The Mancos Public Library will host a series of events in celebration of International Games Week, which runs Nov. 4 to 10, giving local residents an opportunity to bond over friendly competition and strategy.
Next Friday and Saturday, Nov. 9 and 10, the library will pull out its collection of board and video games from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. to give families and the community at large an opportunity to play anything from outdoor chalk games (if the weather is nice) to popular board games like Pandemic.
The Mancos library owns five video gaming platforms, including retro systems like the Super NES and Xbox 360, and a large collection of board games, all of which it will make available to participants during the weekend events.
Jenny Kitchen, the young adult services manager at the Mancos Library, says the events are among the only of their kind in the Montezuma County area. For this reason, she says the events are meant for a much larger audience than just Mancos, and that residents from Cortez to Durango are invited as well.
“It’s for everyone in the southwest corner, even if you don’t live in Mancos,” Kitchen told The Journal in an interview.
The library is also hosting a series of events targeted to teens and youth over the coming weeks. In addition to the events next weekend, the library will also host a teen game night from 7 to 10 p.m. on Nov. 6, and a youth gaming event from 4:15 to 5:15 on Nov. 14.
On Saturday, Nov. 3, teens are invited to the library for a night of Fortnite Battle Royale, a popular free-to-play video game available on most popular gaming platforms. Participants are invited to bring their own devices or take turns on the library gaming systems, from 7 to 10 p.m.
On Nov. 7, from 4:15 to 6:15 p.m., the library will host a gathering for Pokémon players, giving youths an opportunity to play the popular trading card game with their own cards or decks borrowed from the library.
Kitchen says this series of events highlights the breadth of resources that the library offers, going far beyond book loans.
The library hosts monthly game nights for both youth and children and always provides games for playing on the premises.
