The actual games we play!

One of the hardest things when playing a game can be to deal with the winners of the game, those who lost the game and the interaction between them. Taunting and showing off a win does seem to be a common rule amongst siblings and consequently dealing with the emotions and disappointment of losing can be hard to manage – we were that family that occasionally had a monopoly board thrown and we have family friends who no longer risk playing the game! I don’t have the answer except that the only way for children to learn to deal with these emotions is by experiencing them in a safe space and what better space than at home!

I recently saw a short video which I shared to our Capture the Kindness page which I hope this link will take you to. (https://www.facebook.com/NBCSports/videos/1668157156572963/?hc_ref=ARSjWNsFUKdslRvP44uCPBgIY72VJqqcSkSzGhcbLOOKXjSfA9xE9v3WDI6CqSv8uCM) In short, it is a high school baseball match where the pitcher was having to strike out his childhood friend for his team to go forward, which he did. However, his first reaction on doing this wasn’t to celebrate the win with his team but to hug and commiserate with his friend. His parents must have been prouder of that act than his sporting success a few seconds before. 

We love playing games and here are a few of our current favourites.

Pigs in Pants: Who could resist playing a games called this and especially when, as part of the game, you get to shout ‘I’m going to pinch your pants’ or ‘I’m going to nick your knickers’!   It is a great game for matching and is, like all Orchard Toys games, colourful, hard wearing and fun to play. Suitable for ages 2-3+.

Other favourite Orchard Toys games are Shopping Trolley (good for matching and memory), Monster Catcher (colour matching) and Monster Cake Eater (matching and counting).

Snakes and Ladders: This is one of my boys favourites yet if I’m honest I find it rather boring as it can become a never-ending game. Just when you think someone is going to win, they hit a snake and slide halfway back down the board. However, it is a great game for teaching counting, 1:1 correspondence and, in my case, patience!

We love having this set out as it prompts
 the children to ask to play rather than
watching television. 

Chess: My big one loves playing chess. He knows, mostly, what each of the pieces do and the aim of the game but we are still working on strategy! I am not a chess player and only manage to ensure his pieces move in the correct way however we are both learning, I shall leave the more complex ideas to my husband and brother in law who have had some epic chess battles over the years. Little one also likes to join in but his strategy is to just move the knights around the board (his favourites)  and is quite relieved when they are taken as they are no longer restricted to individual squares but can roam the whole room! However, for strategy and thinking ahead Chess is one of the best to learn. A great pre-starter to chess is draughts or checkers.

For on the go: Most of the above games are best for playing at home and not so great for on the go but I have a couple of go to games for when we are out and about.
Top Trumps is a card game that comes in the perfect sized case for dropping in the bag. Our favourite is a dinosaur one at the moment and it is really helping my boys with place value (as you usually need to compare size of numbers to see who has won) and word recognition. Big One can  recognise the various category words such as weight, height and aggression.

21: A game where you need nothing except to count up to 21 so perfect for anyplace and anytime. I am always ready to be challenged to a game of 21 at the Honeycomb Hub. It seems a deceptively simple counting game where you and a partner take it in turns to count up to 21 and you can choose to say 1,2 or 3 numbers. You do not want to say 21! However, as you play you may discover the mathematical trick to ensure winning. For those not so confident at counting, it can also be played with 21 objects (we have been known to utilise the sugar packets on the tables of the Mugg and Bean at the airport whilst waiting for my husband’s plane to land). You then take it in turns to take 1,2 or 3 objects at a time and do not want to be left with the last one.

Finally, my favourite games to play with our adult friends!

Canasta: I can remember well being taught to play by my parents when I was around 10 and it is a go to game for quiet evenings with my husband. I taught him to play and am obviously an excellent teacher as he now wins 75% of the games! Canasta is a card game that uses 2 packs of cards and you aim to collect as many sets of each number as you can whilst trying not to ‘throw away’ too many cards that will be useful for your partner.

Othello: A challenging 2 player game that ‘takes a minute to learn and a lifetime to master’.We have a great travel set like the one my Father taught me to play on, and it comes with us on every holiday!

Scrabble: This is one of the games where we need time to play, or to occasionally set a time limit, as some people do like to spend rather a long time planning optimum use of their letters for maximum value! I have now learned the importance of agreeing dictionary usage rules before you start, and have a surprisingly wide knowledge of 2 letter words I never use in everyday life yet pull out in times of need on a scrabble board.

Please note the genius pieces of elastic
one either side simply taped underneath.
The invention of my Mother-in-Law and
has prevented many a board game piece
being lost!

Take: This is a quicker letter game we were taught by my Godmother using the scrabble letters. Turn them all face down and each take 7 tiles. When the game starts you need to create words joined together similar to a crossword. Once you have used all your letters you should take and everyone has to take another tile which you must add in. Your arrangements of letters can be changed and rebuilt to encompass all the new letters however it can move very quickly and is a lot of fun. Great for lazy summer evenings. 

If you are looking for other new games, I can highly recommend Rummikub, Backgammon, 30 seconds, Articulate and Cranium – the last is an especially good game for playing at a games night with lots of friends! Enjoy and as always, we love to hear which games you like to play.

One of my favourite games simply from the look of it!
Backgammon.