Monroe girls win first-place honors at world boardgaming championships

MONROE — Three Monroe girls recently won first place in their respective gaming events at the World Boardgaming Championships, held in Lancaster, Pa.
The competition is the largest competition of the Boardgame Players Association (BPA) and is an annual event, always held in Lancaster during the first week of August. The event drew about 2,500 competitors internationally with about 200 “junior competitors” under age 12.
Anywhere from 30 to 50 competitors would be involved in one game. During the weeklong event, there were 20 different games for junior competitors with a first place winner in each game. The plaque is called “wood” and everyone strives for “wood” at the championships.
The games used in the juniors competitions are the same as the ones the adults play although they are sometimes modified to make them shorter or easier to understand. The emphasis is on sportsmanship and “discovering how much fun it is to interrelate with others with a good board game in this age of electronic eye candy,” according to the group.

Tessa Lytle won “Trans America,” a railroad game that is won by connecting track to five cities across America.
Dagny Lytle won “Guillotine,” a card game where a player collects points for “French Revolutionaries” that are collected off the first card in a line. Placement can be changed with action cards.
Elena Kelbley won “Carcassonne,” a game named after a walled city in France. Points are won by placing land tiles around the walled city to form cities, roads and farms.

The girls prepared by learning, and playing different strategy-based board games over the months leading up to the championships.
By vote, BPA members select the 100 or so games (the “Century Group”) in which competitions are scheduled. Participants need not be expert players. While some events are for experienced players, many are designed for beginners or are coached for first-time players.
BPA said it’s “a portal for boardgamers to enjoy their favorite games and includes historical simulation games, euro games, racing games, train games and any type of board game.”
To learn more, visit www.boardgamers.org.

- Nancy Kriz