Games have been a part of my life nearly as long as I can remember.

From playing the original Ravensburger/Milton Bradley Memory game as a child; to being allowed to play Acquire
(also the original version!) with the adults as an adolescent; to playing war, diplomacy, and strategy games in grad school, board games have formed my thinking and my learning.

No surprise, then, that I began using game-play in the college classroom from the first year of my full-time teaching (thanks to Daniel Miller, my colleague at the time!). Eventually I adopted role-immersion games in the classroom (Reacting to the Past) and soon began writing my own games.

In my late 50s, I began hosting a local board game meetup and now work with others in my community to host an annual board game convention. You can find out more about both at NewbergGames.org.

This has been a great experience and unexpected surprise. I started the meetup to find like-minded players and ended up creating a space for people to connect not just over games but over friendship and human connection. It’s been a privilege to help people expand their face-to-face social relationships and see their well-being improve through these relationships.