Blogger: Etta Wilson
Location: Books & Such Nashville Office
Weather: Cool and Cloudy
Maybe it’s the approach of Thanksgiving and family visits, maybe it’s the new list of Christmas hints for young grandsons, but the time for indoor games has come. In my case, that means setting up a card table for a game of Rook, Bridge or Dominoes.
When I checked Amazon’s mind-boggling list of toys and games, I found some 1,452 games offered just for ages 8 to 11! I was a bit surprised to see all the classics from the past still around such as Sorry and Candyland as well as the various “special editions” of Trivial Pursuit, Monopoly and a “Diamond Anniversary Edition” of Scrabble. Then there are the character-based board games like Operation SpongeBob and the movie-based board games like Twilight Saga:New Moon game. Who besides Milton Bradley employees thinks up these things?
We must be a game-playing culture, and that’s not a bad thing. These elements of creative play exercise the brain, get us out of our ruts, open the door from writers block. I’ve just begun reading The Brain That Changes Itself by Norman Doidge, M.D. In popular style, he supports with case studies the theory that the brain is not “hardwired” or fixed and can, with exercise, change its structure as is often seen in recovery from stroke.
Well, we may not be able to stay in school forever or even to take a course once a year to get that exercise, but we can keep playing games. What are your favorites? Which ones really get your juices flowing? What makes a good game? Right now, I’m off to Toys R Us.
If you come over to our house, we’ll make you play Rummikub. Or once in a great while, we’ll inflict Clue on you.
We’ve been playing “Bananas” since we picked up a canvas peel-full in London last spring. It’s a cross between Scrabble and a personal crossword puzzle and lots of fun. Even our foreign exchange student can play–and has one once–against the heavy duty language people in my household.
A young friend at UC Berkeley posted photos last night of her roommates playing Candyland with real candy. I’m not sure on the rules, but they looked pretty hung over when it was done . . .
We also like Sequence, bridge, and Tri-onimoes.
Wow, speaking of language people–make that WON! It’s early in California . . . 🙂
Carcassonne is the best board game I’ve ever played. It seems like a combination of many different games including dominoes, Risk, chess, and a bit of scrabble. You actually build the game board as you play, so it is different every time. The game relies heavily on strategy with a touch of luck, is a fantastic game for two players or six players, easy enough for an eight-year-old, complicated enough for a seventy-eight-year old, and only takes around 45 minutes to play.
Here is the Amazon link for the Big Box that includes many of the expansions:
http://www.amazon.com/Rio-Grande-Games-Carcassonne-Big/dp/B001UH9FHQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=toys-and-games&qid=1258987810&sr=1-1
It’s a perfect game for those long dark winter days.
I love Boggle and Pictionary. Those are two of my favorites.
I’m not a game person, really. They just aren’t fun for me. There’s one exception: Nertz. I can’t remember what it’s called up North, but the Southern version is more hardcore (it’s not as easy to score points). I LOVE that game!
I love Boggle. The only person who can beat me at it is my mother. She also rocks at Scrabble, while I absolutely don’t.
Thanks for the book recommendation. I’ve read This is Your Brain on Joy, by Dr. Earl Henslin, which suggests a similar view.
My family loves games. Some of our favorites are: The Settlers of Catan; Bang!; Bonanza; Mystery Rummy; Family Business; Apples to Apples; Saboteur; and Balderdash. I really enjoy browsing at funagaingames.com. 🙂
James, my husband and I just discovered the wonder that is Carcassonne! Our neighbors (owners of a game store) brought it with them the last time we had dinner. SO fun, with a dash of medieval times!
We do not have a television in the house, but we do have a shelving unit overflowing with board and card games. My favorites are the word games, trivia games, and Balderdash. I love Scrabble, but I seldom win because I hold out for the unique word rather than the high-pointer.
This is National Game and Puzzle Week. Hooray! Let’s play!
I love Settlers of Catan (actually the Seafarers version), Scrabble, Sequence, and (just dso you don’t think I only play games beginning with “S”) I’ve just learned to play cribbage. My kids also love Apples to Apples. We also enjoy jigsaw puzzles and it’s a tradition at our house to have one on the go whenever family gets together.
Balderdash is my favorite, probably because I’m a writer. Writing down those answers are like mini writing prompts! 🙂 Almost always, the other players think my answer is the real answer. That makes it fun for me.
Balderdash, Boggle, Scrabble, Bananagrams… oh, wait, they’re all word games. What a coincidence. 😉
Samantha, I’ve just decided the one game I’m buying this year is Carcassone. Thanks.
Michelle, now I know why all the store aisles labeled “Candyland” included real candy from all sorts of candy makers such as Mars, M & M! A definite enticement to play.
Blogging can surely be a game and y’all are the experts!
As for me, Sudoku is a fave when I’m alone.
Various Rummys, and we play a fun version of “double” Solitaire (with 2 or… we’ve played it with up to 8 – that is WILD) – where you play on one another’s aces.
I don’t know if that’s good for brain juices but it gets your heart rate up!
Obviously I need to crawl out from under this rock and check out Carcassone.
We have the Mayberry-opoly ready for after T-day lunch! Thanks for this – too fun!
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