Passing Thoughts, by T.W. Winslow
Family Game Night
When I was a child I loved to play board games. There was nothing better
than gathering the family around the kitchen table for a rousing game of
Monopoly. Playing games with my brothers and parents was great fun, but the
best thing was it brought us all together as a family. In between rolls of
the dice we talked and laughed about all kinds of things, and in doing so it
helped us to bond.
It seems in our current age of technology, the board game and family game
night is quickly becoming a thing of the past. Children today are more
interested in video and computer games with their amazing graphics and fast
paced action then they are in such mundane things as board games or are
they?
I would venture to guess my two children are pretty typical kids. They both
enjoy the new video and computer games and can sit for hours (if allowed),
staring at the screen battling warriors from distant planets, taking on the
best of the NBA, and racing along side their favorite NASCAR drivers. With
the excitement and challenge these games have to offer, it's easy to see why
our faithful Monopoly game sits collecting dust in the hall closet until
recently that is.
My seven year old daughter recently spent her hard earned allowance on a new
game. As five dollars doesn't buy any of the modern electronic titles, she
had to settle for something a bit more old fashioned. She selected a
wonderful game; Mancala. If you know anything about this game, you wouldn't
think it would stand a chance in the wake of the allure of moderns electronic
games.
Mancala may well be one of the oldest games in the world. It is a wholly
mathematical game and its more complex versions have as much scope as Chess
despite rather primitive origins. Stone Mancala boards have been found
carved into the roofs of temples in Memphis, Thebes and Luxor the game was
definitely being played in Egypt before 1400 B.C. Mancala variations are
played all over Africa and in India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Malaysia, as well
as the Philippines. Today, Mancala in various forms is played all over the
world.
Clearly, this game would be much different than the electronic games my
daughter was more familiar with, and I had my suspicions that the game would
suffer the same dusty fate as did our Monopoly game. Much to my surprise,
however, the game was a huge success. Our children loved playing it every
bit as much as my wife and I did. For the first time in a long time we sat
around the table as a family no television, no computers or other
distractions, and spent the entire evening playing, laughing, and talking.
It's almost comical how it took a centuries old game a simple wooden plank
and a handful of "seeds," to bring us together for an evening of fun and
togetherness. (Educational fun I might add.)
Watching the smiling faces of my family as we played, laughed, and talked
into the night reminded me how important simple family activities such as a
family game night are. With so many distractions and commitments pulling
family members in any number of different directions, those things which
bring a family together are few and far between.
Unknowingly, my daughter and her primitive five dollar game helped bring us
together as a family and inspired us to begin a new tradition in our house
family game night.
About the Author
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