Oh The Games People Play

A few evenings ago, I heard some neighborhood kids playing No Bears are Out Tonight, which brought back many happy childhood memories. Not of that game in particular, because I don’t recall ever having played it. I was familiar with it though. Visions of playing Sidewalk Tag, Freeze Tag, Red Rover, Mother, May I, and Kick the Can, to name a few, brought a smile to my face.

Going down the rabbit hole that these memories opened up in my mind took me to all of the games I have played, heard of, or have something to say about. So, join me on my travel through a memory lane of games.

My siblings and I would spend hours playing such games as; Chinese Checkers, which is one we’d play at our grandparents house because it was one of the few games they had. While at home we’d play Master Mind, Masterpiece, Happiness, Man Hunt, Clue, Life, Monopoly, and Aggravation, and this list could go on.

There were games we’d play outside, but not frequently, as they took more set-up, or were what could have been specific to a holiday, like Colored Eggs that we’d play around Easter time. Others, like badminton and croquet we’d usually reserve for times when friends or cousins were around.

There are plenty of sports options, some of which we could play in our yard or driveway, but it was also nice that we lived fairly close to the school and a park. I wasn’t very athletic but I enjoyed playing Baseball/Softball, Kickball, Basketball, etc., as long as the game wasn’t being taken too seriously. I loved playing Tennis and only wish that I was a more confident, competent player. But the game I hated the worst was Dodgeball. We were made to play that in school and I’ll never understand how throwing a ball (or any object, for that matter) at another person was/is a good idea, or any fun at all! Maybe that’s because I was always one of the last ones picked for a team and was one of the first ones out. That soon became my strategy just so that I wouldn’t have to play any more. Sitting on the bleachers and just chatting with all the other ‘losers’ was much more enjoyable.

We would invent our own games as well. My little sister and I, and our brother and his friend created a game where my sis and I would lock the boys out of our house to see how long it would take for them to find a way inside. It wasn’t a matter of if they could do it, just how long it would take them. It never took very long even though we thought we’d secured things tightly enough THIS time. I’m pretty sure they always got in anyways, they always “won”.  That made me realize just how unsafe we could be in our own home. It also taught me that if ever I was locked out of the house, I should be able to get back in. Which in reality was never an issue as I don’t remember us ever having our door to the house locked in the first place. Maybe at night, but not being the one in charge of making sure the house was secure for the night, and never being one to come in toooo late, I don’t know. I did sneak out one night just to see if I could do it and to have the experience. I wanted to know what all the excitement was about. So I climbed out my bedroom window to the front porch, but not really having anywhere to go, or any reason to be rebellious, I just opened the front door and walked back in.

A game we came up with, that we played with larger groups, we called Dictionary. It later became an official boxed game called Balderdash. Sadly, we weren’t the ones to reap the financial rewards of officially creating the game. We played Balderdash as well, and it was a lot of fun, and at times rather humorous! How much money do the creators of games make anyway?

Coming from a large family and an even larger extended family, and loving those “get togethers”, we played such games as; The Name Game (which is another one we made up), Four Men on a Couch, Signs, Murder in the Dark, The Cold Wind Blows, and Whoopie. There are others we’ve played that may not even have a name, but again, the list of  the ones that might be recognizable to others is too long for sharing here.

We try to come together once a week, or as often as possible, with those who live in our house, and anyone who might happen to be with us at the time, to play games. The old stand-byes have been; Yahtzee, Phase 10 Dice, Boggle, and Alaska. Alaska is a card game that was named for the place in which someone learns the game. My sister, the one who taught it to us, either learned it in Alaska, or just kept it the same name the person who taught it to her had given it, having learned it in Alaska themselves, just because it sounded better than where she learned it. Which is exactly what we did. I don’t know what name it may have started out with but, we have run across a similar game recently called Sky Jo. There are variations in that game which are fun, but I still think I like Alaska better.

When our grandkids come, they like to play; Uno, Sorry, Bubble Talk, Pictionary, and most recently Take 5, a new game we got at Christmas time. We just bought another new game because I had played it at my sister’s house and thought my family might enjoy it too, called Just One. We played it the other night for my husband’s birthday and we had a hard time wanting to stop. We had a good time with that one and our two grandchildren who can read did great with it as well. It’s a keeper.

Speaking of my sister, she and another sister and their families have large selections of games that are a lot of fun to play, and to be able to borrow from. I couldn’t begin to list them all. Several people in their families own the virtual reality game, The Oculus. They enjoy being able to connect with family and friends online, once the kids are in bed for instance, allowing them to play from their various homes and in different States, while still “being together”. The Oculus was a life saver during Covid lockdowns because the online feature didn’t require that they physically be in the same space. I have played a few Oculus games when visiting one sister and my favorite is Miniature Golf. We have ended up laughing so hard at times that we’ve had to take a break until we could gain our composure. The problem I find with The Oculus is that it gives me a headache, so I’m not able to play it for very long–which is partly why I don’t own one myself, as well as the fact that they are pretty pricey.

If large groups aren’t your thing or at times when there are just two people who want to play a game, there are games like Chess, Checkers, Backgammon, Stratego, Battle Ship, and many others, including a variety of card games. Some of these games can be played with a computer being the opponent, or be played online with other people. And of course, there are many games, especially on our phones or online that can be played alone. Just ask Google or your trusty App Store.

I have spent far more time in the past few months doing puzzles, playing solitaire, word games, or untying knots, on my phone, either to keep myself awake during slow times at work or to help me fall asleep at night. They seem to work for both. They say that they’re supposed to be good for brain health, but who “they” are, I don’t know, maybe the game makers. I do have to stretch my brain sometimes in playing them, so maybe there is truth in what they claim.

I’ve heard that you can play games from your Smart phones with people all sitting in the same room, each on their own phone. I haven’t witnessed or participated in that experience so I can’t give any sort of opinion on it. But, I guess, depending on the group of people playing and the particular game, it could be another fun way to connect, just differently.

I’m not going to say much about the world of video gaming, because it is a WHOLE WORLD, one of which I know very little about. And what I know is based on my observations, which I must say are not a favorable assessment.

There are games of every kind. Here are some categories of games that I thought of. Maybe you can think of more. I’ll give a few suggestions following each category to give you an idea of where I was going with this that can hopefully help inspire memories that you may have and games that you love.

Dice Games-Dice Capades, Tenzie, Yahtzee, Phase Ten Dice
Card Games-Uno, SkipBo, Five Crowns, Take Five, any number of games using face cards or Rook cards
Cooperative Games-Forbidden Island, Forbidden Desert, Pandemic
Parlor Games -Charades, Hot and Cold, Psychiatrist
Acting Games-How to Host a Murder, Gestures
Travel Games-The Alphabet Game, 21 Questions, The License Plate Game, as well as regular games made with magnetic backing and played on a foldable magnetic board in order to not lose pieces along the way
Trivia Games-Those you can put together on your own by gathering quotes from movies, or slogans, Trivial Pursuit, The 5 Second Rule, Cranium, Encore, Song Burst
Yard Games-Badminton, Croquet, Coobes, Bocce Ball, 9 Square
Arcade Games-I don’t know if this is what they would be considered, but I’m talking about games like Pool, Air Hockey, Foosball, and the likes.

There is at least one website I’m aware of where you can get a review or watch a video with instructions to play almost any game in existence. It is boardgamegeek.com, or you can always check YouTube to see if there are reviews and instructions there are well.

I realize that I have not even begun to skim the surface of game playing possibilities. My boss is a game collector with over 600 games in his collection at last count. He often stops by second hand stores to see if there is anything “new” that sparks his interest. I don’t know how long it took him, but he started collecting Jenga Tiles that he eventually made a game tabletop from. It is beautiful, and creative.

I’m not encouraging everyone to become game collectors, because you don’t need to be. In my opinion, the thing that is important is spending time with people being engaged in “wholesome recreational activities”, I love the way playing games together keeps people in the same room, or game playing area, interacting with each other. That can be accomplished without a large amount of financial investment. Like my boss does, shop thrift stores, or, borrow games from others, create your own games, or search for game options that can be played with the same set of dice or the same deck of cards. Word of mouth can be a great way to have interesting conversations with people as well as a way to discover new game options. There’s a lot out there!

So, “Do you want to play a game?”