Get Your Game On!
Oxford Games welcomes our first ever guest blogger!
And what a way to start; Peggy Brown is a highly acclaimed designer with hundreds of products and more than 70 board games to her name. Not just a creative superstar, Peggy is also a witty and insightful writer – about her passion for games in particular. So without further ado, we give you…Ms Peggy Brown!
Get Your Game On
Games are more popular than ever these days, and for great reason… they pack a lot of entertainment into a box, and offer a really cost-friendly alternative to movies, sporting events, and, of course, boredom! A game can be the centrepiece in good old-fashioned family togetherness… a commodity that’s tragically become extraordinarily rare lately, and one that’s as valuable as gold.
Board games are little boxes full of big things – things that can’t be physically or logically contained in boxes. They, of course, contain game boards and dice and spinners and trinkets, but they contain much, much more. They contain memories of great times with our kids, families and friends. They contain interesting little whimsical somethings that bring us closer together. They contain all kinds of entertainment. In a simple cardboard box, a game contains many of the intangibles that bring wonder to family life, and make family life wonderful.
Families are all different, so all games aren’t for all families, but there are soooo many games from which to choose, there’s absolutely something for every family. Considering the ages and interests of you and yours, take some time to really look. Skill & action, strategy, adventure, fantasy, physical activity, wordplay, humour, and virtually every topic imaginable and combinations thereof can be found in a variety of games. Choose a few, and under the shrinkwrap you’ll find little worlds in which you can get everybody interested, and in the process of playing, you’ll learn about each other, you’ll likely laugh a lot, and you’ll bond.
Games teach us skills like sharing, cooperation, strategy, and good sportsmanship. But the best part about that is that they teach us without our thinking about learning. We just play. Play is the work of children, crucial to their physical, emotional and social development, but it’s also important for adults as well. It provides an escape from stress, and it causes us to lose track of time, which is healthy in so many ways, if not just to give us an hour-long break from the trials and tribulations of everyday life.
Games continue to grow in popularity nowadays, interestingly not because of all of the above, but because they provide all of the above for a pittance. A game is often less expensive than a pizza, and while a pizza can be enjoyed only once, a game can be played many times, earning back its one-time cost exponentially. Such a value is a wonderful thing in tough times like these, but will certainly become no less valuable when times get better. In fact, when you play games, times do get better… in many, many ways.
