I guess my interest in table games It started during the World Cup draw in 1965. I had gone to live with one of my cousins at home in the East End of London, my parents had moved to Surrey 4 years before. It was early January and we were nearing the end of the school holidays. He had seen West Ham play once over the holiday period and all the gifts were stacked in the cupboards, most of which would never see the light of day again.
The boredom started, so we decided to tackle Monopoly (a Christmas present), we were twelve years old then. I suppose twelve-year-olds today have more options for spending winter afternoons during school holidays. We play tons of Monopoly games anyway; We were both competitive but good losers (comes with being a West Ham supporter).
Upon my return home to Surrey, I ran out and bought a copy of Monopoly with coupons I got for Christmas, plus Spy Ring and Formula One. The games weren’t that popular in those days, aside from the annual broadcast at Christmas, the I loved very much, but no one else was interested in my group of friends.
A few years later I bought a copy of Diplomacy and soon got into the hobby of postal games; this must have been around 1973/4. The fan magazines (‘fanzines) were excellent; Although postal games are lengthy, it was sometimes the only way to experience lesser-known games, especially if you lived in an area where opponents were lacking.
In 1975 I developed a game called Cricketboss, this was a postal Cricket Management game very loosely based on Soccerboss (commercial game) running by mail at the time. The game ran for three seasons in a zine called Chimera and also spawned a number of versions of the game in the national pastime of postal games (long after I finished running it). Even now it receives an occasional mention in the offices some 25 years after its ‘design’.
In 1978 I put in several like-minded people and we all got together regularly to play board games. At the same time, I infiltrated a Dungeons & Dragons Club (I’m afraid I’m not a big fan) they elected me a secretary and then I started introducing fantasy board games to meetings, soon I had them play Sorcerers Cave, Mystic Wood, etc. . When I finally left the group, they played little D&D but a lot of board games.
During the 1980s, the game collection grew, beyond 500 in 1988 when we moved to Hampshire. When we arrived in Cornwall in 1991, the collection exceeded 1,000. The house we bought had to have enough space to store them all.
1980-1995 saw a number of major gaming conventions. I remember the good old days at the Royal Horticultural Halls in London, when Game Day meant more than just D&D and painted figures. I remember meeting Major Pat Reid promoting Colditz, Alan Parr inventor of United and then Fireside Football, Andrew Neil the inventor of Kingmaker and Maureen Hiron of Quadwrangle and Ongoing Fame. I attended Midcon, Manorcon and Baycon; Hosted by the postal games pastime, everything still works fine and is always worth a visit.
I continue to collect games, mostly but not exclusively German, and play with a small group of players in Truro. We meet regularly, but hopefully more regularly in the future to play board games. Personally, it is a great opportunity to dust off many games that I had previously retired to my loft. Hopefully we will inspire more people in Cornwall to try the unique experience of competitive gaming. table games that stretch the mind and imagination far beyond my first and most people’s experiences with Monopoly, Cluedo, and Scrabble.