Do you play board games with your friends and family?
@thinkingoutloud (6127)
Canada
December 26, 2006 10:36pm CST
These days, everyone seems to spend so much time with game consoles, online gaming, handheld games, etc., that I wonder if anyone still plays board games (social games) with their friends and family?
At Thanksgiving, we had a blast playing "BuzzWord" (in "men against women" teams... women won LOL) and we also like "Scene It", some of the "Trivial Pursuit" variations and "Cranium" (because it has a variety of things to do). For Christmas, our children got (along with the usual videogames), some classic games like "Monopoly," "Clue," and a chess/checkers set. We like the idea of having these handy in the house.
I think it's great to share some fun time with your kids, your family or your friends without always being glued to a television or monitor. Do you enjoy board games? If so, what are your favorites? Do you recommend any that I might want to buy?
9 people like this
115 responses
@carolynpb (647)
• United States
28 Dec 06
Our family plays board games alot! We have just about every game system there is and my husband and I think sometimes to much time is spent on them or tv so we have always taken time out to play board games. We play, Malarky, Win lose or draw. We also play Clue, that's real fun cause you have to figure out who did the killing, with what weapon in what room! Fact or crap is also real fun. Taboo is another one we play. We love Jenga too. That can have you trying so hard not to let the blocks spill and when you do it's a real laugh! I think we will always have board games in our house! It brings us closer as a family and gets children and parents in the room at the same time and really makes some great memories!!
1 person likes this
@thinkingoutloud (6127)
• Canada
28 Dec 06
Thank you very much carolynpb! You have mentioned some games that I haven't played... Malarky and Win lose or draw, for instance. (Wasn't there a tv show called Win, Lose or Draw? Is it based on that, by any chance??) I definitely agree with you about making memories. I'm always touched when my kids tell me that things we've done as a family mean the most to them. Keep having fun! :)
@carolynpb (647)
• United States
22 Feb 07
So sorry it's taken me so long to respond to this post! Thanks for making mine the best response. Yes, the win, lose or draw use to be on tv! We kind of make our own rules with the game. You should get it and try it! It is really fun!
1 person likes this
@imadriscoll (2228)
• United States
27 Dec 06
Every Thursday night we have friends over for dessert and to play board games. Some favorites are Mad Gab, Catch Phrase, Buzz Word, Cranium, Ultimate Outburst and many others. I love how every night ends with us rolling on the ground in tears from laughter! I think everyone should play board games as often as possible, it's a great bonding time and it's really cheap entertainment!
1 person likes this
@imadriscoll (2228)
• United States
27 Dec 06
I should add that this year for Christmas my girls got tons of games; Chutes and Ladders, Tic Tac Toe, Boggle Jr., Memory, Memory Match, Hungry Hungry Hippos and probably a few that I can't even recall right now! They already wear us out with Candy Land, so now we have a nice mixture of games.
1 person likes this
@ElusiveButterfly (45940)
• United States
22 Feb 07
I was just telling my husband a few days ago that the next visit we have with our friends we need to bring some board games. I love playing Yatzee and my all time favorite is Scrabble.
@thinkingoutloud (6127)
• Canada
23 Feb 07
It can be a lot more fun than sitting around staring at the tv or trying to decide on a movie to rent, that's for sure :) My sister and her husband love to play games so that's usually what we do when we're with them. Cranium is one of our favorites, due to its variety... I still haven't recovered from watching my brother-in-law trying to act out "giving birth" last summer. I swear I never laughed so hard in my life. There he was, laying on the cement deck next to the pool, legs in the air, huffin' and puffin'... well you get the picture LOL
@patgalca (18391)
• Orangeville, Ontario
27 Dec 06
A couple of days before Christmas we played Clue with the kids, and today we played a game we got for Christmas called "Mad Gab". I had suggested to my sister that she get it. We had a blast playing it. I had also suggested Taboo.
The kids are always wanting to play games with us and I am not always up to it. But when we make the effort we have fun. We play Dominoes and Boggle. Trivia games are hard for us because of the difference in ages in the children (10 and 13) and my husband has a different background than I do. I don't think those games would go too well, but we have been known to play some.
We used to bring out games at my Mom's at Christmas but we just had such a huge crowd this year being the first Christmas without my father, and so much going on that games weren't really making it into the picture.
1 person likes this
@thinkingoutloud (6127)
• Canada
27 Dec 06
Oh I second your vote for "Mad Gab"... that's a fun one... and so is "Taboo". I agree with your point on the trivia games. Our youngest just turned 13 and she still finds them a bit hard, depending on the type of questions. My husband is a HUGE trivia buff -- especially movie trivia and history. I can't keep up with him on those kinds of games!
@dkdummermuth (11)
• United States
27 Dec 06
All the time!!! We love playing games. We get a new game every year. Sometimes card games too. My husband and I play a lot of times after the kids are in bed.
1 person likes this
@kjhasselstrom (304)
• United States
27 Dec 06
I love board games!! We have a family night where all we do is play them:
Yahtzee
Monopoly
Sorry
Chess
Checkers
and card games galore!
I am a big game person--love to have friends over to play card games or word games--I rule at Scrabble ;-)
1 person likes this
@thinkingoutloud (6127)
• Canada
27 Dec 06
LOL! My mom used to beg me to play Scrabble with her and I think it was just because she figured she was always going to beat me... then, when I started winning, she didn't want to play so much anymore! :D I have to learn more card games. I don't really know much about cards except for basic poker, a little gin rummy, that kind of thing. What card games do you recommend that are fun and easy to learn?
@kjhasselstrom (304)
• United States
27 Dec 06
Here are a few easy ones:
Kings in the Corner
GoFish
Crazy 8's
Solitare
Bullsh*t (lots of fun and featured in the movie: How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days)
UNO
I'll see if I can find some links for you on card games.
1 person likes this
@rocknrollmom (177)
• United States
6 Feb 07
I am so glad to hear about famillies playing board games. It's hard to get my kids away from their video games. We do play scrabble, sorry, monopoly, yahtzee and Scattepgories. I wish we had a chance to play more as a family.
1 person likes this
@thinkingoutloud (6127)
• Canada
6 Feb 07
Video games are definitely "the thing" these days. My younger daughter received a Nintendo DS Lite at Christmas and, so far, she's been reasonable with using it... but I still don't like to see her with it on a daily basis LOL It's not even so much the sitting and playing it as the fact that the handheld games can be so isolating. Not the same kind of social interaction you can have with simple board games.
@thinkingoutloud (6127)
• Canada
1 Feb 07
How excellent, mistypq, that you have a great relationship with the teenagers around you and have fun together! Not everyone manages that these days!! :)
@courtlynne77 (4839)
• United States
5 Feb 07
We play games at least a couple times a week with our 6 and 4 year olds. As adults we get together with friends about once a month to play games. Our favorite is Cranium, but we have also played Balderdash, card games, such as poker and 500 rummy, and my sister and I have played Sequence, which is a fun card-board game.
1 person likes this
@thinkingoutloud (6127)
• Canada
5 Feb 07
We really love Cranium, too, just because it requires you to do so many different things! You don't have a chance to get bored, really LOL I've never heard of Sequence but I'll have to look that one up... thanks! :)
@thinkingoutloud (6127)
• Canada
27 Dec 06
I hear ya... I went for a lot of years where we never even considered board games... they were too "outdated" and "old-fashioned", something that my parents' generation did. But, with the game companies coming out with so many new ones that are really a lot of fun, it was easy to get back into playing again. Once you get started on the current games, you sort of find yourself getting nostalgic and pulling out the ones that were fun from your childhood too!
@mfrancq (1806)
• United States
28 Dec 06
My husband and I love to play monopoly. However, we have been together for five years and I have yet to win a game. I have even resorted to, please forgive me:) , cheating! I am 25 years old and I am cheating at a stinking game to try and beat my husband. The sad part is, when he gets up I will grab a couple of the $500 and eventually...I still lose! There is no winning with him!!! But we have so much fun with it because we tease each other about it!
1 person likes this
@thinkingoutloud (6127)
• Canada
29 Dec 06
mfrancq, you have me really laughing! I think it's hilarious that you are so desperate to beat him at monopoly LOL That's great! It sounds like you're having an awful lot of fun TRYING to win, anyway! ;) Good for you!
@feralcat (426)
• Canada
28 Dec 06
I miss playing boardgames or card games. Last time I played was years ago. A bunch of us would always get together on Friday nights and play cards or boardgames. We had a game of Risk last over 3 weeks once. Risk has to be my ultimate favorite of all games. I own a PS2 and Gamecube but not a big gamer at all. Still working on finishing games I've started .over a year ago on my consoles.
Anybody for a game of Risk?
1 person likes this
@thinkingoutloud (6127)
• Canada
28 Dec 06
My husband got Risk as a birthday gift from my sister and I think he's only played it once since then! He loves the game (as he loves anything military/war-related... movies, tv, videogames, books....) He's an ex-military guy himself so I guess that explains a lot. I should encourage him to try to find a group of guys that would like the game and set up a weekly Risk night like you had... I bet he'd LOVE that!
@djb876 (93)
• United States
28 Dec 06
I'm a wife and mom, and I confess that my husband and I do not play games with my children age 18, 16, 12. We never have. However, my mother is a firm believer in games, so when we go to her house, we know we will be playing games with the relatives. Sometimes its a pain (remember we're not game players) and sometimes it's really fun. I like it that my kids relate playing fun games to their grandma. I asked my 18 yr old if she thought we should have played more games, and she said NO! But, we did have a great time during Christmas playing Rummikub. (Don't know if the spelling or evenif the name of the game is correct...but it was fun!)
1 person likes this
@thinkingoutloud (6127)
• Canada
28 Dec 06
Isn't it great when the kids have something that they especially connect to their grandparents? Both of my parents have already passed away so my girls are basically growing up without the presence of any grandparents... my ex's family is a write-off and my husband's family lives far away from us. But the girls do remember playing Scrabble with my mom (which they found to be a real drag back then but they say they wish they could play with her now) and also Boggle. She loved "word" games. My dad was more of a cards guy. I haven't got much appreciation for playing cards but I do think I'd like it if I learned some fun games.
@Melizzy (1381)
• United States
27 Dec 06
Yes. In fact I got the "Here & Now" version of Monopoly for Christmas. It was the perfect gift for me. I like just about any game that Milton Bradley puts out. Same thing with Parker brothers.
Nothing like sitting around the kitchen table and plying a game with your family.
1 person likes this
@thinkingoutloud (6127)
• Canada
27 Dec 06
They are definitely coming out with many versions of Monopoly! I haven't played the version you mention... maybe you can let me know what it's like after you've played a game or two? :D
@awonderfullife (2893)
• United States
5 Feb 07
Yes! The neighborhood girls have a monthly game night. We play Cranium, Taboo, Pictionary, Scene It, Bunco. We have snacks and drinks and it's always a good time. Bunco is a dice game, very simple and it's played for money. And my kids love board games, alyhough my son is too young to really play. We play Monopoly Jr mostly (lemonade stands instead of houses and hotels). My all time favorite game is Clue! A fun game for a group of people is Loaded Questions-- everyone writes down an answer to a question and the player has to guess who said what. It's best played with 5 or 6 people.
1 person likes this
@rosebug23 (1906)
• Australia
27 Dec 06
We often play games at home Monopoly ,Scrabble ,the grandchildren love Mousetrap.We also play other games that are not board games, we are big on games in my family
1 person likes this
@thinkingoutloud (6127)
• Canada
27 Dec 06
Oh one of my children had Mousetrap! Now THAT is a long game to set up! LOL
@pendragon (3348)
• United States
27 Dec 06
We love board games at my house.We play Life, Clue,Risk,Tribond,Trouble,Checkers, Chess, Mancala,Battleship, and a good old deck of cards never fails either, but this is about board games,lol. We are always on the lookout for new games, the only one I can't get people to play here is Monopoly, they all say it takes too long, but I like it.
1 person likes this
@thinkingoutloud (6127)
• Canada
27 Dec 06
Pendragon, card games are good too LOL Feel free to recommend any that are fun to play :) We played Monopoly last night and didn't finish it either. They say in the instructions that there is a short game and a long game. I'm not sure that I understand the difference since our short game took pretty darn long :) I love Tribond! Mancala I've never heard of, so that's another one for me to look up! Next game we'll be playing is Clue (that was a Christmas gift too)... I can't wait to get reacquainted with Professor Plum, Colonel Mustard and the gang -- it's been years! ;)
@muncierebel (730)
• United States
27 Dec 06
While I have to confess to spending too much time at the computer and watching television, we will, on occasion, play board games. Mostly, we play Scrabble. My wife and I like to play heads up but we will get our 15-year-old son involved a lot of times as well. We are all very competitive and I refuse to "let" my son win as I think it sets a poor example. But he does win every now and then. Our house rule is that the winner has to put the game up. Interestingly, that has never stopped us from trying to win.
@thinkingoutloud (6127)
• Canada
27 Dec 06
LOL love the house rule! I agree with you that it's good to involve the kids in the games and I haven't "let" my kids win since they were really, really young. Last night, when we broke open the new Monopoly game that one of the them got for Christmas, our younger daughter was a bit upset because she had very little money to pay for one of my husband's railroads that she landed on. He felt bad (it was her first time ever playing Monopoly) so he cut her some slack on the amount to pay. The older daughter got mad, of course (LOL), but he didn't want to discourage the younger one right away and maybe turn her off playing the game at all. Eventually, she got going quite well and, when we decided to stop playing, she had a LOT more money than I did :) Next time, we won't be bending the rules for her... she's on her own *grin*
@ignoti (68)
• United States
27 Dec 06
I am an avid chess player. Often, friends of mine will bring a chess set up to the bar or coffee shop just to get a game going or a way to pass the time while also talking. Likewise, I am right around the age where my friends' children are old enough to appreciate chess and have been teaching some of them. It goes in phases and competes with their attention for the computer but I feel that it helps with their mental development and they do enjoy it -- although they tend to ask at really weird times for a game:)
1 person likes this
@thinkingoutloud (6127)
• Canada
27 Dec 06
ignoti, I think it's great that you are teaching the game to children who will now appreciate it too. I wish someone had taught me when I was young. But, I'm determined that I will learn :)
@thinkingoutloud (6127)
• Canada
27 Dec 06
Several people have mentioned Ludo and I don't know that game... I guess I need to start googling to find out about it! :)
@groomtobe23 (635)
• United States
27 Dec 06
Oh how I love board games. Not only board games, but card games, and video games as well. Any time that I can sit down and play Monopoly, or a game of gin with friends or my finance', I will jump at the chance to do so. It could be that I am a little on the competitive side of things, or merely because I like hanging out with people in that fashion. When I have kids, I am sure we will be having a family board-game night, or something of the sort.
1 person likes this
@thinkingoutloud (6127)
• Canada
27 Dec 06
It really is a casual, fun way to relax and hang out with people... I would much rather play games than have people over and just stare at the tv. I don't mind watching tv when it's just us but I hate having the tv on when there are guests in the house! Hey and a little competition is healthy among friends. It keeps them wanting to come back and play again since everyone likes to win at least ONCE in awhile ;)
