ACE OF GAMES BEGINS

In February 2008, the Kellogg-Hubbard Library announced its Games! at the Library program.
The Children's Library invested in several board games, including Apples to Apples and the Dungeons and Dragons Basic Game. Soon after, I asked board game companies for donations, and received a deluge of support! Companies such as Fantasy Flight, Wizards of the Coast, Northstar Games, Gamewright, Days of Wonder, Hasbro, and Bananagrams all pitched in. Local merchants like Woodbury Mt. Toys and Book Garden also gave us a boost. With our new collection, we announced an ongoing Friday afternoon Games! program with great success. Kids were making new friends, learning social skills and good sportsmanship, and tackling problems. In a world dominated by computer games, vying for children's attentions, the board game offers a tactile, face-to-face gaming experience that fits our Vermont sense of community building.

This weekend we the kicked off another program for the Kellogg-Hubbard community: the Ace of Games Festival and Tournament. On Friday afternoon, 25 kids played boardgames including Ticket to Ride, Piratissimo, Bananagrams, spit, Settlers of Catan and more. Plus we added the Heroes of Fallcrest Dungeons & Dragons campaign for 8-12 yr olds, thanks to our volunteer Dungeon Masters Matt and Eli. The kids are having a blast with our games. I've been hearing that the games have been coming out everyday after school, and not just on Fridays. We're building a great community of young gamers, and promoting literacy and community as well.

On Saturday, we welcomed adults and teens to the Hayes Room to sample our recommended games. About 20 have participated so far, playing Settlers, Carcassonne, and many others. With the help of our volunteer game masters, we were able to get the newbies up and running with these great games. Bob racked up 8 points for teaching both Settlers and Carcassonne. As I write this, the gamers are wrapping up a game of Ticket to Ride, Agricola (new to our collection), and Pictureka. Its a great day for game geeks! Look for the Ace of Games article coming soon in the Times Argus.
See you at the game table,
Ben