On 28th August, in the small Gloucestershire market town of Newent, The Museum of Board Games opened its doors for the first time.  The owner-curator is Tony Boydell, highly regarded designer of Snowdonia, Ivor the Engine, Guilds of London and Scandaroon amongst other games.  The exhibition is largely the boardgame ephemera he has been collecting over years of designing and playing games with friends and family.

– Image by boardGOATS

At first sight it doesn’t seem like much—it is very compact, but actually contains a really surprising amount, and the games table front and centre, draws in unsuspecting visitors.  There are always a couple of games out on this table for people to fondle and play.  This could be anything from the fantastic War of the Daleks to Tiddley-Golf or Froschkönig.  As well as exhibits available to play, there are also little quizzes to encourage people to explore the displays and everything is labelled and tagged by the museum cat.

– Image by boardGOATS

For the most part The Museum of Board Games comprises games from the 20^th century, but there are also copies of The History of England (until George III) from 1803 and more recent games like Glory to Rome and Ticket to Ride: The Card Game.  The most unusual and rare pieces are on display in cases, but one of the nicest things about the museum are the stacks of game boxes ready to be taken off the shelf and looked at in detail.

– Image by boardGOATS

When anyone shows an interest in something, it will readily will come out of its box for closer inspection.  There is a remarkable number of games with a tie-in to TV shows, but also unusual items like a beautiful home-made copy of Monopoly themed round Richmond (London) and copies of L’Attaque! (which became better known when it was reimplemented as Stratego).

– Image by boardGOATS

In recent years, there have been exhibitions at the V&A Museum of Childhood and The British Museum, but this is a much better experience.  Although the exhibits are (of course) the centre of the museum, what makes a visit really special is the curator, Tony Boydell himself, and his remarkable knowledge of the games on display and of games in general.  Tony can talk for hours on the subject (and he will, if you let him), and as conversation meanders, he will reveal more treasures from the nooks and crannies of the museum.

– Image by boardGOATS

As an afternoon out, the Museum of Board Games is well worth a visit, though speculative visitors should be aware that it is currently only open on Fridays and Saturdays (10am-4pm).  It is also exceptional value, but anyone who really wants to support the venture, should visit the museum’s Patreon page.  For those who can’t visit in person, there are a couple of reports on the BBC as well as Tony’s Blog on Board Game Geek.

– Image by boardGOATS