3 minute read
Game Nights
Game nights a way to keep friends and family connected
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MARJIE DUCEY
World-Herald Sta Writer
Jim Barber says he was that geek in high school who loved playing “Dungeons and Dragons” with his friends.
He’s proud to say his ve kids are the same.
“It’s cool to be like that now,” he said.
Barber is still playing games, although now it’s with his grown-up children, friends and extended family even as they’ve spread out across the country.
At least three of his children join a group of around eight people who meet virtually every Wednesday for “Dungeon and Dragons” or sometimes “Magic: The Gathering.”
“We play across three different time zones,” he said.
Omahan Nick Zadina also loves game nights, and is part of several groups that meet regularly.
He especially enjoys playing “Lost Ruins of Arnak” with wife, Jenny Sharrick, as they await the birth of their rst child.
“We go out a lot less and then we’ll obviously have the baby and will be home a lot,” he said. “Hopefully, it will be a nice respite for us.”
He’s different from Barber in that he likes playing in person. He’s been fascinated by the intricate pieces and the artwork of the board games since he started visiting Spielbound Board Game Cafe in 2016.
For both of them, though, it’s a way to stay close to the people who matter in their lives.
That’s why they’re willing to work around challenges with kids, jobs and busy schedules.
“I think it’s really important to stay connected even as we become more disconnected as families grow and move,” Barber said. “That’s a real problem for people. It’s really kind of sad.”
Barber said his kids picked up playing games organically. They’d watch when he’d have friends over and ask to roll the dice. Around 9 or 10, they became more serious.
“Magic: The Gathering” was a good one to start with for them, because it’s easy to play and Barber had a big collection of the cards. “We encouraged the kids to game with us because ‘Dungeons and Dragons’ encourages critical life skills such as reading, writing and math as well as cooperative problem solving and thinking outside of the box,” Barber said. Zadina said board games are an excuse to connect with the people he cares about.
He even likes to personalize the games that he plays. He and his siblings created a game, “The Zadina Family: A Card Game,” based on “Apples to Apples.” One question might be about the rst activity on a certain family vacation or his father’s favorite purple out t.
A family friend, Dave Weisser, created the cards.
“It’s a way to remember family memories and a way to preserve them,” he said. “For me, that board game is like a scrapbook of our family history.”
He plays different kinds of games with each group. One bunch likes competitive games, his brother-in-law in Iowa likes the narrative-backed versions and a friend enjoys cooperative games. Zadina plays not to win but to have fun.
“For me, one thing I love is opening a new game and learning the rules and mastering that puzzle and doing it with other people,” he said. “There are solo board games. But I like experiencing them with someone else.”
He’s looking forward to eventually playing with his child. He said board games teach you how to win and lose, and how to handle both.
There’s lots of board games out there, he said, even for the very young. But they’ve advanced far beyond “Candy Land.”
As children age, they can build a zoo in “Ark Nova” or pretend they are an Indiana Jonestype explorer in the “Lost Ruins of Arnak.”
He recommends checking out boardgamegeek.com to see what games are trending or how dif cult each might be.
“The best board games take you to another world,” he said.
Nick Zadina and his siblings created a card game based on their family. They gave it to their parents for Mother’s and Father’s Day. Jim Barber plays Dungeons and Dragons every week online.
JIM BARBER
Nick Zadina and wife Jenny Sharrick plays Lost Ruins of Arnak as they await the birth of their fi rst child.
JENNY SHARRICK PHOTO
