Taiwan Embraces Board Games

Ralph Jennings of The LA Times posted an expose on the growing board gaming culture in Taiwan, noting the vast proliferation of board game parlors and cafés. Nearly 50 such locations have opened in the last five years just in the Taipei area alone, and more than 50 more throughout the republic. These venues have become recreational hotspots for people from all walks of life, and fertile ground for meeting likeminded individuals.

"You can interact directly with your friends. Everyone is at leisure and chatting. If you play on your cellphone, not necessarily so many people can participate."

Several factors have contributed to the rise of board games in Taiwan. In 2008, a local publisher translated many popular games into Chinese localizing these games for Taiwanese citizens, including university students who enthusiastically took up the hobby. At the same time, school teachers discovered the power of board games in the classroom as well. Jennings goes on to discuss Capacity, a gaming parlor chain in Taipei which stocks more than 200 games at some of their locations. Unlike game cafés in the U.S., many of these parlors charge hourly fees to access their libraries, but that doesn't deter the Taiwanese.

“After shopping and karaoke, this can be classified as a new type of entertainment, which is not expensive, and you can interact with friends and pass a lot of leisure time.”

The rest of the article is just as fascinating, touching upon the role of technology in this emerging trend and offering a prediction on how this piece of Taiwanese culture might evolve. Head over to The LA Times site for more.