When I stepped out of the rain into Phoenix Comics and Games last weekend, I found two long tables strewn with game boards and pieces and chaired by welcoming people. They were from Queer Geek! Seattle, a local nonprofit all about celebrating geek culture and the Queer people therein. They've been running for nine years, and it showed: in the back of the room, on other tables, board game boxes were piled high beside the duffel bags used to carry them.
A group of seven invited me to either watch or play a game of Captain Sonar, which they described as "team-based Battleship." I chose to watch at first, so I could settle down from a long trip by public transit. But soon, another table offered an open spot in A War of Whispers, a territory-control game in which players are spymasters rather than kings or generals. I was in. Learning the names of three people, rather than seven, was less daunting. And it seemed more my speed anyway.
The rules of Whispers were explained so succinctly that I felt, after just a few minutes, like I'd already played the game once. I had the same feeling while playing another game after that.
As I, "the spymaster," schemed and plotted in Whispers, I learned about the games, the people playing, and Seattle itself. There was a healthy mix of veteran board gamers and people new to the scene, and the same goes for long-time Seattleites and recent transplants. It was a good time. It was also clearly an indispensable resource for Queer people seeking connections.
The meetup focused on board games, but inevitably, other interests came up too: the movies from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the video game series Borderlands, tabletop role-playing games like Dungeons & Dragons and Vampire: The Masquerade — these topics were enthused about, and they were also discussed on an intellectual level, delving into theories of game design and socio-emotional health in gaming.
According to Queer Geek! founder Eric Starker, providing this resource hasn't been easy during the pandemic. He said people hadn't been excited for the virtual replacements of meetups, but with masks and vaccination cards, the group is now comfortable meeting monthly again.
In past years, following the annual gaming convention PAX West, Queer Geek! has run the Pink Party, an LGBTQ+ after-party with gaming, dancing, and cosplay. Celebrities like Jennifer Hale and Kristian Nairn have attended. This year and last, the party was canceled for safety reasons.
With safety being a priority, Queer Geek! requires proof of vaccination and masks at its events, which include an upcoming charity gaming marathon for ExtraLife, on November 6-7 at Phoenix Comics. The group will play games nonstop, in shifts, for donations to Children's Miracle Network Hospitals. Starker described the event as fairly casual, welcoming people to drop in as they like. Queer Geek! has consistently raised over $3,000 per marathon.
Queer Geek! started on Facebook in 2012, when Starker wanted "more things for Queer people to do around common interests," at a time when there "wasn't enough out there." He says he didn't expect the group to get as big as it did, but after it gained traction, he and a few friends ran with it. The Queer Geek! Seattle group on Facebook now has over 2,800 members.
Starker co-directs Queer Geek! with Robert Roth, who designs its graphics and acts as producer for the Pink Party, and Tifa Robles, the diversity and inclusion program manager at Xbox and founder of the Lady Planeswalkers Society.
At the end of the night, as I stood in Phoenix Comics and chatted while we mustered for a Thai food dinner, I thought about all the Queer geeks of the city emerging from pandemic isolation to seek more of their kin. I knew they would do well to start here.
At the end of the night, as I stood in Phoenix Comics and chatted while we mustered for a Thai food dinner, I thought about all the Queer geeks of the city emerging from pandemic isolation to seek more of their kin. I knew they would do well to start here.