The Allure of Old-Fashioned Games

It’s been one of those weeks, so I’m going to forgo my usual political roundup for something a little more lighthearted. On our vacation last week, my spouse and I played some fierce games of  Scrabble. It’s a long-time habit with us, and we in fact own travel Scrabble sets in at least three different sizes. (Geeks, I know.) Our eight-year-old son even joined us for a few games and managed to hold his own. (We let him use the dictionary, which seems to be helpful in making him feel more equal.)

When we got back home, I lured him away from the Wii long enough to teach him concentration, the card game where we spread the deck upside down and try to make pairs by flipping over two cards at a time. I started playing with my mom when I was about his age or younger, and quickly outpaced her. Our son isn’t quite there yet, but check back next week.

What are your favorite classic games from childhood? While you’re thinking about it, you can go play virtual Etch A Sketch.

8 thoughts on “The Allure of Old-Fashioned Games”

  1. Lots of card games — war, old maid, Uno, later cribbage and gin rummy. I learned addition and simple probability by playing blackjack with my dad, for the coins that accumulated in the change jar.

  2. If you like Scrabble, have you tried Bananagrams? SO much fun, and your 8 y/o could play too and “get it.”

  3. If you want to practice your math facts while you play concentration, pick out pairs that equal 5 (1&4, 2&3, Q&5). Shuffle and turn them over. Insead of looking for the same number, look for the one that makes 5. (I use Q for zero.) When your son knows his 5s right away, swtich to 10, or any number in between. When he starts multiplication, you can make pairs that equal 24.

  4. Oh, gin was a favorite at our house, too. I learned to gamble, though, at Girl Scout camp, where we played blackjack (unbeknownst to the counselors) for M&Ms.

  5. We found an old, original, hardly used twister game and boy did the kids have fun seeing us try to get twisted up! It was a lot of fun and big reminder that our bodies can’t what they used to….classic and fun to play

  6. While we were on vacation earlier this year, I taught the kids how to play checkers. Lord, those first few games took about an hour but you could just see the little ‘strategy’ wheels starting to turn.

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