Before I begin reviewing some of my favorite games, I wanted to expound on the many good reasons for playing games. For the record, I am not referring to those games that require a mouse and keyboard (or a controller, or a wi-fi connection). I am referring to the good old fashioned games that come in a box (or a card sleeve). Besides not endangering your wrists to issues like carpal tunnel, game play of the old fashioned sort has many advantages.
The first and most obvious benefit is that you and a group of friends or family members are sitting face to face and enjoying each other's company. Playing games is a great way to get your family or friends interacting in a fun, positive setting. For a family, a weekly game time can be a great excuse to get together and create an amazing tradition. And if weekly doesn't work for you, try a monthly game night. For friends, this is a fun time to build friendships and just have a laugh.
Besides the social benefits, game play is a wonderful developmental learning tool for all ages. Children learn basic math skills in addition to things like reasoning out solutions, visual spacial skills, hand eye coordination, grouping, patterning, counting, logic and more. Most games also include some element of reading, writing and creative thinking, improving those skills as well. Games can also teach children things like taking turns, sharing and communicating with your fellow game players. And as we grow older, we benefit from game play by keeping the mind sharp.
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It is not the purely educational games alone that teach all these excellent skills (of which I named only a few). Rather this list embraces just about all the games out there. I, like most of you, automatically think "educational" is boring. The fact of the matter is, that some of the absolutely most challenging and fun games (belly laughing sort of games) are intrinsically educational. It is all built in, so to speak.
For you game players, what are the reasons you like playing games with your family and friends?