Board Games And The Lessons They Teach

Who can look back on their childhood and not remember those seemingly never-ending board games of Monopoly, Scrabble, checkers, Snakes and Ladders, and Cluedo? Parents no doubt heave a sigh of relief every time the tattered board-game’s dragged out from under the bed or from a cluttered closet. They know they’re due at least an hour or so or relative peace and quiet before the unease sets in, and the tension mounts, and tempers fray to the point where dice and insults are hurled, and everyone swears never to play another game ever again.

But in the end we always do. We learn to forgive those who cheat and those who don't let anyone else go first, and we learn to play together even if some of us are so much slower than the others. We learn to accept each other's foibles, and try not to groan when someone has to blow on the dice every single time. So the first lessons are forgiveness, acceptance and tolerance--basic ingredients for getting along.

Of course, we learn a lot about human nature too in the process. We learn how cheaters don't prosper (well, not for long), We learn that those with varied interests, skills and abilities work well as a team, as they compensate for one another's weaknesses. And we learn that there's no such thing as a sure win, as there's always the element of luck involved, and there's no knowing where it may land. We learn that challenges should always be accepted, and while winning may feel great for a while (and losing feels terrible, at least until ice-cream or cookies appear), tomorrow is always another day.

And while the glory of winning is sweet indeed, there is nothing sweeter than coming back from the brink of defeat to rout your opponents who have mistakenly and prematurely relaxed their hold on the game. So we learn, too, about hope, and persistence in the face of failure, and of course, the sweet, sweet taste of success, and the need for humility, for the winner in the first game may well be the loser in the last.

While most board games will teach all of the above, some provide more specific skillsets. The obvious would be spelling and vocabulary (Scrabble), knowledge in the form of facts (Cranium, Trivial Pursuit), patience and strategy (chess and checkers), and even 'real-life' skills such as financial acumen (Cashflow for Kids, Thrive Time for Teens).

With the many subject areas covered, from History to Geography to Politics to Religion to Literature to Entertainment, there's bound to be at least one subject each person's good at. And it's always surprising to know, well, trivial things that you didn’t even know you knew. Some people, like myself, are naturally very good at this, seemingly absorbing useless and meaningless facts through their pores, without either thought or effort.

Popular in the 80's and 90's, Trivial Pursuit appears to thrive in the 21^st century, with many new versions or 'editions' to satisfy any and all tastes, from the sci-fi aficionado (Star Wars), to fantasy fans (Lord of the Rings), to horrr buffs (Nightmare Before Christmas) all the way down to the littlest kiddies (Disney) and bibliophiles in general (Book Lover's Edition).

SCRABBLE

For someone who can barely spell, it’s amazing how often my husband wins at Scrabble. While I foolishly labour over the construction of the longest words, he maximizes his points by judicious placement on double and triple squares. However, luck does factor in. He's hampered by the fact that he's always drawing the letter ‘Q’. That ‘Q’ would follow his questing fingers and burst from the confines of the plush velvety bag like an unwanted, over-friendly, puppy, and it's sad to see his face crumple every time. But then he learned all the ‘Q’ words (the ones that did not require a ‘U’). Most disheartening.

CHESS & CHECKERS

It was through checkers that I found out that my dad was not infallible. It was a sobering, albeit exhilarating, discovery. After years of abject losing at his hands, I finally beat him. We have not played since. My husband reports a similar episode with his dad who had taught him to play chess. They have not played each other since the day the son beat the father. There is obviously a pattern here.

While chess is best played with wooden chess pieces as opposed to plastic ones, I'm very tempted by the medieval versions that feature detailed characters. I have no experience of the 'Tri-Dimensional' Star Trek version but it looks astonishing and no doubt will make a grand present for any trekkie enthusiast.

If money is no object, by all means indulge in solid brass checkers plated with 24K Gold/Silver, laid out in perfection upon a board of briarwood & birdseye maple, with a raised frame around the board dipped in gold and sliver. Or how about solid brass and silver plated chessmen with maple and walnut, the brass and silver parts spun to give the look and feel of satin, sitting upon a table crafted lovingly by Italian artisans in mahogany, walnut, briarwood and inlaid with briarwood/maple. This table can be used for chess/checkers, backgammon and a card table and will make an elegant accessory to any room.

Game of Life, Cash Flow For Kids, Thrive Time For Teens, PayDay

I am all in favour of children, and especially teenagers, learning about the value of money, the earlier the better. One of the hardest lessons we have to teach our children is the difference between 'need' and 'want'. Lecturing them, reasoning with them, or arguing with them will do absolutely nothing. But when you introduce concepts within the format of a game, then bingo! They learn without even realising they're learning.