Saturday discussion post: board games (72/365)

[white_hart]

We have been watching The Queen's Gambit on Netflix, which is very good even if you know as little about chess as I do.

I don't really like any board games (other than possibly Trivial Pursuit). I never find that they manage to hold my interest, and they tend to stifle other conversation. I know lots of people who really enjoy them, though. So tell me, if you like playing board games, what do you enjoy about them? What kinds do you play? Or are you like me and don't like them?

Comments

[el_staplador]

I enjoy them, I think because they provide a sort of structure to a gathering without inhibiting conversation (as compared to a film, for example). I also don't get terribly invested in them (these days, anyway; I do have one Shameful Monopoly Incident in my past); I'm not nearly as strategic in gameplay as I am at work or writing. I think for me it feels like a low-stakes environment where I can make mistakes without anything awful happening.

countertony doesn't like board games so for me it's always associated with socialising beyond the household - either with friends or with family. Family-wise, there's a certain amount of tradition in there as well, I think: we play Scrabble/Letterbags/Racing Demon because we always have. My brothers and I are going to play Ticket to Ride online this evening, assuming the technology works.

[white_hart]

PLaying board games with my family almost always ended in arguments between me and my brothers, which may well be part of the reason I don't much like them now!