Whether playing solo or with a group, board games are a gateway to developing strategy and problem-solving skills for individuals across all age groups. According to the National Library of Medicine, avid board game players have been found to show enhanced social abilities, logical thinking, and emotional skills. For some Archie Williams staff, these social and intellectual benefits that board games’ provide are traits they value, and strive to bring into the school’s student community, even in this technological era.
Despite the introduction of video games into mainstream culture in the late 70s and 80s, board games have continued to succeed in the increasingly competitive gaming market. According to WordsRated, the global board game revenue in 2023 was valued at eight billion dollars and is estimated to grow to 10 billion dollars by 2028, a 25 percent increase in profit in just five years within the industry.
As board games continue to sell at increasing rates, gaming culture is spanning generations. Drama teacher Jasper Thelin has been the advisor of the Archie Williams Games Club since 2001, and has watched this love for board games grow. Over his 24 years of leading the club, Thelin has taken pride in fostering a welcoming and enjoyable space for young students with a love for tangible gameplay.
“On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I open my room at lunch, and students come in and play games. It’s [Games Club is] just about having a safe place to play,” Thelin said.
For students who might have trouble connecting and feeling included with others on campus, Thelin says that board games provide a way to make friends and find others who share the same love of board games.
“A lot of times, people who might not feel included in other parts of the school community find their people [in Games Club]. That’s something I’m really proud of, to have a safe place for people to come play [board games],” Thelin said.
Thelin believes that not only are board games fun, but they also help students build important skills for learning, such as problem-solving and resource management. For some students, these can be crucial tools both in school and day-to-day life, and something Thelin hopes to nurture.
“I’ve learned a lot myself, and I’ve seen tons of young people learn many vocabulary words from Magic: The Gathering, and the combat math, and all the resource management, and these kinds of skills are really improved by a board game,” Thelin said.
Thelin is not the only teacher on campus with a love for the fun found in board games. He is joined by Archie Williams photography teacher Jeffrey Martz, who began making his own board games for his friends using Photoshop® in 2011.
“I had a good, strong group of gaming friends… and we played [board games] regularly…and I thought… I’m going to make a game that we can play, and I want…the game [to be] better than all the games I’m playing… So that was my motivation, to make something great for my friends,” Martz said.
Martz has created and finalized several of his own board games, and many of his projects are still in the works.
“I’ve always kind of been tinkering around with games that I play to make them better. And I always thought I could [make my own board game]. Every time I play a game, I think I can do it,” Martz said.
According to The New York Times, “Every year thousands of new board games are published.” These types of games range in content and speak to a wide range of audiences, depending on their ‘flavor’ or the way they evolve without changing the mechanics. Board games serve diverse purposes targeting a wide range of audiences, from children to adults, while enhancing players’ social and intellectual skills.
“These [games] are astonishingly good for the mind… they’re puzzles to solve. They’re competitions. They’re the intellectual equivalent of sports,” Martz said.
The Archie Williams Pitch visited with staff members around campus to learn about the faculty’s favorite board games.
Chizzie Brown (English teacher)
What’s your favorite board game and why?
“I’ve been playing Dominoes since forever, since I was little and could do math… I played with my grandparents. We played on vacation. I taught my kids. It’s easy to travel with. It’s competitive. There’s different variations of the game. It feels like family and home and vacation to me,” Chizzie said.
David Gutfeld (History and Social Science teacher)
What’s your favorite board game and why?
“My favorite board game is Cribbage. I love Cribbage, [because] my dad taught me. It’s just a really fun game with a little strategy to make it fun, but not enough to where you have to be so focused the entire time. It’s a good game to chat [while playing],” Gutfeld said.
Kaki McLachlan (Assistant Principal)
What’s your favorite board game and why?
“Cats and Boxes. It’s my favorite game, because you have lots of different challenges to strategize how to set up your board with cats, and how to put boxes over them, and there’s different levels. It’s just a good mind challenge that you can do by yourself,” McLachlan said.
Beatrix Berry (Wellness Outreach Specialist)
What’s your favorite board game and why?
“I love the game Code Names. It is so fun. It takes a lot of teamwork, but also you get to switch roles throughout it, and it’s just a very fun way to bring people together,” Berry said.
