The year 2020 has definitely given us a new perspective on life. With COVID-19, pretty much everything we do has been affected in some way. For us here at Meeple Movers, it has made a big impact with how we sell and play games.
The most difficult part was stopping our game group meetings. That hurt. We were meeting every other Friday and every other Saturday at a local deli, with 25-40 people. Gaming with friends, and introducing new folks to the hobby was the highlight of our week. Then BAM! quarantine. Being gamers, we had to find a way to stay connected and keep the dice rolling, and that meant being online.
Although we tried various platforms, we decided to focus on BoardGameArena.com. Their platform fit our needs the most - an easy to learn interface, a good selection of familiar games and even tutorials. BGA sets up the game for you and does all the game management behind the scenes, but you still get the feel of seeing other players on the board with you, and even their cards/resources. The rules are enforced within the programming so you can’t do the wrong thing (or cheat - even by mistake). I have to admit, we realized we were getting some obscure rules wrong after going back to check the rulebook. I guess it’s even made us better players in some instances.
We also signed up for Discord accounts so we could still talk to each other ‘across the table.’ After all, what’s a board game without trash talk (and a little whining when you can’t get that card you need). 
The challenge was getting everything set up and getting our game group members on board. Some of us gamers are techy, and some are definitely not (but that’s okay). We wanted to make it easy for everyone. It took a few attempts, but we’re hosting game nights again. It feels so good to be back with friends – hearing their voices, laughing over a board game and just that sense of a little normalcy coming back.
If you are missing gaming with your friends, give Board Game Arena a try. You are welcome to join us as well. Meeple Movers Game Group has both a meetup and Facebook group that announces our game nights and upcoming events. We’d love to have you join us. If you have questions or have found ways to still meet with your gamer friends, send us a comment.
See you at the table,
Sonya