Game Night Anniversaries

On September 17, 2002, I had a couple of friends over to play this game I'd just acquired. Settlers of Catan.

We played three games that night. Andrew won the first one, I won the second one, and Andrew won the third one.

At the end of the evening, we all looked around, and said, "That was fun.  Can we do it again next week?"

Well the 25th didn't work, but the 26th did. So the second Game Night that I hosted was held on a Wednesday instead of a Tuesday.

And so was the third. And the fourth. And the fifth.

In fact, for the last 13 years, Game Night has been held on Wednesday almost every week. We've moved it for Christmas and New Year's Eve and a few other holidays, but we've been remarkably consistent.

A year or so later, we moved Game Night to Phoenix Games, because we'd more than outgrown my apartment. I don't care how many tables you have, 30 people in a two-bedroom apartment with furniture is going to be a squeeze. And my apartment complex had really bad parking.

And it's been a Phoenix ever since.

I've written in a few places about Game Night and what it's meant to me. Short answer? A lot.

When I stopped keeping track in 2005 or so, more than 300 different people had attended and more than 150 unique games had been played. Those numbers are much, much higher now.

In the last 13 years, the group has seen at least four weddings of group members: Steph and myself, Jim & Dawn, Derek & Serena (who met at game night), and John & Katie (who met in person at game night). And there are probably a few other weddings that I'm forgetting, because I do that. Several of the regulars have had kids. Too many have moved away.

We've grown and shrunk and grown again several times. For a bit, there was a Meetup for the group. It caused a surprising amount of growth.

On September 23rd, we'll be having our annual celebratory potluck, kicking off around five and running until ten or so.

If you've never attended before but are thinking about it, this is a great opportunity to get to know us. If you've been before but have stopped coming, this is a great chance to get re-acquainted with us (we've missed you).

Phoenix Games has recently moved to a new location. Their new address is:

Phoenix Games
9700 Harbour Place, #218
Mukilteo, WA  98275

We'd love to see you there.