This week on Art Beat I spoke about tabletop gaming. Jason Duff instigator of Smithers Tabletop Group joined me in studio.
Tabletop games have experienced a massive gain in popularity recently. For example, retailers have seen an exponential increase in board game sales of 15-20% EACH year for the past five years, and now there is even an annual table top conference in Indianapolis called Gen Con (http://www.gencon.com). In 2014 , 49 000 people attended the Gen Con event! Plus, cafes and bars dedicated to board games are popping up all over the world, including all over Canada. Toronto alone has 20, Vancouver has 5. Serving up coffee, cocktails and snacks these board game friendly bars often have punny names. Toronto boasts SNAKES and LAGERS and Ottawa has MONOPO LATTE.
Tabletop games are taking over the world... tread carefully my friends, multi-sided dice may be tossed wildly in your direction....on the coffee tables of neighbours, in the living rooms of your friends, even in public places, tabletop gaming is coming out of the basement and into your home! Fellow Smithereens, DON'T PANIC. Tabletop gaming is happening all over Smithers right now, including at....THE LIBRARY! Visit Smithers Tabletop group on Facebook to learn more.
https://www.facebook.com/SmithersTableTop
Today was Friday The 13th [boooogatey boo!] If you believe in that sort of thing you may suffer from Paraskevidekatriaphobia a fear of Friday the 13th.
Alleged cure? Say that word out loud once and you’ll be cured forever - Para- Skivee- Decka-try- a-phobia. Did you do it? Well done! Hear me pronounce that on our show link below.
Events in town this week:
Don’t miss THE Stanley Cup when it visits Smithers on March 17th. Photos and viewing in Smithers New Arena from 11-4pm. It has been 40 years since local boys Joe and Jim Watson then of the Philidelphia Flyers won back to back Stanley Cups. Joe Watson will visit with the cup.
Thursday March 19th check out the award winning documentary film Highway of Tears. This powerful film about Highway 16’s missing and murdered women will screen at Smither’s Roi Theatre. LA producer Matt Smiley will be in attendance.
Next Week on Art Beat (March 20)
An exclusive in-studio interview with Smithers Juno award winning musician Alex Cuba. We’ll chat about his exciting plans for the summer and preview songs from his upcoming CD.
- Thanks for listening and reading!
- From my little Art Heart,
- I'm Colleen Sharpe
LINK THINK: Here's a web map to find out more about the things I talked about today. Happy Hunting!
CLIP 1: CBS, The Big Bang Theory, Season 8 Episode 12, The Space Probe Disintegration
Sheldon wants to play Lord of the Rings Risk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbvgygHS6WE
CLIP 2: Tabletop Episode 2: Settlers of Catan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3WJTlDa7oo
Wil Wheaton (known from his role as annoying character Wesley Crusher on Star Trek The Next Generation) has an online tabletop game show. He loves tabletop. Watch him and his celebrity friends demonstrate various tabletop games. Guest Stars: Jane Espenson (Buffy, BSG, Game of Thrones), James Kyson (Heroes) and Neil Grayston (Eureka).
FOR MORE EPISODES OF TABLETOP VISIT: http://geekandsundry.com/shows/tabletop/
INTERNATIONAL TABLETOP DAY, APRIL 11th
Check out this contest from Wil Wheaton's online TV Show Tabletop
http://geekandsundry.com/shows/tabletop/wil-wheaton-announces-internatio...
Where to find tabletop games in the Bulkley Valley: BIG SMILES KIDS STORE, making Big Kids smile with an awesome selection of tabletop games: http://lovesmithers.com/businesses/big-smiles-kids-store
CLIP 3: Chicago alt rock band Urge Overkill sing Monopoly (3:29) Album: Exit the Dragon, 1995, Label: Geffen Youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZkGwVQIDKuE
2015 is Monopoly’s 80th anniversary and I hope that song makes a huge comeback...
Debunking Friday The 13th
http://www.snopes.com/luck/friday13.asp
Board Game Geek: A great site for all things board game, including profiles of some of the best game artists, visit www.boardgamegeek.com
Explore some Tabletop Art: http://www.boardgamequest.com/interview-with-board-game-artist-xavier-naiade-durin/
The New York Times- “High-Tech Push Has Board Games Rolling Again”
By NICK WINGFIELD MAY 5, 2014
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/06/technology/high-tech-push-has-board-games-rolling-again.html?_r=0
Tabletop Cafes around the World: http://boardgamegeek.com/thread/484049/board-game-cafes-bars-around-world
Another song about a board game, Risk, The Spizzles, (3:35) Album: Spikey Dream Flower, 1981, Label A & M (British punk band)