Director's Note | November 2015

In 1984, I walked to K-Mart with $30 cash in my pocket so that I could buy Trivial Pursuit.  I proudly purchased my very own "Genius edition," only to find out later that it was actually the "Genus edition."  I should have figured right then and there that Trivial Pursuit was going to be way over my 11 year-old head.
 
The first time I landed on pink, I was ready to show off my trivia chops.  After all, I'd seen about every Harrison Ford movie to date, AND I knew all the members of Duran Duran.  Well, what I didn't know was where Clifton Clowers lived.  I didn't even know who Clifton Clowers was.  I also didn't know a thing about Charlie Chaplin, Sergeant Bilko, or Eydie Gorme.  In the end, my mom earned her final wedge, and I had nothing.  I wanted my money back.
 
As an adult, I now know that playing games is not always about winning.  It's about having fun with friends and family.  It's about making memories that are still vivid more than 30 years later.  It's about laughing at somebody's terrible Pictionary drawing, like the one I have hanging on the bulletin board behind my desk.  It's about ladies who lunch over bridge or Mah Jong.  It's about chess tournaments in urban parks.  And, it's about cribbage games with Mom, a game affectionately referred to as "math class" by my husband.
 
If you like games, you will have to visit the library on November 21st, International Games Day.  The library will be a hubbub of gaming activity for all ages.  You'll find board games, video games, and even life-sized games.  Reconnect with your inner child and your competitive spirit on International Games Day.  And remember that it's all about having fun...but winning doesn't hurt.