What a Genius: Mensa Member Collects 1,140 Board Games

Apr 17, 2011 – 9:31 AM

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Monica Garske

You could never get bored at the home of John Hornberger in Albany, N.Y.

He has an entire wall-sized cabinet dedicated to a massive collection of board games -- 1,140 different games, to be exact.

Hornberger, 45, is a longtime member of the prestigious high IQ society American Mensa, where he's appropriately known as the "Man of 1,000 Games."

The title comes with a playful perk.

Mensa member John Hornberger owns 1,140 board and card games. He had a special cabinet built in his home to hold his collection. (Courtesy of John Hornberger)

Courtesy of John Hornberger

Mensa member John Hornberger owns 1,140 board and card games. He had a special cabinet built in his home to hold his extensive collection.

Today, he's heading to the Best Western Sovereign Hotel in Albany, where he'll preside as chairman of the 2011 Mensa Mind Games, an annual gathering of 200 Mensans who assemble to play and rank the latest new board games.

The event is much more than just some casual "game night" among friends.

Mensans are given brand-new board games that haven't hit the market yet directly from manufacturers to test. Their job is to play and rate the games based on criteria including originality, play appeal, value, aesthetics and instructions.

At the end of the three-day gaming marathon, participating Mensans choose five games worthy of the coveted golden "Mensa Select" seal, which honors a game for its overall appeal.

"I'll basically be hosting the event and making sure everyone is having fun," Hornberger told AOL News as he was finishing up last-minute preparations. "I'll also get to play some of the games myself, which is the best part."

With a hefty collection of 1,140 board games of his own at home, the Mensa hosting gig is perfect for Hornberger. He does, after all, have plenty of experience with a wide array of games.

He began collecting board games while he was in the Navy in the 1980s, after getting his hands on an original version of "Trivial Pursuit."

"I started raiding my parents' cabinets for old games and at some point I wound up with a huge collection. I'm not really sure how this happened," he said with a laugh. "All I know is that I love board games. I think they're a highly underused tool. They help bring people together."

Eventually, Hornberger's game stash grew so large he had to have a special wall-to-wall cabinet built in his home to hold all the boxes. He said the cabinet now is so full that he has to keep some games on the floor.

Still, he insisted his heap is perfectly organized. He has his own classification system in place that allows him to find whatever game he wants to play at any given time.

For example, he said the far left side of the cabinet contains card and small games. The shelves directly above hold antique games, including a vintage 1936 edition of "Monopoly" and a 1904 edition of the card-trading game "Pit."

There's also an entire section dedicated to children's games -- reserved for his two kids -- a section stocked with math games and an area for what Hornberger refers to as "abstract strategy games," such as checkers and chess.

He said the middle shelf boasts all kinds of knowledge and trivia games, while the right side of the cabinet is solely dedicated to high-energy party games, like "Apples to Apples" and "Taboo."

Meanwhile, another main shelf contains board games with interesting artwork on the boxes, including a fast-paced race-car game called "Formula D."

Finally, there's a section for high-strategy games that require the utmost concentration. There, Hornberger said you'll find his all-time favorite game, "History of the World."

"It's reality-based and has a map as a game board. It's all about geography and history, which I love. It's heavy on strategy and light on chance, which always makes for a fun game," he explained.

Courtesy of John Hornberger

Hornberger says his game cabinet is organized into sections. Some shelves contain family games, some party games, and others high-strategy games.

Because he has all of his games categorized, Hornberger said he's able to keep track of boxes, pieces and instructions. The unspoken rule at his house is that you always put a game away first before opening another to avoid mixing up the pieces.

So far, he's had no problem keeping everything straight. The car game-piece from "Monopoly" won't be found in the "Scattergories" box.

But not every game in his collection can be played. Some, he admitted, are still in their original shrink wrap because he hasn't gotten around to playing them or because he doesn't want to open them.

"I have a game called 'An Income of Her Own' that's still in the packaging. The title is so ridiculous, I consider it a collector's item," he said.

Though one might think Hornberger plays games every day at home, he said that's really not the case. He purposely doesn't play that much to avoid board-game burnout.

"I play a few times a month. I also host a monthly game night with my friends where I try to pick a theme, like 'games about animals' or 'games with bridges.' It's a good excuse to take out a game I haven't played in a while. The goal is to have fun and socialize. If our faces hurt from laughing so much, it was a successful game night."

But what's it like to play against the "Man of 1,000 Games?" Is he competitive?

"My wife would say I'm very competitive, but I think I'm a good sport. If I was always super competitive, nobody would want to play with me. I need willing participants," he chuckled.