Why Table Games Are The Best Games

By Austin Cowan
Blog Content Contributor

Table games are the best games because they provide an avenue for the creation of community. They allow friends and family to come together, under the impression they are spending quality time with their loved ones, to obliterate each other in anyway possible. When it comes down to the players who are weak at heart, who let the stress of competition get to the best of them, or the bold who keep on fighting to victory time and time again. Whatever category a person may belong to many people love to play one of these classic family games.

They’re Strategic

Table games help sharpen a person’s mind. They require participants to think of the rules they must follow, then attempt to use them to their advantage in order to squash their competition. As a competitive person I can hardly stand the idea of defeat, especially to my siblings. Growing up table games became an avenue of parent-approved sibling warfare. By competing in these mindful games I have become more strategic in both games and life. If anyone out there wished to increase their IQ go solve a puzzle, or learn the rules of a game which appears to be over-complicated. It’s amazing what a person can do if they put their mind to it.

When playing table games, pay attention to a person’s body language. Body language is a huge contributing factor in communication. An intelligent player will give careful attention to their opponents body language to help determine their opponent’s strategy. Body language is an essential part of communication, which in table games can exposure a cheater. Nobody loves a cheater, and desperate competitors may fall to this level in an attempt to claim victory. Now, if this happens do not freak out about it. Growing up everyone in my family tried to rig the rules into their favor time to time. Just call out the cheater and move on in the game. Subconsciously, people who respond to cheaters in a corrective way gain a wider knowledge of how to deal with people. People skills is a huge asset in life, and the only way to improve this skill is to exercise it. Table games provide an environment for people of all ages to do this which is another reason why they are the best games. Next time you play a table game pay attention to the people you are playing with. Make their body language into an asset you can use.

Some strategic board games to play include: Settlers of Catan, Risk, Chess, Clue, Monopoly, Pay Day, Ticket to Ride, Pandemic and Poker.

They Build Community

• No game is the same, so people from all walks on life can find one to enjoy.
• They allow people to interact with each other.
  • Learn about people through conversation
  • Use other people’s body language to figure out if they are cheating, lying, etc.
  • Teach people to be good winners and good losers.

    

Table games build community because there are games for everybody! For this reason, table games are a great way for people to socialize with all kinds of people in an intimate setting. An example of this is witnessing a person’s dark side coming out while playing table game… some people just get flat out mean.

Table games can be a fun activity for all kinds of people. They improve a person’s people skills, their IQ and their relationships with other people. In a world which feels like it’s racing at a thousand miles a minute it’s relaxing to retreat to this classic family tradition.

Featured image by Austin Cowan.