Fall usually brings to mind change — the leaves turn, people head back to school, new friends are made. And a perfect way to bring a new group of friends closer is to play a board game.
Now, I’m not talking about Scrabble, LIFE, Sorry!, and the notorious Monopoly. All of these are timeless classics that instill nostalgia, but let’s be serious — a lot of them are outdated and become boring fairly quickly. The tabletop game family now includes many more categories of games, more exciting than their predecessors, such as card games (e.g., Magic the Gathering (MTG), Pixel Tactics), miniatures (e.g., Warhammer 40K, Heroclix ), board games (e.g., Arkham Horror, Zombicide) and many more.
Since you can purchase just about all of these games online, gaming stores have to offer something a bit more experiential to bring people in. A conversation with a knowledgable staff member who plays the games and can tell you which games are worth your hard-earned cash and which ones are a waste of time is a valuable thing. Weekly tournaments are another popular offering. Of the handful of local shops that carry tabletop games, a few stand out.
Game On! in Warwick offers a large amount of space for their weekly tournaments and boasts a knowledgeable staff. You can find the popular games here, but they also carry a lot of lesser-known products. 943 Namquid Dr, Warwick; gameonri.com/index.html
Temple Games in Pawtucket, which was a NecronomiCon vendor, makes excellent use of their cozy space with multiple tables for gaming and plenty of essential items. They also host a few classic stand-up arcade games. Another fun fact: The owners of Temple Games run the annual TempleCon. 167 Columbus Ave, Pawtucket; fb.com/TheTempleGames
Toy Vault Games in Warwick offers lots of space for players to come in and play a game when they’re not throwing tournaments for their more popular games. Whether you want to learn to play a new game or use it as a weekly meetup spot with friends, at TVG you’ll find an accepting community and knowledgeable staff. If you want to enter a tournament, the buy-ins are super low and the prizes are very good and usually pertain to the game you just played. Fun fact: TVG will be the upcoming featured store for Diamond, the main distributor for comics in the US. 575 Greenwich Ave, Warwick; fb.com/toyvaultgamesri
Fall is an excellent time for tabletop gaming. The chilly weather forces people inside, and they forge bonds. I talked to Dylan Teague of Toy Vault Games about this phenomenon. “The tabletop gaming community here is very strong. We see distinct groups here regularly for our six weekly tournaments,” said Teague.
Chase Corpus: There are people who want to get into tabletop gaming, but find the new, unknown element intimidating. What do you offer for new players?
Dylan Teague: We have lots of demo games, and lots of games that staff members like to play. We encourage people to come in and play the demos and use the staff to teach a game as long as we’re available. I should also mention that if you buy a starter deck for a tournament, entry to that tournament gets comped. It’s a great way to just jump into it.
CC: What is the most popular game currently?
DT: Magic the Gathering
CC: Is there a hidden gem you think most people don’t know about that they should check out?
DT: Pixel Tactics. It’s an indie card game that has a tactical Japanese Roleplaying style. They received all their funding for the game through a Kickstarter campaign.
CC: The gaming community is always evolving and growing. What would you like to see for the future of tabletop games?
DT: Locally there’s a large trading card game community, and I’d like to see miniatures build that same type of community and thrive.
CC: Anything else you want to say to newcomers and veterans alike?
DT: Come play with your friends!
