{"id":79180,"date":"2025-03-10T16:10:12","date_gmt":"2025-03-10T22:10:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/?p=79180"},"modified":"2025-03-10T16:10:12","modified_gmt":"2025-03-10T22:10:12","slug":"calgarys-lgbtq-community-bonds-with-board-games","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/2025\/03\/10\/calgarys-lgbtq-community-bonds-with-board-games\/","title":{"rendered":"Calgary\u2019s LGBTQ community bonds with board games"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Your move:<\/strong> Event participants play the board game Splendor at The Sentry Box on January 24, 2025. Many games are played at Queer Calgary\u2019s board game events, but games like Ticket to Ride, Settlers of Catan, and Bonanza are most popular. (Photo by Catrina Bowles\/The Press<\/em>)<\/p>\n

Scott Young doesn\u2019t like curling.<\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s what he was advised to try when he wrote into writer Dan Savage\u2019s sex advice column Savage Love<\/em> \u2013 join a gay men\u2019s curling team.<\/span><\/p>\n

Young wanted to make friends in Calgary\u2019s queer community but had no idea where to start. He found Savage\u2019s advice \u201cstereotypically Canadian,\u201d but pretty much irrelevant to his interests.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So he started hunting, and stumbled upon something much more his speed. He found Queer Calgary\u2019s board game event.<\/span><\/p>\n

Young joined the non-profit in the early days of the event in 2022. Young found himself returning to help out more often, until eventually he officially joined the Queer Calgary team. He has volunteered at queer board game nights ever since.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe get a number of people who potentially are not safe at home,\u201d Young said. \u201cThey want a space away from that [where] they can meet people, make friends and be who they are.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The board game nights are held at The Sentry Box, a board game store in Sunalta, and welcome queer individuals of all ages.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Event holders have a policy against photos and video to ensure the safety of the participants.<\/span><\/p>\n

Despite not making any money directly from the free board game nights, Sentry Box event coordinator Liam McConnell likes that Sentry Box gets to exist as a \u201cthird place\u201d \u2013 a place to spend time away from home and work \u2013 for the queer community.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s had a positive impact on the place\u2026 reinforcing that it\u2019s a safe space,\u201d said McConnell.<\/span><\/p>\n

The event flourished over the past few years by offering a welcoming place for queer folks to gather in a low-pressure social environment.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Some nights see up to 30 people packing Sentry Box\u2019s upper balcony. Young estimates that 10 to 20 per cent of the crowd each week are newcomers.<\/span><\/p>\n

Though Sentry Box can handle the size of the group, the venue has limitations.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the things that comes up a bit is accessibility,\u201d said Young. \u201cThe venue… doesn\u2019t have ramps or access like that, and it\u2019s a multi-level building.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

According to a 2022 survey, LGBTQ individuals with a disability make up a little more than two per cent of Canada\u2019s population. Of these individuals, 20 per cent have a mobility disability.<\/span><\/p>\n

Queer Calgary has been hunting for a venue that can accommodate those with limited mobility, but many places can\u2019t handle the size of the gatherings.<\/span><\/p>\n

At the Jan. 24 board game night, participant Ben Newton handed out handmade trans pride flag stickers bearing stripes scribbled with marker.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere was an anti-trans protest that was going on downtown, and me and two friends went to a counter-protest,\u201d said Newton. \u201cI was introduced to this place through that … back in January.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Participants play a vast range of games at the event, including classics like Settlers of Catan and Code Names.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Newton, a self-proclaimed \u201cDungeons & Dragons theatre kid,\u201d said that tabletop role-playing games in particular appeal to the queer community.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt allows you to be yourself in a world that does not include any kind of hatred or politicians using you as a punching bag,\u201d said Newton.<\/span><\/p>\n

The queer board game nights offer an escape \u2013 and you don\u2019t need to like curling.<\/span><\/p>\n



<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Scott Young doesn\u2019t like curling. That\u2019s what he was advised to try when he wrote into writer Dan Savage\u2019s sex advice column Savage Love \u2013 join a gay men\u2019s curling team. [ READ MORE ]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":920,"featured_media":79183,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_ef_editorial_meta_text_assignment-slug":"SP1 Board Games","footnotes":""},"categories":[5,1107],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-79180","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"category-technology-and-gaming"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79180","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/920"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=79180"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79180\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":79485,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79180\/revisions\/79485"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/79183"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=79180"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=79180"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=79180"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}