Nathan Howard
I grew up playing games with my family. My brother, Kit, was closest to me in age and as a result I loved to try to do everything he did. We played games growing up such as Bermuda Triangle and Husker Du?, but he was four years older than I was and as we both aged, our gaming moments waned. I was about ten years old when he first got into Dungeons and Dragons. I, as the annoying little brother, begged and pleaded with him to let me play in his campaign. Finally, he relented and allowed me to play. Within ten minutes my character was dead and I was crying. That was the last time he let me join his game.
Years later, our shared love of games came back together with our mutual love of Star Wars. In 1995, Decipher released a Star Wars Customizable Card Game. This once again had us together at the game table. Star Wars is also what led me to Settlers of Catan and quickly exposed me to the then just beginnings of the board game hobby.
With the evolution of the Meeple Nation, my love for board games and the joy of meeting new people and forming new friendships continues to grow. I share games with my amazing wife and two wonderful daughters. As my daughters have grown and moved out on their own they are taking that love with them too.
I cherish the memories I have of gaming with my family growing up, and even the memories of dying during my first D&D campaign. Because of those memories, gaming moments with friends and family will continue to be a big part of my life.
Andy Holliday
My love for board games started at a very young age. We played the classic Milton Bradley, Mattel, and Parker Brothers games. I grew-up on a dairy farm with no TV for much of my childhood, so playing board games with my family was one of the few ways to find a bit of levity in between school, homework, and chores. We only had one game in the house that was not the run of the mill Monopoly, Risk, or Stratego type of game. This game belonged to my father, and we were only allowed to play it with him (which was rare; if you have lived on a farm, you know why). This was the Farming Game (he may have been a little obsessed). We always looked forward to playing this game, whether due to the fact that we seldom had the opportunity to play it, or that it was one of the few times that my dad would take time away from the farm to play a game with us. Likely a bit of both.
As a teenager in the early 1990’s the farm was sold, and we moved to the city where I was introduced first to Dungeons and Dragons (AD&D 2nd Edition), and then a short time later to, what I consider my first “non-conventional” board game, Hero Quest. I worked during the summer to earn enough money to buy my own copy along with a copy of a similar game published by TSR called Dragon Quest. I cannot count the hours spent playing these two games with my brother Jason, and these times are some of my fondest memories of my early teenage years.
My love a gaming has definitely evolved over the years. From those times playing board games as a child in our tiny farm house in rural Utah one thing has not changed--I love the fun times and the relationships that are built and strengthened because of board games. There are several people that have become my family, even though we aren’t actual siblings, and I know this due, in part, to our mutual love of gaming. This has been a great hobby and it has been the ultimate enjoyment to pass this passion on to my own children. Some of the sweetest music to my ears comes from one of my kids asking, “Dad can we play a game?”
Douglas Stewart
Growing up, family time at my house usually meant busting out the cards for a little game called Screwy Louie (a variation on Rummy). That's when my love for card, board, and other tabletop games started. It’s also when I learned that nobody talks more smack than my mother. Seriously, she’s a pro.
My interest in board games was increased by an order of magnitude in 2003 when a friend introduced me to a homemade copy of Settlers of Catan. At the time, we were living in Japan and couldn’t find the game anywhere. He solved the problem by making a copy with supplies from a local craft store. One play was all it took before I was off to purchase materials for a copy of my own.
In more recent years, the tabletop hobby has served to help me develop deeper relationships with my wife and children, make incredible new friends (like Meeple Nation), and improve some of my socially awkward habits (probably...maybe).
In 2019, I converted a portion of our basement into a game room that my kids nicknamed “The DIG.” It’s short for Doug’s Institute of Games, and our family hosts regular game groups there several times a week. Whether we’re populating a habitat full of high scoring wildlife, fending off an alien invasion, or defeating the Dragon of Icespire Peak, everyone has a seat at our table (especially if you bring snacks)!
James Clarke
Nathan's mother used to live next door to my home and we played many new games I never knew existed because of his love for board games. I had played plenty of the old standard games that everyone plays when they are younger. Carcassonne and many of the expansions was one of the first games we played together. Lord of the Rings trading card game was a lot of fun too and got me interested in trying out Magic the Gathering, even playing Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh! with my kids. The thing I really dislike about trading card games is when the publisher prints a new update to the game, you have to keep purchasing new sets of cards to stay in the game and that can get very expensive over time. I really enjoy deck building games like Dominion and Legendary, and cooperative games similar to Castle Panic the best.
I also enjoy playing chess on chess.com with friends and family. Fly fishing is one of my all time favorite things to do, especially since I finished School in Software Engineering I have become a little bit obsessive about it. I also enjoy Wood Carving, Wood Burning, and Watercolor painting. I also do 3D CAD design and 3D printing as well as laser crafts. I have a son and daughter who are grown now with my wife of 34 years. My wife even helps with the editing on Meeple Nation. Board games bring friends and family closer together with the shared experiences and lessons that can be learned and taught together.
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I maintain the website for Meeple Nation and SaltPod podcasts.
Emeritus Hosts:
Ryan Decaria
Brent Mair
