On April 8 from 7 to 8 p.m. the Carmel Clay Public Library will host “The Rise of Tabletop Gaming” virtual speakers event. Jamie Beckman, young adult department manager at the library said, “I look to seeing teenagers and adults joining us for a fun, insightful chat with four board game industry insiders who are shaping the future of gaming from right here in Central Indiana.”

The Carmel Clay Public Library will host a live virtual discussion on the rise of tabletop gaming for teenagers and adults on April 8 from 7 to 8 p.m. According to Jamie Beckman, young adult department manager at the library, this event provides a behind-the-scenes look at how games are developed and where the tabletop gaming industry is headed as part of the library’s Spring Break Game Week. The event will be conducted virtually over Zoom and interested participants must register beforehand at this link.

“Through this event, participants will get to meet, interact, and chat with board game industry insiders John Waybright, Julie Ahern, Robert Geistlinger, (and) Matt Goldrick for an insightful discussion on the current state of the tabletop gaming industry,” Beckman said.

Sophomore Avinash Valuveri said, “I really enjoy playing board games, especially the online versions of board games. I’ve noticed that the pandemic has caused a lot more people to play board games virtually since it’s difficult to play them in-person, so it will be interesting to see whether or not the sales of physical copies of board games has decreased or not.”

Freshman Risab Anand said he agreed.

“I enjoy playing a variety of board games including Risk, Catan, and Chess,” Anand said. “I think it will be interesting to hear what these experts have to say about the current state and the future of board games from their respective organizational standpoints.”

Beckman said, “This event was difficult to organize due to the differing schedules for each speaker, and due to this high schoolers should seize this once in a while opportunity when they have the chance. I have had first-hand experiences in seeing how competitive high schoolers can become when it comes to playing board games, so I don’t see why they would not like to learn about the future of board games as well.”