How much is enough?

I've been feeling lately like I don't get to play enough board games. This is a strange feeling for me to have, because most Tuesdays, I go the the local board game club, and every other Friday, I go to my friend's house to play board games. I even get in a third session on some weeks, when we have special events, like when the Dork Spouse planned a special board game night as a reward for some people who helped her out at a recent event, or the Dork Spouse and I go to the local Board Game Cafe for kicks.

But I keep thinking about some of the games I have in my collection (51 distinct titles, not counting expansions or classic games like Chess or Backgammon), and how long it's been since I've been able to play some of them (it's been years since I've played Settlers of Catan, and I've owned Winter Tales for two and a half years now, and still haven't ever played it once). I also find myself thinking about how much I enjoy playing certain games with certain people (there's a young woman I know with whom it is very rewarding to play The Resistance: Avalon).

Remember, of course, that games are an important part of my social life, because they serve as a framework for me, around which I can build my social interactions. Sometimes, in fact, I feel as if games are the most meaningful social contact I am capable of having. When I lack that interaction, it can feel as if I'm not getting enough social contact.

So in a way, when I say 'I've been feeling lately like I don't get to play enough board games,' to a great extent, what I really mean is 'I haven't seen my friend Josie in a long time, and I really miss her, and I always enjoy watching her getting angry enough to table flip when people don't listen to her during The Resistance: Avalon.'

Or:

'I'm feeling kind of lonely lately, perhaps because of the stress from the last two hectic months at work, and I would love to be able to sit down with people that I like and just have some pleasant social interaction based around the framework of a bunch of plastic and/or wooden pieces on a lavishly illustrated fold-out piece of heavy cardboard.'

And, if we're being totally honest, sometimes even:

'I've been watching some neat board game videos lately, or reading online reviews of board games, or looking back through my collection, and thinking some of these games look like a lot of fun, and I would very much like to play them. I wish I had an opportunity to play [insert name of game here].'

But of course, there's always the issue of having to be a responsible adult.

[insert joke about being an irresponsible person who's only pretending to be a mature, well-adjusted, responsible adult here]

The Dork Spouse would never allow me to game more than twice a week, except on certain very special and very rare occasions. Our house is pretty messy; it often feels like we have no chance of ever keeping up with all the things that need to be done around our home (tidying, dishes, cooking, laundry, yard work, maintenance, etc). Especially when we come home from long, tiring, emotionally draining jobs...

Sometimes I feel like I'm not far from becoming like Allie Brosh in her article about why she'll never be an adult, only with me, it's not 'Internet!' it's 'Board Games!' Apologies to Allie for this (click for a larger version):

Anyway, that's what's on my mind lately.

Tune in next week for another board game review. And until then, as always...

Game on!