The family that plays together

 

My wife and I are cleaning out the den closet of the games we used to play with our children and grandchildren years ago. It was a sad time for me as I realized that most of our favorite games–Trouble, Othello, Kalah, Sorry, Kimbo, Hi-Ho Cherry-O and Monopoly–are games that are no longer enjoyed by children today, who now only punch buttons on computer and video games.

Don’t get me wrong, if I was part of that generation, I’m sure I would love playing online games where I could compete with my friends all from the comfort of my own home. In a way, I wish I was. I hear my grandchildren and their friends talking about their favorite games all the time. Football Manager, World of Warcraft, and this Catan online game are just some of the games that I have heard them talking about recently. Now, even though I wouldn’t even know where to start with these games, they somehow managed to draw me in, and I wondered what it would be like if I decided to play these games myself. It was a funny thought, but it kept my mind occupied for hours.

While this sounded good, there is just something about the old-fashioned board games that you can’t escape from. The competitiveness, the family time, and the memories we made during this time are second to none, and it is hard to get them anywhere else. We, as parents and grandparents, not only joined in the fun, but taught our children important concepts: there are rules that are to be followed (in life as well as games) and you don’t always win (so try again!).

Being together was, and is, very important to mutual understanding and security. But in today’s world, there is a new way of doing things and families have to adjust to this new way of doing things, regardless of whether you are a board game lover or a computer game lover.

 

Don Kessel

Salem


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