Board game nights are my favourite way to socialise and make new friends

As I was hosting our monthly office board game night, I happened to come across Nik’s post Low Stakes Hot Take in which he says:

I’m generally not much of a fan of “activities” at parties. I guess I’m a conversationalist at heart, because that’s all I really want to do. So “game night” is something I basically never want to attend. But I’m just about always up for a chat!

I get where Nik’s coming and this post is in no means any kind of attempt at rebuttal. Everyone likes different things.

It just inspired me to write about my experience because I find board game nights the best way for an introvert like myself to socialise. Whenever I move to a new city or country, the first thing I do is find the local game nights.

Board games offer a perfect balance for casual chatting: the games usually don’t require 100% concentration as there’s a lot of waiting between turns but it also gives you a thing to focus on if you don’t quite know what to say.

The games also provide something to chat about if you’re with total strangers: you can always talk about the game you’re playing, what other games or genres people like and how unlucky the dice rolls always seem to be.

Games are also a source of joy and when people laugh and are having a good time, it’s easier to connect with other people who share that joy.

When I started studying in the university some 15 years ago, I found many life-long friends from our board game group. We’d sometimes play multiple days a week, up to 12 hours per session. Some of my current colleagues I’ve met in those late night (that often turned to all nighters) gaming sessions.

I always carry some games with me when I leave home because every day is an opportunity to meet new people to play games with. When I traveled to Prague for PyCon CZ in 2023, I met a couple in a train who were playing Skip-Bo and asked if I could join. That turned into more than 4 hours of playing various games and the train ride flew by.

Board game sessions at work have been a great way to get to know new colleagues as well. Just a few weeks ago, I was visiting our HQ in Helsinki and ended up playing Great Dalmuti with a couple of people I hadn’t met before. I find it’s a great way to meet people as they are: no titles or hierarchy or previous experience matters on a board game table — especially in Great Dalmuti.