Nerd|Otaku’s Board Games and Karaoke – A Personal Experience

Picture this, it’s a Saturday morning and you just spent your Friday evening, binge-watching your favorite show for the billionth time. Now, the nerd in you is looking for a good time in a way that still pleases the introvert in you. Look no further than Nerd|Otaku’s Board Games and Karaoke events. Held at least once a month, board games and karaoke day has become both a fan favorite and a personal one! People gather one Saturday a month to share their love for various board games and sing their hearts and lungs out during the karaoke session of the event. 

It is held at either of the two locations with which Nerd|Otaku has an ongoing relationship; Zest Bar and Restaurant and Scallywags Café and Restaurant. While there, board games and karaoke attendees have a variety of food and drinks to buy and enjoy! The staff at both establishments are always welcoming and attuned to our nerd needs.

Board games and karaoke days are curated to cater to all kinds of board and card game enthusiasts, so you can’t get bored and discard whatever you’re playing. The games range from something as simple and straightforward as ‘What Do You Meme’ to more complex ones like ‘Bang’ and ‘The Resistance.’ Karaoke is more freestyle and appeals to even the least vocally talented, like myself, for example. Something as easy as singing the theme song to a favorite TV show or cartoon brings so much joy to the singer, as well as the crowd.

I’ve personally had the distinct pleasure of partaking in almost all of the games played at these events, and enjoy myself every time. The following are my top three board games played at the board games and karaoke day. I play them every time I attend, without fail.

Starting with my number one favorite; UNO. This is an interesting card game that may or may not require skills and strategy to win. The best thing about UNO is that the rules of the game or even how it should be played is often left to interpretation. One version of how to play the game is that a group of seven or eight people are each served seven or eight random cards, and they have to make sure they drop or get rid of all of their cards in order to win. Sounds simple right? Wrong! The twist of the game is that the number on the last card to be dropped by someone can be challenged by another player who happens to have the same number in their stack of cards. Once challenged, the player who dropped their last card picks up a new card from the fresh pile, and the game continues for them, and everyone else. Sometimes, I wonder if there’s actually winning a game of UNO due to the rules and twists it has. But all of that makes it even more fun.

Another personal favorite, 30 seconds utilizes general knowledge, as well as imagination. As a writer, I have a lot of fun playing this game because I reign free with the descriptions of objects, people, or whatever is on the card to describe. Similar to charades, 30 seconds is a game that requires a lot of descriptive words. The nitty-gritty of how the game is played depends on how strict the players decide the game will be. Overall, it’s a two-team game that has a board, dice, and 30-second hour glass, where a member of one team picks out a card that has random words, objects, people, etc., to be described. The team member with the card in their hand has to describe the things on the card as best as they can without saying the actual thing or giving direct clues. All in under 30 seconds. It’s as exciting and stressful as it sounds. I love it very much.

The description of the game is in the name itself. This board game or rather, card game, is about memes! There are two piles of cards; a pile of popular “meme-able” pictures and a pile of quotes or captions to match with a picture from the ‘pictures pile.’ From my experience, this is a game you would enjoy most if you played it with friends with whom you share a sense of humor. I say this because you win this game by matching a caption to a picture and then, a judge (someone from amongst the group) gets to pick which caption and picture (or meme) tickles their fancy. Each person gets a turn to be a judge! In my opinion, winning this game is dependent on knowing what the judge for that particular round finds amusing so that you tailor your meme to their humor. I recommend this game to a group of close friends.

This is not a comprehensive list of all the board games played at the board games and karaoke event. These are just my favorites. Other games played, or featured include but are not limited to; Bang, Blitz, Jenga, Monopoly, Six Up, and Moose Master. All of them are just as enjoyable, according to personal preference. Up next is the highlight of the event for me; karaoke!

The karaoke part of the day/night is my all-time favorite. I get to sing my tunes at the top of my voice, off-key and all. The crowd is always supportive and cheers on everyone who goes on stage. My favorite karaoke song choices are by artists who are as close to my voice as possible or artists who aren’t vocalists because I can’t hit those high notes. (This is a karaoke hack, by the way!)

I also enjoy group performances, and duos done by other people, so when I can’t see the lyrics to whatever song I’m singing, I have backup. The environment when Jericho by Iniko begins to play or Dirty Diana by Michael Jackson comes on, and the crowd loses its collective mind is beautiful. It’s worth showing up and showing off even just for that.

Aside from the board games and karaoke, I enjoy spending time with my friends and new people. Sometimes, we just get to chatting and dining and don’t do much of board game playing or singing. I enjoy making new friends as well, as there are always new people attending the event for the first time. Just as I was, once upon a lifetime ago. I always look forward to expanding the nerd community and welcoming new members.

So, with these not-so-few words from an avid fan and regular at the events, what is your takeaway? Are you going to attend the next board games and karaoke day?