GREENFIELD — Back when they were dating in high school, Catherine Bowmer and her then-boyfriend Brandon got into a huge fight while playing the game of Life.
“It was over the rules,” Catherine Bowmer said. “We decided it was probably best that we never played games together again.”
That was more than eight years ago. Now, in their mid-20s, the Bowmers have taken up board games with a vengeance. What accounts for the change?
“We were so bored, we knew we had to do something,” Bowmer said.
Like many of us during the pandemic, the Bowmers followed the advice of health officials and stayed home for much of 2020. In spite of their personal ban on game-player, the Bowmers owned two games: Scattergories and Monopoly.
Businesses shut down, but when the local game stores opened up again, the Bowmers went in and bought themselves some games.
They discovered Ticket to Ride, a railway-themed game that requires some cunning.
“My husband is super strategic,” Bowmer said. “He loves to use his brain.”
The couple especially enjoys cooperative games like, of all things, Pandemic. In Pandemic, players work together to defeat — you guessed it — the virus before it defeats them.
Frances Hull, co-owner of Hometown Comics, can vouch that Pandemic has been a big seller this year. It’s a game she’s quick to suggest when someone comes in looking for recommendations.
“I’ve probably played 80 to 85 percent of what’s on our shelves,” Hull said, “so I can generally find a game for anyone who walks through the door.”
Hull reports a definite uptick in game sales, a trend reported by other store owners across the country. Her expertise helps her guide customers toward games that can be played with just two players.
“If you’re stuck at home, you might only have one other person,” Hull said. “We even have some single-player games that are selling well.”
Like Hometown Comics, Hitherto also has an extensive game library for people who want to come in and try out a new game before making a purchase. Hitherto opened right before the pandemic hit, so sales trends are harder to track, but people were definitely coming in looking for activities they could do at home, said owner Kevin Kerkhof.
“I think people have a fondness for board games,” Kerkhof said. “And now that we’re at home, they’re getting them out more frequently.”
Kiely Carlson likes playing games with her three children, ages 4, 6 and 8. Their current favorite it Bee Alert, a memory game where players must find bees under hives to win.
“We love quick and easy games we can play between dinner and bedtime,” Carlson said.
Bowmer and her husband usually play twice a week. They enjoy Settlers of Catan and Mexican Dominoes, but their current favorite is Talisman, a fantasy role-playing board game. They admit they struggled with its difficulty at first, but now they love it.
“We’re really into the games now,” Bowner admits. “We’ve embraced our nerdy side.”
