The bustling and chaotic hallways of a High School were a place, a sound, an event that Sunset Shimmer knew well. It was something that she lived and for a while now had come to enjoy. It was the feeling of being surrounded by other people, all of them focused on similar things, like a class, homework, worries about an exam, or maybe more mundane things, like where to go for lunch, to see the new video of your favorite streamer, or maybe just passing time as some of your friends had after school clubs and you don’t.
While the last one was very specific, Sunset knew that, beyond the fact she was originally a unicorn from another dimension capable of casting powerful spells, in the day to day, she was merely just another teenager with teenager problems… give or take a monster or artifact from Equestria that had been sent to this world for safe keeping. One of these days Sunset was going to have a very long talk with a certain bearded one and his penchant for throwing things through a certain mirror way too many times.
Still, whatever the case, she was now without much to do this day now that classes were done for this week, and really, it was such a great Friday. Sure, she could go back home and finish some of the last side-quests that she didn’t finish on her stream of Tirek’s Revenge, but seriously, they were mostly grinding and she didn’t want to spend all day in front of her screen just doing the same quest over and over until she got the cool item, no matter how much her viewers prayed to RNG it got a little tiring just seeing common items being dropped.
Sighing after getting her locker in order, she was thinking about maybe getting a milkshake at the Cake’s place, or maybe going to the retro diner that Pinkie loved so much, when she first heard rather than saw several girls appearing at the end of the corridor.
Walking in her direction were three girls that she knew very well, and as soon as the pink haired girl saw her, she started to jump up and down as if she hadn’t seen her in years, even though the two had a class together just two hours ago.
“Hey Sunset! I’m so happy to see you!” Forever a ray of sunshine, but just like the sun, Pinkie Pie was fun, but it was a good idea to take her brightness in small doses.
“Hello my dear, leaving already? I don’t blame you for trying to take advantage of this beautiful Sunday instead of staying at school.”
“What’s wrong with spending time at school?” You could almost hear the furrowed eyebrows at such a thing being said, which made the other girl at her side raise a hand to placate her friend.
“I’m not insinuating anything darling, you also know how eager most teenagers are to scramble away from these halls, I have seen the display enough times with Sweetie Belle basically escaping from the place as soon as the bell sounds.” The sigh that accompanied that statement was understandable for Sunset, but for someone that truly loved the academic side of life, it was unthinkable to imagine ever running away from such a place.
“So, are you guys going anywhere? I was thinking about getting a milkshake to start the weekend on the right foot, what do you girls say?” Pointing with her thumb at the exit of the school. It was a great offer. After all, they were out, no magical shenanigans had happened in weeks and they didn’t have a mountain of homework, so what better way to unwind than to go out there and spend some time together as friends?
“Of course I wanna go!.. That's what I would have said any other day, sorry Sunny! I promised that I would help a teacher in the new break room.” Well, that was something that Sunset, nor the other girls had been expecting, Pinkie Pie rejecting the chance to indulge her sweet tooth? Well, she said she was going to help somebody, knowing her charitable soul when it came to helping others, yeah, they could see it coming. After all, while Rarity was the bearer of the element of Generosity, when it came to help and bring happiness to others, there was no one like Pinkie Pie, in either dimension.
“Wait, what is this about a break room? That is the first that I have heard about it.”
“It has been kind of a hush hush thing Rarity. There are still some things missing, but I’m going there to test a bit of those. Hey, why don’t you come with me? I’m sure you will find a fun game too! Then we can all go for milkshakes after it!” Apparently, Pinkie’s excitement motor was starting to go all cylinders by the way she was jumping in place at the idea of all of them going together.
“I… think so? Pinkie, what do you mean by games?” But the pinkette simply smiled and skipped along while her friends went after her, mostly due to curiosity at what the other girl was doing. Not too long after they reached their objective, a part of the school the bespectacled girl did not recognize.
“Wait, is this the old laboratory? My lord, I haven’t been there since Middle School.” Rarity was full of nostalgia about those days while Twilight simply frowned at those words.
“Yeah, now I remember, we got the new laboratory in the first year of High School.” Sunset had heard about the old place, but she had more use of other places when she was at her darkest, and after that, well, the new lab was more useful.
“Excuse me? What do you mean old laboratory? Do we have another one?”
“Oh no Twilight, no one has used this old place after what happened with Rainbow, Sandalwood and Valhallen… it took a month for my hair to stop smelling like smoke.” While she may have been a little infuriated back then, Rarity could take it lightly and even smile at the memories.
“I won’t ask, but what are we doing here Pinkie?” Instead of answering to her redheaded friend, Pinkie Pie simply went inside the renovated zone and the others followed closely, surprised at how different the place was to what they imagined. It was no longer a lab, with now long tables dominating the area instead of cement lab workbenches. There was no equipment like beakers and microscopes, instead, tall shelves in all the walls, and while most were empty, at one corner she could see that they contained boxes.
Colorful boxes of different sizes, of different colors, with different letters all shelved in different ways and Sunset felt her curiosity nagging her, pushing her to see what they said, what they were, but instead of following that path she, alongside her other friends, put their eyes on the only other person in the room.
He was calmly placing chairs in their place and with a rag he was taking the dust off of one of the tables before he noticed he wasn’t alone anymore. His dark hair was slightly spiky, in a perpetual state of not needing a haircut, but just slightly shaggy to look eye-catching, but his most recognizable feature was without a doubt his blue jacket with the double A in the back, the symbol of the All-American airborne division(1).
Sunset still remembered at the beginning of the year, when he arrived wearing that jacket and how Rover had joked about the symbol being of the other AA organization. Once they got the story of Pall Mall(2), well, the phrase 82nd All the Way was now something the school sports teams could rally behind.
“Hey girls, Miss Shimmer, Miss LaBelle, Miss Sparkle, hope everything is going well this Friday. What can I do for you?” The three girls that had accompanied Pinkie Pie went in and they all saw the changes to the room. It truly didn’t resemble a laboratory, with the big windows in the back letting in the light, making everything softer, and even with the few pieces of furniture around, the boxes on the shelves, it was… peaceful.
“Hey Professor, Pinkie Pie said she was going to help you with something?” Sunset was the leader at this point, seeing that the other girls were busy checking the decor… or lack of considering the place was still not finished, so Rarity was almost envisioning items and furniture. Meanwhile, Twilight put her attention on the different boxes around.
“Oh yeah, thanks for reminding me, glad you could be here Miss Pie. Sorry that I called for your help on a Friday, but considering how things are, I thought it could be good to have someone so attuned to fun and parties look at things.” The aforementioned party girl was busy twirling and jumping around the previous laboratory with a huge grin on her face.
“No prob whatsoever! I just couldn’t wait to get into the new collection as soon as I could!” it was clear how excited she was to do… something, Sunset wasn’t sure what, but it probably had something to do with the boxes?
“What is… this? Galaxy Trucker? Is this a game?” Twilight was pointing at one of those boxes, a black box with cartoonish letters. At the mention of the box the Professor walked up to her and took the box out, with everyone seeing the cover, a weird contraption flying through space hauling cargo and looking as if the ship was ready to disassemble in a thousand pieces.
“Yep, Galaxy Trucker by Desková Hra(3), a czech board game designer. I know the cover isn’t the best. I’m waiting for the new edition coming this year, much more colorful and nice to look at. Still, a great game.” He once more put the box on the shelf among the other ones.
“Wait, Professor, are you saying that all these boxes are board games?” Rarity was truly surprised at the amount of different games that were present in the room while her friends were gawking at the realization too.
“Indeed, it is a small collection compared to most hobby stores, but considering most were donations made by several of those same stores and owners, I am not complaining.”
“I… I don’t think I have ever seen so many different board games in my life. The only ones I ever saw were the ones in malls in the toy section.” Twilight was astounded. Never had she thought that the variety was so big, and the Professor had said this was a small collection?
“Let me guess, Monopoly, Clue and Risk?” At the three different nods coming from the teenage girls the Professor chuckled at their reaction, knowing well how a great percentage of people still thought that board games were just those three games repeated endlessly. “Well, considering the amount of space and the amount of versions they release every month, it’s not too surprising. Still ,there are literally thousands of games in the market, with more coming out every single week believe it or not.”
“Okay, that’s… something I didn’t know, but you don’t look too surprised Pinkie, why’s that?”
“Because board game nights are something of a Pie family tradition, silly Sunny.” That came out as a surprise… and not a lot considering how many crazy things happened in Pinkie’s life daily, but to hear that the Pie family liked board games? Were they talking of the same stoic, stony and grey people?
“Seriously? Is that why you have several of them whenever we have a party?” It explained a lot to Rarity. Besides, if it was a game used for gatherings, it was obvious now that Pinkie would know about them.
“Oh no silly, Battleship is Rainbow Dash’s game, we usually play other things in my house. We even have a ‘Monthly Pie Sister 1830 Tournament!’ Marble is the current champion, she reaaaaaaaally loves her trains!”
“1830? You mean the year it was released?”
“Nope, I mean the game. It’s a part of the 18XX genre of games of trains, stocks and making routes. It is so fun, well, if you like to be ruthless and screw with your friends over trains, but I suppose it’s an acquired taste.” To hear those words, that explanation coming from Pinkie Pie just left them floored. Did she just say her and her sisters liked playing a game with stocks and trains? Did a game like that exist and it was even a part of a genre? What kind of world was even board games?!
“If I could recommend something to you all ladies? Do not research 18XX games, even veterans at board games blanch at the mere mention of them. If the difficulty to learn and play games went from one to ten, they’ll easily reach the ten."(4) Okay, that was good to know, but somehow Sunset knew that they had lost the focus of their initial conversation, no matter how interesting it was to hear Pinkie’s interaction with her sisters.
“So, what is this place then Professor?”
“Glad you asked Miss Shimmer. You see, with the last few events and happenings on the school, mainly the increase of results and positive accolades that the school had been able to gather, which you all have been a part of may I say,” Sunset hoped he was talking about the non-magical accomplishments they had, which even she had to admit they had truly changed the school for the better, “the school board has increased our yearly budget, with the condition that the school should offer a space for both learning and entertainment.”
“Why would they even put that as a condition? Not that I am complaining about the results, but it does seem a little out of character.”
“Well, to be sincere Miss Labelle, your previous opponents at the Friendship Games had been subjected to a very in-depth investigation by the state authorities.” They all had to flinch at the mention of such an event, even Twilight seemed to want to curl like a ball at such a comment. Thankfully Sunset was quick to react and grabbed her friend’s hand, acting like an anchor that pulled her back from her memories.
“That probably wasn’t good.”
“Indeed Miss Pie. Thankfully no mention of magic or anything related to the portal was discovered, or if it was, it was quickly dismissed or promptly destroyed. Whatever the case, it is clear that Cinch is in a lot of trouble after the conditions the students were subjected to were discovered.”
“But I thought Crystal Prep always had great results?”
“Yes, but Sunset, you don’t know how Crystal prep is from the inside… or was. I don’t know how things are now, but it was an eat or be eaten situation,with everyone ready to do whatever it took to push others out of their perch. It was… lonely.” Her time spent at such a place truly seemed to have left her mark on Twilight with the way she talked about such a place, and it hurt Sunset’s heart to see her this down.
“Just like Miss Sparkle said, the school may have had results, but what that type of Spartan boot camp from hell attitude and such a toxic environment did to the students truly terrifies me. Many have been found with deep phobias and other psychological scars. Right now the newly appointed Principal Cadenza is doing her best to help change that, but until then Canterlot High reaps the rewards shall we say. So, with the aforementioned ‘rec room’ let’s put it, several ideas bounced until what you see is what was put in action.”
“What, a board game club?”
“Close Miss Sunset. This would not be a club, more of a recreation room where people will be able to gather, relax, play games with their friends and maybe even learn and practice different skills.” The Professor then got close to the filled shelves on one side and pointed at different boxes as he continued his explanation. “Board games offer such a selection of topics, mechanics, ways to play, to interact that you have it all. Games where you need to use quick mathematics to keep score of what you are doing, awareness where you have to see where the players and enemies are, physical skills if the game requires it, even social if there is trading involved!” The possibilities of things that could be done if his speech was right left Sunset Shimmer, well, speechless herself.
But, where should she start comprehending this whole world that had been left open for her and the rest of the other girls? There were so many names and boxes that were calling her! Splendor? Azul? 7 Wonders? Ticket to Ride? Carcassonne? Wingspan? Pandemic? So many different names, so many unknown boxes and names, where to begin?
“I haven’t heard of any of these. Mind you, I also have never been aware of the existence of this whole side of entertainment.” Rarity then tucked one of her curls behind her ear looking at the selection of games, and just like her friends, she wasn’t sure where to even start.
“Even with the, shall we say, rather small selection that we have, all the essentials, if we can call them that are there, but the good thing is that we still have quite the budget to fill all these shelves, oh Ikea Kallax(5) how much I love you… I’m… talking about the shelves,” he said a little awkwardly, noticing the looks that the girls were giving him. “Anyways, I think I know where we can start. Miss Pie has the most experience among you, but considering the group I guess I’ll go with this.” And just like that, he grabbed one of the boxes off the shelf and they all saw the striking colors in the cover.
“Nice, that reminds me of you Sunny.”
“Hey, you are right Miss Pie, a red and yellow sunset. Now that I think about it, the colors and image fit you, Miss Shimmer.” Taking the box to one of the tables, the four girls quickly sat down at different places around it and put their attention on the Professor. “Now, this box here has quite the story. While it may be hyperbole to say that this game changed how board games were played and made, it opened the gates of the dam, allowing a whole new world of ideas, mechanics and creations to arrive to the rest of the world. This little thing is called… Catan.” And like that, the dice had been cast, in a metaphorical way of course.
Author's Note
Oh yes, the dice has been rolled indeed, so you may be wondering, what is this thing? Well, it just came to my mind that, well, there are several really great stories in here that mixes EQG with rpgs like Dungeons and Dragons, but, D&D is just a sliver of what tabletop games offer to the world and in the last decade alone the world of tabletop has exploded like never before.
So, this is the idea, in here I will not only show board games that I consider amazing, but it will also help me show Sunset and the rest play games, get mad at each other and even resolve situations with a good game; all in all, I think we will all have fun with this one.
(1) Wonder who would that be? I think we may have met him in another story.
(2) Pall Mall is the EQG name of Sergeant Alvin York; if you want to know more of this amazing person, listen 82nd All the Way by the group Sabaton.
(3) That's 'Board Games' in Czech and I am refering to Vlaada Chvátil
(4) He is NOT kidding.
(5) Ikea shelf that is a must have if you plan on buying board games, its size is basically perfect to keep boards games in it and has a very nice price even if you don't plan on filling your whole house with them.
