Northern Irish Geekdom Becoming Increasingly Prevalent in the Capital

It used to be, at least stereotypically, that there were distinct separations between peoples’ interest groups. If you followed the ice hockey and the Belfast Giants, you likely didn’t spend your evenings deck building for a trading card game. For a while now, though, the lines have become increasingly blurred, with many elements of geekdom breaking out from what was considered its core audience.

Many point to the escapism inherent to so much of geek culture as its main draw, but it’s not just the immersive video games that are catching on. Card games, tabletop board games, video games, fantasy and sci-fi movies and series, comics, and even stuff like cryptocurrencies are all reaching a wider audience now. In Belfast, we have a vibrant geek scene, with the MCM Northern Ireland Comic-Con event famously coming to the Eikon Exhibition Centre just southwest of the capital. Events like this put the spotlight on the growing culture here, but there’s far more going on each day.

Geekdom isn’t corrosive to card gaming

When cultural waves rise, they’re often seen as replacing other preferences and even similar activities and products that came before. Even though it certainly builds on classic activities, particularly games, geek culture doesn’t look to have eroded its presence in our everyday lives, merely amplifying its own presence as a different activity for different occasions. As an example, card gaming is a prominent feature in geek culture, with the collecting, trading, deck-building, and playing of card games being very popular. Magic: The Gathering, Yu-Gi-Oh, and Digimon top the pile right now. The brands predominantly running these games haven’t replaced classic card games, though.

The national card game twenty-five remains very popular for social occasions, pitting four or more players against each other with the simple goal of winning tricks and increasing the betting pool. That said, to suit the internet-hungry perception of geeks, some have evolved to suit the online gaming space. In the case of the well-known card game blackjack, video versions popped up online decades ago. Now, real-money live games are the most popular. In these, the player live streams to a professional croupier and their table, betting and playing in real-time. Both of these card games continue to thrive despite the rise of geeky card games.

Classic board games remain strong

Just as card games once centred on a 52-pack of playing cards, board games used to encompass the likes of Risk, Monopoly, Battleships, and other very accessible games. Now, they take on many adventure or role-playing elements that create fantastical tabletop realms for games. It’s because of this that the UK games and puzzles market is now worth over £344 million. The way that board games and their fellow tabletop games have expanded has added more to the experience, particularly in terms of replayability and player options. Gen. Z particularly revels in board games, and 40 per cent of females to 29 per cent of males find them enjoyable.

On the face of it, some would see the rise of more geeky board games as overtaking the old classics. The smash-hit Wingspan continues to top the UK sales chart at Zatu Games, but the site is generally more of a geeky one, with Stardew Valley: The Board Game, acclaimed zoo-builder Ark Nova, The Quacks of Quedlinburg, Plague Inc, and Jaipur in the top ten among party board games. The site does also sell a whole heap of Monopoly games, but none appear in the top 20. Still, a single Monopoly likely wouldn’t with there being so many versions. While its geeky card game goliath Magic: The Gathering is huge, Hasbro continues to report growth in franchise games like Monopoly, so it hasn’t been pushed aside in favour of new experiences.

Belfast’s geek scene is growing stronger

Many would have had a fine dining experience down as an ideal way to spend an evening out not too long ago, but increasingly, going to board and card game events dotted around Belfast is becoming a popular way to spend your free time. A lot of this comes down to gaming culture becoming much more accepted in wider society, social media offering ways to bring in those who are interested, and people wanting to get away from screens. That last point is somewhat ironic, given that geekdom is often seen as having risen alongside the popularity of video gaming. So, gaming clubs have risen to the fore.

In Belfast, the Asmodee local game store map shows that there are several in the local area. The most central is Forbidden Planet International, which sells a whole heap of card, board, tabletop, and miniature gaming across the UK. Further out, you’ll find Seventh Dimension Ltd on Belmont Road, where they run regular card gaming tournaments, including MTG, Digimon, and Yu-Gi-Oh. To the south of the city, you can visit Northern Card Gaming to partake in several competitions for card and tabletop games, including MTG, Star Wars Legion, and the Pokémon card game. Alternatively, for some gaming space and event nights, Battle Inc. Gaming on Northumberland Street has all of the resources that you’ll need.

Geek culture is becoming increasingly prominent in Belfast, and while it isn’t beating away the classics, more people are certainly becoming familiar with the culture and products.