By Doris Christelis, Contributing Writer
Shrewsbury – The bar scene is not for many twenty-somethings. In fact, it can be very difficult for those young adults to get out and meet others in the same age bracket in a comfortable social setting. The Shrewsbury Public Library's young adult librarian and volunteer coordinator, Dan Barbour, had a solution – Game Night.
“A couple of us twenty-somethings at the library love board games,” he said, “and don’t have a large circle of friends in our post-college worlds, so we thought there might be others in the same boat.
“Here at the Shrewsbury Public Library, we have many great resources and materials for those of all ages, but no programs that are geared specifically towards the post-college, pre-start-a-family age,” Barbour noted.
The Twentysomething Gamers of Central Massachusetts was his brainchild to fill that gap.
The first meeting of the Twentysomething Gamers of Central Massachusetts recently met at the Shrewsbury Public Library, giving anyone in their twenties the opportunity to come out for a night of playing board games and meeting new people. The group was free to join and required no commitment – just the desire to compete in a variety of both old and new games.
“Given that it was only our first meeting, we were very happy that seven people – four women and three men – joined in,” explained Barbour.
The gamers who played games together voted on what to play. In the end, they enjoyed Bananagrams and a version of Cranium called Party Playoff.
“For anyone thinking of coming in the future, it's important to know that this isn's a dating group at all. Friendships and something to do for fun that is free were the primary motivators in our planning this. As a matter of fact, at least two of the people who attended were married,” added Barbour.
Barbour said that the group got on well and enjoyed the game playing enough to call for a second meeting. In fact, one player told Barbour he would like to play every night.
Future game nights will likely be held monthly at the Shrewsbury Public Library. Anyone interested in being contacted about future twenty-something game nights can contact Dan Barbour at the Shrewsbury Public Library at 508-842-0081, ext. 5, or via email at [email protected].