I spend a big chunk of my spare time playing board games. I don't know why I haven't posted about it before. I guess I figured it's not the most relatable thing to post about, but given that most of my readers (I think) know me quite well by now, it's worth posting about. Because it's a big part of my life and kind of an important aspect of who I am.
I've been set up to be a gamer since pretty much birth. In my family it was mostly cards: Cribbage, 500 Euchre, Canasta, Poker - I played most of them before I hit high school. What I liked about cards - both then and now is how you can use basic games to teach (or learn) so many useful skills. Cribbage was a great game for math. Poker, for how to read peoples body language (and how to lie successfully. I was, and still am, crap at Poker). 500 for deductive reasoning, and in partnered games, communication.
But we played the old fashioned board games too: Monopoly, Cluedo, Scrabble, and Backgammon to name a few. My favourites were probably Scattergories and Scrabble because I loved thinking on my feet. And because spelling was easy for me, I enjoyed the true challenge of analysing how I could maximise my score best based on the letters and board in front of me.
NOTE: I've linked all the games to their pages on Board Game Geek if you want to learn more about any of them.
You can play board games practically anywhere - and we have. We've played board games in Brunei, Melbourne and Rarotonga (we bought Congkak - a traditional game in Brunei which I love). We've played board games on planes. We've played board games in cafes (only requirement is a largish table or a smallish game). We regularly play board games up at our bach - that's part of our winding-down-at-the-bach tradition really. Basically, we rarely leave to go anywhere for any period of time without taking at least a few games with us. They are a huge part of mine and Murray's lives.
My appreciation for the Euro game started with three games: Risk, Settlers of Catan and Ticket To Ride. Friends had a copy of Ticket To Ride which I was lucky enough to play with them a few times. I loved it. Not long after this Murray bought a cheap, knock of version of Risk from an emporium - playing it became one of our regular flat pastimes. And when a flatmate moved in with a copy of Settlers - well - that was me sold.
Simultaneously, Murray started getting back in to Bloodbowl - a fantasy role playing grid iron style game using Games Workshop figurines that had its heyday back in the 90's. While this game wasn't (and still isn't) for me - he found some folk for whom it was who incidentally - you guessed it - also played Euros. So Murray regularly (and me not as regularly, but sometimes) would go out to boardgaming days at these friends and play with a rag tag crew of gamers after making initial contact over Bloodbowl.
This introduced us to more and more games and at this point we started buying our own. We started small but since then have amassed a fair amount of board games - probably over 60 now.**
What I enjoy about Euro games over regular games like Monopoly is that they seem more aimed at adults, and seem to have better replay value. I mean, you play Monopoly twice - you get the gist of Monopoly. And after maybe 10 games of Monopoly you're thinking - fuck playing more Monopoly. Me and Murray were chatting recently and working out how many games of Dominion (one of our favorites) we must have played together over the years. We guestimated over 400. He has an app which he uses to track game plays, who plays, and scores. And in the last two years we've played 150ish games. And that's with an Abby and an Etta. We played way more before we had kids. So I'd say that game tops Monopoly for replay.
The other area that Euro games (well, the good ones) excel in is pacing. Unlike Monopoly most Euros are designed not to drag. And all have a rough estimate of play length on the box so you can choose based on how long a game you'd like to play (game play can last anywhere from about 20 minutes up to 6+ hours - so this is good to know). There's only two games I am happy to play that last longer than 90 minutes - and both of those games have a large element of subterfuge or fuck-overyness which makes for an enjoyable game no matter the length.
What I also love is the variety. I truly believe there is a Euro for everyone. There are short and long games. There are themed games and strategy games. There are silly games and serious games. There are team games and solo games. I truly think that if you pitch the right game at someone (at the right time) you can turn anyone into a gamer.
If we have a large group my new gaming go to is Codenames. This is a fantastic new team game which won the 2016 UK Games Expo Best Party Game (among other awards). We've introduced it to a fair few people since we got it less than a year ago, and I know at least two people that have since bought it because they enjoyed playing so much. This is slightly less nerdy and more party friendly than Stone Age (which requires at least a little nerdy buy in).
In fact, before we had kids we used to host Gaming New Years parties. This actually began as a revolt against the unnecessary pressure that is New Years Eve. I have always hated it. Consequently, I have usually worked on it and/or the day following so that regular folks can go party. The first gaming New Years we hosted had just 5 guests and a baby. I came late as was working, and we ate nachos and played 500. It was basically my ideal New Years.
In years following, the numbers grew. Over the next few years we had probably around 10ish people attend, and while there were games, it was more of a 'party' atmosphere. The first New Years after we bought our house I was pregnant and grumpy and somehow we ended up hosting a gaming New Years party which about 30 people attended. What I loved was that 30 people genuinely were happy to come over to play board games. We set up four(ish) gaming areas to cater for all: uber nerds (big table), party classics (Cranium - lounge), Scrabble corner (spare room), and the drunks/drinkers - (outside). And it worked, kinda. I was pregnant and grumpy and as mentioned earlier - not that into New Years. So it was a bit too big of a party for me but seriously showed how boardgaming can be fun for so many different people.
Post kids we've pulled things back for New Years, but it's still games focused. When Etta was little we went to a friends place (who also had a baby), played a few games with a group of maybe six of us then went home just after midnight. Murray went out to games another year. Then last year we had an awesome boardgaming party of three with Murray's brother Alan. Back to basics.
What is cool is that our kids are big enough to start enjoying board games too. I think the kids collection comprises of about seven games - three of which are played regularly at the moment. Their favorites are Hungry Hungry Hippos (a game which is genuinely fun and playable for the whole family), Shopping List (a memory based kids game) and 3D Action Snakes and Ladders (like the traditional one, only more fun) . It's a great way to spend quality time with our kids whilst imbuing in them (hopefully) our love of gaming as well as some useful skills.
And the things I hope to teach the kids through gaming are all things that I learned through gaming:
1) Hand/eye co-ordination - moving pieces around a board/holding/moving cards in your hand
2) Playing nicely with others
3) Patience - not all players will play (or enjoy playing) at the same pace
4) Learning from observation
5) Remembering information for future use
6) Basic numeracy (and sometimes more complex mathematics)
7) Reading (rules and cards) during game play
8) How to apply logic and problem solve
9) How to learn from and teach others using different methodologies
10) How to generally socialise with other humans
So I've sold you on gaming and you want to give it a go?
Awesome! If you don't want to invest a bunch of money ($40 - $80 for most good games) then just head to Cakes and Ladders to give it a go! Cakes and Ladders is a board gaming cafe in Symonds Street where you can have a cuppa and a piece of cake and peruse board games. The owners also work there and will be happy to help you learn and understand games - this is a great place to start. If you don't live in Auckland see if there's anything similar close by, or see if there are any gaming clubs nearby (there are a number of them run through Auckland Libraries).
So get gaming!
* Except for Scrabble. I still love Scrabble. I think it has endless play value provided you have good people to play with. And I HAVE played Monopoly in recent years (see! Photographic evidence - also just FYI - I won).
** It has to be stated for the record that this collection is MOSTLY Murray's who spends a good amount of his hard earned dosh on adding to the collection. To be fair, I have also bought quite a number of games for him over many Christmases and Birthday's - and before he got the memo (I'd prefer something else) I received a few myself from Murray... But do I appreciate and utilise this collection at will? Yes! I love it!
I've been set up to be a gamer since pretty much birth. In my family it was mostly cards: Cribbage, 500 Euchre, Canasta, Poker - I played most of them before I hit high school. What I liked about cards - both then and now is how you can use basic games to teach (or learn) so many useful skills. Cribbage was a great game for math. Poker, for how to read peoples body language (and how to lie successfully. I was, and still am, crap at Poker). 500 for deductive reasoning, and in partnered games, communication.
But we played the old fashioned board games too: Monopoly, Cluedo, Scrabble, and Backgammon to name a few. My favourites were probably Scattergories and Scrabble because I loved thinking on my feet. And because spelling was easy for me, I enjoyed the true challenge of analysing how I could maximise my score best based on the letters and board in front of me.NOTE: I've linked all the games to their pages on Board Game Geek if you want to learn more about any of them.
You can play board games practically anywhere - and we have. We've played board games in Brunei, Melbourne and Rarotonga (we bought Congkak - a traditional game in Brunei which I love). We've played board games on planes. We've played board games in cafes (only requirement is a largish table or a smallish game). We regularly play board games up at our bach - that's part of our winding-down-at-the-bach tradition really. Basically, we rarely leave to go anywhere for any period of time without taking at least a few games with us. They are a huge part of mine and Murray's lives.
Me and Murray on a coffee/gaming date with Pagoda
My appreciation for the Euro game started with three games: Risk, Settlers of Catan and Ticket To Ride. Friends had a copy of Ticket To Ride which I was lucky enough to play with them a few times. I loved it. Not long after this Murray bought a cheap, knock of version of Risk from an emporium - playing it became one of our regular flat pastimes. And when a flatmate moved in with a copy of Settlers - well - that was me sold.
Simultaneously, Murray started getting back in to Bloodbowl - a fantasy role playing grid iron style game using Games Workshop figurines that had its heyday back in the 90's. While this game wasn't (and still isn't) for me - he found some folk for whom it was who incidentally - you guessed it - also played Euros. So Murray regularly (and me not as regularly, but sometimes) would go out to boardgaming days at these friends and play with a rag tag crew of gamers after making initial contact over Bloodbowl.
This introduced us to more and more games and at this point we started buying our own. We started small but since then have amassed a fair amount of board games - probably over 60 now.**
What I enjoy about Euro games over regular games like Monopoly is that they seem more aimed at adults, and seem to have better replay value. I mean, you play Monopoly twice - you get the gist of Monopoly. And after maybe 10 games of Monopoly you're thinking - fuck playing more Monopoly. Me and Murray were chatting recently and working out how many games of Dominion (one of our favorites) we must have played together over the years. We guestimated over 400. He has an app which he uses to track game plays, who plays, and scores. And in the last two years we've played 150ish games. And that's with an Abby and an Etta. We played way more before we had kids. So I'd say that game tops Monopoly for replay.
The other area that Euro games (well, the good ones) excel in is pacing. Unlike Monopoly most Euros are designed not to drag. And all have a rough estimate of play length on the box so you can choose based on how long a game you'd like to play (game play can last anywhere from about 20 minutes up to 6+ hours - so this is good to know). There's only two games I am happy to play that last longer than 90 minutes - and both of those games have a large element of subterfuge or fuck-overyness which makes for an enjoyable game no matter the length.
What I also love is the variety. I truly believe there is a Euro for everyone. There are short and long games. There are themed games and strategy games. There are silly games and serious games. There are team games and solo games. I truly think that if you pitch the right game at someone (at the right time) you can turn anyone into a gamer.
Patchwork - the first game I bought Murray without consultation.
And we have...
Over time, I've realised there are some Euro's that I describe as 'gateway games'. Like mary-jane is to cocaine, there are some games that once someone gets a taste they'll likely be back for more. The first game I discovered had this quality was Stone Age. Stone Age is a classic Euro with points scored both throughout the game and at the end. It is Stone Age themed, but like most good Euro's is really about balance, strategic play, a little math and a little luck. It is simple enough that most people get the gist of it after one play, but diverse enough that they'll come back for more. This is almost always my first pick of Euro's when it comes to playing with gaming virgins in a small group.
If we have a large group my new gaming go to is Codenames. This is a fantastic new team game which won the 2016 UK Games Expo Best Party Game (among other awards). We've introduced it to a fair few people since we got it less than a year ago, and I know at least two people that have since bought it because they enjoyed playing so much. This is slightly less nerdy and more party friendly than Stone Age (which requires at least a little nerdy buy in).
In fact, before we had kids we used to host Gaming New Years parties. This actually began as a revolt against the unnecessary pressure that is New Years Eve. I have always hated it. Consequently, I have usually worked on it and/or the day following so that regular folks can go party. The first gaming New Years we hosted had just 5 guests and a baby. I came late as was working, and we ate nachos and played 500. It was basically my ideal New Years.
One of the early Board Gaming New Years(es)
In years following, the numbers grew. Over the next few years we had probably around 10ish people attend, and while there were games, it was more of a 'party' atmosphere. The first New Years after we bought our house I was pregnant and grumpy and somehow we ended up hosting a gaming New Years party which about 30 people attended. What I loved was that 30 people genuinely were happy to come over to play board games. We set up four(ish) gaming areas to cater for all: uber nerds (big table), party classics (Cranium - lounge), Scrabble corner (spare room), and the drunks/drinkers - (outside). And it worked, kinda. I was pregnant and grumpy and as mentioned earlier - not that into New Years. So it was a bit too big of a party for me but seriously showed how boardgaming can be fun for so many different people.
Gaming in Rarotonga with Alan (Stone Age incidentally)
1) Hand/eye co-ordination - moving pieces around a board/holding/moving cards in your hand
2) Playing nicely with others
3) Patience - not all players will play (or enjoy playing) at the same pace
4) Learning from observation
5) Remembering information for future use
6) Basic numeracy (and sometimes more complex mathematics)
7) Reading (rules and cards) during game play
8) How to apply logic and problem solve
9) How to learn from and teach others using different methodologies
10) How to generally socialise with other humans
So I've sold you on gaming and you want to give it a go?
Awesome! If you don't want to invest a bunch of money ($40 - $80 for most good games) then just head to Cakes and Ladders to give it a go! Cakes and Ladders is a board gaming cafe in Symonds Street where you can have a cuppa and a piece of cake and peruse board games. The owners also work there and will be happy to help you learn and understand games - this is a great place to start. If you don't live in Auckland see if there's anything similar close by, or see if there are any gaming clubs nearby (there are a number of them run through Auckland Libraries).
So get gaming!
* Except for Scrabble. I still love Scrabble. I think it has endless play value provided you have good people to play with. And I HAVE played Monopoly in recent years (see! Photographic evidence - also just FYI - I won).
** It has to be stated for the record that this collection is MOSTLY Murray's who spends a good amount of his hard earned dosh on adding to the collection. To be fair, I have also bought quite a number of games for him over many Christmases and Birthday's - and before he got the memo (I'd prefer something else) I received a few myself from Murray... But do I appreciate and utilise this collection at will? Yes! I love it!
