What Staff Are Playing: Board Game Edition

Board games are a great fit for public libraries. They foster literacy and community, promote lifelong learning and personal enrichment, and give patrons a chance to try before you buy.

The WCCLS collection – arguably the largest in the world – boasts a whopping 2,000-plus board games, dice games, card games and more. We offer games for young patrons, adults, single players and large groups. Whether you are a longtime enthusiast or a board game novice, the collection has something for everyone.

Check out these current favorites from a few of our resident board game aficionados.

1. Horrified

“It’s a cooperative game for one to five players where you try to protect a village from monsters from the Universal films of the 30s and 40s. The rules are very easy to learn, and it's got a great theme, especially for this time of year.” – Brendan Lax, collection development librarian, Hillsboro Public Library

2. Sushi Roll

“Sushi Roll is a big hit with my kids (ages 6 and 11) because of the big, chunky, colorful dice and the cute drawings of anthropomorphized sushi dishes. Plus, it mimics being at a ‘sushi train’ restaurant, which they love.” – PJ Bentley, collections and courier supervisor, WCCLS

3. Autumn Harvest

“We really loved playing Autumn Harvest because it uses the art and characters from the Tea Dragon Society graphic novels. My wife and I have played it as a two-player game and enjoyed that it's got some simple strategies and isn't too cutthroat.” – PJB

4. Honga

“You try to keep a sabretooth tiger from eating your resources. I like it because there are so many distinct ways to earn your points. It has multiple paths to victory game play.” – Laura Torgersen, reference assistant, Cedar Mill and Bethany Libraries

5. Sagrada

“You build stain-glass windows out of dice with some fun challenges added.” – LT

6. Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza

“It’s a silly family game, just a ridiculous slap game where you’re trying to match cards.” – LT

Please note that board games must be borrowed from and returned to the owning library. Unlike books, games cannot be transferred to another Washington County library. Borrow a board game today.

Listen to Lax, Bentley and Torgersen discuss board games on an episode of the podcast “I Blame My Shelf” brought to you by Hillsboro Public Library.