Friday, July 17, 2009

Friday Five: Games

I've been a very neglectful blogger lately. Life is intervening. I'm playing the Rev Gals Friday Five today at last. Jan is going to be vacationing with a bunch o' family members and kids, and so she is thinking about games.

1. Childhood games?

Growing up in California meant lots of time outdoors. We played the usual stuff, Red Light-Green Light, Mother May I, tag, hide and seek, and so on. My favorite was one we called Statue Maker. Someone turned and swung others in a circle till dizziness ensued, than let go. The idea was to freeze in whatever pose one landed, and then we would guess what the resulting strange pose looked most like--or something like that!

2. Favorite and/or most hated board games?

We didn't play games much at my house, but occasionally we'd break out the Parcheesi board, or (of course) Monopoly. I still remember every American child's first board game, Candyland!

3. Card games?

Card games? Horrors! Cards were evil, don'cha know! I never played with a regular card deck till I was in college. We did play with other types of card decks. See the next question.

4. Travel/car games?

Travelling from California to Texas in the days of no car air conditioning was not pleasant. My sisters and I would pass the time and try to ignore the desert heat by hours of Old Maid (I did not like that one), Hearts, and my favorite--a game I wish I'd had for my kids, Authors. Authors was about famous writers and their works, and the cards featured very nice portraits of the authors. I can still see Louisa Mae Alcott, Mark Twain, James Fennimore Cooper, and I still can list most of what they wrote. Great game! At least the little bookworm me certainly thought so!

5. Adult pastimes that are not video games?

Unlike my family, my husband's family did play games, so when we had children we did as well. Our favorite is an ancient game from China, Mah Jong (nothing at all like the Internet version) and we play with an antique set. Part of the enjoyment of the game is the look and feel of the intricately carved ivory and teak wood tiles.

Bonus: Any ideas for family vacations or gatherings?

So many, but alas, I must get off the computer.

2 comments:

LoieJ said...

Your readers know you are busy! :-)

Lots of good memories sprung up when I read your post. I forgot about Authors! My adult kids played Candyland last time they were home. (?) I've learned how to stack the deck on that one. I taught my grandson the statue game. He loved it.

cardgameguru said...

Our favorite as of late is a game called Greedy Greedy. The kids love it and it's fun for us parents too. It's not too "kiddy" nor is it overly complicated either, so it appeals to both adult and children.

It's been a a real boon to us to help avoid fighting on road trips and has been great to use for family game nights.

We especially enjoy that the company that manufactures the game gives 10% of its profit to charities, with an emphasis on children. We picked up our copy at www.highpointgames.com. I hope you like it as much as we do!

Francesca