Evan Chan and his wife, Alexandra, met at a board game night hosted by a mutual friend.
At their wedding, guests determined their eating order by playing giant Jenga, and Evan’s best man gifted him a board game as a wedding present.
So, when the Port Moody couple decided it was time to begin reconnecting with the community after two years of caution and isolation because of the COVID-19 pandemic, they decided to roll the dice and play their cards with their mutual love.
The Chans have organized a special board games and tea event to be held March 25, in two 90-minute sessions from 12 to 3:30 p.m., on the Venosta rail car at Port Moody Station Museum.
For a $10 donation that goes to support the museum, guests get 90 minutes of board game fun while sipping special teas from Coquitlam’s Chaotic Good Tea Co., which names its blends after elements of gameplay, like Attack Damage chocolate Roibos, and One Earl Grey to Rule Them All.
Evan Chan said the historic rail car is an appropriate setting for a pastime that harkens to a simpler time, before video games and online contests you can play on your smartphone.
To enhance the throwback feel, participants will be asked to keep their cellphones pocketed and only cash will be accepted for the registration fee.
Chan said board games are a way to bring people together in a way that bridges generations and even cultural differences.
“Everywhere you go, kids like to play and adults still like to laugh and have fun.”
Chan said the fateful element of chance that inevitably plays a role in even the most strategic board game is a great equalizer.
It also tempers competitive zeal in favour of fun and social interaction.
“If anything happens, it’s just a game,” added Alexandra.
The Chans, who have a special trunk to schlep around their collection of board games, favour titles like Small World, Labyrinth and Mille Bornes, a car racing card game from France that Alexandra said she played endlessly with her family.
She said she still holds those memories dearly,
That’s the true magic of board games, she added. While playing a video or computer game for hours can be numbing, playing board games with a gathering of friends, family or even strangers offers endless possibilities for human connection.
“You can laugh about a game for years to come,” she said.
To learn more about the board games and tea event, go to its Facebook page.
