
Board games bring people together even better than all the technology in the world. I can say this, because I witnessed it first hand this past Labor Day weekend. My son and daughter-in-law were visiting, and we cracked open our vintage Clue game, the whodunnit of the sixties and seventies. What a blast that was!
At first, we were all struggling to remember the rules. Can you move diagonally? No. Can you occupy the same square as another player? Again, no. Can you use the secret passageways? Yes!
Once we “sorta” had the rules down, we started. I was Miss Scarlett. What a dud she was. I didn’t get into a room unless someone called me in. Maybe it was my dice-rolling prowess. I’d swear there were only ones or twos on that die. I switched to Professor Plum with not much more success. I was the only person who never won.
As you can see already, the evening raced past in a crescendo of “Ha, ha’s!” and “No, I can’t be wrong!” Our daughter-in-law blossomed in her detecting skills (she’s positive it’s because of all those True Crime shows she watches). Our son, who is too cool for old things, kept suggesting “One more game.” And my husband and me? We got to enjoy time with the kids without eating out or fixing something in their house.
Last night brought back so many memories. I was never one to let my kids play only video games, so there were lots of family game nights. Until they found girls, cars, and jobs. But, up until that time we played Chutes and Ladders, Life, Monopoly, even Old Maid. They were some of the best times in our family.
Playing board games seems to be such a simple pastime, one that could very easily fade away into the annals of time. It shouldn’t. It provides people with necessary coping skills, entertainment for an entire group, and insights into how your friends and family think. Besides all that, playing a board game has given me warm, happy memories to hold close to my heart when my son is deployed in the very near future. Priceless.
Do you have a favorite board game? I’d love to see if I’ve ever played it!