At the P'tit Bar, the first Saturday of each month, it's game night. Friendliness and good humor are the seasonings of these evenings. The main course is modern board games to enjoy with family or friends.
This is how Simon Brault, creator and leader of the association The Ludo d'Iton (traveling toy library) presents the game evenings of Sainte Marie d'Attez (former municipality of Saint-Ouen d'Attez) since 2007. An event whose success has not diminished over the years in this small dynamic performance hall. Two arguments which in themselves justify my presence at this invitation!
The Town Hall's P'tit Bar is an associative café. Many famous musical artists have followed one another on its small stage and word of mouth is enough to bring in new celebrities. It is a 70-seat room nestled in the heart of a small village of 272 inhabitants in the middle of the Bretolian countryside.
My colleague Céline, her friend, whom we will call Tristan, and I therefore decide to participate in one of these game nights at the P'tit Bar de la Mairie. Those who come to get a scrabble board, a series of dice for yams or a tarot deck will find themselves empty-handed.. Here, we come to discover new things. The latest board games released. We discover, we learn, accustomed or not, we are all beginners.
We are the first to arrive. It's not quite 20:30 p.m. yet. Games are installed on a few tables, ready to use. At the back of the room, on the stage, a series of game boxes are classified by category (riddles, strategy, general culture, mimes ..). Simon greets us and, after some chatting, asks us about our tastes in games. Céline, attracted by adorable little wooden mice, invites us to play "Flute player". You have to be 4. Simon invites a regular, Mélanie, to join us to start the game. None of us know the rules. They are clearly laid out for us and we are starting out. Our actions are clumsy. Not sure of ourselves, a little shy, we play our way then we get caught up in the game and start to develop a strategy against our opponents for one night. It is ultimately Tristan who, with a masterful blow, eliminates two players at once and ends the winner.
When choosing a new game, I notice that the room was well filled. There is only one table available. We select “Pandemic”, a game where there is no opponent! As a team, we fight against four deadly diseases. It is Olivier, another regular at the parties, who will join us in this strategic mission. The number of pawns and accessories frightens us at first. But, there again, Simon comes to our rescue and explains to us in a clear way, the rules to follow. Olivier's bad luck makes us laugh a lot. But, we proudly end up victorious. Which is rare for beginners on this type of game.
We continue the evening with Olivier and we choose Quadropolis. Like SimCity, each will build different buildings in their own city to meet the needs of their citizens and outdo our opponents, each building allowing us to score victory points.
The atmosphere is friendly. The room is packed. Laughter bursts out on both sides. Some voices are raised in the heat of the moment. We sometimes have trouble getting along. We feel a little bit like at home and, as we would at home, the urge to enjoy a drink is felt. It is the Mayor himself who runs the bar. We order him 3 beers and a coffee for a ridiculous cost. Then we return to sit down to continue the game in progress.
Although all four of us are passionate about the game, it is still Tristan who scores the most points! But this time, it came close. It gets frustrating.
We must have our revenge! Like warriors thirsty for justice, we rush to a card game this time: the Barjot Penguins! You draw cards, you give two cards which do not interest you and which, if possible, do not interest your neighbors. We pose while trying to make majorities because, in the end, the majority scores all the points and the others only the lowest value… I admit, it took some of us a few minutes to understand how the game worked. ! By racking our brains too much, we all become crazy !! It is Tristan and Olivier who are equal winners. Nothing to do ! We will be the losers of the evening!
Celine asks for revenge, but it is half past midnight! We haven't seen the clock turn. The room gradually empties. We greet Simon and the Mayor by promising them to come back. The game demon has grabbed us and won't let go anytime soon! An appointment is therefore made for next month!