Preparing for fun and games
View(s):With a personal collection of over 150 games Shehan Dimitri Fernando founder of the Board Games Club of Sri Lanka wants to turn his passion for play into something other people can share
Shehan Dimitri Fernando will tell you a love of board games runs in his blood. “We’ve been playing board games from our childhood,” he says, estimating that he himself got hooked as a six year old. For Dimitri’s family, playing board games was a serious business – the competition was intense and five and 10 cent coins were won and lost; on his father’s side entire Sunday afternoons were dedicated to games of cards and on his mother’s side it was all about the board games – Categories and Scrabble, Taboo and Trivial Pursuit.
Games on offer. Pix by M.A. Pushpa Kumara
Now, Dimitri has founded the Board Games Club of Sri Lanka and is looking at turning his passion for play into something other people can share. He estimates his collection amounts to between 150 – 200 games and that they cover the spectrum from games for young children to games for adults. In essence, Dimitri will allow you to have your pick of his collection for a fee per head (between Rs.300 – 500) for a few hours.
Dimitri is still in the process of cataloguing his hoard, which he accumulated by having friends and family in the U.K and U.S comb through second hand shops. Many of the games have their inspiration in literature and the movies: Orient Express based on the Agatha Christie novel of the same name, Legend of the Guardians as in the cartoon with the owls and Survivor like the reality show on T.V.
Dimitri is confident that up to 50 per cent of what he’s offering cannot be bought in Sri Lanka. He has more than one copy of many of the really popular games and he’s hoping they’ll be able to draw in large crowds. In a pinch, Dimitri says he’s also willing to transport his collection so that schools and clubs can make use of it. “I wanted to open this out to people who know about board games,” says Dimitri, but adds that he’s also hoping to draw in newbies who might otherwise never have played these games.
While some of the games – like Pictionary – are immediately recognisable, others are more obscure – perhaps deservedly so. Take something like Therapy Second Session. According to the rules when player lands on an opponent’s Therapy office, he becomes the patient and the opponent the therapist.
Dimitri
A Therapy card is read and the patient writes his answer while the therapist tries to guess his patient’s answer. When answers match the therapist has cured the patient and therapy ends. There is no escaping the incompetent therapist – a patient must stay in the office until he is cured.
However, Dimitri says there’s enough variety here to please even the most discriminating. Amid the host of competitive games are several that are more thoughtful – games that focus on educating kids about environmental issues and the challenges faced by marginalised communities as well as others that encourage youngsters to use their imagination and story-telling abilities. Some might also particularly enjoy the vintage games that are available, such as the relatively rare Body Language, which appears to be a twist on Charades. In the end, the games are about community and conversations and simply having fun together. Roll the dice!
What You Need To Know:
The board game club will meet once in two weeks, open to all. There will be two categories – members and non-members. Members pay a special discounted rate and join by contributing a game they don’t have at the moment.
Gaming night happens once a week or once in two weeks. Anyone can come bringing their friends, family, or whoever they want to play with, as a group. They can also come as individuals and join up with a group playing a game.
Find Dimithri online at www.facebook.com/BoardGamesClubOfSriLanka or call him on 077 373 2724
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