Once Upon a Noob

Hi all, this is Gigi, the game store wife. I thought I would try my hand at the blog and share my gaming experience, because the store has been non-stop busy since the holidays and Jerod has yet to find time to write a new one of his own.

I’m fairly new to the gaming scene. For most the nearly 15 years Jerod and I have been together, my gaming role consisted of making food for hungry role players in various college dorms, apartments and now in our home. I’d greet them at the door, show them to the basement, make sure the cats stayed out of their hair and stock the kitchen with cold beverages and lots of bags of chips. I’ve always been a workaholic, so when I would get home, I never wanted to play complex games that required a lot of strategic thinking.

Unlike Jerod, I didn’t play games in high school or college, except for a few card games and some video and computer games. The year before we opened Critical Hit Games, he began introducing me to some of the “alternative” board games that we sell now. They became instant favorites: Carcassonne the Castle and Ticket to Ride.

They weren’t so different or weird; I just had never seen them before. And playing them reminded me of playing Monopoly with my family when I was a kid. It was fun just to sit around a table and talk to everybody about something other than chores and problems. We laughed a lot back then and that’s what I do at CHG now.

Now I have even more gaming buddies to play with. I’ve really become spoiled with great opponents with excellent humor. I find myself wanting to play electronic games less and less because it feels a little cold. I expect and enjoy the face time I get by playing games with real people.

I can sympathize with the people who come into CHG for the first time, look at our board game selection and become a little wide-eyed. It can be a little overwhelming taking the jump into the world of board games without the words “Milton Bradley” on the side. But there are a lot of great games out there worth trying that are simple, easy-to-learn and fun to play. So put down the controller and join us sometime for a fun time at CHG.