“My ultimate goal is to introduce board games to people who don’t know anything about board games,” said Jenna Beasley
A local YouTuber is gaining attention from the board game community online.
Jenna Beasley is a Guelph resident who started posting blogs and home decor videos on YouTube on her main channel. Jenna Roseeight years ago.
In May, she launched a second channel called The board game gardenthat combines lifestyle and board game content with the ultimate goal of getting more people excited about board games.
“There are so many people who would like to get into the board game hobby but don’t know where to start,” said Beasley, who describes herself as a “board game newbie.”
Most of Beasley’s board game content on YouTube and Instagram features game reviews or lists recommending different games to try, or based on other hobbies. She also has an ongoing series she calls “Board Game 101” that teaches people the basics of board games, from what they are to where to buy them.
“I noticed on YouTube that there aren’t a lot of people making videos to get people excited about this hobby because when you look at the board game hobby it’s really overwhelming I don’t know how many board games, but the thousands and thousands,” she said.
Beasley’s partner, Francis Chang, also notes that other board game YouTubers have referred viewers to her channel.
“I’ve noticed that other YouTube board gamers refer to her as the Gateway channel (YouTube) because she vlogged (video blog) before she started playing board games and it was very inviting to see her doing this found a foothold,” said Chang.
“Someone mentioned that my channel is really refreshing because it’s a cross between board games and lifestyle, combining the two and making them more accessible and really showing the games being played instead of just the games themselves,” adds Beasley.
Beasley remembers playing board games with her family as a child, but she and Chang got into the hobby in 2019. Today, the couple own over 130 board games, which is considered a small collection compared to longtime board game hobbyists.
Beasley said she likes that board games allow her to use her brain, use different strategies and be social. She also often plays board games designed for a single player.
“Everyone in the board game community is very different because you look at me and you don’t think, ‘Oh, this girl really likes board games,'” Beasley said. “There are so many people who love board games. There are families who love board games and play with their kids, couples like us and so many different people who love board games.”
In November 2021, Beasley released a video titled “My Top 10 Board Games” after people noticed she played board games in her vlogs.
She said the video has been viewed 63,000 times, the most of any video she has posted.
“That was crazy, I didn’t even know there were so many people interested in board games on YouTube. I didn’t realize how big the community is,” Beasley said, “so in early 2022 I was like, ‘Okay, I’m going to start posting board game content on the channel,’ and I made it through, I haven’t looked back since.”
Since then, The board game garden got a lot of engagement.
“The level of engagement within the board game community is insane,” Beasley said, noting that developers had reached out to her. “It makes me really happy to talk to people about something we have in common.”