Board Games - Who likes them? Who hates them?

Preface:

Ever since I was a child, I have enjoyed board games of all varieties and it is only recently that such an enjoyment has turned into a hobby.  My dilemma doesn't come from my new-coming to the category, well at least a few generations' worth, of board game enthusiasts; rather, my difficulty with my hobby is the never-ending battle to find people who are not only willing to try a board game that they have never heard of before.

The Gateway Game:

The largest issue that I find with non-gamers is a hesitance toward all things related to board games due to a childhood scarring from the evil, and ever-repetitive, Monopoly.  First and foremost, I have found that the best introductory game to any and all hobbyist board games, is not Monopoly - in fact, it's chess!  If chess is too deep of an intellectual game (that is not to say that prospective players are too daft to comprehend the game, though some players may not enjoy an intellectual bout) then checkers is a very close second.  I mention these two age-old games because they introduce concepts that permeate through all games today - clear, concise, and finite rules that translate into an insurmountable possibility of movements and actions.  Again...ERASE ALL CONCEPTIONS AND BELIEFS OF MONOPOLY AS THE GRAND-FATHER TO BOARD GAMES!  This game was great in its day, but has long overstayed its welcome in the board game "world".

When I say "No Monopoly", I mean it!

As a self-proclaimed nerd, I can say that my largest personal complication with playing games in my collection sits within the challenge of finding friends/family that are willing to venture out for an hour, or more, to play a game.  The single most difficult challenge in this venue is finding games that my wife-to-be will enjoy as well as myself!  My fiancée enjoys the occasional game of Guillotine or Fluxx; she RARELY enjoys a game of Arkham Horror (admittedly, it's a stretch to even state that for her attention span is gone after the first hour - with a game that takes AT LEAST 2.5hrs to play, the lack of attention proves a problem).  That being said, any and all party games we have in our collection are instant favorites of my fiancée's and though they aren't my favorite genre, I'll gladly take any game she enjoys!  With my passion for horror/fantasy themed games and my fianceé's passion for fun party-type games, I feel I need to mention various types of "gamers" I've encountered during my journey to growing a group of fellow hobbyists.

Types of Board Game Players:

Enthusiast - People with this type of personality welcome any opportunity to try new games (board, card, or party alike).  They often find themselves not only trying to play every rule perfectly, but also attempting to commit such rules to memory.  Board games aren't so much of a collector's hobby for this gamer, they are a passion - an escape.  The Enthusiast does what he/she can to broaden their game collection in an attempt to have games that all groups of friends/family will enjoy regardless of the occasion.  I would categorize myself in this group.

An Enthusiast's Game Collection

Hobbyist - This is an interesting group of personality for their interests lie not in playing the games, but in collecting them.  These gamers will spend hours upon hours painting their Warhammer miniatures to their perfect expectations.  Many will theory-craft (a term used to express the process of reviewing and running scenarios of game play in ones mind over and over to try to establish meta-strategies to trump the mechanic of a game) their favorite games, or even run real-life scenarios in a single-player setting.  Hobbyists don't play games for the social aspect, they play it for the enjoyment of the game itself - games are a direct interaction between the game and player.

A Hobbyist in his natural habitat

Casual - Any and all games serve one purpose and only one purpose, to serve as a medium for social interaction.  These players do NOT enjoy games with heavy rule books, complicated play mechanics, or deep strategy.  What is needed for this disposition toward games is a set of easy-to-learn/easy-to-play games such as party games (i.e. Quelf, Why Did the Chicken...?, or Apples to Apples).  A casual views games as a way to fill the awkward silences that are bound to happen during any social exchange, but the game, itself, is to be more of a background action.  My fiancée is categorized in this group.

A Casual gamers' go-to...especially when alcohol is involved

Scrooge - Plain and simple - this person will not play any game other than their absolute favorites (even then, getting them to play is a challenge).  From my personal experience, this personality tends to exist in the older generations when Scrabble and Monopoly were "les pieces de resistance".  A variation on this personality is a person who will play games with which they are unfamiliar, but once the game begins, complaints about rules, actions other players make, or severe over-thinking (known as analysis paralysis by the hobbyist regime) ruins the game for all others who partook.  My parents are both in this category (my father being the latter variant).

An artist rendering of a Scrooge shortly after hearing the rules of Arkham Horror

Conclusion:

I know that people cannot be categorized and compartmentalized into the finite descriptions provided below, but the list is that of extremes, not mediums.  At times I find myself meshing between an Enthusiast and a Hobbyist while my fiancée, pending a good/bad day at work, can be a Casual/Scrooge.  The important thing to note, and the purpose of this Blog, is to say that not every friend or family member is going to enjoy the same games as you, nor you, they.  A great game night host will recognize such a fact and will implement a variety of games, perhaps even several games going at once, to satisfy the needs of all guests regardless of their board game disposition.  In so doing, you can expect your game collection to grow infinitesimally, meaning your pockets had better be quite deep!

What gamers have you had the privilege, or dishonor, of joining on the "battlefields"?

As always, thanks for reading, and happy gaming!