April 1 Photo: Play - Board Games

April 1 photo of the day. "Play"

I would have had a great opportunity to capture this word if I had gone ahead with my original plan for today and had two special little boys over to my house, but with feeling under the weather last week and hosting Easter dinner yesterday, it just didn't happen.

So instead, as I looked around me for inspiration, I ended up with a picture of just a few of the board games I have stashed in my office closet.

I used to love playing board games. 'Used to' not because I no longer enjoy them but because it has been ages since I played any.

As a kid, I remember playing board games as a family. Probe was one of our favourites. You lay a word out letter by letter in front of you and then take turns guessing letters. A more formal, multi-player kind of Hangman. Pretty simple to play since as long as you knew your letters and how to spell a few words, you could join in. Good for all of us to play together.

Another favourite was a game Mom brought back from Hawaii.  Sunka is a shell game for two that involves taking turns moving the shells around the board to add as many to your "home" as possible. Each round continues until a side of the board is cleared. The shells are then redistributed  from each home base and play continues. Half the fun of this is the feel of scooping up the shells and the clicking sound from dropping them into the bowls.

Sunka by Island Capture Photography on Flickr

Sounds are important when playing games. Whether it is marbles moving around a board or the sound of dice shaken to try to make Yahtzee, I have strong memories of hearing the sounds of games we played with the Rhodes family.  I spent one of my summers living with my grandparents when I worked at Valley Ridge campground and remember listening to my grandmother playing Yahtzee as I fell asleep on the fold-out couch in the adjacent room. Yahtzee is still a favourite with my family.

photo from jking89 on Flickr

Family home evenings always had a game - it was one of the assignments. Lesson, game, treat... all parts of a fun night and even more special when cousins joined us.  Here we are playing Mousie, Mousie made from rolled up newspaper on a string. I can't tell who has the pot lid to trap the mice. Maybe it was me.

Playing our homemade version of Mousie Mousie with the cousins

I had some favourite board games to play with my friends. I remember asking for board games as a birthday or Christmas gift. I remember playing Payday, Careers, Masterpiece and Clue. 

When I went away to University, Trivial Pursuit took board games to a new level. I remember so many fun nights with just a few friends, good food and lots of laughter as we played Trivial Pursuit all evening. I have to admit, playing board games with a guy I was dating was always a good measure  of whether he could be a good sport about the game. I didn't like it if he were too competitive or a sore loser. It's okay to want to win but to get angry, mean or pout after were always signals for me. 

Later, Pictionary was added to the mix and you knew you were at the right house when someone had a white board especially for playing with a group. That ramped up the game to a pseudo professional level!

Back in Calgary, my roommate and I watched Jeopardy every night after work together and this extended next to playing it as a board game. The game was a gift and we had fun re-creating the show. 

And it seems so long ago now but I used to play games a lot when I lived in NW Calgary. Ingrid and I would get together Saturday mornings to play games and do laundry or meet at a coffee shop for breakfast.  Where did I find the time? Saturdays seems so leisurely back then. 

Now it seems like all we play is Phase 10. I travel with Phase 10 cards, I have the app on my iPhone. And if we pull out any game after a big family dinner, it is Phase 10.   I like Phase 10 but I miss board games. I think I need to plan a games night. 

Check out the clip below from Simon and Martina in Korea. There, you can go to a cafe and play board games with friends.  Many young people there can't easily entertain in their homes so they often have to find places to go hangout and this is a great alternative to the many coffee shops that are everywhere. 

Wonderful Adventure Now Korea - Board Game Cafe

Playing the Building - Art Installation by David Byrne. Roundhouse, Camden Town, London.

Posting at 11:57 on April 1st!! I just made it in time!

What games do you like to play?