WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Being stuck indoors may seem like the perfect time to fire up your gaming console and sink some time into a video game that can transfer you to another world.

 

But it may leave you disconnected from others.

 

"I think many of us are finding ourselves with way more time than expected and it can be easy to just do the same thing literally for days (guilty, personally), which I think isn't necessarily great," Niko White, owner of Purple Dragon Games, said in an email exchange. "Changing up our pastimes and especially how they engage us and what they test can be a big help."

 

White said video games are a fine way to pass the time while stuck at home but if you are on lockdown with other people, why not unplug and set up a tabletop game?

 

"I think one of the big things that wear on us is the isolation part of social isolation. Having some conversation with other folks is great, but if you're in with the family, as I am, a structured activity like a game can be a great way to get some interaction while also passing the time," White said. "In particular there are some great recent cooperative games. I know being cooped up with my parents, I don't want to end up at each other's throats! So a game where we all work together to defeat it can be just the thing."

 

White said there is a lot of crossover between tabletop and video games and folks may find the transition a lot easier than expected 

 

"There's not a strict line between them exactly, but I think the tactile element and the direct social element are both really important," White said. "Both in general and in times like this." 

 

But there are differences and White said although there are exceptions on both sides tabletop games tend to be more mentally engaging than their digital counterparts.

 

"I think pretty much any of them have virtue and build skill, but an awful lot are based more on reflexes or spectacle," White said. "So tabletop can provide some variety that isn't immediately apparent. Most of them can't be as visually interesting as a current movie or challenge your reflexes like an action-based video game, but outside of dedicated electronic puzzle games, you're unlikely to find other options that require that kind of tactical optimization."

 

White has some suggestions for those interested in tabletop gaming:

 

Cooperative communication games

 

"Mysterium" (2-7 players): "One player is the ghost of a murder victim, the rest are 1920s-style psychics trying to solve the murder. The ghost needs to tell the psychics how to solve the case, but can only do so via bizarre visions. It's easy to learn and understand, plays quickly, and the vision cards the ghost gives out are pleasingly incomprehensible. Highly recommended and suitable for all experience levels."

 

"Spirit Island" (2-4 players): "One of my favorite games of all time. It's much more rules-heavy than 'Mysterium,' so might be hard as a first game, but we've all got a lot of time, and YouTube tutorials are available and good. In this game, players are the magical spirits of an island being colonized and have to drive off the colonists using their own specific powers. Tons of replay value and variety."

 

For competitive games

 

"Eternal: Chronicles of the Throne" (2-4 players): "is a head-to-head deck-building game, meaning everyone starts with a similar starting deck of cards then customizes it while playing the game. (It's not collectible like Magic or Pokemon — everything comes in the box). It's got an attacking element other deck builders like 'Dominion' don't, making it a nice change, and it plays fast so you can jam a lot of games, which in my mind makes losing matter less."

 

"Clank!": "is another deck builder I recommend a lot. It's about sneaking into a dragon's castle and stealing loot. It's got a really pleasing combination of good flavor and good mechanics and is great if you feel like your tabletop game needs to have a board and pieces moving around on it. There's also an In Space version for more variety or if you prefer sci-fi."

 

White said currently he has at least one of each of these games in stock and does offer curbside pickup locally. He said people can reach out to him via email or Facebook.

 

But the very thing that makes tabletop gaming so special creates challenges operating a shop during the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

"This has obviously been a hard time for the store since a lot of what I wanted to do was run a community space with events, and that's not happening for at least another month," White said. "It's important to me to keep people safe, so I closed down as soon as the schools announced they would be, and was thinking hard about doing it even earlier."

 

White said luckily Williams College owns the space and is understanding of the situation and also wants to keep Spring Street alive. He is not too worried about losing all his capital to rent while closed.

 

"I do tend to turn a small profit while open, so only losing money very slowly is still a hit," White said. "And of course, it's possible I'll lose momentum, though I think it's much more likely that as soon as people can come back, everyone will be overjoyed and swamp me."

 

White understands that it is important to keep a community together during these times even though they are forced to be a part. Through Discord, a voice, video, and text platform primarily used in gaming, he has set up an active Dungeons & Dragons group and one for "Magic: the Gathering" players. 

 

"I've been running my usual tournaments online, which people enjoy, though I think we all miss the personal community," he said. "I also run a few board games over Discord where possible, though that's difficult, you need to use either a webcam, an online port, or hack something together in a spreadsheet."

 

White said although he has some games in stock, what he has is limited because many distributors have also shut down.

 

But he is available to make suggestions.

 

"There are a ton of other good games, and I'd be glad to give individually tailored suggestions over email or Facebook.," White said. "Not like I have much else to do, after all!"