Beyond Chutes and Ladders: Games for the Whole Family

We’ve had a great time over winter break just hanging out in our living room together. Had a I checked the forecast earlier in the week, we might have gone out of the house during the last few days at 2013. Since I didn’t, and apparently SNOW is going to be happening through the rest of the break, it looks like we’ll be spending even more time in our living room. I’m not really complaining. We’ve been gaming.

Yes, the kids have been playing a lot of DIsney Infinity, but we’ve also gone old school with board games. It turns out, games where there’s a bit a skill required, rather than just blind luck, are a lot more fun to play. I don’t know that we’ve ever played a round of Chutes and Ladders without at least one person crying (you know that long slide? it’s brutal).

This week we’ve played some Uno, and have started to teach the kids how to play rummy. We’ve tried out a new game called Suspendo
, which is fun for everyone, no reading or counting skills required.

I can’t believe it, but BOTH kids are all about Monopoly right now. Both have had the chance to really clean up the board, and the most satisfied I’ve ever seen Andrew is when he both his first set of hotels. On Mediteranian and Baltic Avenue. We laughed when he bought the first pair of houses for that low-rent location. No one was laughing when they had to pony up $450 hotel rent. Well played son, well played! (Five games in, and the boy is ALWAYS the race car, and the girl is ALWAYS the cat. As it should be.)