I've been a true "gamer" for most of my life, just like most on BGG. Although I've enjoyed casual games and the classics like Clue and Monopoly, I was always on the lookout for those games that were a bit different, a bit more complex or immersive. Role playing games filled that void for awhile, but it wasn't until I got a copy of HeroQuest for Christmas one year that my eyes were opened to a vast, unexplored world in boardgaming. Ever since then, I've been buying and trying out a vast array of board games, and converting more than a few of my friends along the way. Over the past year, I've applied some of the techniques I've learned into converting my girlfriend to a "gamer." It was easier than I imagined.

My girlfriend, let's just call her "Elle" to make things simpler as well as honor her privacy, isn't exactly a stranger to games. She's played all the classics and loves board games, in general, so I had a bit of a leg up in this mission. At any rate, early in our relationship Elle and I broke out all the old standards, including one of her favorites, Clue. A couple months after playing Clue to death, we moved onto Risk, which she hadn't played in a very long time. Our first session was an eye-opener - she enjoyed the set-up almost as much as the game. Fascinated and sensing an opportunity, I decided to test the waters with a pretty simple game that would allow her a lot of customization and set-up - Pirates of the Spanish Main. And, hey, the game involves pirates! Who doesn't love pirates? Besides ninjas, I mean.

A few games of Pirates later and she was hooked. I introduced her to some of my variant rules for the game that allows for more strategy and less RAMMING SPEEEEED, and she started having even more fun. Before long, she was thinking of which ships she could take to upgrade her pirate fleet even before we played, which was an excellent sign.

Phase 3, or what most call the "gateway" phase, was Settlers of Catan. Of course. We were at a dinner party with some friends one night when one of her friends poked her head out of the kitchen and asked me if I had ever played a game called Settlers of Catan. I didn't have to say a word, really. I guess I must have lit up like a Christmas tree. A few nights later we had set up a gaming party and Elle and several of her friends were all gathered around a table just soaking up Settlers. After one game they were suitably addicted.

It wasn't long before they wanted more, and her friend that suggested the game also suggested getting Seafarers. Of course, I obliged, and ordered it and the 5-6 player expansion at my local game shop. A week later it was in and Elle and I went in to pick it up. They have a huge selection of games, so Elle and I went over to browse. She was like a kid in a candy store. She picked out an interesting little game called Taluva (great, great 2-player game, which I plan to review for BGG soon). She also kept coming back to this box that made her laugh. I was gazing at the back of the Twilight Imperium box when she came over with the Order of the Stick Adventure Game. "This is cute and funny," she says. "I want it." Who am I to say no to my girlfriend wanting an adventure game that pokes fun at adventure gaming? We broke it out that very night, and she absolutely loved it. She wasn't bored at all with the dungeon crawling aspect of the game, and the humor kept her intrigued and entertained. She was even better at keeping track of the rules than I was.

In short, I was having a great time with all this. The Order of the Stick has been a pretty lighthearted affair, fun and funny, especially if you're in on the joke. Our regular group has been getting more and more into Settlers and the various scenarios of Seafarers. Talk of getting Starfarers just recently came up. And yet, despite all the fun, I wanted more. I wanted to see how far I could really push this gaming thing with my girlfriend. I wanted... Arkham Horror.

I've been a Lovecraft fan since my early teens, and I've gone insane more than enough times playing Call of Cthulhu. A few years back I had a chance to play the original Arkham Horror, and I remember loving it. My girlfriend has heard me mention Chtulhu and the mythos on several occasions, always talking about it in excited whispers. With Halloween approaching she knew that I would be getting into that spooky spirit, and so when I mentioned how much I had wanted to get Arkham Horror, she said she'd give it a shot. A call to about 10 different game stores in the area later (it's between printings and hard to find!), and Arkham Horror was mine. In an effort to make the experience really authentic - and because Elle loves atmosphere and really getting into the spirit of things - we went to a few stores and gathered some wrought iron gothic candleholders, a whole bunch of candles, and a dark bronze deep chalice for a monster cup. We set up the candles and opened the box, and she was amazed at the amount of stuff inside. Plus, there were hundreds of chits for her to punch out, one of her favorite parts. About an hour of preparation, character selection and rules reviewing later, we set off to save Arkham against the lizard king, Yig. Of course, we got slaughtered. After the game, it was hard for me to tell if Elle really enjoyed it. She said she did, but I wasn't sure if she was humoring me. The next night, though, a funny thing happened - instead of wanting to watch our usual shows on TV, she asked if we were going to play Arkham Horror. So we did. And we lost again. It didn't matter, though, because we had a blast. Four nights in a row now she's wanted to keep playing Arkham Horror, trying new things, getting to know some rules we didn't notice the first couple of times. All in all, having a real fun time trying to save the world from ancient evil.

The ultimate coup de grace occurred tonight, though. While at a dinner party with friends, in the midst of playing Settlers as we usually do, Elle gets everyone's attention and says in a hushed voice: "We've got this great new game you guys are going to love. You've all got to come over on Friday night for Arkham Horror night at our house."

Yes, indeed, friends... my girlfriend is officially a gamer. And good god, am I so very proud.

That's a great story. Congratulations!

My wife hasn't gone for it to this extent, but my son (now 9) has. We played Arkham Horror the other night. I know it's perhaps not that relevant to the point of your post, but did you play with only one investigator each? I prefer this but, of course, it does make the game tougher.

Taluva is a super game. I was a little surprised, when checking my stats the other day, that it is my most played game. I think the fact that it's so quick to play has something to do with that though. I meet a mate of mine at a pub and we easily play 6 or more games in an hour or so, even with distractions.

I wish you countless happy moments together.

Yes, we've only played with one investigator each in all four games. I figured the game was much tougher that way, and so I wasn't surprised to get slaughtered. We did pretty well in our last game against Azathoth, though, so our spirits have been bolstered. We've both agreed that we'd like to try the game with two investigators each the next time we play.

I've been wanting to take Taluva over to one of the bars that a friend of mine and I go to regularly. I think it's a game he'd really like. We play Stratego and Cathedral while having a couple of drinks from time to time.

Thanks for the congrats and well wishes... I greatly appreciate it!

Loved the story. But in my world, this is the stuff dreams are made of.

good to hear...
Me and my girlfriend have been together since 6 years: she never played!
Last week end I managed to have a bet with her, if I had won, she would have played one game. Unfortunately I lost and... had to buy her a pair of shoes!

Next time, forget the bet, just go buy here a pair of shoes and you will get lucky... and she may even agree to a boardgame!

Heck, buy her two pairs of shoes if you can get all that!

mmm already tried (a silk night gown!). She was so happy (like we geeks receive a new game), but then when I pick up a game, she looked me in astonishment and said: "What?!? dont tell me u bought me this night gown just to push me playing your boardgames!"
and me: "Noooo honey! how could u even think that?!?! what kind of boyfriend do u think u have? I was just removing dust "

Great story Chris

james_bond:
How about first making a deal? Like: "I buy you a pair of shoes if you play a game with me". And maybe throw in some chocolate and lit candles to make the game more enjoyable?

Congrats! But you didn't "convert" her, from the sound of it; she was a boardgamer waiting to happen all along. Pandora, meet Box.

I was fortunate to marry my lovely wife gamer this past June. She loves abstracts and Settlers already. Im getting her to branch out more and have her asking me to play things like Dungeon Twister and Agricola. I love it! Of course I love her for other reasons too

I'm married to a gamer, though we rarely play two-player games together. We met at an RP club many years ago, but these days, with kids and a regular life, it's mostly boardgames and cardgames. Our kids friends used to comprise the game group and they will try most any game. It's great. Of course, we longed to find people our own age to play with...

Three or so years ago, a couple (in the five decade range, just like us) moved into the house next door -- their kid was also a game geek (off at college). I'll call them Dave & Nancy, because well... The four of us started having dinner together and it quickly became an every week thing... in the beginning, we took out Carcassonne (with a few expansions) and we'd been playing Euros with them after that.

After Christmas two years ago, they came over and saw Arkham Horror unwrapped and still sitting under the tree. Dave nearly lost his mind. "I just LOVE Lovecraft...". We were playing AH with them fairly constantly by the end of that month. Oddly enough, the first few AH runs with the kids were unsuccesful.

These days, AH is probably the most played game on our shelves. (The adult group plays primarily in winter, because summer sessions come after weekend yard work and are necessarily short. The kids play primarily around October, then occasionally during the year.)

As for our "adult" group, they are chomping at the bit to have enough time to learn Twilight Imperium and Here I Stand.

Nancy, whom I still consider to be quite 'foofy' once said, "If you had said to me a few years back that I would look forward to playing these kinds of weird games every weekend, I'd have said you were crazy. I tell my co-workers about our game sessions every Monday and they just can't understand the appeal. Maybe we should tape a session of Arkham Horror for them one day..."

It's really rewarding to introduce people to our hobby.

Madkestrel