Geeks gather for board game fun
Watch out — the geeks are back.
Following on from the thoroughly successful Table Top Day event held a few months ago at the Hastings Library, the Hawke’s Bay Geeks Guild is hosting another board game event — Bay Con — and this time in Napier.
Geeks Guild founder Amy Tanabe says the group’s regular board gaming events were getting bigger and bigger, so after attending similar events such as Board in Palmy and Wellycon, they decided to host their own. Taradale Intermediate is the obvious choice of venue.
“One of our members is a teacher here. Their whole family is very involved in the guild and Monday night board games are held at their house every week. We sometimes get up to 30 people attending,” Amy says.
The group is expecting more than 200 people to attend Bay Con.
“This will be much bigger than the Hastings event. That one was very simple and casual with a board game library and an invite for people to come and play. Bay Con will have the same, but will also have the addition of tournaments, war gaming, prizes, learn-how-to-plays, and an even larger library.”
Amy believes tabletop games are an excellent way to socialise and make new friends, as well as stimulating our brains through strategy. She was part of a similar group in Auckland and when she moved back to Hawke’s Bay, wanted to continue being part of that sort of community.
“The hope was to get four or so members, so we could play some board games and go to various geeky movies etc. Now we have over 400 members. We’ve heard so many stories from members about how many friends they’ve made and how much fun they have in our community — it’s a great chance to socialise with like-minded people.”
Amy says there is a lot more to modern tabletop games than you might think — the days of just Monopoly and Scrabble are a thing of the past.
“New games are interactive, engaging, and there is such a large range now with space wars, cowboys, magic, dragons — you name it.”
One reason board games have made a comeback could be the necessity to take time out from screens, Amy says. “Spending time with friends and family has always been important and board games allow us to do this. It is an interest that can be shared across all generations.”
The Hawke’s Bay Geeks Guild has hundreds of games in its collection and is always adding to the stockpile. The group meets every Monday night to play board games and also attend various “geeky” movies.
“We also have other events like dinners, quizzes and picnics. We’ve even been to the aquarium, Laser Tag and had a scavenger hunt across Napier city which involved almost a dozen businesses.”
Tickets are available online via the link on Hawke’s Bay Con page on Facebook. Amy says under 16s are free so bring your whole family along. “We encourage pre-registrations, but tickets will be available at the door too. Anyone with even the slightest interest in geek or pop culture is welcome to join the group. It is an excellent way to meet new people and make friends.”
■ Bay Con board game event, Taradale Intermediate, Saturday, August 25, 10am-10pm; Sunday, August 27, 10am-4pm. Check out the Geeks Guild on Meet up and Facebook.