Unlike many people, I believe that games, even computer games, are more beneficial than harmful to children and youth. Games foster insight, the ability to focus on problem solving, and a competitive spirit. I think one of the reasons older adults feel that games are harmful is simply the notion that if it\’s not for them, it can\’t be good.”
However, board games have a number of advantages that computer games do not. The ability to cooperate, face opponents, or accept defeat with open arms are skills that are only useful in life. Furthermore, communicating with teammates and opponents on the tabletop, rather than at the keyboard, gives you the ability to understand their ideas and positions and read their body language.
Today, board games are no longer limited to chess, solitaire, and joker. Manufacturers offer many different types of games. Some examples are worth mentioning. One of the so-called observational types is Doble. At the beginning of the game, players divide the deck equally and place one card at a time on the table, remove the top card from the deck, and try to find the matching picture as quickly as possible. Once found, they announce it to their opponents, throw that card on the table on top of the first card, and everyone continues searching for the next card. Whoever can discard all the cards the fastest is the winner. As I have found, and perhaps many others have found in observational games, the younger students and children are often the best performers. It is a useful experience that teaches us that just because someone is bigger, older, and more experienced does not mean that he or she is better at everything, and it is also an experience for parents to suddenly realize that their child is already better at something than they are.
Another type of game is a cooperative game in which players must work together to achieve a common goal rather than compete. In this game, as in the movie “Indiana Jones and the Search for the Lost Ark,” all players must escape from a collapsing temple in time. The time limit is 10 minutes, timed by recorded theme music
An example of a competitive game that focuses on memory is Magic Labyrinth – a game board with a maze on one side and a wooden barrier attached to the other side. Each player has a piece with a magnet on the bottom and an iron ball on the back side of the board. The object of the game is to get through the maze and pick up the winning magic artifact, but beware that if you take the wrong path, the ball at the bottom will hit the obstacle and fall.
Fantasy Games – There are so many fantasy games inspired by various books and movies like “Lord of the Rings” that you could probably write a whole book about them. There is only one to choose from.