The board games in my life have been more valuable than I could have ever expected. When I was younger I wasn’t much of a board game fan—that was until one day, when a close friend of mine around 5th grade invited me to randomly play board games with him. This sparked a whole new part of my life; we would play board games every time we hung out, and as we played more and got more invested, our passion and board game group grew.

Eventually, we had entire nights dedicated towards board games, and more and more friends joined this group to play with us. I have made lifelong friends and unforgettable memories from solely playing board games, which is something I could have never expected.

One reason I’ve learned to really love board games is because, in my experience, a large portion of the time when me and friends hang out there tends to be those awkward moments when we don’t know what to do and just go on our phones. However, with board games, we are truly forced to engage and interact with each other. We are all put in a world together and forced to share the goal of the game.

When board game nights happened, we would stay overnight, but unfortunately, there were no spare beds. So, when we would play, we kept track of who won what games, and whoever won the most games would get to sleep on the couch while others slept on the concrete floor.

One thing about board games I find interesting is that people who seemingly have nothing in common can find common ground in a board game. I’ve had friends who are polar opposites and I would expect to hate each other and end up bonding over a simple board game. It’s truly amazing how board games can bring people together. I hope to continue playing board games throughout college and all my life.