS such a thing! At Helen’s White Horse way downtown.
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