We’ve been meaning to start a game night for a long time. I enjoy playing games as a family, and I know games provide all sorts of educational opportunities. But mainly, I know it’s important to have fun as a family. We just haven’t found a good time to have game night. During the week we are too busy with homework and work and scouts. By Friday we are beat. Saturday night is our movie night, and Sunday night we are busy getting baths, finding shoes and backpacks and preparing for the upcoming week.
But last night, even though we were all tired we played two rounds of Clue. I hadn’t played Clue since I was a child myself. The board looks a little different, and instead of color pieces there are actually little statues of the characters. Colonel Mustard looks fierce, and Mrs. Peacock is decked out for a party. Mrs. White looks like she’s been sampling her own cooking.
Clue uses logical thinking skills. Interestingly, I’ve been teaching logic and logical thinking this week at school. I explained to my students that detectives, doctors, police officers, and scientists all use logic on their jobs. It took my newly turned nine year olds one round to really catch on to the game, and to ask for good clues. By the end of the second game they were pros.
I guess that I’d been thinking that game night needed a lot of planning, that it would be a big production. That it would take a lot of time and energy. That there had to be snacks and special things. That after a tiring week I really just wanted to crash in front of the TV or open a book. What I learned last night is that game night doesn’t have to be a big production. We just pushed back the tablecloth and played for an hour or so. Easy. I feel kind of silly that I thought it had to be a big deal.
More on Game Night:
Fun Things to Do With Your Kids
5 Steps to Making Family Game Night a Success