Meeples in your neighborhood: Becky Shepherd

Becky Shepherd may live on a bison ranch, but it’s among board gamers that she’s truly found her herd.

The Shepherd family – Becky, her husband Avery, and their two daughters – live near Livelong, a hamlet northwest of North Battleford, where they own and operate Sunset Bison Ranch. Becky’s job as a nurse practitioner has her traveling to three different community clinics in the Turtleford area.

Becky has been a board gamer since childhood, and until recently, living far from a big city meant she needed to either be willing to play games by herself or to give up her hobby. While the solo options now available for many hobby games have given her more playing options, Becky is always happiest as a gamer when surrounded by other people.

“For me, gaming is all about the people and the fun,” Becky says. “I don’t care if I win, though it’s nice to do that every once in a while. I don’t think there are any kind of games I don’t like as far as mechanics, and I’m open to all kinds of themes. You never know what your next favourite game will be, so I try to play them all!”

Becky credits her long-time friend Tamara Harder – whom she calls her “sister from another mister” – not only with introducing her to hobby gaming, but also with pulling her into the wider Saskatchewan board gaming scene. A couple of years ago, Becky was invited to attend a week-long summertime gaming event in Regina, and she was planning to go with Tamara.

“She ended up with a conflicting event and couldn’t attend. I was so intimidated to go without her that I almost didn’t go,” Becky remembers. “But I am so glad I decided to go – it was one of the best decisions I’ve made as an adult! I count myself especially lucky to have met the people I now call friends because of this hobby.”

In addition to her daughters, Tamara, Tamara’s husband Deron, and the group she now refers to as her “Regina boardgame family,” Becky also enjoys playing with her newly-formed local gaming group and her PwYF team – which Tamara recruited her to join.

She’s also branched out to attending events in Saskatoon, such as the annual ToonCon and game nights at Amazing Stories, and she makes it out to as many PwYF fundraisers as she can. When she really needs a fix, she will also play online, but her preference always, she says, is to “play live with people I love.”

Becky is most drawn to fantasy-themed games, especially those with a role-playing component. Her current favourite is Too Many Bones, but she’s also a big fan of Bonsai, Spots, Expeditions, Wyrmspan, Sushi Go Party, and Terraforming Mars – as well as anything that her friends are excited to play.

“I love that so many of my friends play things I wouldn’t normally gravitate towards. It has allowed me to experience some of the best games I’ve ever played because the theme wasn’t one I’d really explore if left to my own choices,” she says.

One of the few games that Becky does prefer to play on her own is This War of Mine, which is about people trying to survive in a war-torn city that feels much like Sarajevo during the Bosnian War.

“I love the game because it’s very challenging, almost impossible, to win. That being said, you have to make a lot of hard decisions in order to survive, so it’s a game that’s not for the faint of heart,” Becky says. “You really feel the strife of living in wartime, in a community being decimated by war. For those who lack empathy and compassion for people living where active war is raging, this might be a really huge wake-up call to what people go through to merely survive. The losses they experience and the decisions they have to make are monumental, and often it means someone else goes without or dies so you can survive.”

“So many people in our part of the world just think it’s no big deal, and that we need to focus resources from our country only within Canada, but how would they feel if the war was here and other countries didn’t help? A game like this helps bring to light what so many of our veterans fought for. It was for people who needed help. People who had no food, no shelter, had loved ones die in their arms, who lost everything, so they could still have hope for a future and better lives for their children and grandchildren.”

Empathy and a desire to help those who are suffering also play a big role in Becky’s desire to continue her involvement with Play with Your Food.

“Everyone I’ve met has really been an outstanding person,” Becky says. “We all feel a moral obligation to look out for our fellow humans and work towards making this world a friendlier, more accepting, and safe place to live, where you can have fun and be who you really are – with no masking necessary.”

Becky is currently working on a couple of fundraising projects – a raffle for ground bison meat, which Sunset Bison Ranch is donating, and a Secret Santa event. She’s also eagerly anticipating the next 24-hour event – especially connecting with friends old and new.

“I really want to express just how much those of us who just get to have all the fun appreciate how much those of you who do all the behind-the-scenes stuff do,” Becky says. “This goes for all the volunteers, and all of the businesses that support the event and our initiative year-round. You all rock!”