I have always loved board games. I used to play them all the time. As a kid, my favorite game was SCRABBLE, which I used to play with my great aunt, and from time to time as an adult, usually with my in-laws.
With children, I love to play SORRY. As Jaquandor explained, this is a game that by the time a kid is 4 to 6, can play an adult straight up.
I found this out when I used to play with my late friend Nancy’s son Jeff when he was about 6 in 1978 or 1979; I would not give him an advantage and he’d beat me almost half the time. Likewise, my daughter is very good at it. In fact, we often play with her stuffed animals as surrogates as well, with each of us essentially playing two colors, and she’ll often come in first and second, or at least first and third.
I’m quite fond of Monopoly. I could tell you what the purchase price and basic rent for every property on the board; unfortunately, it’s a game that really requires multiple players, and that has not been the situation I’ve found myself in of late. For our wedding, we received an Albany-based Monopoly set that I’m pretty sure we’ve never used.
I went through a phase of playing a lot of Trivial Pursuit in the 1980s and 1990s, but some people didn’t like the fact that I won too often – it’s a curse – and I probably haven’t played this century.
The game I play most often at this point is backgammon. It’s a game I learned at a bar appropriately called Bacchus in my college town of New Paltz, NY from my friend Anne. Then I didn’t play for a long time. Now I play my friend Mary at work at least twice a month at lunchtime. It’s a fairly easy game to play, though it takes a little while to ascertain the best strategy. The board often shows up on the back of checkerboards, and the game is available online, so one can hone one’s skills.
My favorite was chess although I haven’t played in years. Only an average player.
Besides Monopoly, we played Life, Clue and Battleship. I loved the historical games from a company called Avolon Hill. Once I beat my father in a Game called 1914, despite the fact that I played the Imperial German Army.
I enjoy Scrabble and, really I’d say, most board games I’ve ever played (and that’s a lot – we grew up on them and still play when family gets together). Sorry has always been my mom’s favourite game – she calls it Aggravation, which I understand it was in an earlier incarnation…
Love the photo of the scrabble game. I love playing Labryith and Trouble too.
This winter I want to play more board games with the kid…if she’ll let me….
I enjoyed playing scrabble too. We have the second game too but I don’t think it’s called Sorry here, not sure of it’s name though.