{"id":36878,"date":"2017-11-27T12:41:39","date_gmt":"2017-11-27T12:41:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jomec.co.uk\/altcardiff\/?p=36878"},"modified":"2017-11-27T12:41:39","modified_gmt":"2017-11-27T12:41:39","slug":"cardiff-character-dyfed-bowen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2017\/11\/27\/cardiff-character-dyfed-bowen\/","title":{"rendered":"Cardiff Character: Dyfed Bowen"},"content":{"rendered":"

From Ceredigion to Cardiff via alien worlds and colonial settlements: a journey inside the life of Cardiff\u2019s board game boss<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"A

It\u2019s a cold night in Cardiff as Dyfed Bowen orders the soup and a pint of coke in his native Welsh before his weekly meeting with a group of local playtesters.<\/p>\n

Each week Bowen, a local boardgame aficionado, and manager of store Rules of Play, meets with a group of like-minded game designers and fans to test the latest games which are often created by the groups’ members including Bowen.<\/p>\n

Bowen, 31, was born in the rugby-crazed town of Ceredigion in West Wales and grew up with a similar love for the sport.<\/p>\n

\u201cYour drinking when you’re 14 or 15 in the rugby club,\u201d Bowen described, \u201cbecause that\u2019s the societal norm.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you asked your teachers if you could play football you were told no, you can play football anytime, any idiot can kick a ball.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite this, Bowen noted that his childhood was a 50-50 split between the two sports.<\/p>\n

Bowen was often found playing both sports and supported Manchester United as a result of Welsh star Ryan Giggs featuring in the squad.<\/p>\n

After time spent labouring with his father Bowen thought it time to roll the dice and move to the \u201cbig city\u201d in search of work.<\/p>\n

He moved to Cardiff and began working in hospitality holding jobs in various hotels across the city.<\/p>\n

Bowen had never pulled a pint when he began working at a local hotel and soon worked his way up to duty manager in a job he described as being intense.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll be honest, I wouldn\u2019t go back,” he began, “not because I\u2019m working on my hobby now but because it\u2019s such a hard job.”<\/p>\n

“Hospitality just chews people up and spits them out.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The love of gaming began during his childhood years as he would find himself in his neighbour’s house playing Lost Valley of the Dinosaurs.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t know the rules but I\u2019d make up my own,\u201d he remembers, \u201cand I\u2019d play with the pieces and the volcanos and I\u2019d make up stories.\u201d<\/p>\n

A new experience<\/h4>\n

During his time in Cardiff Bowen stumbled across the tabletop wargame, Warhammer regularly visiting the then named Games Workshop where his tabletop gaming hobby was once again ignited.<\/p>\n

Soon after the discovery of Warhammer Bowen would find himself standing in Rules of Play<\/a>, Cardiff\u2019s board game shop, where he fell in love with a new experience.<\/p>\n

Bowen noted that the money he\u2019d spend on Warhammer would get him a \u201cwhole world\u201d he could play and so he set aside miniatures and moved into board games.<\/p>\n

With his hobby growing and him buying a new game each week Bowen soon found himself working in the store and is now the shop’s manager.<\/p>\n

\"Dyfed

Plan for tomorrow<\/h4>\n

If he could tell his childhood self one piece of advice Bowen noted that he\u2019d tell himself to plan for tomorrow, not for ten years ahead.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d tell myself to slow down, to take stock,\u201d he began, \u201cplan in segments. Don\u2019t plan 30 years down the line because you\u2019ll be 10 years down that road and things won\u2019t plan out the way you wanted and you\u2019ll change your dreams.<\/p>\n

\u201cPlan three years down the line. Plan something achievable because what you are then gearing up to is more achievable.\u201d<\/p>\n

His plan for tomorrow includes buying property in the city and he hopes to continue designing, creating and testing his own games in a humble Cardiff pub with a humble group of people.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From Ceredigion to Cardiff via alien worlds and colonial settlements: a journey inside the life of Cardiff\u2019s board game boss<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":312,"featured_media":36991,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18,19],"tags":[251,236,401],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-36878","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","category-culture-home","tag-board-games","tag-gaming","tag-sport"],"yoast_head":"\nCardiff Character: Dyfed Bowen A Profile Interview with Bowen<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Cardiff Character: Dyfed Bowen A Profile Interview with Bowen manager of Rules of Play the Cardiff boardgames shop located in Castle Arcade\" \/>\n<meta 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