For awhile there, every Tuesday was Family Game Night around here. And then, for awhile, life got in the way and we totally forgot about it.
For me it’s very much an “out of sight out of mind” thing. All of our board games used to be stored on a shelf in the basement and as a result, were more likely to be forgotten. But not anymore! Our recent renovation gave us the opportunity to build a giant wall-to-wall floor-to-ceiling bookshelf and there’s ONE WHOLE COLUMN devoted to board games. I kid ye not. (Click on the wee image on the right to see a full-sized version.) The shelf goes waaaaay back, so those awkwardly long boxes fit in there perfectly.
Family Game Night is a good thing. I’m happy to do something as a family that doesn’t involved electronics for a change. And somehow we always end up laughing our heads off. AND, don’t tell my kids this, there is SECRET LEARNING happening too. Shhhh.
There is no excuse NOT to have a family game night anymore!
Last week we played a game called Amonia
Last night we played Word Thief
This game is reminiscent of Scrabble. Players are dealt cards. Each one has a letter of the alphabet on them. Players use the cards to form words and earn points, but the twist here is that words can be “stolen” from other players. If someone takes an opponent’s word that person loses their points and the stealer makes a new word (or two) out of it and wins points. There are poker chips for scoring, which, oddly enough, was a big part of the appeal for the kids.
ONCE AGAIN the youngest family member walked away with another big win. Sigh. I am chalking up my loss to old brain matter okay? Or perhaps next time we should pick something harder so she can’t beat us. Hmm. Maybe Monopoly? :)
Does your family have a favourite board game? Spill it! I’d love to hear your recommendations.
