Link Library Hosts Monthly Game Nights 

by April Bayer 

Concordia students, faculty and staff gather with members of the Seward community on the second Saturday of every month for Link Library Game Night. The event, which has been held since the spring of 2014, runs from 6 p.m. to midnight and gives participants an opportunity to play board games, enjoy snacks and socialize.

According to Director of Library Services Philip Hendrickson, the night is meant to create an open environment where students can engage in friendly competition and learn about new games.

“It’s a constant culture of teaching and learning,” Hendrickson said. “Some people…might look at the list and say ‘I don’t know any of these games,’ and…to me, that’s a reason they should come, because what we do is get together and teach new games.”

Signs reading “teacher wanted” and “player wanted” are provided so participants can indicate if they would like to learn a new game or find another player.

Game Night also gives education majors a unique opportunity to interact with children from the community and see what types of modern games are available for use in the classroom.

“These are not the old-fashioned educational games that feel like an exercise out of the back of your book,” Hendrickson said. “These are games that are designed to be played for fun, but many of them  exercise skills that are very helpful—geography, math skills, deduction skills, logic, problem solving and decision making.”

Originally, Hendrickson and his family hosted game nights in their own home but eventually realized that they would be unable to accommodate the large numbers of people attending.

Hendrickson then made arrangements to host the monthly game night on campus after the library closed on Saturday evenings. This provided a large, open environment in which attendees would not have to worry about disturbing students who might be working or studying.

Attendance at Game Night often ranges from 50-70 people and includes participants of all ages.

“It gives you an opportunity to enjoy other people’s company while also being competitive,” senior Benjamin Hayter said. “It’s not just [students] here. People from around town come in, so that’s pretty cool.”

Game Night is open to anyone who wishes to attend, with participants coming from Seward, Lincoln, Omaha, York, Norfolk, Grand Island and the surrounding areas. Those who attend are encouraged to bring their own board games or select one from the library’s extensive collection. The games offered range from social party games to deep-strategy games.

Snacks are also provided in what attendees refer to as a “snack potluck.” Bringing a snack to share is encouraged but not required.

The library’s board game collection is available for student use at any time, provided games stay in the library. Information about the category and difficulty of each game is provided.

The next Link Library Game Night is scheduled to take place on Saturday, Oct. 8.