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I recently had the great privilege of viewing the new Canadian film 'The Hobby: Tales from the Tabletop' in Kingston. It was released earlier in 2025, but has not yet reached wide circulation, which takes significant financing and connections to arrange, apparently. I had just learned it was showing only a couple of hours before screen time. I often try to research in advance the films I watch, but there wasn't time for this. So I didn't quite know what to expect, but was hopeful of some chess coverage!
Alas, I was to be disappointed on the chess front!
But the film, running to about 90 minutes, from Canadian director Simon Ennis, was still enormously enjoyable. Mr. Ennis focuses on the USA, Canada, and Britain in his work, where he interviews people for much of the coverage. He mainly profiles board gamers who are actively competing, along with people who are collecting board games, and, interestingly, those who are designing new board games. Those three segments all overlap and interact, as it turns out. The film, set in the 2020s, showcases major board game events in Toronto, New York and Las Vegas, where the tournament atmosphere is much like serious chess events, with, if it is possible, an even wider range of personalities than chess usually offers!!
I knew next to nothing about this world, and certainly was completely lacking in knowledge of any of the personalities involved. It is a multi-racial scene portrayed, one were racism seems virtually unknown, which was encouraging. There are some truly zany characters, along with many otherwise ordinary-seeming people who simply have major obsessions with their world. People who are into chess seriously (I plead guilty there!) will certainly be able to relate to the range of personalities. Indeed. the director shows exceptional skill in letting the characters tell the story, in a documentary style.
I heartily recommend this film, and hope that it attains wider recognition and circulation going forward!!!
Alas, I was to be disappointed on the chess front!
But the film, running to about 90 minutes, from Canadian director Simon Ennis, was still enormously enjoyable. Mr. Ennis focuses on the USA, Canada, and Britain in his work, where he interviews people for much of the coverage. He mainly profiles board gamers who are actively competing, along with people who are collecting board games, and, interestingly, those who are designing new board games. Those three segments all overlap and interact, as it turns out. The film, set in the 2020s, showcases major board game events in Toronto, New York and Las Vegas, where the tournament atmosphere is much like serious chess events, with, if it is possible, an even wider range of personalities than chess usually offers!!
I knew next to nothing about this world, and certainly was completely lacking in knowledge of any of the personalities involved. It is a multi-racial scene portrayed, one were racism seems virtually unknown, which was encouraging. There are some truly zany characters, along with many otherwise ordinary-seeming people who simply have major obsessions with their world. People who are into chess seriously (I plead guilty there!) will certainly be able to relate to the range of personalities. Indeed. the director shows exceptional skill in letting the characters tell the story, in a documentary style.
I heartily recommend this film, and hope that it attains wider recognition and circulation going forward!!!