“Do you have 15 minutes to play a round?” Konstantin Beryaltsev, owner of Board Games Central asks a customer who indecisively thumbs the corner of Settlers of Catan. Born in Russia, Konstantin always loved board games, having thrown his dice as a child in the real estate market of Russian Monopoly and cajoling his friends to ascend the rungs of Snakes and Ladders while munching on the marbles of Hungry Hungry Hippos. “I remember how much I loved playing games. Where else can people ages three to 90 play together?” Konstantin reflects with a smile.
In his teen years, Konstantin justified his hobby to his parents by explaining that games offered the opportunity to learn English; Russian translations were unavailable for Dungeons & Dragons and Magic: The Gathering. It was not until moving to Canada where he received encouragement from his mentor and employer Rose Kridemann, proprietor of Bayshore Hobbies, that his passion for play propelled him to launch Board Games Central in November 2013.
