Gaming for the Greater Good

I think it's fair to say that all lovers of board games are happy to be welcoming so many new gamers into the fold. Whether they've been enticed by one of any number of the super fun episodes of Geek&Sundry's TableTop, by the gang on The Big Bang Theory, or fun phone apps that existed in real life first doesn't really matter. We're just happy to have them on board. So it was an extra special holiday treat to come back to the office today to discover that The Guardian newspaper of the UK has a whole slew of tabletop games included in their Gaming section, usually overrun by the technologically impressive world of console games. Not only do card and board games get solid doses of love and attention here, it comes in the form of headlines like 12 Board Games to Make you a Better Person.

And that's cool, but our very own Once Upon a Time and accompanying Writer's Guide are the very first items on the list, identified as being creatively inspirational. Cooperative games and other conversation and imagination generated games get singled out as well, calling to mind the fact that there's much more to be learned from games than taking turns and winning and losing. In fact, this article by a gaming parent talks about how board games provide an important structure for her to spend creative and educational time with her kids when she comes home tired from work. Normally when you're wiped out from life in general the idea of doing something - anything - creative and engaging can be overwhelming. But with the guidance of some meeple or dice or cards and you're well on your way to fun and self improvement.