The importance of games
Writing an accompanying blog post for this week’s comic was difficult. It felt wrong to be attempting humour under the circumstances – as I write this, the election results have been called, appointments are being made, and a new era is beginning.
But humour is important. Aileen reminded me of that this morning, and it’s true. I know maintaining a sense of humour has helped me through some challenging and dark times in my life. Humour is, perhaps, more important now than ever.
Something we talked about a lot when we started Tiny Wooden Pieces was that there were far too many people who took board gaming far too seriously, and found no humour, or silliness in the hobby. And what’s life without some silliness? Everyone needs to laugh and act out and just do something ridiculous every now and then. Little things can help. A fun evening of gaming with friends was the best distraction I’ve had all day, and it left me feeling a lot better.
If playing board games can make a difference in my life, they can make a difference for others as well. A highlight of the past week has been some great content coming from the board game community on making the hobby more inclusive. This is how you can make a difference. Little changes can make a difference, and change can start at your gaming table. It SHOULD start at your gaming table. Follow @425suzanne on twitter, and start by reading these points on helping our hobby to be more inclusive. Then watch this Board Game Breakfast, which talks about the issue as well. If you are feeling down this week, look at all of these things and understand how you can make a difference. It helps. You can help. If life is going to be more difficult for some people from now on, we should all do our best to let them know that not everyone feels the same way.
Tiny Wooden Pieces isn’t going to change the world, but we hope it makes your world that little bit brighter. I know that hearing your feedback and getting to talk to you all in the comments brightens our own world, and remains our favourite thing about making the comic. So join the conversation. Say hello, and have a chat with us. We’re all in this together, and we would love to hear from you. Join us at the table.