Five years ago, my brother-in-law introduced me to Carcassonne, sparking my love for modern board games. I’ve put together a fun collection since then, and try to play often. We often played ‘til the wee hours over Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.

I moved to Penticton last September, just as the epic Interactivity Board Game Cafe opened in Victoria. Rats! Xavier calls IBGCafe “the best place on Earth”, but that’s probably as much function of the milkshakes made with home-made ice cream as it is the awesome board game library and setting. Penticton doesn’t have a single decent board game store, never mind a cafe. There are a few good stores in Kelowna, a one hour drive from home.

Last May I decided to try to find other local board gamers and organize some fun game nights. This turned into a meetup group, which has met at Cowork Penticton every week but one since. I’ve gained a number of good friends through this group, and played many new games.

My favourite game is actually a card game – Android: Netrunner. It’s a “living card game”, meaning new cards are released regularly, but unlike games like Magic: The Gathering, the cards are sold in fixed layout packs instead of randomized packs, and there is no rarity involved, so being a competitive player isn’t as closely related to how much money you can spend on great cards in the secondary market. Unfortunately, there are very few people playing Netrunner in Penticton, so I rarely get to play.

Not surprisingly, there are a number of great web sites and YouTube channels dedicated to board games. My favourite is Shut Up & Sit Down. If you want to learn more about what modern board games are about, I recommend watching the following from SU&SD: