
As January is in full swing and the New Year starts to settle in, many of us find ourselves in a reflective mood, looking back at moments from both the last year and earlier. In the board gaming community, important memories often happen around a table, dice and cards in hand, surrounded by friends and family. It may sound over the top but these experiences can transform games from mere cardboard and plastic into vessels for connection, growth and memory-making.
We asked a few of our Zatu writers to share their most meaningful encounters with board gaming - those special moments that transcended the rules and mechanics to become something more. From childhood memories to pandemic discoveries, this breadth of experience showcases how a simple hobby can create lasting connections and unforgettable experiences.
Steve Conoby - The Christmas That Changed Everything: HeroQuest
This game set everything in motion. My taste in gaming for my teenage years, my interest in fantasy fiction, the kinds of books I’ve written as an author.
From the moment HeroQuest emerged from its wrapping paper, I was transformed. We were lightyears from Monopoly and Ghost Castle. The minis were amazing – they were Warhammer level good, but in an approachable board game - actual little heroes and monsters in the middle of a story. And I wanted to live those stories! And write them! So that’s exactly what I did. We haven’t even discussed the dungeon master’s screen, or the board, or the little bits of furniture that bring the world alive (a little bit), and the dice, oh the dice! It’s the first game that I continued to think about as I fell asleep. I didn’t even care if there was no one to play with me, I played anyway and still enjoyed it (something I continue to do to this day).
From HeroQuest I went to Space Crusade, then the Advanced versions. In the months after that particular Christmas Day I was deep in the fictional world of Dragonlance, couldn’t get enough. To me those books felt like an extension of the adventures I’d had in that board game (I know, most people landed on Dragonlance from D&D, shush, whatever). From there, I had to write my own fantastical tales
I deeply regretted the loss of the game (my mother had to move when I went to uni (interesting timing) which meant bye-bye all my belongings). HeroQuest was my D&D moment, and that love affair is a part of my early life that I truly miss. He was a lucky kid, young me. For a while, his imagination was utterly unbound.
Dan Phillips - Finding Sanctuary in Legacy Games
Let me begrudgingly take you back to 2020, a post apocalyptic time of trauma for us all. A time when we were locked in our homes with only a weird hour a day where we could explore the local surroundings. It was at this time I rediscovered my love of board games. Something I had let go since moving away from the family home.
Living with my boyfriend (now husband) and his sister meant that we could try out all sorts of games, starting first by obsessing over trivia based games but then a friend told me about Betrayal Legacy. I had never heard of a ‘legacy’ game before and so I was fascinated by the thought of a ‘game that remembers’ by adding and destroying cards, by adding stickers or writing on things. It felt like madness! Well, in a world of madness what was a little more going to do. Being horror fans, the notion of a haunted house was right up our street and so we jumped straight in. With nothing else to do in our days we found ourselves jumping in deep and playing a scenario pretty much every day. With such a rich story, which I obviously can’t talk about because of spoilers, we were all amazed by how lost we found ourselves getting and just how invested we became in our characters. When we finished, we felt changed. It triggered an obsession that got me through the worst few years of my life and now, four years on, brings me here, writing about board games on almost a daily basis.
Board games can offer a wonderful escapism and it was with this game that I really learnt an appreciation for that.
Luke Griffiths - Three Decades of Dice Rolling
As 2024 comes to an end, we bloggers were asked if we’d like to reflect upon “what was your most important board game experience?” As I reflect upon what is several decades of gaming, there are actually a few moments that stand out.
Heroquest – The ultimate gateway to the world of Warhammer and Games Workshop. I got Hero Quest as a child aged 8, those TV ads were so striking… “Broadsword!” The family would gather around the table as my Dad played the “Evil Wizard” and I joined my Mum and Sister to play the heroes. This became a weekly family event playing our way through the quests. A few years later my Dad transferred to a job in Nottingham, where his office was around the corner from the Games Workshop store. Which brings me to…
Games Night – Thursday nights at Games Workshop meant their weekly “Games Night”. A friend of my Mum’s mentioned that her son visited the shop in Derby each week I joined them, and the rest is history. Using some borrowed Imperial Guard, I played my first game of Warhammer 40,000. Warhammer was my world for the remainder of my childhood. Fantasy Battle in particular, I’d field 5000 point Skaven Armies of hundreds of models. I also enjoyed Warhammer 40,000, Space Hulk, Warhammer Quest, Necromunda and Blood Bowl. Until the call of bands and beer started demanding my money and I could no longer afford plastic crack alongside CDs and gig Tickets.
Distinct Gaming – Twenty years later, my uni friend happens to land a contract working fairly local to my home. Upon discovering this, he mentions that he has been playing weekly at a shop ten minutes walk from my house. Having not seen him for a long time, nor played any games, I gave it a try. I was introduced to the most wonderful community of gamers… We’d play Legend of the Five Rings, Warhammer Champions (I miss that game), Dungeons and Dragons, Blades in the Dark and many more. I have been firmly back into games ever since; a passion even the pandemic couldn’t crush.
Steven Gibney - An Afternoon at the Café
My most memorable gaming experience has to be my first visit to a board game café, back in late 2019 – what feels like an age ago now. On the recommendation of a staff member, we dove straight into Hey, That's My Fish!, watching our penguins wage their adorably cutthroat war over fish-laden ice floes. There's nothing quite like the satisfaction of trapping your friend's penguin on a lonely ice block.
After that, we tried "Ghost Blitz," which turned us all into fumbling messes as we grabbed at wooden pieces, our brains short-circuiting while trying to match colors and shapes at speed. Between rounds, while ordering an unhealthy amount of snacks, I looked around in awe at the shelves that lined the walls, stacked with games. It's cliché, but this was definitely one of the key moments that led to me starting my own collection.
When we left the café that day, we were in high spirits, not realizing that in just a few weeks, a near-global lockdown caused by COVID-19 would make such gatherings impossible. That afternoon became one of the memories that would get us through the months of social distancing that followed, which is why it stands out as one of my most memorable board gaming experiences.
David Ireland - From Wargames to Worker Placement
I’ve been gaming for over 30 years now. I started as a child of primary school age and there are a lot of different experiences within that time. Some true highs and positive moments, some less so.
Unfortunately, my introduction to gaming that wasn’t a traditional game, like Monopoly or Ker Plunk, was in the form of wargaming. Games Workshop games were significant as well as others, like the original Battletech or Avalon Hill’s Titan. All these games had a common theme, death and complete obliteration of your opponent. I’ve reflected on this, it wasn’t the healthiest upbringing for a child. These games were played a lot! They taught me to be competitive for sure, and love games, but there should have been a better balance.
I quit gaming as a teen, sold all my wargaming gear. My interests had changed. It didn’t mean I still didn’t have an interest. So when our family went to visit family friends in 2000, and they pulled Catan (the Settlers of Catan then) my curiosity was fully captured. I’d never heard of the game before. I loved it, the concept, the mechanics, the competitive nature of it. It was everything I loved about gaming and yet, no one was trying to kill anyone else. It was also a game that allowed for more than 2 people and not so head to head as I had been very accustomed to. Critically, for me, it was a lot more fun, something I wasn’t getting from the wargaming previously as those games were so serious. I was still a child but the banter flowing around the game of Catan was awesome.
I won my introduction to Catan, but that didn’t matter. Catan had shown me there was a different type of game out there and that meant a lot to me because I thought I had fallen out with games. I hadn’t, just a particular type of game. What’s incredible in 2024 is there are so many games out there now of all types that people can find something that aligns to who they are. We all know how Catan was a pioneer of board gaming and changed the landscape of what board games are. It was a game changer for me as well and still a firm family favourite.
Grace Naomi - Family, Love, and Board Games
Board games have been a part of my life for as long as I can remember, from traditional games like Cluedo, Scrabble and Rummikub to more advanced games like Colditz and the classic family divisive Monopoly! However two particular board games stand out to me above the rest. Firstly, Sorry, which has now been turned into a very fancy book version which can be stored proudly on your bookshelf. The version I’ve played with is probably about 60 years old and will be a family heirloom at some point! Sorry is an easy entry to board games - you turn over a card, if it’s a 1 or 2 you can let your man out, and if it’s a ‘sorry’ card, you can say ‘sorry’ to your opponent and replace one of their men with yours - meaning they have to start all over again until eventually they reach back ‘home’. It’s very simple - but I’ve enjoyed playing it with my Grandad for as long as I can remember. I’m now a fan of more complex games which require strategy and thought (and ideally feature some form of animal!) but Sorry will forever hold a place in my heart. Secondly Catan which was one of the gateway games into what I’m slowly realising is a Boardgame addiction! You set out your first houses & roads and wait for the die to roll the number you have a house on so that you can build more roads, houses and eventually even bigger settlements. There’s a robber which can be used to block numbers opponents are relying on…unless you’re in the early stages of a relationship with a very competitive person (me), in which case the robber is promptly removed as part of a two-player game! I spent hours playing this game with my then boyfriend (now husband) and his family and it was the foundation for our love of board games which has grown each year since. Catan is a great game - and on reflection, I can blame it as the root of my (now) extensive gaming collection and rather large Zatu Christmas orders each year. I guess it also led to me being a blogger…(fuelled in part for the rather juicy 10% discount we get on games…which definitely doesn’t help the addiction)! Feeling inspired by this feature? Maybe you should start writing too!