Games in the Stacks: Sourcing Board Games and Tabletop Role-Playing Games for Your Library

Abstract

One of the many words I use to describe myself is gamer. I’ve been watching my parents play board
games and tabletop role-playing games for my entire life, and I’ve been playing them myself for
nearly that long. I volunteer at conventions each summer to help others experience the joy these
games can bring, and I’m a proud member of ALA’s Games and Gaming Round Table (GameRT).1
There’s something for everyone, from well-known classics like Monopoly and Dungeons and
Dragons to modern standouts like Exploding Kittens and Heart: The City Beneath. Just like how
there are patrons coming into the library who want to read James Patterson’s newest book or watch
Tom Cruise do his own stunts, there are patrons who love to sit down at a table and play