This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Hasbro Gaming.
Our family currently includes five total board game geeks. My children had no choice, they were born into it.
When dating, Alec and I played Scrabble all the time, and I photographed the final board of every one of our games (including those on our Travel Scrabble honeymoon and maternity ward game boards). In fact, the only time Alec ever beat me is when I was pregnant. No wonder we had to seek other games to play, so that I would not constantly dominate and blog about it…hmmm.
At age 4, 8, and 10, our kids are definitely old enough to play along as I once dreamed they would be. My husband listens to gaming podcasts and watches Wil Wheaton play games with celebrities on YouTube in order to stay current with new games to try. Our youngest son measures his own (lack of) maturity by the table-top games we allow him to play.
If it is a weekend, you can bet my family is getting our game on.
Pro Tip: We always shake hands and say, “Good game” at the end of playing to encourage good sportsmanship.
For our children, playing board, mat, and card games with us is the best part of special time together. We can get lost in gobbling up marbles or rolling dice before anyone thinks to request screen time or calls out “I’m bored!”
Pro Tip: Set up lots of age-appropriate games for play dates so you can have a break, too.
Here are a few of our favorite traditional games from Hasbro Gaming (and one we can’t wait to try):
Regardless of whatever new-fangled games we take for a test at our local board game cafe, we always come back to the classics. My children discovered my original — and childhood favorite! — The Game of Life at Grammy’s house this summer with their cousins.
I expect them to be delighted on Christmas morning when I show them that the updated version includes cool new careers chosen by kids like video game designer, firefighter, and secret agent.
Connect 4 and Twister are long-standing favorites in our home; though we often play by what we call “Three-year Old Rules” in order to include everyone at their own ability level.
Pro Tip: When I’m letting my preschooler ignore certain rules of game play, we say, “Okay, we can play with Three-Year Old Rules,” to make sure he knows that when he’s older we expect him to follow all of them. He equates playing fair with being big.
As young as four, Holden was bridging generations and winning Connect 4 against his uncles at holiday gatherings. They may have let him win, but I never would.
Twister is great because as young as two, an interested sibling can spin the spinner while everyone else balances expectantly and calls out the results.
One new-to-us game under our tree this year — shh! I don’t think our kids read this yet — will be the Magic: The Gathering Arena of the Planeswalkers Game for my ten-year old FROM my eight-year old. Both older sons are bananas for Magic cards and can’t wait to play this one with our buddy Julian when he comes over for our annual New Years Eve celebration and game party.
Get Your Family Game On. As gifts, these games rock, and cost less than $20 each. They are also easy enough for the grandparents to play along right out of the box.
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Hasbro Gaming. All stories and opinions are my own or that of my game-loving family.