SaskGames

Miles was an early member of the SaskGames family, joining the forums nearly eight years ago on October 25, 2013. He attended his first Chewsday Challenge on November 2nd, 2013 and had been a steady presence ever since. We started tracking all of our members' attendance in 2015 and Miles was up to nearly 300 nights of gaming at the event. He also participated in PrairieGameXpo on 15 occasions and helped in our fundraising efforts at Play With Your Food for 6 years.

Miles was a quiet and soft-spoken person but always kind.  It sometimes felt like it took a little time to get to know him, but once you did, he was easy to like.  He was always curious and always seemed to enjoy playing a game, no matter what it was and no matter how well he did.  He was also the type of person where it seemed you could want to play almost any game and he'd be willing to give it a try.   

He was a big fan of Catan (and especially Catan Germany) and as his gaming knowledge grew, he got into more and more eurogames.  A couple of his favourites were Grand Austria Hotel and Ulm.  Most recently, he was really enjoying the co-operative trick-taking game The Crew with us.

Miles was a really great sport about learning games. It seemed that whenever we had him over to play a game, it was always something new, so he got into the habit of looking up the game rules or checking for a YouTube video on how to play so that he'd be a bit prepared before I started to teach the game. After the game ended, I'd always ask him how he liked it and he'd always take several seconds to ponder the experience before telling us what he thought (usually positive). One of the last times we played, he said he really liked all the games we played together but it would be nice to win one once in a awhile!

In May of 2019, Miles joined Jim and me at the BoardGameGeek Spring convention held in Dallas, Texas. We played dozens of new games at the event and got to have dinner with a few new people from all over the United States. Miles didn't have a cell phone, so we always made plans to meet in the morning to begin our gaming day, and even though we played until late at night, he was always eager to get started again the next day. We played 44 games during that convention which meant there were so many rules to learn, but it was fun to be there and try all the new releases, including the kids' games nominated for the annual KinderSpiele des Jahres prize.  (Miles got a big kick out Christian, the Spiel des Jahres judge, who taught all of them to us.) The three of us enjoyed the convention so much that we were literally the last people gaming on the last day!  (See photo.)  (Because the convention was cancelled in 2020 and 2021 because of the pandemic, we are still the last BGG Spring gamers until next May.)

Miles really enjoyed traveling, and had been to Germany and China in recent years. In September 2020, Miles, Jim and I along with several other SaskGamers were planning to take part in a boardgame cruise to Japan. I know he was really looking forward to it and we'd been talking about some of the games we'd like to play while we spent two weeks crossing the Pacific Ocean. Unfortunately, COVID-19 cancelled our excursion so we never got to experience that together. I'm sure it would have been unique!

Miles retired a few years ago from his job as a bus mechanic.  Earlier in his life he worked for the family trucking business, maintaining International trucks.  Miles was so captured by the character of these old trucks that he bought a couple and was in the process of restoring them.

When the pandemic suspended so much normal activity (including Chewsday Challenge), I'm sure Miles must have been disappointed.  We reached out to him a few months after it began to see if he'd be comfortable entering our social bubble and gaming regularly with us.  For a few months he came over every week or so and we enjoyed lots of different games.  It was a real pleasure to have him in our home and to get to know him better. We're definitely going to miss him but we're glad we have these memories of some special times spent gaming with him.

Please share your own memories of Miles in the comments below.
~ Lori & Jim

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Photos provided by Dana Tillusz, Jim MacKenzie and Matt Robertson

The second last photo provided has me in it, I think it was my first PWYF. It was 6am, I was dead tired and Miles and B-Shea roped me into a game of Castles of Burgundy. It was my first time playing it and I'll tell you what, trying to learn a new game at 6am - 21 hours into the 24 hour event - was a challenge. I swear that Miles ended up playing 90% of my game for me. They were both so patient with me, lol. I'll never forget.

I remember first coming out to CC, and Miles was always to welcoming and patient to play games with me. I remember he always enjoyed a good game of Catan Germany, and we played it quite a lot in the beginning, and since Miles has traveled to Germany, he would always reference the cities in Catan and have travel stories about each place.

Great write up on Miles. Thank you.

Miles was very quiet, but I had a lot meals with him and slowly learned more about his life. He was always full of surprises.

I know he appreciated the friends he met through our gaming events. He was very proud of his niece and nephew and loved them very much. I was saddened to hear about his death and have many fond memories of him.

Such sad news. I played a lot of games with Miles over the last few years and I kept telling him "Miles you are very quiet all game and then you win!" Miles was such a kind and generous player and I will miss him.

I didn't interact with Miles a whole bunch, but he was a nice guy from what I remember. My condolences for all his friends and family.

This is shocking and saddening.  I loved playing games with Miles at CC, Play with Your Food, and even my 40th birthday party a few years ago.  He was always so calm and patient with me as I was learning new games and it was a joy to watch the way he played certain games in his own way.  I mean, who plays Brass and NEVER takes a loan?!?! I played Grand Austria Hotel with him for the first time at a CC 3 or 4 years ago and I liked it so much I bought my own copy.  Every time I play, I think of him, and now that memory will be even stronger.  I remember when Deron and I attended our first (and only) play with your food and even though we knew quite a fe people there, everyone seemed to be settled in with their own team for the early parts of the day.  Miles was his own team and he quickly invited us to play a game with him.  I loved that about Miles, he was confident to show up to things alone and ask to join others, or invite others to join him.  What a huge loss to the Regina gaming community.

Thanks for the wonderful write up Lori.  I was saddened to hear of Miles' passing.  I will remember talking to Miles about his trips to Germany and China and playing Grand Austria Hotel with him at PWYF.  He was such a steady and dependable part of the SaskGames community.  He was always open to play games with new people and when I was an ambassador looking to fit a new person in somewhere, I always knew they would have a good game experience with Miles. 

Like many of you, I met Miles through board gaming, but I'd known Miles' sister and brother-in-law for many years before I met him. He was always willing to update me on what was going on in their lives while we were sitting down for a meal at Boston Pizza or getting ready for a game at Prairie Game Expo. I also enjoyed hearing about his trips. He was always a thoughtful conversationalist. I felt like he took the same approach to gaming-- thoughtful-- but also always willing to help others enjoy themselves in a game. He seemed to be a man of patience and kindness. I will miss him.

I am really sorry to read this. Miles was always very kind and I always had a good time playing a game with him.

Always loved playing 2 player war games like Memoir 44 and Undaunted with Miles - we had some great converstions and he will be greatly missed.
I hope he got his truck done and was able to drive it!

I was shocked and saddened to learn of Miles' passing. Miles was a constant presence at SaskGames events when I used to attend ChewsDay Challenge, PGX, and Play with Your Food. He embodied the values we established for the gaming community when we started SaskGames: Welcoming, friendly, inclusive. It is a big loss for our community and he will be missed. I know he will be missed at our BixCON Away Gaming Retreat in Montana as well.

Thank you Lori for posting this memorial and giving the community a place and opportunity to pay tribute. Kathy and I send our deepest condolences to Miles' family and friends.

This is a reminder that "Life is Short; Play Games!".
Connect with others and cherish moments and laughter shared.

Sad to hear of Miles' passing.  Thank you for posting, Lori.  My condolences to his family and friends.

I'm a little late to hearing about this sad bit of news, but it is still shocking to me. Yet it's good to hear that Miles has made such a positive impact in the lives of so many of us, as illustrated by these many messages of condolence.

I have fond memories of Miles being part of many games I played at both CC and FRAG Games Day, and in particular the times he introduced me to his then current favorites, Grand Austria Hotel and Ulm. I also appreciated his willingness to be part of the group that played several lighter strategy games that I brought out periodically. I always found him to be motivated with a quiet enthusiasm, both in the play of the games, and in general conversation about the games themselves. It was always a real pleasure if Miles was part of the group I was playing with. He could be a devious player but still a complete gentleman. And Lori, thank you for the detailed account of your gaming activity with him and your overall tribute.

I'm really sad to hear this. Miles and I weren't close but I loved playing games with him at Chewsday Challenge. I'm sad to know he will never swoop in for the win during a game of Acquire with me again. I will miss his laugh most.

Condolences to Miles' family and (closer) friends.

I don't have any specific memories of him, but he was always a blast to play with, and he was a fierce challenger.

That's me Playing Scythe with Miles in those photos. It was at a play with your food. We played the entire Scythe campaign in one sitting in the middle of the night. I always enjoyed playing games with him, his laid back style will be missed.