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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; Laurie Chappel and Anne McNevin wanted to make a positive impact in their community. They thought it&#8217;d be nice to have something on a weekend night that was fun, social and free, so they decided to start a board game night at Firwood United Methodist. The place of worship doubles as a game hall on Friday nights from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m., but the faith-free, non-discriminatory environment is created with one goal in mind: community solidarity.</p><p>&#8220;There&#8217;s no judgment, just come have fun and maybe learn about each other,&#8221; Chappel said. &#8220;There are a lot of really good people in the area. Sadly, you read about all the bad things that happen&#8212;all the crime and the violence&#8212;but there are people here who don&#8217;t want that and want to encourage community. It&#8217;s a fine way to pass time.&#8221;</p><p>Firwood&#8217;s game night doesn&#8217;t feature any electronic or video games; contests are settled with cards, dice, chips and tokens, a move meant to accentuate the event&#8217;s social aspects and appeal to a broad audience of game players. Chappel&#8217;s family serves as an example of the power of the board game.</p><p>&#8220;If I want to go to the movies with two of my kids and my husband it&#8217;s a $60 night for two hours of entertainment,&#8221; Chappel said. &#8220;If you don&#8217;t have a lot of discretionary income it&#8217;s prohibitive. I know in my family the kids are always saying they don&#8217;t want to play board games, but when we do we have such a good time. They always say yeah, that was a lot of fun.&#8221;</p><p>The games played, Yhatzee, Scrabble, Chess, Checkers, are admittedly simple games according to Chappel, but she said the attendees can make each game fun, funny and competitive. She hopes that attendees bring the games they love, the snacks they love and the people they love to Firwood United Methodist.</p><p>&#8220;We have an elderly woman who came in and I don&#8217;t know anything at all about her but she&#8217;s been coming back and she seems to be having a great time,&#8221; Chappel said. &#8220;We certainly welcome everyone who is interested and if you have a particular game that you like, bring it. One couple brought Jenga and that was a lot of fun. I know it sounds kind of simplistic, but it seems to work. No one is forced to play what they don&#8217;t want to play; some people just watch.&#8221;</p><p>According to Chappel, the game night is a diverse gathering of people&#8212;from the aforementioned woman to a mother who hadn&#8217;t played board games until one Firwood. Chappel and McNevin are aiming to create a welcoming atmosphere for all members of their community. That&#8217;s the goal; a safe, comfortable environment that encourages the community to come together and learn about each other.</p><p>&#8220;Wilkes-Barre gets a lot of bad press, but you have to realize if it was normal it wouldn&#8217;t be in the news,&#8221; McNevin said. &#8220;There&#8217;s a lot of nice people in Wilkes-Barre and we would like to get them together.&#8221;</p><p>Chappel and McNevin mentioned the possibility of tournaments&#8212;the latter would like to crown a Scrabble champion who would then defend their crown&#8212;but they&#8217;re also adamant about the event&#8217;s casual atmosphere.</p><p>&#8220;Everyone is welcome and you can try it out,&#8221; McNevin said. &#8220;It&#8217;s not like you have to join. You can try it out for a Friday night and if you don&#8217;t like it you don&#8217;t have to come back, or if you&#8217;re busy, you don&#8217;t have to come every Friday.&#8221;</p><p>Firwood United Methodist&#8217;s game night may take place in a church, but religion isn&#8217;t required to play board games. Game night may take place on a Friday night, but board games are a cost-effective alternative to other activities available during the same time. There may be a room full of strangers, but that&#8217;s the point; the easiest thing about the night are the introductions. Things get more complicated when the vowels start flying.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Board games at Firwood United Methodist Church&#8217;s game night hosted every Friday for members of the community. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/web1_gamenight011.jpg</photo0><caption0>Board games at Firwood United Methodist Church&#8217;s game night hosted every Friday for members of the community. </caption0><photoCredit0>Pete G. Wilcox|Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/web1_gamenight021.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Laurie Chappel, left, teaches Pam Challenger, left, and Bettie and Jeff Snyder how to play Tripoley at Firwood United Methodist Church&#8217;s game night hosted every Friday for members of the community. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/web1_gamenight021.jpg</photo1><caption1>Laurie Chappel, left, teaches Pam Challenger, left, and Bettie and Jeff Snyder how to play Tripoley at Firwood United Methodist Church&#8217;s game night hosted every Friday for members of the community. </caption1><photoCredit1>Pete G. Wilcox|Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/web1_gamenight031.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Julie Fluke, left, and Anne McNevin play Scrabble at Firwood United Methodist Church&#8217;s game night hosted every Friday for members of the community. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/web1_gamenight031.jpg</photo2><caption2>Julie Fluke, left, and Anne McNevin play Scrabble at Firwood United Methodist Church&#8217;s game night hosted every Friday for members of the community. </caption2><photoCredit2>Pete G. Wilcox|Times Leader </photoCredit2></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Firwood United Methodist brings people together over a game of Scrabble, Jenga, your choice</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Gene Axton</p><p>gaxton@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p>IF YOU GO:</p><p>What: A community-focused game night</p><p>Where: Firwood United Methodist Church in Wilkes-Barre</p><p>When: Fridays from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m.</p><p>How Much: Free! Attendees are welcome to bring snacks and games. Pop is provided.</p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Gene Axton at 570-991-6121 or on Twitter @TLArts</p></shirttailMeta></div>

What games will you play Friday night?