Play A Game

So I know everyone is promoting books as gifts (as am I) but one of our friends is a high school art teacher and he was telling us about how all his fellow teachers get together and play board games. You know, the ones with pieces you have to move by yourself instead of with a keypad and a joystick (yeah, I play a lot of video games!). 

Anyway, Monopoly and Scrabble and the basics are probably already in your home, but if you have young adults in your family who are just striking out on their own (like me) you might not think to get them games. If they have a group of friends to get together with, this might just be the perfect thing. 

I'd suggest Trivial Pursuit in its various forms, Totally 80s and Pop Culture are two of my faves. Of course Clue, Monopoly (classic not the new one), Scrabble, and Yahtzee (I love Yahtzee and rarely play) are great ones that everyone should have. 

Of the new games that I have played, Scene-It is a must if you have movie watchers in mind. Again, if they have people to play with. Cramium is apparently a big hit with our friend and his fellow teachers. And surprisingly, a game carried by BN called Apples to Apples. This is a family game, but he said the teachers all had super fun playing it. 

'Course you can go the card route as well. Poker is a big thing right now and my other got a poker set one Christmas that he and his friends take out to play. I love UNO myself. And you can always get a regular old deck of playing cards with some of the various card game books out there. I found an old one with variations on solitaire that's pretty neat and can be played alone. 

Mancala is another one I recommend. You only need two to play and it's kind of hypnotic. The peg game is great for one and can consume hours of time, trust me I know. Handheld Tetris is great as well, if you know someone who is obsessed with it like I am.

Of course most of my recs above are all based on personal preference. There are a ton of new and old board games to choose from. Get someone started on Go or Backgammon (neither of which I actually know how to play). Like I said, there's a whole mess of games to choose from out there. I did find a great site that has a bunch to choose from, and even if you don't want to order online it can give you some ideas. There's even Donkey Kong and John Deere Jenga on here!

Anyway, if you're wondering what to get people on your list, consider a game. But just remember, if you gift it, you must be willing to play it!