Family Game Night

So, we're finally doing it.  We're going to have a family game night every week!  We've certainly got plenty of games to choose from at this point (but who couldn't use more?) so it's time we finally start using them on a regular basis.  It's good for the kids, and the adults get to spend some social time.

For the longest time, Trouble was one of the favorites around here. That was, it was a favorite until the board came apart, which occasionally happens with well-loved games. Surviving the move presented another challenge. I'm not sure if it was a matter of letting the kids play unsupervised, since they both wanted to play every chance they could get, or something else, but that poor game got beat up. I suppose that's what happens with kids.  They can be rough on things they love!

This year my daughter got Sorry from her great-aunt and uncle.  I have to admit, I'd never played the game before.  I know pretty much everyone of my generation has.  Even Chesh said he'd loved that game when he was a kid.  He said if she liked trouble, she'd like this, so we gave it a try last game night.  I'll be honest, I wasn't a fan of Sorry.  It seems to be a game where a lot of time is spent sitting around, waiting to be able to do something.  Once people can get out into the board and start doing things, it doesn't necessarily move much faster.  It's not exactly my pace of game, and my little Link didn't seem to think it was his speed either, though we kind of figured that would be the case.  The rules are a bit complex for him, and he gets frustrated with competitive games that he doesn't understand so well.

However, my daughter loved it!  She thought it was the greatest game in the world and just wanted to play again and again.  We really didn't have the time for another play through, but it looks like that one's going to be coming out on our next game night, and every game night after as her choice of games.  As a result, we've decided everyone really needs to pick a game and we'll either go with the two favorites, or maybe we'll just have to dedicate a whole day to games.  Otherwise I get the feeling we'll be playing a lot of Sorry!

The other game we played on our last game night was Apple To Apples Kids 7 Plus, which turned out to be quite amusing.  I really wish we'd had more people to play with, because larger groups only make it that much more amusing.  We've played Apples to Apples before, but it's a game rated at 12+, so we thought a kids' version might be more appropriate.  Added bonus?  All of the sets work together, so while we may have started with this small set, we may end up with quite a set by the time we're done.  Most of my friends love this game, and now my kids love it too, even Link who is too little to read the cards on his own.

So in this case we all sat down to play.  Chesh and I already knew the rules, so it was easy for us.  Bunny Boo did amazingly well with all the reading skills.  Link, though he couldn't read, decided it was fun just to pick a card at random and throw it in, just because it allowed him to play without help.  When it came to his turn, we read the cards for him.  The whole family ended up in laughter at some of the things that got thrown down for each category.  I'm thinking we may have to pull that out at every party we have from now on, at least every party with kids old enough to read.  I might even have to think about packing it in our bags if we can find a way back home for Christmas next year.  I think the family would get a kick out of it.

I'm looking forward to all the other games we pull out of the closet over the next few game nights.  We've got a lot of games in there that have been seriously neglected.  I think it's time to pull them out and let them enjoy the light of day again!