Games in a Pub - 29th May 2011

With the weather good and another Bank Holiday you could never be sure if this would help attendance or destroy it. In the intervening time since our last event we had managed to publicise it on an additional web site - the Tunbridge Wells Events web site as well as get it tweeted about across over 1,700 people (a large number of whom live locally) and Damian (the owner of the Blue Anchor) had had numerous people ask about the evening and indicate they would be joining us. This publicity resulted in
James who travelled down from Leeds joining us plus Gavin and Natalie who had travelled from Peterborough plus Malcolm, Ruth and Gwen from Crowborough!

In reality the attendees where all friends or family which is both heart warming and disappointing in equal measure. In the conversations it continues to seem that the only viable way of enticing people to attend is by word of mouth from those who have already encountered some of the games events. People who attend almost by accident / regulars in the pub enjoy the evening if they are there but do not appear minded to return although all say how much fun they have had?!

However, seeing the glass as half full a comment made by Gavin seemed particularly encouraging. He and Natalie had come to stay with us last autumn and played a number of games with us and delighted in the variety of games- playing late into the night with other guests and during the day with their children. This led them to continue playing with their children when they returned home but also to start playing games with their friends. Best of all Gavin and Natalie discovered a pastime that they could enjoy as a couple (as indeed Gwen and I have done) with the many two player games available. As he explained this would not have happened but for my exploration of games.

The change I guess may at times be very small but nonetheless positive. The question however remains do I continue with my efforts at the Blue Anchor, as my original hope had been to see numbers of between 10 and 20 - ever the optimist!

Anyway we had another fun evening and the games played were Dominion, Hick Hack, Settlers of Catan, Straw, Ligretto and an old favourite Pit.