When I was a kid, my Mom and I loved to play games. Back then (no, I won’t tell you how long ago) our favorite game was jacks. We’d sit on the floor for hours playing jacks and listening to music in the background. When I got older, we graduated to board games that the whole family could play. So, it was no surprise when my kids were younger that I introduced them to board games. (We had the wrong kind of flooring to introduce them to jacks.) Now that they are older, they still love to play games.
Of course, my son loves his Wii, and don’t get me started on how much he spends on games for it. That’s a rant for another day.
Back to board games. During the summer (or any time they are together), there is usually a game set out (often on the floor) that they are playing. Some of their favorites are:
Risk – the kids can play this game for hours and never tire of conquering each other
Monopoly – we probably have four or five versions of this one (you’ll notice there are two in the picture), including Pirates of the Caribbean and a Pokemon version from when my son was younger
Triopoly – a three-tiered version of Monopoly, the kids can, literally, spend days playing one game
Clue – we now have three types of clue games (Original, Museum Caper, and Discover the Secrets); I still prefer the original, but my kids love being art thieves
Cranium, Turbo Cranium, Cadoo, etc. – mayhem and madness ensue when we all play any of these; they are favorites at youth gatherings, too
Trivial Pursuit – it’s amazing what my kids know that I would have never thought they knew, although some of the entertainment trivia is beyond them; I’ve lost count of how many editions of this one we have
Scrabble – my daughter is nearly unbeatable at this game; at last count we had at least 6 versions, including the German version
Sequence – it involves cards; my son never goes anywhere without a deck
Blokus – my kids love Tetris, so this one has become a favorite; we are just a teeny bit cut-throat about it
Being a history buff, my favorite game is Chronology, but getting them to play with me takes lots of persuasion. What’s more, just because I love history, it’s not a guaranteed win for me. I learn something new every time I play.
Do you or your family like to play games? What are some of your favorites?
My kids are very young, 4 and 1, so Candy Land and Hungry Hippos are the popular board games in our house.
My personal favorites though are Risk, Monopoly and Scrabble. Almost forgot about Checkers and Chess too. I can’t wait until my boys are old enough to play those.
Our family is very big on games too. Our kids are old enough to play Canasta, which is great fun, but two of our favorites are much simpler and could really be played by younger children.
Apples to Apples, and Cranium’s “WhoNu” (I think that’s how it’s spelled). Both are simple card games that involve guessing what the other players preferences are – they always end up with us laughing so hard we can’t play any more.
Elle Parker
http://elleparkerbooks.blogspot.com/
T. H. – I taught my kids to play chess when they were pretty young and it didn’t take them long to pass me in skills. I joked that “I quit playing with them the first time they beat me.” but it isn’t quite true. I was less of a challenge and they just preferred to play each other.
Elle – I haven’t tried Apples to Apples yet, but I’ve heard it’s a blast to play. I’ll have to pick it up the next time I see it.
Denise