As the cooler months approach, you
are no doubt wondering how you will get through the first (hopefully only) autumn
and winter of the pandemic, when, inevitably, family members will be inside
more. Luckily, one proven answer is board games, particularly board games that
multiple ages can enjoy.
Fiona Cohen of Seattle’s
Child has curated 10 games to play with your family during Covid-19 times
(and after). Pondering what makes a board game particularly attractive to a
family, she astutely notes: “They have to be simple enough for children to
learn quickly, but there needs to be something about them that draws in adults.
They have to be absorbing enough that it’s fun to play, even if you don’t win.
And they have to encourage family members to interact, whether it’s competing
for position, reacting with a groan or a giggle from an unexpected twist in the
game, or trying to be stealthy about a strategy.”
Her list includes games for age 3
and up The Sneaky, Snacky Squirrel Game and for age 10 and up Settlers of Catan.
Some old favorites are included, like Connect 4 and Battleship, memories of which take me back to
sleepovers and summer camp. Nice to know they’re still around and doing well,
like old friends.
Even before Covid-19, board games
were enjoying resurgence, and families were finding them a great way to have
fun as a household, encouraging healthy competition, or even graceful losing.
They’re a potent antidote to screen time – computers, phones, and televisions –
and a welcome throwback and connection to simpler times.
Board games have been around for
millennia. According to archaeologists, this particular form of amusement has
existed since at least about 3500 B.C.E., when Egyptian royalty played a game
called Senet. Particularly now, in these uncertain times, it’s more pleasurable
than ever to sit across from a family member or friend, engaged in collaborative
play, where both luck and skill come into play, and especially where the rules
of engagement, of winning and losing, are clear cut. Also, where everything can
go neatly into a box afterwards.
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