Are Board Games Dying Out?
 

In this day of technology are we forsaking the good old board game. Personally I love playing Backgammon, Chess, Monopoly, Scrabble, Cluedo, Risk & card games. I've recently taught some of my neighbours to play these games & we've all discovered we like socalising in this manner. Some of us are even dredging up games we played as youngsters. Is it time for the board game to make a comeback. If so, what game would you bring back?:hehetable

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Re: Are Board Games Dying Out?
 

When I did granny duty for 3 hours, 4 days a week, we (four) regularly played Scrabble and Monopoly.(that was 13 yrs ago)
I still have the Monopoly set.

As a child, during the pre TV age, my brother and I had a suitcase full of board games.
My favourite was 'Rich Uncle' - based on stock and share dealing.
My brother's favourite was Battleship'.
There was a card game we both liked, named Contraband, which involved smuggling the crown jewels and nylon stockings etc through customs.

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Used to play Trivial Pursuit and Scrabble but haven't played them for a few years now.

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We play board games as a family, got loads of 'em. We have cludo in different formats, and I have to say that Battleships is my all time favorate, have it in all kinds of versions!

Gail xxxx

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My all time favourite has to be frustration.

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I was looking at board games today in town:D

Wondering what games would keep my 7 year old entertained for xmas:rolleyes:

Love monopoly!!:D

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We love playing Connect 4 over and over again

Am not a Monopoly fan, it just takes toooo long

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I like downfall !
havent played it for years!

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My son, age 9, still plays Labyrinth which he's had for a few years now, but he's a bit of a geek (like his dad).

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Pass the Pigs and Yahtzee. Unbeatable !

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I bought Monopoly for Laura, last Christmas, but it was the "modern" British version. Streets are replaced by different towns, stations have become airports etc. and you start with about £1million. We play that and Scrabble and also Upwords which is a bit like Scrabble but you can change letters on the board. Laura likes Snakes & Ladders too and she has a very complicated Dr Who board game that we try to avoid unless we're press-ganged into it.

It's a tradition in our house that on Boxing Day all the family gathers here. We go out for lunch to the nearby pub then the evening is spent eating the buffet it's taken me a fortnight to prepare, getting preserved in alcohol and playing games like Trivial Pursuit, Catagories (brilliantly funny - especially when you're sozzled), Yahtzee etc. The board game will never die in my house. :D

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Oooh love Yatzee, and not exactly a board game but do like Jenga too

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Reece plays scrabble all the time with my dad, i bought him the star wars edition of monopoly last year and we play that

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Always loved Risk ... can still remember the frustration of Snakes and Ladders .... still Risk is my favorite, followed closely by Trivial Pursuit (a Canadian game, eh);)

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In our family - ww3 erupts when we play trivial pursuits. Especially when you split the husbands/partners/wives up. Its great!!!!

Cards - that was queenie, going for the pot, ontoon or 21, what ever game you could take money off the others playing.

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Undoubtedly board games have become less popular than in years gone by but when you consider the alternatives available it is hardly surprising. But it is good to see that here and there the board game still flourishes.

If (or maybe that should be when) ever we hit an energy crisis then I’m sure that board games and cards will make a rapid comeback.

The chess/draughts board is probably the most popular worldwide. However the board and draughtsmen lend themselves to a number of other games than just draughts that can be played on a draughts board. Fox and Goose sometimes known as Cat and Mouse and Chinese Checkers are two that come to mind.

I should think that Monopoly and Scrabble would vie for second place with Ludo a close third.

Read a brief but fascinating history of Ludo at http://www.uckers.co.uk/history.htm and then brush up on UCKERS, the Royal Navy version of Ludo at http://www.uckers.co.uk/ by far a superior way of playing on the Ludo board.

A deck of cards, however, is much more versatile than all the board games put together and have been put to good use for centuries. Fortunes have been won and lost on the turn of a card.

Like all games there have to be rules of play but with card games the rules often depended on where you were playing. To this end back in 1741 a chap called Edmund Hoyle set about standardising rules of card games starting with Whist but did not confine his efforts to just card games. Today a card school will often declare that the game being played is “According to Hoyle”.

The three non-gambling card games that are top of the list are, but not in any particular order, Contract Bridge, Canasta and Cribbage, with Gin Rummy galloping up behind.

The top three gambling games have to be Poker in all its variations, Brag and Pontoon, more popularly known as Black Jack or vingt et un

Read about Edmund Hoyle at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmond_Hoyle.

The number of card games that have been invented is astounding and must run into hundreds and hundreds. See http://www.pagat.com/alpha.html for an ever growing list.

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I go on holiday with my Gramps and co. every year and we ALWAYS take ludo and donkey and happy families.

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I thought I was the only person in the world who ever owned Contraband. I never knew anyone else who had it. It was a very good game and I introduced my friends to it in the sixties and they all liked it too. Another game I had which no-one else seemed to play was "Oscar" and was all about film stars and their rise to fame. I still love board games and when my sons come over to visit from England there is always a big Scrabble competition.