This afternoon we sat down to play Yahtzee. Not an electronic form on the computer but the real, noisy, dice flying across the table version of Yahtzee. Ever since the boys were young, we enjoyed playing all sorts of boardgames.
When I was a youngster, the most technologically advanced item we owned was a television – the giant boxy kind with wood accents that sat on the floor. No remotes. Get up and turn the dial to turn up the volume. We also owned Connect Four and Monopoly. My favorite was Connect Four. It was easiest to understand, more so than Monopoly. Since we weren’t quite old enough to understand the concept of owning property and making improvements, we would fight over who got the cute little dog game piece and make our own rules. I still remember the excitement when Yahtzee first came out. It was the first game I remember playing with my sister and my mother. We went camping and enjoyed playing it on rainy days when we were stuck in the camper.
As the boys grew older, we started playing Life and different versions of Uno. Our favorite was Uno Attack. The game concept is the same as regular Uno but there are cards that instruct you to press a button. Once you press it, a random amount of cards comes flying out at you. The boys would laugh as the cards flew in their faces! I also taught them how to play Monopoly and we picked up a game in Spokane called Killer Bunnies. Killer Bunnies is the most awesome game ever played in our house. I may as well do a separate blog post because it’s so awesome.
As Christian’s pain increased and his arms became too weak, he became unable to play most games. It hurts to remember how much he had lost, even something so simple and basic as playing a game of cards. Board games are a way to connect with loved ones in a way that is far too rare in today’s world. It is too easy to pick up our phones and play a little Candy Crush than to walk over to the closet and pull a game or two down. Throw on some good music, grab some drinks and snacks and make some memories with your favorite board games. What are your favorites, old or new?
The road less traveled 