Games people play

With winter upon us and Christmas coming soon, the season of table games has come.

I recently read that families are spending more time playing board games instead of paying for outside entertainment because of the recession. If this is the case, it is good news that families are spending more time together in this way.

My grandmother, who lived with our family for several years, loved to play Chinese Checkers. I spent many happy hours across a table from Grandma, with the Chinese Checker board between. She taught me the rules and tricks of the game.

My father’s favourite was crokinole. When we attended a crokinole tournament at the country school, Dad often came home with the top prize. He also played dominos with us, but not just any game of dominos. For one round, we could only count if the score was divisible by three, another round by five, and so on. It was his way of polishing our math skills!

When she could spare the time, Mom was ready for any game going. But her first choice was usually Scrabble. On the rare occasion that I had a night without homework, I could count on a game of Scrabble. I don’t remember winning very often, but it was always a fun challenge.

When my family visits, we still have some friendly competition around the table. One brother’s game of choice is usually Mexican Train. It mixes well with conversation. The other brother still likes Stock Ticker. “Always start with gold and stay away from grain” is his motto.

A visit to my mother-in-law always includes a few games of Phase Ten. Mum is a good example of the saying, “It’s not whether you win or lose, it’s how you play the game.” She is over eighty years old but still wins her share and runs us some stiff competition!

For a gathering of sibling in-laws, we use games for larger groups. Charades, Buzzword, Pictionary and Balderdash are popular choices. These games include everyone and are a great way to span the generations.

At this time of the year one sees new board games appearing on the shelves. Remember when Trivial Pursuit was everywhere? I think mine fetched a couple of dollars at a garage sale. The novelty had worn off.

For a gift, the old standards like Monopoly, Careers, Sorry, Uno and Yahtzee are hard to beat. They have been favourites for generations, having both simplicity and challenge.

Do you play table games with your family? What is your favourite?