It’s Your Move: Centre County Groups Gather for Fun and Games

Board games and card games are entertaining, fun pastimes for children, families and the young at heart. Many adults continue their family’s gaming traditions, or reconnect with them later in life.

Centre County has an abundance of game-playing groups, and some are open to all ages. Group members explain why they enjoy the hobby, and share some of their favorite games. 

CENTRE REGION ACTIVE ADULT CENTER: CANASTA 

Linda Bagley coordinates the Centre Region Active Adult Center’s Canasta Group, which meets on Tuesdays and Fridays at the Nittany Mall and usually draws about a dozen people. The goal of the rummy-style card game is to lay down three to seven cards of the same rank or number, and play to a score of 5,000. 

“One reason I like to play cards is I grew up playing cards,” Bagley says. “Then I was a caregiver for a family member. This was my big social outlet and I love it.

“I come from Runville, down by Wingate,” she says. “People come from all over to play cards here.”

Member Olga Middaugh says, “I play because it’s good for my brain. It’s good to learn new games. It’s a lot of fun.” 

Elaine Williams says, “With bridge you really have to concentrate and pay attention. You can be more social with canasta while you’re playing.” 

“We talk all the time while we’re playing,” says Sandy Shinham. “I didn’t know a single person until I came here. It’s great.” 

After playing canasta together, Middaugh and two other group members discovered they all live in Nittany Glen. On Sunday afternoons, Middaugh’s daughter joins her, Sandy Bittenbender and Ellen Boisvert at the Nittany Glen clubhouse for cards and board games.

“I just moved here,” Bittenbender says. “It’s a great way to meet people.”

CENTRE REGION ACTIVE ADULT CENTER: BRIDGE 

The Active Adult Center has offered bridge for at least 15 years, according to contact person Don McClintock. Anybody age 55 and up is welcome to play in the Bridge Group.

McClintock says they typically have one to three tables of players for Tuesday and Thursday meetings. 

“I would describe some of us as social bridge players, a few serious bridge players and some weak players,” says McClintock. “We get an occasional beginner and we help them along the way to get better. We also sometimes have classes.” 

McClintock and Bob Bowers, who sets up for the bridge meetings, both learned the game from their mothers. 

When asked what he gets from the game, Bowers says, “Entertainment, for me. It keeps your brain awake. It’s fun.” 

McClintock says, “[I like to] talk to people who have similar interests in common. Socialize.” He agrees it’s fun.  

“This game suits people who are patient, who think and plan, and understand basic principles like how to keep score,” McClintock says.

SCHLOW GO AND CHESS CLUB

Husband and wife team Mitchell Schmeisser and Amalie Klahr lead the Go and Chess Club at Schlow Centre Region Library, usually on the first and third Saturdays, but it can vary. Their Meetup.com group, Happy Valley Go Club, is a chapter of the American Go Association. 

Library reference desk technician Andrea Winters says, “I’ve been here 35 years and we always had chess. Go, probably about 10 years. Then we combined them.” 

Klahr explains, “Go is a two-player game played taking turns placing stones one by one, with the goal of controlling more of the board than your opponent. I wouldn’t say chess and go are similar games, but similar minds are attracted to both games.” 

The full-size go board has a 19×19 grid, and two smaller boards, 9×9 and 13×13, offer other options. The stones are placed on the grid intersections. 

Schmeisser says, “I really like go for its simplicity. It really feels like this irreducible thing. There are two rules that are actual explicit rules. Everything else about the game is a consequence of those rules.”

The group has had players from age four to 70s and up. About half are children. Schmeisser plays both games, but go is his passion. 

“There have been actual studies done on both go and chess that they will help with your memory at any age,” Schmeisser says.

“Chess is fun,” he says. “For me, playing chess feels like playing one corner of a go board. And a lot more rules.”

He recommends that people come to the club and play in person to learn go, instead ofplaying online.

SCHLOW BOARDGAME MEETUP

The Boardgame Meetup at Schlow Library meets once a month, usually the second or third Saturday. Organizer Melissa Fronzeo recommends checking the library calendar. 

The group is cosponsored by Schlow Library and the Tabletop Gamers of the State College and Central PA Area, a Meetup.com group which posts both their library events and Comic Swap board game events.

Fronzeo has attended the Boardgame Meetups since 2019 and says the first posted Meetup event was in September 2012. Post-pandemic, attendance averages 10 to 20 people. Participants range from kids to retirement age. 

She enjoys the social aspect and the problem-solving. “I will play almost anything—not word games.

“I like the thinking aspect,” Fronzeo says. “I really enjoy learning games and learning new mechanics. I’m not super-concerned about winning. The conversations are normally really great and I often end up teaching. I really enjoy playing the games.” 

Attendees play board games, card games and dice, using a small board to keep score, and use participants’ games instead of Schlow’s. 

Fronzeo says the types of games people bring include those involving cooperation, trick-taking, set collection, bidding, deck building (where players buy things to become specialized) and worker placement (where workers can block others). 

“It’s just been a lot of fun,” she says. “I look forward to it. I’m going to immerse myself in this thing, and that is my fun time.” 

WOMEN’S WELCOME CLUB OF CENTRE COUNTY: GAMES NIGHT

“This is a group that combines both Women’s Welcome Club and University Women’s Club,” says Penny Smith, the Games Night interest group leader. 

At one point, she says, the games nights of both groups started meeting together, and they have continued together. Members of both clubs can join. The group meets on third Mondays at Perkins Restaurant, with six to 12 usually attending. 

“Five Crowns is the popular one,” Smith says. “It’s an easy rummy-type card game. We don’t have a lot of room at these tables. We found that card games work better for this group. Occasionally we play other card games, such as Skip-Bo, Quiddler or Phase Ten. Sometimes we have a group playing Rummikub, another rummy-type game with tiles. 

“We help the new people who never played it before,” she says. “This is a very casual, friendly group. The nice thing about Five Crowns is you can talk and have conversations going.” 

Smith joined both clubs when she retired so she could meet new people and get into activities.

Another member, Terry Jurewicz, brought Uno Flip and Skip-bo to play. “I love to play games, particularly card games. For the Women’s Welcome Club, I started a canasta interest group.”

New member Halena Procopio Ross considers Games Night “a nice way to destress after work. Do it for a fun time out.”

UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST FELLOWSHIP GAME NIGHT

Coordinator Linda Eller started attending the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Centre County’s Game Night in 2009. “We play games all year round.” She says before COVID hit, they’d have two dozen people. Now six to eight is typical. 

John Chubb, a Game Night member, says, “We play mostly board games and card games that are European-style. Pretty much everything we play has an end condition built in. Usually, the game states how long you’ll play.

“Usually, you’re not trying to eliminate or kill, so everyone plays till the end,” he says. “It’s a nice way to be interactive and exercise your brain a bit.” 

Chubb says the Game Nights have been meeting for nearly 20 years, and the Fellowship has a large closet of games that can be borrowed. 

Eller says, “Probably 90 percent of the games we have are not games people have heard of.” Some of her favorites are Dominion, Wingspan, Power Grid, Las Vegas and 7 Wonders. 

“I enjoy it,” she says. “The reason I play games is because you’re out with people and talking to people and it’s also fun. 

“We’re always willing to try new games and we always like having new people come,” she says. “Come and play games!” T&G

Karen Dabney is a freelance writer in State College.