by Trent Lorcher

Created on: May 09, 2008   Last Updated: May 12, 2008

Wanting to spend more time as a family without breaking the budget? Try family game night. Whether you choose family board games or classic board games, strategy board games, or fun board games, it doesn't matter. Still not convinced? Why not get some vintage board games or educational board games from your childhood or blast into the future with computer board games or Internet board games? Whatever you choose, be prepared for a delightful evening with the family. Here are some tips for a fun family game night:

As with all ventures, you must get your target audience interested and excited. In this case the target audience is your family, specifically your children. I have young children and we make it a big deal days in advance. To get them really excited, we take them to the store and let them choose the game.

When choosing a board game, it's important to find one that's age appropriate and, even more importantly, one that will be played more than once. Luckily, most games have a recommended age on the box to help you choose well, but don't allow that to be the sole determining factor. Bring the kids along and see what interests them. You might be surprised.

A conservative approach to choosing a board game is to go the classic route. Young children have always enjoyed games like Candyland or Chutes-N-Ladders. As children get older, a friendly game of Monopoly or Sorry might do the trick, and when the children aren't around, how about some Yahtzee with the spouse.

Don't feel as though you need to limit yourself to the classics or even the simple. For a good challenge try strategy board games. Strategy games facilitate the development of critical thinking skills. Games such as Risk and Clue have entertained and challenged gamers for years. Don't have the whole family to play? Don't worry. Two player strategy games such as Backgammon and Chess have intrigued players for centuries. Strategy games are also popular with young children; although they seem simple to adults, games like Checkers and Tic-Tac-Toe help children develop important problem-solving skills.

Don't limit your board games to the kitchen table. Games like Risk, Boggle, Scrabble, and Monopoly have entered the computer age. More than just an imitation of the originals, computer board games have added many features to make them more enjoyable. Don't feel like breaking the bank? Go online. A simple internet search will provide hundreds of Internet board games and online board games to download.

Still not convinced about the benefits of family game night or board games in general, take a look at the educational pluses. There are thousands of educational board games that make learning fun. In addition, most classic board games have an educational component. For example, I learned colors by playing Candyland, economics from Monopoly, world geography from Risk, and spelling from Scrabble.

Of course playing board games does not have to be educational or restricted to family game night; in fact, you can have fun with board games with just about anyone, anywhere. Most commonly found at parties and other get-togethers, fun board games such as Twister, Balderdash, and Taboo are always sure to get the fun flowing and people mingling.

Whether planning a party, spending a quiet evening at home, or planning a family game night, you can now look forward to an evening of productive delight.

Learn more about this author, Trent Lorcher.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.