by Bruce Whitehill
An editorial published September 2007 in Knucklebones games magazine
Most people like to categorize things. Put everything into a nice box; sort things according to some type of commonality; classify, arrange, organize, assign and label. For example, we divide games (the non-electronic ones) into three major groups: children’s games, adult games, and family games. “Children’s games” are not, well, not something that we adults enjoy having to play with the little ones too long or too often. “Adult games” (not to be confused with the “Triple X,” “adult” games associated more with certain social encounters than serious play) are generally competitive in nature and require some modicum of thought, strategic planning and decision making. Whereas “family games” fit into that broad category of games that can be played by children and adults, together. But the American family has changed significantly over the past 50 years—there are more single-parent families, and many more families where both parents work, limiting the time children get to be with their elders. Does that mean that “family games” have changed as well?
Not much, in my estimation. Families still play Monopoly, Parcheesi, Sorry, The Game of Life, and other standbys. (Most are promoted by the one huge game company that now dominates American play indoors, Hasbro.) The reason for families to get together to play games is the same as it always was: fun, socializing, communication, and maybe a little teaching and learning along the way.
The illustrations on boxed games from the early 1900s often showed three generations playing the game. It was commonplace at that time for grandparents to be living in the same home as their grandchildren. Games geared toward the younger set regularly bore illustrations of the parents observing the children’s play. Nowadays, these types of games frequently have photographs of wide-eyed children with mouths agape, as if in a kind of frozen wonder, brimming with the excitement usually saved for a top-of-the-line roller coaster ride or an ice cream sundae nearly too large to finish. I only wish the games were really that good….
I used to think that “family game” meant a game for children that adults would accept playing if they had to. But I think that the games in that “family” category have matured (the aforementioned classics notwithstanding), and I now believe there are games—many of them—that both kids and their parents can enjoy.
Playing games teaches younger folks how to win with grace and how to accept defeat with dignity. There is no “agony” to losing a game. It also teaches that the process can be as enjoyable as the outcome. The old maxims, “It doesn’t matter whether you win or lose but how you play the game,” and “Getting there is half the fun,” were not attributions to games originally, but they apply nonetheless. Game playing can be as much fun and as valuable to a child—even grown up ones—as going on a family outing or sitting around the table discussing almost anything.
The experience counts for as much as the game itself. If you want to stick with the standard classics, then Monopoly and Parcheesi will provide ample entertainment. But there are many other games that are ideal for family play. One of the oldest, for example, is Blockhead, which has been around since 1952 and has changed little over the years. It’s one of the earliest of the popular stacking games that have led to Jenga and other tower games. Odd-shaped blocks (in a good mix of colors) are stacked one on top of another until one player’s poor placement causes the entire formation to fall.
Another balance game is Topple. Checker-like disks are added to a round platform that is balancing precariously on the end of a long shaft. The addition of a weighted disk in the wrong place will shift the weight of the platform, causing it to tilt too far, sending all the disks crashing to the table. One of the advantages to playing these kinds of family games—dexterity or “Skill & Action” games—is that the youngster has as good a chance of winning as the adult, if not better. And any adult with a steady hand should enjoy these games.
Classic card games such as Go Fish or Old Maid for the younger set or Mille Bornes or Pit for older kids should amuse adults as well, and since much of the game depends on the luck of the draw, children often have as good a chance of winning as their parents.
Board games offer a nearly infinite variety of types of play. Blokus and Ticket to Ride are two examples of popular games sure to please children and adults alike, though victory will favor the sharper player. Knucklebones and numerous game websites are continually reviewing board games (and others) that are readily available and well-balanced to pit children against adults.
With the spread of movies in the 1920s and ‘30s, the introduction and rapid rise of television in the late 1940s and ‘50s, and the electronic distractions of the 1980s and beyond from computers to iPods to video game consoles, came the cry heralding the end of board games. But it never happened. Other entertainments will always vie for our attention, but nothing will replace the games played at the kitchen table in the American household. (And if the kitchen table is replaced, families will find another place to play.) So when people ask if anyone is still playing board games in 2007, or if board games will be around 50 years from now, my answer is an assured “yes,” and that family games will be with us as long as there are families.
