The Third Place

Not long ago I read this piece on how cities have changed-and may need to adapt-because of the pandemic. How it's impacted our work, specifically has had a significant impact on our socialization.

We just don't need to be at the same places we were before. That is going to create a real shift in what we do and how we live. 

Then I read this comment at Reddit and something clicked. You may or may not be aware of the rise in the interest and play of boardgames but it's likely that isn't a new phenomena, given this blog's subject matter. The presence of Kickstarter has allowed a lot of people to create games that just wouldn't have seen daylight-for better or worse-and injected a slew of new people into the hobby. Magic has had their first billion dollar year. 

So, what are people doing? I wonder if they are going to game shops. Certainly they can have much of the criteria that are listed in the Reddit comment, because they encourage stretches of time for people to hang out. 

Not unlike pubs, which might be one other reason I like playing games at bars. 

But it's clear to me now that things aren't going back to the way they were. And we're going to have to be mindful about how we change going forward. It's a good time for that change, though.