Local entreprenuers mastermind app to unite people over board games

CHICAGO (FOX 32 NEWS) - Two local entrepreneurs are taking “Game Night” to the next level.

Nicholas Frankel and Greg Tanacea, who co-founded the app “Let’s Play Games,” are working to get people off their mobile devices and gaming consoles and out engaging with the real world.
 
"The whole purpose of this is to get people to put the technology down but use the tech to find one another and spend time looking each other in the eyes,” Frankel said.
 
Frankel said board games bring out a group of diverse people.
 
"You'd be surprised, all types of people come out for these events someone you spotted on the street, you would not expect to be into board games,” Frankel said.
 
Frankel and Tanacea developed the app, which helps pair up intrigued board game enthusiasts with monthly meet-ups or the opportunity to set up game nights of their own.
 
"We were like wait, what if we created this whole community of people where you say I'm going to host a board game on this night, you don't have to worry about coordinating it and everybody in the community could see it and if they're available come out and play,” Tanacea said.
 
Dexter Golden was one of those present at a Friday meet-up at the Dice Dojo.
 
"A lot of people bring their own games, places like this which is a board game venue has an entire wall, like about a thousand games so we can choose from there,” Golden said.
 
The Let’s Play Games community has grown beyond 1,000 people in Chicago. David Nelson is one of those who has found camaraderie in the community.
 
"I play a little bit on XBox but this is a nice way for me to get back into the real world and interact with people face to face,” Nelson said.
 
Now, Frankel and Tanacea are trying to tap into a nationwide audience with a kickstarter campaign that launched this week.
 
"There's a need for this right now in society, people like to come out for games and not be a backdrop of expectations, they're here to mingle, they're here to play, they're here to make friends and have a good time,” Frankel said.