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Game Night: Fun For the Whole Family

Can a family that plays together, stay together? Game night, the latest family-bonding activity, has parents unplugging the Sega and taking out Monopoly. For most people, it sounds like a medieval ritual of torture: siblings of all ages forced to sit in a room and play quietly together. But, as the Hannan and Blocker families of Ohio found out, if you follow a simple set of guidelines, fun really can happen right at home.

By Elizabeth Wells

Can a family that plays together, stay together? Game night, the latest family-bonding activity, has parents unplugging the Sega and taking out Monopoly. For most people, it sounds like a medieval ritual of torture: siblings of all ages forced to sit in a room and play quietly together. But, as the Hannan and Blocker families of Ohio found out, if you follow a simple set of guidelines, fun really can happen right at home.

Whether you go with games that use teams or individual competition, a night of games can strengthen family ties. First, make sure that everyone feels involved in the fun. Start by giving everyone a job: choosing the games, making the snacks, organizing who goes first, cleaning-up at the end of the night. These roles should rotate so all family members can look forward to their turn at being first, making the treat, and so on.
The Hannan's began game night with mom, Lynda, pulling out all the games that were appropriate for both her children. "Jack (4) got to choose the first game we played," she says. Then John (Dad) volunteered for snack duty and roasted some pumpkinseeds. "We started with a six-foot-long zoo animal puzzle, and then moved on to the Arthur memory game," says Lynda. Even Katie, only 20 months old, had fun.
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