Family Games

Last weekend was busy and tiring but we didn't do much out of the ordinary and very little worth writing about. Rain cancelled any plans we might have had to get outside on Saturday and I was very behind on my sleep and nearly exhausted on Sunday. On Saturday night I had run an odd job that kept me out until 3:00 am and I had already had trouble sleeping during the previous week. Partly for that reason we stayed home on Sunday. Our usual Sunday evening gathering with friends was cancelled. Instead we stayed home for a family game night.

Jennifer and I have played games together ever since we met twenty years ago and Maura has enjoyed playing games with us since she was old enough for Candy Land and Chutes and Ladders. We have a pretty good selection of games that we all like to play. They range from classics like Clue and Yahtzee to more recent games such as Apples to Apples, Carcassonne and Settlers of Catan. The list could go on—we have dozens. The collection is ever expanding as games are favorite holiday and birthday gifts. This year Maura received Lemming Mafia. Laugh if you want, but it is a fun game for adults to play with middle grade kids. Check it out online if you are in the market for a good game to play with your ten-year-old. Sometimes we will play for hours with each member of the family picking a game in turn so we get to play all of our favorites.

This Sunday we only played one game after dinner. Maura chose one of her favorites, Cannibal Pygmies in the Jungle of Doom, the B-movie card game. As always, all three of us played to win. Once Maura understands a game Jennifer and I never go easy on her. She wins her share of most of the games we play so I don't feel too badly about beating her. I know she’s happy when she beats us. Teaching Maura how to be a good winner and a good loser is one of the reasons why Jennifer and I play games with her. Of course, the biggest reason we play is to have fun. We could watch TV or a movie together but the games offer far more opportunities for interaction. Sometimes we can even have a conversation without interrupting the game play.