ATHOL – From the classic to the contemporary, gaming fans will have plenty to choose from at Mini Game Con 2025, this Friday and Saturday at Athol Public Library.

A release from the library states the event will include “…classics like Dungeons & Dragons, chess, and Uno to newer titles like Wingspan, Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza, Sleeping Queens and more – there will be something for every type of board game lover.”

Young adult library technician Emily Boughton said the idea for the event sprang from the mind of “local Dungeon Master and game enthusiast Joe McNamara.”

“He approached us because he had come to our comic book fest, which happens in October,” said Boughton, “and had wanted to do something similar but that was more game-focused.”

She noted that the library does offer games for patrons and also sets aside time for game-playing on a regular basis, including a chess club and a night of Dungeons & Dragons for adults.

“My wife and I are parents of a couple of younger children and we’ve always been into different types of board games and card games,” said McNamara, of Athol. “During the big year of Covid, when everyone was furloughed, I was home, and we were together a lot so we played a lot of board games. It really helped to bring us together as a family. It’s easy to fall into that trap where everyone is going in their own direction.

“I went to a huge gaming convention in Philadelphia with my son this past year and I was thinking, what if there was something like that up here,” McNamara continued. “They had done the comic book fest and some other things here and I thought, you know, it would be a great thing to do at the library. They were very receptive to the idea and we sat down and worked out the details.”

McNamara said he’s hopeful that Mini Game Con 2025 can help other families find ways to spend more quality time together.

“I think that doing something in the home, doing something besides sitting around watching TV or playing video games, not that there’s anything wrong with either of those things, but it’s one more thing that everyone can do together,” he added. “And it can also help create community, where one family invites another family over and they have a game night together.”

Dungeons & Dragons, which first appeared in 1974, has had peaks and valleys of popularity, but, said McNamara, “I think it’s more popular than it ever has been. Between ‘The Big Bang Theory’ and it was a big thing for the characters in ‘Stranger Things,’ then they had the Dungeons & Dragons movie a few years back. And it’s pretty popular among some podcasts that people are listening to.”

McNamara said his children, a son 14 and a daughter 12, “are pretty excited about (Mini Game Con). My son is actually going to run one of the Dungeons and Dragons games during the event. Oh, yeah. They’re excited. They had a lot of suggestions about the kinds of games that should happen.”

The library’s release states, “Volunteers will be on hand to teach players how to join in the fun. Guests can also sign up to join one of the mini Dungeons & Dragons campaigns running during the events…With options of activities to explore each day, kids, teens, and adults can all find something to enjoy. Plus, with every game you try you’ll earn a ticket towards our Greenfield Games gift certificate raffle.”

For the full schedule of events, go to https://athollibrary.org and click on the link to Athol Mini Game Con.

Greg Vine can be reached at gvineadn@gmail.com.