Making community

It can be hard to make new connections. Even in places like Parramatta, one of Australia’s most rapidly developing cities, known for its restaurants, theatres, giant sporting facilities and events that draw in big crowds.

That’s not Roberta Fassina’s world.

Roberta likes board games. When her local gaming group had a hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, she lost an important part of her social world. Three years later, Roberta decided to revive the group as the Games Lovers Meet-up. Silent Monday nights at home were quickly replaced with the friendly chatter she’d so missed.

In her mid-60s and still working long hours at a taxing job, Roberta saves up her energy for Monday nights when she goes to the Parramatta RSL, bringing with her the latest games she’s bought from GameStop and looking forward to the games others will bring. The sight of the very young and the very old sitting together gaming at the RSL makes her laugh.

These are her people. Their counters and boards and Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) figurines spill over the tabletops as this eclectic community, crossing age and cultural divides, eats and talks and learns to play new games.

As someone into board gaming myself, I can see this group’s strength is that it provides not only the chance to play games but also build friendships. Most clubs run only one-off games, but Roberta encourages the playing of fantasy tabletop role playing games, such as D&D, over multiple weeks. This means players get the chance to finish intricate campaigns, while engaging in the kind of slow, imaginary building of alternate worlds that draws people like me to this space.