We inventory all the games in the library over the course of about 40 days—cleaning them, re-setting them for play, checking to see if all the bits are there. We haven’t actually lost very many pieces, thank goodness, and many game publishers have been so generous when we’ve messaged to ask for replacements. Sometimes we have to buy or make replacements—we’ve got a bag of 50 tweezers in the cabinet for the tiny game Tinderblox, and I’m working on painting a replacement for a tiny piece from Sky Team. Don’t even get me started on the number of times I’ve glued the cardboard of the Everdell tree or the giant’s hand from Attack on Titan! Mending the games is just part of it.

We keep a box on the return table for lost bits. Sometimes they’re from one of our games and we can reunite the pieces, more recently, we’ve amassed a collection of bits from our guests’ games, accidentally left behind, shown above. There’s a coin from Machi Koro, a token from Betrayal at Baldur’s Gate, a card from Mansions of Madness, a token from Eldritch Horror, a MtG die, and some pieces we can’t yet identify. If any of them are yours, we’d love to return them to you!

It’s such a satisfying feeling, putting pieces back where they belong, maybe because we often feel lost in our own lives. Last week I talked about that feeling of lostness a little. It can show up in politics, in our relationships, in our internal lives—we just look around and think, “How did we even get here?” And, “What do I do? Where do I go from here?” Being lost can itself feel like a loss. I remember my friend Captain Jean-Luc Picard saying, “It is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose. That is not a weakness; that is life.” It is not a failure to lose game pieces, and it is not a failure to find yourself lost. There are people around to help pick up the pieces and to help find the path.

Alice C., board game librarian

New children’s games!

Recently, a couple friends of the bar offered up some games from their collections their kids were too old for and we jumped at the chance! We adore having a big selection of family-weight games for our young friends, games that are easy to learn, have chunky pieces, but still challenge the mind and the hand.

Games like Outfoxed!, a kid-friendly and cooperative version of Clue, or the classic Don’t Break the Ice, or even the giant chunky animals in Beasts of Balance that can be played with according to the rules or just stacked (or chewed on) by a toddler.

Kids, try our Smash Burger Sliders!

Two lil patties, crisp and delicious, on slider buns with their choice of toppings and served with fries. What could be better?

We’ve also got kids’ portions of our signature mac and cheese, chicken fingers, grilled cheese, and a house salad for your kids to munch while they’re playing Labyrinth or Outfoxed!