Bust boredom at the Chapel Hill Public Library board game day

Chapel Hill Public Library will be offering an opportunity for people to de-stress with friends and meet new people — and attendees won't even have to spend any money.

On Saturday, Nov. 2, Chapel Hill Public Library will be hosting Board Game Day! for adults from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.

“Board game nights are popping up around the country in different stores, libraries and people’s homes,” said Mike Campbell, the lead staff member for Board Game Day. “We wanted to get in on with that trend because it lines up nicely with the library’s mission: sparking curiosity, inspiring learning and creating connections.”

The event allows guests to not only mix and interact with other community members, but also to engage in new board games that they wouldn’t necessarily have access to. 

“The library is a great resource for a 'try before you buy.' People who come in are used to being able to check out books. Sometimes, they might fall in love with the book and decide that they are going to buy it,” said Daniel Siler, the marketing and communications manager of Chapel Hill Public Library. “The fun of it is that there are lots and lots of games out there, and unless you have a spacious closet or storage area, it is tricky to store them all or expensive to buy them all.”

The Board Game Day will include more than games like Monopoly and Life — it will showcase games that might be unfamiliar to attendees, such as Citadels,  Love Letter, Clank!, Sushi Go and Cheaty Mages.

The game Welcome To is fun because it can play up to 100 people, and the goal is to optimize a village, Campbell said.

“For me, one of the guiding principles was that someone once told me that they liked board games, and they haven’t experienced a better way to turn people they just met into friends in this kind of social gathering,” Campbell said.  “It is a chance to spend time with other adults in a non-bar setting, in a nice, relaxed environment and get to meet your fellow community members. That’s one of the main reasons I wanted to host the event.” 

Chapel Hill Public Library hosts adult programs for the community almost every weekend. For children, there are programs daily throughout the week. Some programs include writing workshops, computer classes, history discussions and the Philosophy Cafe. 

“Having something for adults that can relieve stress, improve brain function, stimulate the mind, get people creative and have that social connection is right in line with our third part of our mission of creating connections,” Siler said.

Chapel Hill Public Library strives to make a difference in the lives of the community through learning, sharing and collaborating, according to their website. They describe themselves as the "community's living room" committed to providing guests with a delightful experience. 

The library welcomes about 1,700 visitors every day from a variety of backgrounds, ethnicities, ages and cultures. The programs held throughout the week hope to bring people who would never check out a book, but can just come out and hang out for a while without having to buy anything, Siler said.

“More than anything else, we hope that anyone who shows up to Board Game Day has a good time," said Carissa Kennedy, administrative coordinator and member of the library programming team. 

"Whether they try all of the games, just one or don’t even play — so long as they feel like their day was better as a result of showing up, we consider that a win,” Kennedy said.

arts@dailytarheel.com