Board Game Bliss
Cold outside? Tabletop games have never been hotter in Canada.
By Elsa Peters
Barring hockey, Trivial Pursuit is probably Canada’s most famous game. | IMAGE: COURTESY OF JOSEPH P. TURON AT MOUNTAIN AIRE VINTAGE
A ROUSING ROUND OF CATCH PHRASE was recently had at a games night Whitney Hilts hosted for friends and family. Her guests were tasked with coming up with clues for their teammates to guess specific phrases before the buzzer. When it was Hilts’ tween’s turn, her phrase was “burning the midnight oil.” She giggled, not sure what clues to yell out with just seconds left on the clock. She went with “You cook with it at night!” Laughter ensued.
It makes sense that board games are their go-to when it comes to spending time with family and entertaining friends — Hilts hails from a board game-loving household. She grew up with access to a huge selection of games amassed by her parents. “We had a wall full of them, and my sister and I would take turns choosing what we’d play. Dream Phone was my favourite back then,” she says. This cherished collection — filled with tabletop trivia, strategy, luck-based, role-playing and dice-rolling games that filled hours of her childhood — wasn’t just a fixture on nights when friends came for dinner. Instead, it was part of the family’s usual weekend pastimes, and an activity she looked forward to on snowy winter afternoons, birthdays and holidays.
Hilts isn’t unique in her enjoyment of all things board games — a form of entertainment that has seen a major resurgence in popularity. There are now more than 150,000 on the market, with approximately 2,500 new ones being released every year. Whether you’re drawn to the nearly century-old classics (think Monopoly, Scrabble and Clue) or prefer new ones that centre around current pop culture or mock-world domination, there’s a game that appeals to everyone. And whether it was the pandemic or our desire to interact away from our screens that started the board game renaissance, it seems here to stay.
“Canadians have been the masterminds behind roughly 900 board games.”
Crokinole has been entertaining families for more than 150 years. | PHOTO: ADOBE STOCK
Canadians have been the masterminds behind roughly 900 board games. Crokinole, where you shoot discs across a circular playing surface, was first played in the 1800s. 1984 saw the invention of Balderdash, where players make up fake definitions for little-known words while teammates try to guess the correct ones. And perhaps most famously, Trivial Pursuit, which was invented by two journalists in 1979, has sold countless copies worldwide. It has also spawned well over 100 versions, including TV and movie editions, one for book lovers and one that focuses on The Beatles.
Besides playing these games, people from coast to coast are embracing the trend by attending yearly conventions dedicated to tabletop gaming, including CanGames held in Ottawa every May, FallCon in Calgary, Edmonton’s Game Con Canada, Terminal City Tabletop Convention in Vancouver, Breakout Toronto at the Sheraton Centre and the Niagara Boardgaming Weekend. Plus, board game cafés are popping up all over the place. These social spots typically carry a diverse selection of games and offer a relaxed place to have a little fun with friends.
Hilts, whose current favourite game is the Game of Life, plans to continue regular games nights at her place. She’s proud that her love of board games has been passed down to her daughters. “My girls don’t know a life without playing games. You know our weekends will inevitably contain a round of Sorry, Connect Four or Perfection. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.” CAA
Where to meet and play.
