Why, in the 21st century, would anyone ever want to play a board game? What possible point is there to sitting down in a room and playing a game?
I’ll give you one, good reason – Positive Human Contact.
Board games give you that chance, that ability to disconnect your cell phones and actually talk to the person across the room from you.
It doesn’t matter if you are sitting down to play a spirited game of Uno or the newest expansion to Warhammer 40k, board games, by definition, require interaction.
And, we as a people are starved for this. Sure, the majority of us, humans either work or study in a location where we interact with a variety of people in the day, and have friends whom we do a variety of things with, but how often do we sit with someone and engage, specifically in an activity that engages each of us?
Sure, we go to movies, or clubs, or even sit in conversation, but what I find, is that all too often, at least a few of us become the social outliers in these situations, or the dominator of the conversation. Perhaps, the conversation becomes another spirited argument over something only two or three of us care about, or perhaps two of the group are having a good time on the dance floor, while the rest of the group awkwardly sip a soda and wonder how soon is too soon to suggest that the group split up for the evening so we can binge watch Daredevil on Netflix.
But good board games engage each of us. And not just that, they require our
PARTICIPATION.
One person will have a very hard time playing a board game by themselves, but, a well-made boardgame, like Settlers of Catan, or Pandemic can engage and entertain a group of people and offer hours of genuine entertainment and help build friendships and relationships.
So, here is my challenge for you, dear reader – go out and try playing any board game with any friend. Allow yourself to get into it, allow yourself to suspend your disbelief or preconceived notions, and enjoy the game!
Here are a couple suggestions off the top of my head:
Competitive Group:
Settlers of Catan
Competitive Couple:
Memoir ‘44
Cooperative Couple or Group:
Pandemic
Go forth and game!
. . .
Originally published by Ed