You’ll see below I’ve got a tree theme going on—brand new game TreeLine and Madtree beer—and it’s because I’ve been thinking about rootedness and slow things.

I’m sure you’ve heard about Aspen groves and how they look like dozens and dozens of trees, but it’s all one organism, sharing a root system. If you haven’t, look it up, it’s fascinating! But did you know that an individual tree’s root system is approximately the same size as the canopy? Height, width, the whole thing. They spread their roots deep in the earth for sustenance, holding tight so they can grow tall. Even though they’re separate organisms, they actually share nutrients among them across the vast and unknowable mycelial network. Earth is wild, y’all.

And all of it is so slow, their growth, their reproduction, this is the work of generations of humans. I’m legitimately sad to see photos from the turn of the century of the massive old-growth trees that were cut down to build factories and homes and railroads. We live in a world that feels so fast, so urgent. Social media, the news cycle, our jobs and schooling all suggest that we have to rush, that there is no time, that we should always be doing. But my friends, slowness is a gift. Remember Mary Oliver’s gorgeous poem “Wild Geese,”:

You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.

Alice C., board game librarian

Play TreeLine!

In TreeLine, players are tree sprites aggressively reforesting the city and claiming territory. When I heard this description at GenCon and saw the delightful, cartoony art, I didn’t even wait for the end of the demo, I bought two—one for the bar and one for me. On your turn, you flip two connected cards from their town side to the forest, then fill the clearings of one of them with your sprite pieces (look at that lil mushroom guy!). Then the next player fills the other card’s clearings, but pay attention, your goal is to have the majority of your pieces on rows and columns so that when they’re fully reforested, you get the points. And your sprite army is limited—you’ll have to move them from card to card to keep others from taking over. It’s concise, it’s cute, it’s terriffic!

Try Madtree’s Happy Amber on draft!

From local brewery Madtree comes their classic and award-winning Happy Amber. The brewer’s description: “From restaurant foodie to backyard griller, Happy Amber is here to elevate any meal. Infused into a gourmet dish or just sipped from a can while barbecuing, find your happy place and enjoy this award-winning beer.” Invite some friends for a game or two of TreeLine and a Happy Amber!