Overview:
Three individuals involved in the Denver board gaming community share their experiences in the industry and thoughts on its future.
“It’s something I’ve done for 13 years,” said Adrian Richardson, founder and host of Denver Boardgame Night. “There’s almost nothing I’ve done in my life that’s lasted 13 years. It’s kind of my thing and I care a lot about it.”
What began as a casual meetup and play with friends in 2012 has evolved into a weekly meet-up every Wednesday night for over a decade at various breweries throughout the Denver metro area. The games they play vary from Cribbage to Asian Tigers and everyone brings their own games.
“That’s the thing about board games; it’s all about hanging out [and] meeting with people in a social setting,” Richardson said.
Anyone can join the group, from experts on board games to beginners who haven’t played. Denver BoardGame Night is meant for anyone new to the city looking for a new group to join or for anyone looking to socialize and compete. New members can join by visiting the Denver Boardgame Night website for more information about where to meet for the weekly meet ups and joining their Facebook page to connect with other members.
Richardson believes that expanding his board gaming group into a business or opening his own board game cafe/bar is not worth the extra effort.
“For me, it is just a hobby,” Richardson said. “I’ve had people talk to me about trying to monetize it more. I could do that, but it changes the dynamic. I like it just being a very informal thing that I just kind of do for fun.”
Even though Richardson doesn’t think he will turn his group into a business, the market for board games is only growing more each year. According to the gaming website PlayToday.co, the board gaming market has grown to $3.39 billion in revenue, with market experts predicting that by 2030, the board gaming market will reach $37.82 billion.
On the other hand, another group plans to open up its very own board game bar around the Denver area. Former Bucket List Editor Madison Lauterbach and her husband Sam Schlosser are ready to tackle the board gaming market and bring some new ideas to the industry.
“We went to a board game bar and we kind of looked at each other and said, ‘We can do this better,’” Lauterbach said.
Lauterbach described how her family wasn’t into playing a lot of board games growing up. It wasn’t until she met Schlosser that he introduced her to more complex board games.
“We are definitely sticking to tabletop games, role-playing games, deck-building games and board games,” Lauterbach said. “That’s definitely going to be our bread and butter. But we are trying to separate ourselves from others. We are looking to separate from other places with our theme; we are going for a tiki vibe.”
Lauterbach is optimistic about opening her business during this period in the industry, despite the fact that some popular board gaming cafes and bars in Denver, like Board Game Republic and Grandma’s House, have closed due to the pandemic.
“Since the pandemic, the board game industry has skyrocketed,” Lauterbach pushes back. “It’s an industry that has longevity. A lot of those cafes either only served coffee or didn’t serve food. There’s a lot of reasons why people pick the places they go. Some of them could have been out of budget or [in] bad locations. There’s a lot of factors that go into it.”
Level Seven Game is a local success story that runs counter to the narrative that gaming venues can’t work. The retro gaming store, which has been in business for 15 years and has three Denver locations, not only sells video games, board games and card games, but it also has a large area with tables dedicated to players who want to play games for fun or to host tournaments and events.
Derek Holland, manager of Level Seven Games in Federal Heights, has been with the company for 14 years. Holland grew up in California but moved to Denver when he was young and started working at Level Seven Games because he loves playing video games and board/card games.
“I don’t think that we necessarily make a lot of money off of the events themselves, but having the events brings more people down,” Holland said. “This store is our biggest store and makes the most revenue and I think having the events and the event space helps with that because more people come down to the store and buy other stuff.”
Holland also shared his opinion on people trying to start up their own board gaming business during this time in the industry.
“It’s hard only because you do really have to curate the space; you have to have a space that’s nice,” Holland said. “I do think that’s important—having an environment that feels comfortable. I do also think it’s hard because it’s competitive.”
Holland also agrees that he believes the board game industry isn’t going anywhere and he thinks that keeping this tradition alive is important. “I could see myself, when I’m 60 years old, with my friends playing cards,” Hollands said. “But magic cards.”
