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Hospice, game store rolling the dice for a good cause in Campbell River

Inaugural Tabletop tourney kicks off on Friday, Oct. 28
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File - Just like the Realtor Monopoly tournament in Langley, Pair-a-Dice and the Campbell River Hospice are teaming up to use board games for a charitable cause. (Ryan Uytdewilligen/Special to the Langley Advance Times) (Photo: Ryan Uytdewilligen/Special to the Langley Advance Times)

If at the next family game night you find yourself frustrated by the prospect of having to pay rent as you pass GO and collect $200 in Monopoly, or you are sweating trying to gain a triple word score from Scrabble, don’t panic or lose your cool.

Because if you live in Campbell River over the next couple of weeks, the anxiety could be for a great cause.

Starting Friday, Oct. 28 the inaugural Tabletop Board Game Tournament commenced, hosted by The Campbell River Hospice Society and sponsored by Pair-a-Dice Games, Hobbies and Collectables.

Registration will start on Friday, with the idea being to get the community to gather and play board games through to Dec. 1. Participants then collect pledges and the hope is that the teams with the most money raised will be invited to the grand tournament final, scheduled to take place on Dec. 10 at the Pair-a-Dice store.

Volunteer and Event Coordinator for the Hospice Society, Hannah DeVries, says the organization has wanted to do something as creative and as original as this for a while.

“This is our very first one, so we hope the community can join us,” DeVries says. “With winter approaching, we wanted to do something that didn’t involve going out in potentially nasty winter weather.”

DeVries also said that social media will take centre stage during the tournament, with tasks being assigned involving going down to Pair-a-Dice to participate in seminars, or tagging themselves participating in the games with their loved ones. Points will be allotted from those tasks, with the winners receiving prizes in December, regardless of how much money will be donated.

“We really wanted to find a way to have a fun tournament that families can get involved in and take part.”

Board games can actually have a profound impact among those in palliative care. According to a 2021 study by BMJ Supportive and palliative care, card games can actually make it easier to talk about certain topics with terminally ill patients, like end-of-life, for example.

Any donation is accepted. However, for single players or pairs, the goal will be $250; For quartets, the goal will be double that. Proceeds for the tournament will go toward building new and robust programs focused on both children and teens.

“There is art therapy as well as play therapy.We of course have to be very fluid in what we offer to the community,” DeVries says, stressing that she hopes that the tournament will bring out anywhere from 30-50 participants.

For more information, you can visit their website at www.crhospice.ca/tabletop-tourney



About the Author: Edward Hitchins

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