Do you hate Monopoly? It might strike you as strange that many people who come to our monthly Board Games Club at The Low Moor Club on Union Street do.

Monopoly is part of most people’s childhoods. I remember constantly pestering until a couple of grown-ups could be coerced into playing with me. I haven’t played Monopoly for years and I would need a lot of arm-twisting to do so now.

Many people will not be aware of the huge range of board games now available. Board games are a worldwide multi-million pound industry with games designers enjoying rock star status amongst games cognoscenti. If you want to have some idea of the scale of the industry visit boardgamegeek.com: the “all board games” search throws up over 1,300 pages of results.On a visit to a local town you might have noticed a branch of Geek Retreat where anyone can call in and use one of the variety of in-store games

Because of that variety, there really is something for everyone. My personal favourite is King of Tokyo, where you take the role of a monster, fighting other monsters for dominance. It’s a dice and card game with a variety of different strategies for winning (think Yahtzee on steroids with a healthy dollop of humour thrown in) – 2 – 6 players can play games lasting about half an hour.

At the other end of the scale would be a game like Scythe where up to 5 players can play games lasting over 2 hours. In another indication of the difference between the two games, the age rating for King of Tokyo is +8 and Scythe 14+.

In between there are all sorts of other games: some aren’t really board games but involve card deck building games like Ascension.

Why play board games? Anyone can play, from the youngest to the oldest. You learn turn taking, strategy, patience and can even just have a good old chat.They can just be fun.

Clitheroe Board Games Club has an outstanding collection of all kinds of games for all ages, from starters to advanced players. A typical evening looks like this: arrive upstairs at the Low Moor Club, find a table or group and a game from our extensive range chosen for their different styles of play (members are always ready to help you choose, explain rules and play with you). Play for as long or as short a time as you like (younger children and some adults need earlier bed-times): entry is free, although you can buy drinks and refreshments from the bar downstairs.

You could even, if you really wanted and could persuade some others to, play Monopoly.