The Peace of Wild Things
When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.
Wendell Berry
Play Pollen!
From one of the greatest (certainly most prolific) living game designers comes Pollen! Reiner Knizia first published this game in 2009 with a samaurai theme and, while it was good, it was missing something. Publisher AllPlay reimagined it with flowers and pollinators, as well as changing the cardplay itself, replacing the original, square goal cards with round tokens. The result is beautiful and efficient and fun!
Players play take a set of matching-colored cards (pink, orange, green, or purple) and draw five for their hands, then take turns playing one into the shared garden. You’re trying to have the majority of the particular pollinators shown on the round tokens, which gains you the charming 3D bug meeples. In the end, you count up each bug meeple type—if a player has the lead in 2 or 3 of the types, they win flat-out, otherwise, players discard the one type they lead in, then count up their remaining meeples and the most meeples wins. It’s a visually-lush, strategically-rich, and a tad bit odd. 10/10, would recommend!
Try our meads from McAlpine!
“Taste history in every sip,” say our friends at Ohio’s McAlpine Meadery. Mead is a fermented honey-wine, one of the oldest fermented drinks humans have made, hailing from 20,000 to 40,000 years ago. Our seasonal flavors are First Date—a concoction of cardamom, dates, nutmeg, and vanilla—Wicked Peach, and Blackberry.
Share some with friends over a game of Pollen!
Click on the images below for more information
(No RSVP needed for Community Game Night!)
Game Passports for the kids
Did you know that we have game passports for the littles? It’s true! They get their very own passport with a list of family-weight games and some rules (of course)—each time they come in, they can get stickers in their passport for up to two games played here in the bar. When they get 6 stickers, they get a little toy, and when they get 12 stickers, they get a sweet treat! Ask your librarian for one next time you’re here.
Links
See what fun events are coming up on our calendar here.
Give us feedback on your experience or a board game or event suggestion here.
Need a way to decide on a first player? Check out this fun randomizer site.
And of course check out our website here, our library listings here, and our social media here!