Kevin Hawley, ELPL's customer service specialist, organized the event. Inspired in part by local libraries in Ohio — from which he moved about a year ago — he came up with the idea for the ELPL a few months ago. He said the first one was successful because East Lansing is a "young community."

“I saw other libraries in this area were doing it, too — the (Capital Area District Library) in Lansing and Okemos, they all have board game events, too," Hawley said. "I thought it would be of great interest, so we had a very good turnout. A lot of the other libraries, they started their events and had maybe six or eight people show up. We have 35 or so.”

Hawley said the event was a "win-win" for both community members and game publishers, as residents enjoyed a fun day in the dead of winter while publishers had an opportunity to promote their games.

“It’s a good use of library space and a good opportunity to come out on a cold day," East Lansing resident Allen Clarkson said. “We do come to the library quite often. We have four kids, and we try to take advantage of different activities and events inside the library.”

For the Clarkson family, the library's event was a bigger version of the game nights held around the family table each Saturday, 10-year-old Finney Clarkson said.

“It's got games I haven’t played before. ... Like this game, I think you have to collect the treasure, but if you've played before, you know how it works, and if you know how it works, then it's not as fun," Finney Clarkson said. "It’s a good opportunity to explore new games and have overall fun."

Family board games made up most of the available options, while some were more adult-centered. 

“We call these cooperative games, because instead of playing against each other, you're working together as a team,” Hawley said.

Different from more traditional board games, these cooperative games are complicated with more pieces and components, Hawley said. The newer games tend to be more expensive, and people don’t want to spend much on games they haven't tried first, so the event provided people a chance to try something new.

“I told (the board game stores and companies), we wanted general-interest games for everybody and not something very specialized," Hawley said. "Things like Dungeons and Dragons we can do, but they are not really for kids."

Hawley said East Lansing Public Library plans to hold the event once a month. If interest is sustained, the library will consider a weekly game event in the future and may incorporate longer, detailed games.