How to have an impact in the board gaming community..

The board gaming community is filled with tons of great people. Many people are looking to lend support to the hobby to make sure that it keeps growing. Some people may have a favorite publisher or designer that they want to show appreciation to.

The question I wanted to answer today was how can you show support or help out in the industry? Here are some great ways to impact the industry without creating games or working for a company..

• Buy games– while kind of a no brainer, purchasing games is a major way to support the board gaming industry. Purchasing games helps support everyone involved.
• Write Reviews- this is one way in which you can make your voice heard. Writing reviews does two things, it provides feedback to the designer (if they see it) and it gets other people consciously thinking about their game. People are able to decide if they might like or dislike a game based off reviews. They are crucial for this niche industry. Reviews don’t have to be on personal blogs either, you can review on boardgame geek, Instagram or Facebook as well.
• Talk about games- how many games have you bought because you saw a lot of people talking about it? Talking about a game gets it seen by more people, who may also buy the game as well. There are many avenues in which you can talk about games like Twitter, blogs, Instagram, Facebook, boardgame geek, conventions, and local game stores. If you really love a game, share it with others.
• Answer questions about games- the internet is a wide open space. A lot of times people have questions about a game, and the designer/publisher is not going to see that question. If you know the answer, take a minute to answer the question and have a discussion. That makes the person feel better about the game because they feel like they have access to people whom they can ask questions.
• Teach games to new people-it doesn’t matter where you choose to do this, whether it is at home with family, out with friends or at a game store.
• Volunteer to run game events– this one is another important one because the world is a wide open place. There are a ton of local gaming stores and small conventions that do not have a large enough draw to bring a publisher or designer. However, people still attend these conventions and play at these stores. If you volunteer to run an event, then you’re doing everyone a service. I run events at local stores frequently that are publisher specific. Volunteering at these events helps teach the game you love to a lot of new people. Some companies have programs for volunteers as well. Two I participate in are Stonemaier Games and Studio Woe. By attending and teaching you are letting new people experience the game and getting them excited.

The vast majority of these helping hints have one thing in common: communication. It is crucial that we continue to share about games and get others excited about games as well. If you really want to support a company, share that love with others.