‘A blast’ at library
More than 200 people attend local event
International Game Day is held at libraries all around the world, and is very popular.
At Porterville Public Library International Game Day board games, sports equipment, and the grand prize of an Xbox was being given away at the hourly raffles.
There was a drawing every hour from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 18.
Lupe Palomino brought her granddaughter Kaitlin Ortiz, 8, to play games at the library and said they were having a lot of fun. Kaitlin was playing the game Trouble with a new friend, Reyna Aparicio, 7, and said she had already played the board games Don’t Spill the Beans, Uno and Life, and played with blocks with other children.
Xavier Nunez, 14, Reyna’s brother, said he’d never been to International Game Day, and said, “I’ve had a great time. This was a great experience.”
There was a lot of activity all day at the library, and music on the first floor where they had set up the over-sized games Giant Connect 4 and Giant Checkers. The second floor of the library was a hum of activity with over 200 people, from toddlers to adults of all ages, throughout the day, said librarian Sandi Farnsworth, playing all sorts of games.
Games ranged from simple blocks and board games to electronic games with multiple players. People were playing Nintendo games on screens, watching movies, playing all sorts of board games like checkers, chess, Sorry, Life, and others to modern games like Magic, The Gathering that includes mostly cards, place-holders and a board-of sorts.
Dalen Christenson and his wife, Patience, with their two boys played games during the day and taught other people to play a new type of board game or tile game called Between Two Cities. Dalen had a large collection of board games that he always brings to the library. They also entered the raffle. She played a game with the kids called Ice Cool, which is a dexterity and flicking game. It’s a play on words she said, about a school for penguins.
Aileen Andrews, who is a library assistant, said she took an online class learning about “21st Century Gaming,” and library programs. Modern gaming teaches “common core” and “life skills,” and some of them teach strategic and mathematical skills, and reading comprehension. They also teach many more skills, like hand and eye coordination, and both teachers and librarians are incorporating gaming into their curriculums.
About half a dozen adult men were playing Magic, The Gathering, which is a very popular game that teaches strategy and planning skills, and players need to use math, and reading and their imagination. The game helps players understand and develop conceptual learning.
Andrews said the game is for teenagers, but mostly adults were playing.
Gabriel Suarez said he had been playing the game for 12 years, whereas J.J. Cortez has played the game for 14. He said the sooner you start learning and playing it the better, and it’s a good game for all ages. It’s challenging and interactive, and it teaches people to manage your resources. There is a storyline, but when you are into the game you can play in the story or you can develop your own story playing with other people.
“There is always an adventure around every corner,” said Adam Boggess.
Sitting across from the other men at another table, Ivan Tortilla, said he was having fun and playing Magic, The Gathering, and Game Day was something to break the mold of the daily routine. He has been playing the game for about 10 years.
The magic game was developed in 1994, and there was a tournament in Portland, Ore., on Saturday, Nov. 18, said Jimmie Spears, who is interested in the artwork and style of the game.
The cards are very collectible, he says, like Pokémon cards, Yu-gioh cards, but the artwork on Magic, The Gathering cards is impressive and done by well-known artists. Spears had a large collection of cards, and said he had been playing for about seven years.
To win the raffle prizes people had to be present at International Game Day.
The winners won scooters, laptops, game consoles, and more gaming equipment. Alexis Gudino, 14, was surprised and pleased he won a gaming console and said it was the first time he’d ever won a raffle contest.
Felix Perez won the grand prize of an Xbox One.
“If you missed out, there’s the next International Game Day in 2018. And it will be bigger and better,” said Farnsworth.