Why We Keep Playing Board Games

Ever wonder why some hobbies fade while others become part of your identity? We open the door to our game closets and our calendars to unpack why board gaming keeps its grip—through job changes, parenting, and a hundred other distractions—when so many pursuits don’t.

We start with the quiet truth: unstructured hangouts can be hard. A board game solves for that by giving the room a shared focus, a fair set of rules, and a rhythm that makes conversation easier. From party nights with sizzling burgers to slow-burn engine builders, we show how the table creates connection without pressure. For the optimization lovers, we get into mastery: reading the puzzle, tuning a turn order, and feeling that satisfying click when an engine fires. It’s the same part of the brain that loves clean systems at work, but with stakes that feel fun, not draining.

Then we take on the sticky topic of collecting. The shelf of shame is real, and so is the temptation to chase every release. We compare acquisition and intention, share how Board Game Arena helps us test before we buy, and explain why curating for people—choosing games with a friend or sibling in mind—turns cardboard into community. The purest high isn’t unsealing shrink wrap; it’s teaching the right game to the right person and watching their face light up as it clicks. We also talk theme and escapism: being a pirate, a vintner, or an explorer for an hour, and how the best mechanisms make those roles feel alive.

Finally, we look at family play. Kids want screens, but they also want time that feels special. Games give us a way to stay present, teach patience, celebrate clever ideas, and build stories together. From First Orchard to The Quest for El Dorado, we see how play scales with age and keeps the bond strong. If you’ve ever asked yourself why you keep coming back to cardboard, this conversation offers honest answers and a few laughs along the way.

If this resonates, follow the show, share it with a friend who loves game night, and leave a review to help more people find us. Your stories keep our table growing.

Chapters

• 0:15 Welcome And Milestone Shoutouts
• 1:16 Today’s Theme: Why We Keep Gaming
• 2:56 Clay’s Hobby History And Obsession
• 4:05 Social Anxiety And Games As Anchor
• 7:34 People First: Party Nights And Food
• 10:59 Mechanics, Mastery, And Engineer Brain
• 16:37 Collecting Vs Playing: Shelf Of Shame
• 18:14 Teaching As A High And Misses That Sting
• 20:22 Escapism, Theme, And Immersion
• 23:32 Gaming With Kids And Family Bonds
• 26:02 Closing Gratitude And Community Invite

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:15

Welcome to the Operation Gabe Night Podcast, episode 101. If you are a returning listener that has been with us since episode one through 100, thank you for sticking with us and having the patience to make it this far. If you're a new subscriber or a new listener, because we freaking got to interview Reiner Kenizia, you have a hundred other episodes to listen to, 99 other episodes to listen to. Go back, listen to all of those, and then come back to this episode. But thank you. Thank you for joining us. Thank you for being here. Joining me as always are my co-hosts, Clay and Jared. How are you doing, boys? Lovely. Outstanding.

SPEAKER_02: 0:58

Just excited to be here with you again. I don't know.

SPEAKER_00: 1:02

And you got your OGN swag on. I'm swagged up. Swagged up. Swagged with it. I'm swagged up as well. Oh. Yeah, me too. We're all swagged up here because today we're talking about board games. It's a board game podcast. Why not talk about board games? Today we're gonna have a special operation where we talk about why we continue to board game. What keeps us going in the board gaming hobby? It's one thing to get into it, to be introduced to it, to come to the table for the first time, to listen to our very first podcast about board games. It's another to be committed. So what really commits us to this hobby? Why are we so committed to this hobby that we love so much? Clay, I'm gonna let you uh give us some opening thoughts.

SPEAKER_02: 1:46

Opening thoughts, yeah. I mean, we're all busy guys, right? Um, so it is a miraculous thing, one to even find time to play games amidst work, family obligations, etc., and then to do this podcast on top of it. So it does say something about our love for board games that we keep this all going through all that. And I know for me personally, I'm an obsessive figure. All right. I've been into a lot of things in my life, and I usually go down the rabbit hole deep, and then I come out the other end, gasp for air, and I'm like, well, I'm done with that. What's the next thing? On to the next thing, yeah, on to the next thing. And this is the one thing. I mean, I'm probably going on seven years now of pretty intense infatuation, I would call it, with uh board games and board gaming. So this has been by far my longest um consistent, you know, passion project. It is it is interesting to take a step back and look at like wow, why do I keep doing this thing? Like, what is it about board games that has the sticking power for me? I don't know what you guys think.

SPEAKER_00: 3:04

Well, before we get into what we think, what are some of those other hobbies that were unable to hold your interest for long?

SPEAKER_01: 3:11

I I don't know if we want to get on to get into that. Just rattle them off real quick.

SPEAKER_00: 3:15

Other hobbies that have entered your life for a brief period of time.

SPEAKER_02: 3:19

Oh my gosh. You know, there was uh mountain biking, there was obviously crossfitting. That that was a big thing for a while. Got pretty deep into religion at one point, and I became a political junkie for some period of time. Yes, and then all of this, you know, that's just I'm I am still a passionate Steelers fan, as you can tell by my TJY jersey. I haven't lost that one yet. So board gaming and Steelers have been the two that have kept me going, but yeah, I've been interested in a lot of different things. Oh, marathoning, um, you know, just things like that.

SPEAKER_00: 3:55

So nerd stuff and physical activities. Yes, I feel like board games is in the nerd stuff column for sure. Okay, for sure. Yes, perfect nerd stuff, definitely. What about you, Jared? Opening thoughts.

SPEAKER_01: 4:06

Uh, as I reflected on um episode 101, Dalmatians uh this actually, this is probably 102, maybe. I don't know what the scheduling or programming on this is. Um it was definitely uh the people that are in this room, not in this closet right now, um, but um my two boys here, the people that bring us together. I think if you listen to Reiner Kenitzia's our podcast with him, he just wants people to get together and the the games to be that lubricant to you know get you to just interact with people and uh make the decisions you know exciting and fun, but light and get the the board game out of the way and get the people together. I love that. Um which is why you know I'm a big board game fan. I like I like hanging out. I mean, Clay really hooked me when we first moved to uh the springs with all the party games, and I've been I've been going strong on that, but um I don't get as many game nights in as I once had, and I I do want to still keep doing that, but if you go back in our earlier episodes, I always talk about the food too, gathering. Um so I actually just had a a game night last night too. I know. Congratulations. It was during the day, and I I busted out the old Blackstone, got some delicious burgers going, and then played some some great games, got some great games to the table. So I like the people that introduction.

SPEAKER_00: 5:52

Even though you're not participating actively in the hobby, we still get together once a week and talk about board games, and you have devoted your time to that. So there's different ways to give back the hobby. Yours is uh you give your personality to the community, you give of yourself to the board gaming community every each and every week. You just if you you know slit your list, wrist, do you not bleed? Like you're out there for the community, and you are very bad boy that drips out actually. The bad boy, it's bad boy.

SPEAKER_01: 6:20

The bad boy, I use bad boy cologne, and it smells delicious. It's and when you're in live and in person, it just permeates throughout the crowd.

SPEAKER_02: 6:28

Travis. Yeah, what hobbies have you had in the past?

SPEAKER_00: 6:31

So I am Claire, you're a hobby guy too, right? I'm a hobby guy too, and I've done just about everything. The video games, that's kind of still around. Uh the smoking meats, the fitness trends, the jujitsu, the whiskies, the uh guitar, the you know, I've had a bazillion different hobbies come and go. Um, but I think this one's been pretty consistent. You know, video games, I've been doing that since I was like eight, so that's probably not going anywhere anytime soon. Um, but I'm kind of in the same line as clay. Like I have my nerd hobbies and I have my you know physical hobbies, and yeah, usually they're very separate, and things that fall between those two usually don't last very long. Um, but that's just kind of like my personality. I like nerdy things and I enjoy like a good nerddom. Um, and I enjoy being physical and you know staying fit and taking care of myself, sometimes better than others. Uh, but you know, um that's kind of where I fall. I I don't know. I I am also a pretty obsessive person when I go in on something, I go in hard, and depending on how long it sticks, is like how what neurons in my brain it helps fire. And I think board gaming is one that fires a lot of different uh neurons and keeps me around.

SPEAKER_01: 7:55

Jerry, I was gonna say, um, I think we've always done a really good job while we're together playing board games to schedule in the physical to give the mental load a break. But I was thinking back to our time in Vegas. We didn't we didn't do any workouts, did we? I don't we did some we did some walking, just some walking, you know, some walking up and down the strip. You had to go up and over those bridges all the time, you know, gotta get over the the the boulevard, Las Vegas Boulevard. So, you know, we we we like to you know full body, full self here on the podcast on Operation Game Night for sure.

SPEAKER_00: 8:35

Well-rounded individuals in many meanings of the word, in many meanings of the word, yeah. So Clay, like what keeps you coming back to board games? It's been around for seven-ish years for you. We've talked about how we got our start in board games and like our maybe second that might have been our pilot, actually. How we got into board games initially, yeah. Yeah, and so if you haven't listened to that, don't go back and listen to it.

SPEAKER_02: 9:00

Yeah, please don't listen to that one.

SPEAKER_00: 9:02

But uh, we've talked about our origin story in the past. Like, let's talk what keeps you coming back to the hobby, Clay. Why is that uh why is it stuck around for seven years now?

SPEAKER_02: 9:11

Yeah, I think for me, at least initially, the draw was I'm a pretty socially anxious person. I do not like being in group settings where there's not like an agenda and where there's not an activity to partake in. So it was hard for me to, you know, what people would come over, I'm like, what are we doing? Like, we'd eat dinner and like people just linger around and talk. And I do not like idle chit-chat. It makes me uncomfortable. I feel like I don't have anything to say. So when I first started getting into board games, I was like, holy cow, this is amazing! Like we have this, we have this thing that's like the main focus of attention, and we can kind of naturally intermingle conversation in between the game. But if ever you're at a loss for something, there's always the game to fall back on. And it's that it's it's that crutch that got me through. And I made so many friends this way. I would never invite like have just invited people, you know, that I just met over to my house just for like a dinner get together because I would have been so terrified of what am I gonna talk to them about for however long. But when I had a board game to pull out and like explain the rules and you know, get to talk about the game, and then you know, eventually you do become friends and you you realize you have more in common than just the game. And so that that has been the biggest thing about board games that I have appreciated.

SPEAKER_00: 10:40

Yeah, I and we even talked about this previously like board games are the new dinner party of the 50s and 60s, like invite people over, put a board game in front of them that you know everyone's gonna love, and it gets people talking, it gets people intermingling, and you can talk about other things besides the game, maybe not at Clay's table, but like other tables, you can talk about other things, and you know it brings people together, it is that social lubricant that Dr. Kenito was talking about. That's great. And I and I feel like there's so many people in the hobby that are socially anxious, like there's a certain like type of peoples that come to board gaming, and it's usually people that like feel a little of that social pressure. Um, and that's what's so good about board gaming, it's so opening and inviting, and like people of different backgrounds and different, you know, everyone can bond over the simple mechanics of a game and understand the rules and participate without having to bring in all their extra stuff, right? What is on the table is that's the game that you're playing, and you can either dive in headfirst and be a part of that and leave the world behind, or you can get together with a group of friends that you know and have other conversations and really bond and develop a relationship with those people. That's great.

SPEAKER_01: 11:52

Oh my gosh, you guys are you guys are making me feel all nostalgic and making this sound beautiful, listen to YouTube talk.

SPEAKER_00: 12:02

But so I love it. Jared, you've talked a lot about the party game. You love getting people together, get the crowd going, you love feeding people, you love like just giving back to the people that you love through board games and through those interactions and for through like a fun night, right? But I feel like that's not what brings like a whole lot of connection with the board game to you. It's like mechanics and mastery. Talk tell tell me about like the games that you have mastered and what keeps you coming back to them.

SPEAKER_01: 12:34

Yeah, yeah, that I I definitely use yours a uh like a line in the sand for me, like where I keep Arnak on one side where I'm like the obsessive side is still here with me. You know, I I'm not just completely party gaming. And actually, this weekend when I had my um my little game night, um I had asked my my buddy, I'm like, hey, is your is your wife into like party games or a little more hardcore games? He thought I was thinking of like we were gonna do a rager and like do King's Cup and like you know like beer pong and stuff. Like, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. And I had like I yeah, I was like, dang, I I went a little hardcore nerd there. Um but I like yeah, I definitely still get into the obsessive side, and but I kind of put that in a box and I'm like, only let that out if you know certain people want that side of me. And then I go hog wild. I go, it gets a little weird, you know. I start sweating a little bit. Uh you know, I I'm hey, let me get that rule book. I gotta check that. Uh it's like there's definitely, you know, it's a competitive nature of who we are, who I am. Like um, you wanna like you wanna do really well. I don't know. Sometimes um I also can't let that be the only thing I do because it takes the fun out of gaming and board gaming. Um but I will say doing board game arena is really sweet to continue that connection with people that you're not around always, but also in the gym doing the cardios and just freaking doing your nug work on it, like a essentially you've got a game down so well that it's like almost a puzzle, just putting the pieces right where you know they need to go, or didn't expect that to come out and boom, what are you gonna do with that? But that's what our neck is for me.

SPEAKER_00: 14:35

But and it in one of our rare, like two-person episodes that you and I did are engineer thoughts on engine builders. Oh do you remember that episode? Yeah, and you talked about like yeah, it's like it's basically the engineering model and like the way of thinking that like triggers your brain, right? Like, you know the end goal, you know how you need to get there, and you just need to find a way to optimize that stuff, whether that's through deck building, whether that's through like moving a character around, whether that's through like resource development and trading, and like that type of stuff just fires your brain in right in the right way as an engineer that like keeps you coming back. It's cool to like meld career and you know education with a hobby, right? That's kind of the that's kind of the goal.

SPEAKER_01: 15:21

Oh yeah. But for for you and Travis, for Travis and for Clay here, um like you guys are definitely on the collector side. You feel like in certain times in your gaming career, has the collecting side outpaced your love for the for the hobby, and you're just chasing the next cardboard box instead of am I getting this box uh so that I can have more fun in the hobby? I don't know. I I've always had I'm throwing it to Travis first.

SPEAKER_00: 15:57

That's yeah, that's a great question. That's a very good question, and I would say yes. I think people that get really into the hobby inevitably reach that point where they're like, I have to buy everything that comes out because I love this hobby now. This is my thing. And so, at least for people that are obsessive, like me and Clay, like you go in and you're like, I'm gonna buy every game that comes out, and so sometimes that outpaces, especially because now that I don't live around you guys, it's kind of hard to find like game groups and get people around the table. And so, like, I have so many games that are still in shrink wrap. I have a shelf of shame that is growing, growing, and growing. Like we haven't talked about the shelf of shame in a long time. It's been a while and it's quite shameful, but um, yeah, I think everybody reaches that like that inflection point where they're like, okay, maybe I don't need to buy everything that's out there. There are other ways to play these games. Nowadays, so many games come to Board Game Arena, and you can at least give it a try there and see if you like the mechanics. Um, you know, there's different ways to experience games and and make sure that you're getting the ones that you own to the table. And I'm kind of at that inflection point now where I don't see my procurement outpacing my passion right now or the need to collect, especially like we've talked in the past about like games with expansions and all this other stuff that comes out, like it's not worth grabbing that stuff. Nine times out of ten, I don't play with the expansions, and it's just an extra box on the shelf. Yeah, um, so yeah, I'm kind of hitting that inflection point right now, and I see that that gap slowing down a lot.

SPEAKER_01: 17:35

Yeah, I don't have any room in my house. I'm in literally in my closet because I have no room for another cardboard box. But Clay, what what are your thoughts on this?

SPEAKER_02: 17:44

Yeah, so it's a tough one for me. I definitely buy a lot of games, but that is a lot of the joy of board gaming for me. I do like collecting things, but also when I'm buying games, I'm always thinking about who they're for. And honestly, this is the thing that keeps me coming back to the board gaming hobby the most is I love it, it is a high, it's a rush when you find a game and you're like, I think this person I'm playing games with is gonna love this game. And you get it and you learn the rules and you teach them, and they have a great time and you see them, and their their eyes light up, and they at the end of the game, they're like looking for where to buy it. Like that, those moments where you can introduce somebody to something that they really loved, that is what I live for. And I've got plenty of games that I can introduce to people already. But uh, when I look at games, new games and things, I'm like, oh, is this one that Mason's really gonna like? Or is this one that my sister might be interested in? Like when we were talking to uh Tiff and she talked about flock together, I was like, my sister's got a freaking chicken farm. Yeah, she would probably love she would love the idea of you know defending her chicken farm against predators. I should get that and teach her it. And maybe that's the game that gets her into board gaming, you know? And so that is the thing that are my highest highs and my lowest lows in board gaming are the other people's reactions. And yeah, you know, when when a game goes over like a flop, I seriously think about that for days after. Like I beat myself up. I'm like, why did I I'm like, why did I play that game? Like that was a bad choice. You you they're never gonna want to play games again, you've just ruined it for them, but it's outweighed by the times where it goes well, and you just have that great moment with people, and so I am addicted to that. That is that is my lie for board gaming, really. I mean, it's so much fun when you see that happen.

SPEAKER_01: 19:54

You can never turn me off. Okay, I've had many a late night text from Clayton being like You hate me because of this reason or that reason. Sometimes board game related, sometimes not. Um, and it always comes back to Clay, I love you. You can do no wrong. Um except for if you mess with Mary. I swear.

SPEAKER_00: 20:16

That's if he messes with Mary, we're I mean, that's like the whole origin of Operation Game Night, right? Like we wanted to create awesome game nights, not just for us, but like for those that listen and come up with games that maybe they haven't heard before, or maybe they haven't tried, or like maybe games that we just love, and we just want to like shout from the rooftops about the games that we love, and maybe the other people will try them out. So that's what has been so rewarding about building this community around OGN. And if you're new, welcome. Thank you for joining us. Uh, but like it's been so rewarding to hear from those people and hear like, hey, I heard you talk about this game, I really want to buy it now, and they try it, and they maybe they like it, maybe they don't. But it's it's cool to like put that information out there and see it come back in a in a way like that. And it, you know, Clay, I just had my my brother-in-law or my brother, not brother-in-law, my brother text me the other day, and he goes, like, hey, we're taking a trip for our honeymoon. What game should I bring? And I was like, Yes. And I came up with a huge list of like two-player games for you know, date nights on a honeymoon, you need you to travel with all that stuff. That type of stuff brings me a lot of joy too, and I I really enjoy that.

SPEAKER_02: 21:27

Um, yes, I would also be in a board game evangelist, you know.

SPEAKER_00: 21:31

That's right, that's the word I was looking for.

SPEAKER_01: 21:33

Oh, you're trying to mush all your hobbies in the past into you wanna you wanna start baptizing people, and you know, maybe, yeah.

SPEAKER_00: 21:43

We just need a board game workout routine to go with it, and we're we're set.

SPEAKER_01: 21:48

High demand, yeah. I love it.

SPEAKER_00: 21:50

I will also say, uh, I think people come to board gaming as a uh way like a method of escapism, right? And I think a lot of my hobbies also point towards escapism, and we're not gonna dig any deeper than that into that. It's not right, but like I I really enjoy video games because it's a time to myself to engage with something on its own on its own terms and learn mechanisms and master mechanisms and overcome challenges and stuff like that. Board gaming is kind of the same way for me, where like I like the escape of escapism of it, and I love like theme in board game, that's a big thing for me. If you can tell me that I can be a pirate for an hour or make wine for an hour, or if I can, you know, trek through a jungle for an hour, or if I can be an adventurer or a space explorer, or uh, you know, a cat that's fighting some birds, or like whatever it is, I'm in for that hour and I'm in for that that game because it is a form of escapism. And when you get mechanisms and mechanics that match that theme, that make it feel good and feel like you're actually achieving something in that world, I'm I'm all in. That stuff like really clicks for me and really lights up those neurons and and make makes me feel like this is why I love this hobby.

SPEAKER_01: 23:06

Do you do you feel like you want to do escapism back to the academy to go to the Falcons uh board game there? You want to escape back to the academy? Well, I need I need you guys to play that one with me so that we can all uh I think I'm good without going back.

SPEAKER_02: 23:25

All right, did we do it? Did we do it? I had so much more to say, but I think we did it. What else you got?

SPEAKER_01: 23:32

What else was on your mind?

SPEAKER_02: 23:33

Um my kids. Oh, I love I love having something to do with my kids, you know. Yeah, kids they want all they all they want screens and video games, and that's fine. They do plenty of that too, but it's nice to have something that I can do with them that's separate from those activities and just growing with them and having, you know, just kind of constantly cultivating, hey, this is the next game. I mean, they have been loving the quest for El Dorado. We just played it tonight, and the fact that I can just sit down with them and we sit there for an hour and you know, engage. I'm not good with kids. So this gives me something I can do with kids that you know makes some bonding happen.

SPEAKER_00: 24:17

And I don't you don't have to like tell us everything that you guys talk about, but like what's the table talk look like when you play with your games? Is it like strictly focused on like what are you gonna do next in this game, or is it like, hey, how was school today? Like, do you try and use that as an in for other conversations? Um, no, I usually keep them pretty on task.

SPEAKER_02: 24:38

I keep them on task. Or the ox. Listen, they're they're nine and seven. If they get off, if they get off topic, it's gonna it's hard to rein them back in.

SPEAKER_00: 24:47

I don't want to them, I just want to get the game over.

SPEAKER_02: 24:50

So, you know, we banter about you know who's in the who's ahead, who who we're gonna take out next, you know, I'm gonna block you here. Just you know, typical yeah smack talking board games. Absolutely no talk about their school day.

SPEAKER_01: 25:05

Yeah, no extra banter. I was gonna say that like does warm my heart because Gemma brought over First Orchard to Fritz's house to over to Cole's place, was like, let's play First Orchard. And uh Fritz is a little bit younger than Gemma. He wasn't quite down with you know keeping the you know fruits in the right area, like watching my daughter becoming a little me is frightening, but also quite cute. You know, she's like, let me share my board game with everybody. Come play first orchard with me. And then when grandma and grandpa were in town over the holidays, she's busting out first orchard every other night and trying to beat that crow. So that nasty crow. That crow! She loves it.

SPEAKER_02: 25:52

It only gets better. It only gets better. Soon she's gonna be playing Arnac with you, man.

SPEAKER_01: 25:56

Dude, she's gonna be a menace.

SPEAKER_00: 25:59

I love it. All right, did we do it?

SPEAKER_02: 26:01

Yeah, we can be done.

SPEAKER_00: 26:02

All right, thank you for joining us for episode 101 of the Operation Game Night Podcast. If you're new here, go back and listen to the other hundred episodes culminating in our 100th episode where we got to interview Dr. Reiner Kenizia. So much fun. It's been a great journey with both you guys and our community. If you are not part of the community, you can like and subscribe, reach out to us on Instagram at Operation Game Night Podcast, uh, leave us a comment. We love hearing from the community. So for Operation Game Night, I have been Travis, he has been Clay, he has been Jared, and we're out.