A place to play
DEVIN WEEKS/Press Paula Leinweber, center, is delighted to roll the first 12 of the game as she plays Catan with new friends Carla Langdon, left, and Donna Smith in the Post Falls Library on Saturday.
DEVIN WEEKS/Press Trish Vanderveer rolls for a full house while playing Yahtzee with Teresa and Dave Marks, all of Post Falls, during a gaming event Saturday in the Post Falls Library.
POST FALLS — Trish Vanderveer of Post Falls rubbed two dice in her hands before blowing on them and rolling in hopes of a full house, although a Yahtzee would have been welcome too.
“I love board games,” she said, tallying up her points.
The Post Falls Library was a great place for lovers of board games Saturday during the Retro Board Games event. Geared toward grown-ups, the afternoon welcomed people to grab a seat at a table and play a few rounds of classics like Scrabble and Parcheesi or learn a newer game like the train adventure-based Ticket to Ride or commerce- and community-minded Catan.
Susan Botts, a substitute circulation specialist for the library, organized the event after being inspired by the movie “Game Night.”
“It made me think, ‘You know what? When was the last time people got together and played board games?’” she said. “Adults like to come out and play, but they don’t want to go sit in a stinky tavern or something.”
The library has been working on adult programming, incorporating activities like trivia and other games, but the daytime board game session was an experiment to gauge the interest of the community, she said. About a dozen people came to check it out when it first started.
The game day was also an opportunity for people to get together without their electronic devices and have some true face time. Botts said she played the interactive board game Pencil Nose with her family at Christmas time and it was a pretty fun day for everyone who played.
“I have not laughed that hard in I don’t know how long,” she said. “You’re drawing with your nose and everybody can be involved.”
Teresa Marks and husband Dave, who were in on Vanderveer’s Yahtzee game, said they love board games and one of the reasons they participated was to get to know people because they just moved to Post Falls.
“I used to participate in a Bunco group and we absolutely loved that. We’d get so crazy, Bunco and wine and ladies, it was out of control. You can’t do that on your phone,” Teresa said. “It’s about relationships.”
Carla Langdon of Post Falls learned to play Catan with a couple new friends, and they all agreed it was a positive experience. They discussed the fact that some senior living facilities don’t have community centers or game rooms, so they were pleased the library gave them the space to just come play and hang out.
“I would love to do this once a week or once a month, just have it be something that can come up on a routine basis,” Langdon said. “I don’t really have a location for a game night or game day, but if anybody out there who reads your paper does, I’m in.”