Game Night

If money was never an issue and you never had to work another day in your life, what would you do?

For many of us, this likely includes travel (assuming this is even an option post co-vid), volunteering for non-profit organizations, finding your own piece of paradise, opening up your dream business, or becoming engrossed with a hobby.

The Barenaked Ladies didn't take into account inflation.

A million dollars went a lot further 30 years ago.

There is also a very good chance that much of our time would be spent playing games. Even as busy as our lives are, many of us choose to spend our limited down-time playing games. Whether it’s card games, board games, video games, yard games, or athletics - we are drawn to friendly competition.

Games provide an opportunity for social connectivity, while improving cognition and developing personal skills (team-work, communication, sportsmanship, negotiation, and creativity); more importantly, it improves our mental wellness by allowing us to relax and have fun.

Jeopardy Fact of the Day: Senet (3500BC) is the oldest known board game.

One of our favourite family activities is playing board games. In a world where we are dominated by technology, this offers a chance to bond as a family and talk about things that really matter. We have invested in board games over the years and try our best to play at least one game on the weekend. With the quarantine, it is not uncommon for us to play a game on most days of the week.

Here is my list of top games to play with family & friends.

QWIXX

A quick-playing dice game that teaches probability and decision-making. Every player can choose to take an action on each roll of dice, so everyone stays engaged.

This game was selected as a winner by the American Mensa Organization.

Ages 6+ | 15 minutes |2-5 players

LOOT

A plundering pirate game, whereby players attack merchant ships and seize valuable treasure. Players have to make tactical decisions with how they deploy their pirate ships; accumulate the most attacking power and win the loot!

Ages 6+ | 30 minutes | 2-8 players

DRAGONWOOD

Embark on a journey deep into a forest full of mythical creatures. Collect sets of cards

to earn dice and the chance to defeat trolls, goblins, and dragons.

Ages 8+ | 30 minutes | 2-4 players

ZEUS ON THE LOOSE

Excellent card game to develop quick math-skills for kids. With that said, adults will also have fun as enough strategy is involved to keep things interesting.

Ages 6+ | 30 minutes | 2-4 players

TIKI TOPPLE

My favourite family game of all-time. Players receive points if their secret tikis are one of the three remaining ones on the board. Starting with nine colourful carvings, players strategically decide how to move tikis up/down the board based on the card they’ve drawn. If a Tiki Toast card is drawn, the bottom one is removed.

Ages 5+ | 30-60 minutes | 2-4 players

Note: The majority of the games featured are from the company Gamewright. While I’m in no way affiliated with the company, I’ve been overly impressed with their games - well-constructed, but affordable and fun enough to become a staple in our game nights.