Chad Boudreau’s interest in board games began as a kid. He loved playing games like Monopoly, Trouble and Sorry, but the game he remembers most fondly was Scotland Yard, a detective game based in London.

Now, as one of the owners of Comic Readers in Regina, his childhood interest in board games has become a big part of his job. Not only does he get to play games, but he also researches new games to bring into the store.

“It’s a mix of experience and not-so-sophisticated shop-keep voodoo where my guts tell me that one game is going to be good and another is going to not be good,” he said.

When he plays board games, he often looks for a “real-time, in person experience,” a challenge for his brain, and an exciting thematic experience. And although he’s been part-owner of Comic Readers for seven years now, he said it’s still “like living in a fantasy.”

Although he loved his previous jobs in web development, working at Comic Readers, 42-year-old Boudreau says he is a “much happier person.”

When he stumbled across the manual for a post-apocalyptic racing game called Gaslands, he knew it had potential.

“The rule system is very well written, it’s very easy to grasp its concepts. But for me, the draw out of the game was to design the vehicles,” he said.

The object of the game is to race through rough terrain in a post-apocalyptic wasteland, while struggling for food and other resources. As you race, you’re willing to do anything to survive – including ramming, shooting at, and ultimately destroying any other cars that get in your way.

To play the game, players are expected to create their own cars, as well as their own terrain.

Before moving, you roll dice to shift gears, spin, or slide. After you move, then you have the chance to attack other cars.

The father of two had always loved the Mad Max movies, and the post-apocalyptic theme of Gaslands immediately appealed to him, even getting his whole family involved in the game.

Over the 2018 Easter long-weekend, he and his family spent the whole weekend designing and modifying their old Hot Wheels cars.

Since every member of the Boudreau family has varying interests, it proved difficult to find a game they all wanted to play together. But with Gaslands, the appeal lies in “the ability to do whatever you want.”

Boudreau’s 13-year-old son Breton is also hooked, and he loves the opportunity to go through their junk drawer.

“I like the idea of customizing them. We have a whole tub of Hot Wheels cars at home and they’re kind of sitting there not doing anything,” he said. “I think some of the cars have nails on them or just random bits of junk that we didn’t even know what it was in the first place, or old miniature pieces that were just left overs.”

Gaslands is the only miniatures game Boudreau’s wife, Shelley, will play.

“I got hooked on it because of the creative part of it, seeing the possibility in things, or in junk,” she said.

Boudreau’s enthusiasm for board games is infectious, which comes through in his role as an organizer of the Prairie Game Expo.

And for the second time last weekend, he brought Gaslands to the expo for the public to try.

The quarterly event is for everyone, but it’s especially a draw for game enthusiasts. Both seasoned and new players write their names in black sharpie on white tags at the registration table, and they begin playing a variety of both classic and new board games, role-playing games, and miniature games.

Six people ranging in age from 10 to 55 took part in a game of Gaslands on the weekend, picking their car out of the 12 the Boudreau family had created, and beginning their race to the finish line. Majority of the players had never played before.

“I know there’s players out there, but I think everyone is just playing on their kitchen tables right now,” he said.

Boudreau said the appeal of Gaslands, and of board games in particular, is in the ability to connect with other people.

“I think the whole idea behind gaming and why it’s gaining in popularity, is that we’re able to disconnect from our phones and our computers, from media in general, and just sit across the table from someone, engage in a game, and have a conversation,” he said.