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| Board | 41% | 306 votes | Total: 747 votes | |
| Video | 59% | 441 votes |
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Add to FavoritesBoard games have a way of being shrugged off by many people in today's modern world. However, board games are superior and more fun than the average video game for many reasons. Board games bring families together, teach vocabulary, critical thinking, and a variety of other helpful interactions. Board games can also be enjoyed without the confines of electricity, energy, or any other modern technology, making them funner than a video game, especially in places that may not be suited for video games. Overall board games are a lot more fun in the long run than the average video game on the market.
Many families today are scattered about the house, and do not spend a lot of time together. Many can point the finger at television, computers, or video games as the main culprit. However, if you were to turn off those three technological advancements of entertainment, and propped open a board game, the family could interact and communicate on a level that just can not be done while interacting with artificial intelligence. For this reason, a board game can be enjoyed by more than just experienced users, and the learning curve is a lot less than the average video game you might pick up and play, even if you believe it is easy. The average family doesn't spend much time together, and board games can offer a fun, safe, and relatively inexpensive way to bring the family together, if at least for a few hours of fun.
Board games are highly educational in many ways. Take for instance my favorite game, Scrabble. Scrabble is a game where you and up to three other players form words out of letters that are distributed from a bag, and placed on a board. You score points by length of word, letter used, and location of the word. This game can help younger children, as well as adults maintain and grow their vocabulary in many different ways. Beyond the simple three letter words that some might think are great to use in Scrabble, the game offers a challenge as players start to bring together words that are outside of the average conversation. In between turns, the potential for conversation also grows by leaps and bounds, and players can have a fun time learning vocabulary while in a competitive game. Many might be quick to say that Scrabble is a poor example for vocabulary building, but before you completely take that point of view, consider a foreign language student. Someone that is learning English as a second language could benefit greatly from games of Scrabble, thereby learning more and more English vocabulary with each turn. Scrabble has recently been getting huge praise within the Spanish speaking community at large, seeing as though Scrabble in Espanol was recently made available through Barnes & Noble book stores. Overall, its games like Scrabble that create a fun, easily accessible learning environment for children as well as adults.
If those two points do not garner your attention, then consider the time it takes to learn a simple video game. Take for instance Tony Hawk's Pro Skater. A million dollar video game franchise, which to many is an easily accessible game to pick up and play. To learn how to play it however, a player must master a set of maneuvers within the skateboarding world, and then learn how to time them correctly so the player does not fall down. This could take a lot more time and patience than one is willing to admit. After one has made it through the beginner steps of learning the basic set up of this game, a player may grow tired of the repetitive nature of the game and then move on. Take another game for example; Katamari Damacy. Katamari is a great game for beginners, however the act of rolling a big ball of trash, people, cows, cars, etc can get boring after a few levels of monotony. Although this game is revered as creative, and generated a lot of buzz, it is still not as fun as spending time with your family playing a game together. Video games can be social, but more likely than not they require a lot of concentration, and does not leave room for a lot of good times. Video games tend to generate a lot more seriousness than people are willing to admit.
Overall, board games can generate a lot of comradery that video games can not offer. The social aspects of most board games, outweigh the singular tone that video games offer. Video games, at times can be educational, however, they fail to show long term learning, after its intended purpose has been completed. (Who wants to play Sesame Street on Playstation into adulthood?) Board games present a far more broad scope of involvement, and are more fun than video games, and have proven the test of time.
Learn more about this author, sir jorge.
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Video
Let's be honest, board games and video games are both great. We all grew up with the classic board games like Monopoly, Life, and Clue. For some of us, video games took over at some point and others stuck with the board games. Each obviously has their positives, but I personally have to lean to video games as being the better of the two.
Board games are classic. You get a few family members and/or friends to play and sit around having a good time. Here lies the first problem. Finding people willing to play. When younger, many people have siblings that are willing to play, but not always. A great example is that I loved The Game of Life, but neither my family nor friends cared for it. Therefore, I never got to play it, despite owning it. What about only children? They must rely on playing only when friends come over. Not only can it be hard to find people willing to play board games, but it is also hard to keep them playing. I, for one (and I know I'm not alone here), do not think I've ever finished a game of Monopoly. Either losing players quit early or everyone becomes bored (no pun intended). Monopoly is by no means the only game this happens with. While the social aspect of board games is nice, it is also inconvenient. With video games, one can pick it up and play it whenever they feel like it. They do not have to wait on other people to be in the mood to play.
The second problem comes when one actually finds people that want to play. Things must be set up. Whether that means passing out money or setting up the game board. In some games, this takes very little time, but for others, this can be a real commitment. There are times when you find people willing to play a game, but they get bored during the set up and change their mind. With video games, one simply turns it on and it is ready to be played. No set up and no clean up. Just a power button.
Another issue with some board games is that everyone just wants the "payoff." I'm specifically thinking of Mouse Trap, but there are others. I can honestly say that I never played a full game of Mouse Trap. There were many times when I got it out just to set up the trap and set it off. Everyone loved setting off the trap, but I can't say I ever came across anyone that loved the actual game. This also goes back to the set up issue. In Mouse Trap, you are supposed to set up the trap as the game goes on, but there are other similar games, where one has to do a similar setup prior to starting the game. That can be a real time investment. This leads to rubber bands. Some games use rubber bands in their design. What is wrong with that, you ask? Well after in a closet for awhile, these rubber bands break. Not an issue, everyone has rubber bands around, right? Wrong! They always use the most odd sizes of rubber bands and usually you find yourself trying to supplement a different size just to get the game going (which usually does not work). Other people just put the game up instead of replacing the rubber bands or they throw it in that garage sale pile.
Next, why not just play board games on your video game console? That's right. Many board games have been made into video games. I've personally played Monopoly, Life, and other board games as video games and it is quite nice. You get a similar feel (I won't lie and say it is the same) and you do not have to find other willing players, deal with set up/clean up, and the play time is usually shorter. The great thing is that most of these games are multiplayer and can still have the social aspect with those who are willing. This is also nice as nothing is too complex in these games and anyone can play. Also, some versions have a "quick play" mode where you can finish a game faster.
Another nice feature of these board game video games is that the rules cannot be disputed. Everyone has that friend or family member who tries to dispute rules for their own gain. Not here. So this is my vote. Now, there are some board game versions of video games, that I have to admit look fun. However, each of these takes time to set up and because they are not "mainstream" board games, there can be a steep learning curve.
Which brings up the next point: Learning Curves. That's right, if you go anywhere outside of the "mainstream" board game realm, there can be steep learning curves. People usually do not want to deal with this. Dungeons and Dragons type games come to mind. I can honestly say that I have never played one, but have looked at them. When the "How to Play" guide is 250 pages, many people lose interest fast. Also, many people are only interested in the "mainstream" games and if you bring one up that they do not know of, they are not interested. Video game can also have a steep learning curves, but if one plays video games regularly, they can usually pick up others pretty easily. With board games, knowing how to play one will not help at all with another.
In today's society, where many people have little extra time, it seems board games can be a hassle. Love them or hate them, one must admit, even short board games have a decent time investment. Video games usually have a save function where one can save at minimum every 10 to 15 minutes. I cannot name a single board game that from start up to clean up takes 10 to 15 minutes. So for the time being, I'll stick with video games.
Learn more about this author, Daniel Alden.
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