It’s the last day of the year…that makes this a double posting day!
Our family loves board games. We love to spend time playing them, but we also love finding new ones for each other. This has become true as we find games for other family members such as our parents or nieces and nephews. This year was an especially great year for board games.
Dominion was the main present for the boy from his grandmother this year; his South Dakota cousin had received the same game from his parents, so they were thrilled to play it together. This is not a difficult game on the surface but can become more and more difficult as one plays it. The boy claims that there are over one hundred million possible game permutations based on the number of players, which cards are used, etc. I gave it a whirl on Wednesday morning, and I am sure that I will play it again and enjoy it. The boy and his cousins enjoyed playing this together in the community room at grandma’s house. The youngest cousin is ten years old; it might be a stretch for some kids of that age, but a bright ten year old will be able to hold her own.
We purchased Say Anything for the South Dakota nephews this year and then suggested it to my side of the family as well. This game combines the uncertainties of Apples to Apples with elements from other games including “bidding” on each other’s responses. This is a great game for players of all ages allowing family members of multiple generations to play one game together. As with all board games, the more competitive the players, the more likely a little tiff will occur over an interpretation of the answers. Overall, however, this game is pretty tiff-free.
Last year, we happened upon Scribblish. The game combines elements of Pictionary and Telephone as the layers of rounds include drawing and interpreting the drawings…only to then have drawings occur again. My North Dakota nephews love this game and were thrilled that we could spend yesterday afternoon cooking and playing games. The downside is that it requires some drawing abilities, but as long as one is willing to be adventurous and be a good sport, there is some likelihood of success. There is voting involved, and that is always a warning light for me as it could result in tiffs.
As I mentioned in a previous post, my present from the kids was my current favorite board game – Small World. This moved up into the favorite position replacing my formerly favorite board game – Ticket to Ride: Europe. Small World is great fun. I think it has elements of Risk in it, but having not actually played a game of Risk in my life, this is just a guess. Other board games that sit next to me as I type this are Liebrary (much like the old Dictionary game) and Wits and Wagers. I am not sure if we are going to get to these games this week, though.
Board games seem to me a most important aspect of family life that must remain for centuries to come. As our culture becomes more and more pulled into technology that keeps us isolated from each other and conversation, we need to find ways to sit around the table and engage with friends and family members. Whether a board game or a meal, this is necessary.
With that – I’m going to sign off…I think some people are waiting for me to play a game with them!
slowingtheracingmind 