Sharing Our Toys

 “A toy is seen both as a bauble and as an intellectual machine.”

— Brian Sutton-Smith

Sharing my Star Wars Mos Eisley
toys at a convention back in the
20th century.

I have a lot of gaming toys (some would argue too many) and I don’t share them enough. Roleplaying game books. Boxed wargames. Board games. Piles of material for miniature wargames of numerous kinds. Even a few card games. Having a much smaller circle of acquaintances than in my youth — and hence fewer possibilities to gather folks around the table for a game — I’m always seeking new opportunities where I can share my “toys” with others. I also find taking advantage of playing with other people’s shared toys can expose us to new experiences and help evaluate if they’re something we’d pursue on our own.

Sharing our tabletop gaming toys seemed easier in days of yore. Back in the 1980s, when I was discovering gaming with various groups of friends, passing around rulebooks was normal. Few could afford every new, interesting game or supplement. So we often shared. I recall borrowing a neighbor kid’s copy of the TSR AD&D modules WG4 The Forgotten Temple of Tharizdun and Q1 Queen of the Demonweb Pits. When TSR released the Endless Quest books I borrowed — and quite enjoyed — Rose Este’s Return to Brookmere. I had a chance to play Divine Right with a friend dabbling in such board wargames, though I’m sure back then we muddled through the rules in an approximation of the full game experience. Friends running Call of Cthulhu and Cyperpunk got me interested in those games and the literature that inspired them.

In later years, when I lived near a wargaming club with regular events, I tried my hand at The Sword and the Flame, including a massive Rorke’s Drift game where the Zulu casualties simply went into the reinforcement pile for later attack waves. I played Flames of War at a museum demo game event and decided it was a bit beyond my capabilities; though I did admire the figures and have since collected, painted, and deployed them to play my own homebrew games, testing other rules, and developing my own, like Panzer Kids.

A close encounter between Kirk and
Khan in a Star Trek: Attack Wing game.

I’ve certainly done a great deal of “sharing my toys” hosting events at game conventions, but I’ve also enjoyed trying new games at cons, too. I gave the Star Wars X-wing Miniatures Game and Star Trek: Attack Wing a go at conventions where a friendly bunch of gamers ran intro scenarios for avid fans...and I’ve since invested in those games and enjoyed them at home. I’ve tried different wargaming rules in single convention games, which helped me determine if the systems worked for me or if they were just one-offs that didn’t suit my gaming style. I don’t attend as many conventions as I used to, but finding new games I want to try on the program always attracts me.

Where do we find shared games and toys to try?

The Friendly Local Game Store (FLGS) remains one of the better ones, especially those with plenty of open play areas and vibrant gamer communities. Here one can try a variety of games, depending on what the store carries and encourages, often facilitated by experienced players. Board game nights and open gaming events remain ideal for testing the waters with a new game. Some stores even have used game libraries for patrons to try in the open gaming areas. The FLGS is also a good place to find other gamers and even local game clubs (often posted on the good old bulletin board or even online forums). Game clubs also host regular events and sometimes even conventions, but the FLGS remains an excellent resource for joining the local gaming community.

Battle of Great Bridge game set up
at the historical battle site.

Educational venues like schools, libraries, and museums sometimes offer game-focused programs. I’ve run programs highlighting popular media and historical games at the local library and museum, and even presented my Battle of Great Bridge game at the 250th commemoration of that event. I’ve seen people run games at battlefields, clubs organize game events at museums, and even schools host game tournaments. Some libraries maintain a “Library of Things,” including board games, people can check out and try. The “games in libraries” movement grows in fits and spurts depending on interest, region, and personnel, but many public libraries remain attuned to their patrons, so mentioning you’d like to see games in the collection might help.

I’ve mentioned how conventions offer rich environments for trying new games, though they’re not always easy to find nearby. Some attract more hardcore gamers than others, especially those with robust tournament programs; though some encourage newcomers with tutorial games. Sometimes the expense, crowds, and program can prove overwhelming, but with a little planning and preparation one can find some new games to try and buy, even with younger kids and some proper parental expectations. Some conventions offer kid-friendly programming, good for both the younger set and adult gaming newcomers. At the few I attend I try offering at least one kid-friendly game, though I design most of my programming to accommodate folks unfamiliar with the adventure gaming hobby.

As a recent example, my wife and son — both more ardent Godzilla fans that I am — attended a casual meeting of kaiju media fans at a local electronic game and comics store. Someone brought a new Godzilla card game along the kids tried. I expect I’ll drop in one of the meetings soon to try it and see if it’s worth buying into...if I don’t simply stop by and pick up a set based on my son’s enthusiasm for it.

These opportunities allow us to try new games to see if we enjoy them enough to invest in them and explore them on our own. For a small investment in time (and sometimes money, such as convention admission and event fees) we can play with other people’s toys, learn from their facilitating a game, and get some firsthand experience navigating it. Certainly one can do research on a game — reading publisher materials, watching how-to-play and review videos, even trying quick-start demos — but I’ve found nothing still beats sitting down with the game and playing it...preferably with a knowledgeable and enthusiastic host. I’m encouraged in this digital Internet Age we still have face-to-face venues where we can gather, share our enthusiasms, and play with other people’s toys.

“Let us be grateful to people who make us happy, they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.”

— Marcel Proust