I have always enjoyed board games, but rarely do I have the opportunity to play them. Growing up, my parents weren’t big fans, and I could only rely on my brother and neighbors to play on a rainy day. I had to wait until college to find a group of friends who really enjoyed a good game of “Catan.” Now, my wife humors me on occasion, but playing a game is never her first, second, or third choice of activity when the kids finally fall asleep. And we rarely have the free time to host a game night. But now, at long last, I have two budding board game partners.
In the past six months, my threeyear- old boys have become obsessed with board games. They started with the basics, games like Hi-Ho Cherry O and Candyland. But the real fun started after Christmas, when I gave them Trouble. We weren’t sure if it would be too soon for them to understand a “real” game with more rules and (minimal) strategy, but they took right to it, especially Henry.
Lately, every single morning, I am awoken by the distinctive “pop” of the Trouble board around 6 a.m. The boys know to let me pour my cup of coffee before asking me to play, which they do immediately after the java hits the mug. And even though my instinct is to prefer a few minutes of solitude at the kitchen counter, I always agree to join them. At any given moment, they could stop wanting to play, so I need to take advantage while I can, I tell myself.
As they’ve mastered the Trouble rules and started to develop strategies (do they take out another piece on a six, or move an already freed one along the board?), I no longer have to pull my punches. Sure, I may choose not to knock one of my kids’ pieces back to the start when given the chance, but they know the game well enough that I can simply try to win most of the time. Once I realized that they can handle it, that doing so won’t (usually) result in tears, it has been quite enjoyable to play against them to win.And even with me giving 100 percent effort, they still beat me a good amount of the time!
We are a long way off from playing games of Catan, or a few of my more complex and less well-known favorites like Suburbia, but it now feels like that day will come soon enough. I am so excited for when they get old enough for us to have real game nights. For years, I have walked past board game shelves looking at all the interesting ones I’d like to play, but, ultimately, don’t buy because I know they would just gather dust in a closet. If the boys keep up their interest as they mature, I will happily buy a new game each month to enjoy together. Maybe my wife will even be jealous enough to join in and we will finally have ourselves the true family game night I have craved for decades!
