There’s something about sitting around a table and competing for glory and honor that truly bonds a family. My family has been playing games together since the kids’ favorite game was Chutes and Ladders. As our kids have grown, the games we’ve played have changed but what’s remaind the same is the camraderie and friendly competition that the games create.
Our favorite games through the years have included the “Batman Game” (guess who loved that one) that allows individuals to help Batman rid the world of criminals like Joker and the Penguin. Sean loved to play this game when he was younger and every so often I come across it and get a yearning to gather my family in the Batcave and help rid the world of evil.
We bought the Ravensburger Labyrinth game for the children, but it soon became my favorite game as I loved hunting through the Labyrinth for the seven treasures and blocking my opponents in whenever I got the chance. Unfortunately, the kids quicly outgrew Labyrinth, but I still love to play it.
Hubby’s favorite game of all time is Euchre, but it takes all four of us to play so we don’t play it as much as he’d like. It took me a while to warm up to the game because I equated it with college drinking games, but once I learned its intricacies, I was hooked and I began begging to play. We still play now and then but one of our foursome has decided she doesn’t like to play so it takes some major begging and occasionally a bribe to get her to play.
Trivial Pursuit is another family favorite. We’ve played multiple incarnations, but we always seem to gravitate back to the original. There’s a Beatles version out now that may find it’s way into someone’s Christmas stocking. Scattegories, Risk, Aggravation, and Life are other favorites that we play when the mood strikes. One of my favorite memories is sitting around a picnic table at the camp ground playing Aggravation and sending each of my family members in turn back to start.
Lately, we’ve been playing the Scene It and other video games and although they are fun, there is something to be said for sitting around a table with the TV off, listening to some soft music and playing games to create family bliss.
Cairn by Cairn 