Board Games for Christmas: Don’t Forget The Old Favourites

Trivial Pursuit

I love this game. There are various versions available including versions suitable for children. The game involves moving the counter around the board and answering questions on a variety of subjects to gain wedges to fit into the counter. The winner is the person who collects all the wedges and then reaches the centre of the board and correctly answers a final question selected by other players. The game can last quite a long time, but not as long as Monopoly. 

Othello

This is my favourite game, it is also known as Reversi. It is a game for two players. Each playing piece is white on one side and black on the other. The game starts with four playing pieces in the four centre squares two black and two white. Players then take turns to put down playing pieces of their colour and if they trap counters of their opponent between two of their own colour they can turn them over to make them their colour. The object is to have the most counters on the board at the end of the game. 

Twister

I remember this game from my own childhood and it is still going strong. You spread the large plastic mat on the floor to reveal four rows of different coloured circles. A spinning arrow is used to indicate the move that each player must make. Gradually players fall over and are eliminated the last person on the board is the winner. It causes a lot of laughter.

Jenga

Image via Wikipedia

54 wooden blocks are built into a tower according to the game instructions then players take turns to remove a piece using only one hand trying not to let the tower fall. The piece which has been removed has to then be placed at the top of the tower. The looser is the person who makes the tower fall.

Cluedo

Image via Wikipedia

I loved this game when I was a child. This is a complicated game, at the start of the game three cards a character, a room and a murder weapon are chosen at random and placed in an envelope where no one can see them. These represent the identity of the murderer, the place and the weapon. Players move from room to room and can make suggestions about the three components of the murder, but only if their suggestion relates to the room they are in. The other players have to disprove the suggestion by showing one card of that combination. By a process of deduction a player reaches a point where he can make an accusation if this is correct he is the winner, if not the game continues until there is a correct accusation.

Scrabble

Image via Wikipedia

This is a game for two to four players. There are a quantity of letter tiles, each player draws seven to begin, the game involves making words to connect with existing words on the board and scoring according to the values marked on the tiles. The winner is the one with the highest score at the end of the game. It leads to arguments about the validity of certain words, but it is fun and educational.