Last night was the first of eight scheduled adult gaming programs at my library. I prepared by hooking the Playstation 2 up to the projector and plugging in the two guitars for Guitar Hero. I put out some snacks, turned on the speakers and hoped for the best. Being the first night, “best” in my mind was simply that somebody would show up. Sure enough, at six o’clock sharp my first enthusiastic attendee entered the meeting room. In advertising the program I had invited the public to come and play our games or to bring their own. I thought at most people would show up with game discs and hope we had the corresponding gaming platform. I’ll admit I was concerned that we wouldn’t. This first patron went above and beyond (and negated my concerns) by bringing his own Nintendo Wii.
I was more than happy to help him set up his equipment. He was thrilled that we were offering an adult gaming night. He was one of our previous Teen Game Night attendees that was less than happy when told that he had aged out of that particular program. He viewed Adult Game Night as a personal victory, and really felt that the Library was responding to his wants and needs.
I had a Library Aide come and assist me, as at this point I was beginning to wonder if anyone else would be in attendence. After two rounds of Guitar Hero (which made me feel better about dragging the equipment in from the Main Branch) and a complicated “Circuit” match in Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games, two more guys showed up to play. They proceeded to play several other Wii games and eat all of my snacks.
They discussed where they could take some of my flyers to try and inspire more participation. They also were interested in what games I would allow them to bring. We have rules about what games are appropriate for Teen Game Night, but with Adult Game Night I’m in unchartered territory. I decided that since everyone was over 18, we didn’t really need to go by game ratings but would instead operate under general consensus with me having the right to veto. Basically, as long as nobody objects any game may be played. I can’t think of any games that I would outright veto, but felt that I should reserve the right to do so.
Overall, I would like to think of this first Game Night as a success. While there wasn’t a huge crowd, there were three people there besides my Aide and myself. Perhaps even more importantly, they were all concerned with recruiting more people to attend. Maybe I’ll raise my standards for “best” and hope for at least five attendees next month.
