A Game Night at The Field Museum

Bert
6 hours ago
3 min read

I have been going to the Field Museum in Chicago since I was a little boy. I remember going to the museum with a note pad and my grandfather's fedora pretending I was a reporter and taking notes on all the exhibits. So when this opportunity came up you know I was excited to do this in a professional adult capacity.

Game Night: Clues from the Curator featured demonstrations of many historical board games. We spent a night at the museum playing games. The docents were very knowledgeable in each of the games that we demonstrated. They had four areas where demos were being done and had many tables setup with games to play. There was a good crowd at the event, and there was never a wait for any of the games that were set up.

Field Museum Mail Hall — Field Museum Main Hall

Our first games were the dice games. We played Meier a Viking game and Tali a Roman game. Meier was a fun bluffing game where players tried to roll higher each roll or bluff that they did. Tali was more of a gambling type game where players rolled and then sticks were placed in the middle for depending on each roll. In this area there was also a presentation on the history of dice and how they were made and used throughout the ages.

The docents were very knowledgeable in each of the games that we demonstrated.

After exploring the dice games, we took a break to enjoy some refreshments. We had a couple of the cocktails that were included in the open bar. There was a decent selection of beer, wine, and premixed cocktails. There was also a specialty espresso martini for the night to get those brain cells activated. Also included were some light snacks like chips and fruit snacks. We needed something with a little more substance so we got the Chicago dogs and sat down to play Patolli. Patolli is a Mesoamerican game that closely resembles the modern-day game of Parcheesi.

One of the best parts of this event was the larger game that had you looking through the entire museum for clues in different parts. When we entered the museum we were handed a booklet that contained all the clues to what sections of the museum contain the answers. We had such a fun time looking through the exhibits to figure out the clues. The people who put this together were very thoughtful in placing the clues in very meaningful areas to the games. The game had decoding and ciphers and was a lot of fun to figure out. When you got the four clues then there was a wrap up at the end and if you completed all of those you got a prize which was a set of dice in a Field Museum bag. A well-earned reward for a night of fun and discovery.

This was defiantly a fun evening that I couldn't recommend more

The other games available to try out were Go, Mancala, Senet, and Loteria. All were demonstrated by docents that were truly excited to share how to play them with each of the participants. This was definitely a fun evening that I couldn't recommend more, for anyone interested in games or just wants to have a cocktail and stroll through the museum.

Also coming May 22 the Field Museum will be hosting the Pokemon Fossil Museum. Created by the Field Museum, the National Museum of Nature and Science in Tokyo and the Pokémon Company, the exhibition will be open until April 11, 2027.