Learn a bit about the history of Game Night Sunday

From: Nathan
To: Game Friends

Game Friends,

Children’s stories tell of a Game Night Owl, and even if we don’t believe in him any more, we all remember that he is supposed to appear on a Friday evening to call out, “who… who… who is coming to Game Night this Sunday at 5pm?” Most people also know that this is where the idiom “night owl” originates. But very few people know that the Game Night Owl actually originates from the German tradition of the Spieleabendseule (loosely translated, “The great dark owl who arrives before a game evening”). The 16th-century Germans believed that before hosting a game night, one must throw open the windows of the house; while the family slept, the Spieleabendseule would visit. If the Spieleabendseule found the household games worthy, it would bestow a blessing on the evening in the form of an owl pellet on the Spieltisch (“medium-height wooden surface for the playing of games”). To sway the Spieleabendseule’s judgement in their favor, aspiring hosts displayed painted wooden figures, as the bird was thought to favor games with simple rules that led to complex interactions. Of course, these figures can still be found in many a game collection today—so next time you paint meeples for Game Night Sunday, think back to the Spieleabendseule and be thankful you have better things to eat than owl pellets.

Nathan

From: Kyle
To: Game Friends

So do we bring spiel-erbrechen, or do we bring brightly decorated meeples? I’m just making sure.

From: Lauren
To: Game Friends

If you bring Spielzerbrechen you better bring replacement Spiele.

From: Kyle
To: Game Friends

I could bring a spielbrechenwerfer to make sure there’s enough to go around?

From: Lauren
To: Game Friends

Brechen Sie bitte keine Spiele!

From: Jack
To: Game Friends

Aber das ist sehr wichtig für dem Spiele!

From: Kyle
To: Game Friends

Ohh, sorry I said spielbrechenwerfer when I meant spielerbrechenwerfer. Is werfing your eule erbrechen redundant?