As far as I can 
remember, games have always been a part of my life. I grew up with a whole cupboard full of games and since there are 9 kids in my family I always had a willing opponent.
What games will I play? Most anything, although I tend to shy away from computer and video games. I want the real deal. Board games, card games, role play games, strategy games, athletic games … you name it and I will probably play it. I like to be challenged and of course I can get a wee bit competitive 
. Rudy is the same way so at times we need to be careful when we play games together because things can get a little bit tense.
Memory, Mastermind, Old Maid, Park and Shop, Life, Pollyanna and Sorry are just a few of the games I played when I was really young. While in the latter half of elementary school and during junior high, my aunt and uncle introduced me to Dungeons and Dragons. I have very fond memories of playing this game late into the night with them and my brother. My character was a dwarf named Karast and I possessed a fierce weapon, a magical dwarven hammer.
I could probably list a gazillion games in this one post, but I will try to refrain as I name a few of my favorites … in no particular order. Often times gaming depends on my mood.
- Settlers of Catan
- Beyond Balderdash
- Masterpiece
- The Great Dalmuti
- Ticket to Ride
- Pit
- Canasta (also known as Hand and Foot)
- Boggle
- Rook
- Cranium
- Phase 10 Dice
- Apples to Apples
- Trivial Pursuit (I like the classic or 80’s version.)
Of course this post wouldn’t be complete unless I also mentioned Hearts, Skip Bo, Clue, Scrabble, Bid, Bunco, Pictionary, Outburst and good old “Jackie’s Game.”
What are some of your favorite games to play?
36 Comments
June 6, 2007 at 5:26 PM
Wow. Board games have always been a part of my treasured childhood also. My husband and I now collect many of the board games that you mentioned. If I could only choose one board game it would be Cranium because it has a little of everything in it. But the old classics, like Scrabble, Boggle, Risk, Battleship, MasterMind, Othello, Uno, Sorry, Clue, Monopoly….ahhh, what nice memories. Thanks for that.
June 6, 2007 at 5:44 PM
We have played a game called Big Bertha which is very similar to Phase 10, but you use two decks of cards. It can take a long time. My kids like Monopoly and Risk, I don’t love either of them. Growing up, we used to play double solitare in the summer.
Apples to apples is a great family game.
I have never heard of Settlers of Catan, off to do a google on it.
June 6, 2007 at 6:05 PM
I love games! Good idea for T13! Mine is up at Special K Family
June 6, 2007 at 7:01 PM
My favorite is Pictionary. Comedy ensues every time we play.
June 6, 2007 at 7:03 PM
I love playing Uno Attack (or even Chinese checkers) with my kids. That Uno machine makes the game way fun.
Happy TT!
June 6, 2007 at 7:26 PM
I love games, too. You got us hooked on Settlers. Fun game! Next to Settlers, I love Phase 10 dice, Boggle, Scrabble, and Bid.
June 6, 2007 at 7:27 PM
My favorites are the word games: Scrabble and Boggle. But a new love is Apples to Apples!
June 6, 2007 at 7:28 PM
I haven’t heard of a few of the games on your list, but I’ve always liked Boggle and Trivial Pursuit. My favorite board game is Scrabble, with either Risk or the astronomy version of Monopoly coming in a close second.
June 6, 2007 at 8:35 PM
i bet you would have loved playing “stratego,” the game about war strategy (you play two armies against each other). i loved this when i was a kid. plus i loved playing memory games, too. enjoyed this, kathleen
June 6, 2007 at 8:50 PM
Scrabble, Boggle, or Upwards are some of my favorite. We also like Apples to Apples, SET, and Blink.
June 6, 2007 at 9:15 PM
I love to play canasta. I play all the time on Yahoo! Games. I also love Scrabble, but haven’t p layed in a while.
Happy TT!
June 6, 2007 at 10:26 PM
We have heard apples to apples was a lot of fun..neat list!
June 6, 2007 at 11:19 PM
Settlers of Catan makes me laugh. My brother and sisters were playing, along with his wife, and my sister got so mad at my brother that she swore at him. A first
My mom nearly died and gave her a rousing talking down.
June 6, 2007 at 11:26 PM
My grandmother taught me to play Hearts. I should teach my kids when they’re a little older.
June 6, 2007 at 11:31 PM
I don’t know all the games on your list. One of my favorites growing up was Clue. I was a big mystery fan (still am) so I loved the whole who did what to who in the library!
Great TT!
June 7, 2007 at 6:32 AM
my husband and i used to play games with another couple. it was fun. my husband gets really really competetive, and i’m not. we’ve had a few issues with that, so i won’t play games anymore. to be honest, i would much rather just chat with friends. my husband loves loves games that require strategy and lots of thinking. i’m opposite. but right now we just don’t have the time to play games. i would love to teach my kids how to play all the cool kid games. i already have candyland and i want to get them chutes and ladders. maybe when my husband mellows out a little we can play games again……
June 7, 2007 at 6:51 AM
Just what I need to start summer vacation. And I had forgotten many of these — as my kids couldn’t play them yet. Now that they’re older, we can enjoy many of these. Thanks.
June 7, 2007 at 7:04 AM
I never would have picked you out as a D&D player. We need to put together a monthly gaming night. My Settlers of Catan computer game just isn’t cutting it for me any more. I want to see my opponents face as I win (Bwahahaha). I’m taunting you so your competetive edge will kick in and make you organize a game night with me
June 7, 2007 at 7:28 AM
I only know Trivial Pursuit! Haha! My personal favorite is Monopoly. =) Happy Thursday!
June 7, 2007 at 7:44 AM
Of course friends call me the Scrabble Queen, but I grew up with loving Masterpiece and Pit (and Sorry). I found an old Pit game at a garage sale, just like the one I grew up with (bright orange) and my kids love to play it. It’s one of their favorites, esp. while camping
Sandy
For Reluctant Entertainers
June 7, 2007 at 7:52 AM
I LOVE Pit. I’ve played it since I was too young to remember. The other game I’ve always loved was called Bluff. My grandmother would get strange words from the dictionary and then the four competitors would read their “definitions” for the rest of us to guess which was correct. It’s a game you can buy off the shelf now, but it was so fun to play the home grown version at Christmas time with the extended family.
June 7, 2007 at 8:57 AM
I just discovered Skip Bo last year and fell in love. My favorite game of all is Spades, when I can get enough people together. But I’ll play almost any board or card game. It’s really hard to get Honey to play any game against me… unless its on a computer or some electronic gaming system. I can’t wait until Princess gets a little older so we can play Candy Land and Memory together.
June 7, 2007 at 10:09 AM
Our favourite is Krokinole. We always inflict it on our dinner guests. =) Skip Bo is one of my personal favourites, but Neil won’t play it with me because I invariably win.
June 7, 2007 at 11:27 AM
You know us- Catan lovers all the way. In fact The Doc and I just played a couple of nights ago.
Oooo- The Doc got the coveted weekend off, and be prepared for a night of Catan, and of course what Doc and Cricket get together would be complete without Thomas Kemper Sodas!
June 7, 2007 at 12:03 PM
I havent heard of most of them…hmmmmmm
June 7, 2007 at 12:36 PM
Can you come to my house sometime. I love games. I’m going to investigate all the ones that you have mentioned that I don’t know about. I like Catch Phrase, Monopoly, Clue, and all variety of Domino games. Also all the many variations of Rook.
June 7, 2007 at 1:10 PM
We love Sorry…it’s like our favorite game. Seems like a boring one, but we love it!
June 7, 2007 at 1:19 PM
Pass the Pigs!
June 7, 2007 at 2:50 PM
I grew up on Monopoly, Life and Rook. I also played hopscotch, jump rope, ping pong and jacks. I love games of just about any kind, especially word and card games.
June 7, 2007 at 5:40 PM
Unfortunately most of my favorites are also the most dangerous to play (I mean in terms of tempers flaring – my own included). I really have a love-hate relationship with these: Risk, Catan and Scrabble.
Risk is worthy of its name because you’re playing with fire when you play. Catan…if it wasn’t for that cursed thief. And then Scrabble, well make sure that you have a very strict set of criteria (that everyone agrees on beforehand) for what constitutes an allowable word. Just some of my advice…but beware.
June 7, 2007 at 7:36 PM
We absolutely love Cathedral here. DH and I will play forever. It’s a strategy game and only takes a couple minutes per round. We’re highly competitive with each other. I also love Set and Quiddler right now.
June 7, 2007 at 7:37 PM
When I looked at your post, I thought, “Is that Settlers set up on that table?” Well, what do you know, it is! We’ve had that game for a lot of years, and it’s one of our favorites. And Cranium is one where I laugh so hard I nearly have an accident.
Maybe we’ll have to have a game night, soon.
June 7, 2007 at 8:24 PM
Okay. Canasta party. It’s on.
June 8, 2007 at 12:44 AM
I love games, especially those that you mentioned. It’s nice to think about those great times we had playing those games. I am not sure if some of those games are still available in the market.
June 8, 2007 at 4:10 PM
I know so many folks who are into “Settlers of Catan” but I’ve never played.
June 11, 2007 at 5:49 PM
True. With the emergence of video games, kids these days are more interested in playing video games than playing other games, especially physical games which are great for their development.