My friends, I’m sorry this email is a day late. I had a migraine on Saturday. I medicated and hydrated and was feeling somewhat better, so I went in to the bar, but that better feeling was short-lived and I went home to nap and wander through the rest of the day in a fog. I did what I could to care for myself—so much water, more meds, sleep, gentleness. It still feels like a wasted day, but it does remind me of a sign I saw somewhere that said, “Do your routine maintenance, or your machinery will schedule it for you.” This was, of course, on some heavy factory equipment, but it applies just the same to our bodies and minds.

I hope you are caring for yourself, whatever that means to you. Take your dumb walk for your dumb mental health, spend time with friends and family playing games (of course), take time for silence and boredom, drink water and eat vegetables, etc etc etc. And take time to show up for others, to resist cruelty, to care for the world around you. It’s a cooperative game, this life we’re living—we win or lose together.

Friends, keep warm, keep heart, and keep playing.

Alice C., board game librarian

Play Figment!

I highlighted the Magenta line of games recently, but this is one of my favorites. If you do get migraines and you’ve got a visual aura that precedes them, some of the art in this one might look familiar!

In Figment, players work together to line up five cards in order of how much of a certain color is on each one. In the example above, you need to put the cards into a line so that the amount of green is smallest at the left and greatest at the right. How would you order them? The game takes five rounds, each of which includes a group bet on how confident you are with your overall choice, those round tokens above the cards—if you’re entirely correct you get the points on your betting token as well as the cards.

The art is wild and geometric and fun, the conversations are fascinating around how people see color and shapes, and you’ll have a great time! It’s not a game suited to folks with visual impairments including colorblindness, I’m afraid, but stay tuned for a highlight of the game Four Senses in the future…

Try the Luxury Tax!

It’s vodka, Chambord liqueur, lemon juice, and strawberry simple and it’s delicious! The Luxury Tax is one of our top sellers and a classic on our menu. She’s sweet and sophisticated with a little sharpness from the lemon. Sure to go down smooth alongside a game of Figment with friends.