292 – Making Time for Board Games – The Family Gamers Podcast
How do you set up a family game night? When we’re all so busy, how do we make time?
292 Fact – someone set a record by watching the most recent Spider-Man movie (No Way Home) 292 times!
Sponsor – First Move Financial reminds us you can check your credit reports for free at annualcreditreport.com, and a few tips on how to read your credit reports.
What We’ve Been Playing
25 Words or Less
So Clover
Master Word – definitely for gamers!
Unmatched: Jurassic Park, Dr. Sattler vs. T-Rex
Goonies: Coded Chronicles (Escape with One Eyed Willy’s Rich Stuff)
Under Falling Skies
Qwingo – unfortunately out of print. If you find this at a thrift store, GRAB IT!
Welcome new members
Stop in to our Facebook community and say hi!
SNAP Review – 25 Words or Less
In this word-guessing game, you’re limited by how many words you can use – AND a timer! Is this too much pressure for a family game? Read the transcript or watch the video of our review.
Making Time for Family Game Night
How do we figure out how to make time for gaming? Anitra wrote a blog post on this a while ago: www.thefamilygamers.com/make-time-for-games/
It’s great to have a dedicated family game time! But how?
Preparation
Just like we talked about 2 weeks ago (oops, 4 weeks ago!) – you want to make the most of this time!
- Make sure you know the game if you’re teaching.
- Pick games that everyone can play and will enjoy. (Choices are fine, but keep them limited.)
- What if you have a specific game in mind? Tell everyone. Plan the time. Set it up before getting the family to the table.
Pick a Game that Fits the Time
Pick a game that fits the time you have. 10 minutes between breakfast and the school bus? Play something short & easy.
Maybe set up a game that can be played asynchronously, each family member taking a turn when they pass the table throughout the week.
Or maybe you simply plan to play in 10-minute chunks!
Foster a Culture of Gaming
If Family Game Night is going to be a thing for your family, it should be part of the regular routine and culture. Much like you can foster a culture of reading – by reading to your children and letting them see you read. Play games with your kids but also let them see you playing without them. “It’s just what we do.”
It doesn’t mean that it always has to be the whole family. Even though we have 5 people in our family, most of our games played are with only 2-3 people!
It does mean playing what your kids want to play, even if it’s UNO or Candyland.
Screen Free Environment
Not all the time, but try a devoted night or afternoon that is no-screens-allowed. Parents, set the example here but enforce it too!
This will help you create space and time for board games, but doesn’t have to result in board games.
Find Us Online:
Facebook: @familygamersaa and thefamilygamers.com/community
Twitter (X): @familygamersaa
Threads: @familygamersaa
Instagram: @familygamersaa
TikTok: @familygamersaa
Youtube: TheFamilyGamers
or join the Family Tabletop Community on Discord! thefamilygamers.com/discord
Or, for the most direct method, email us! andrew@thefamilygamers.com and anitra@thefamilygamers.com.
Check out our new Family Gamers and Play Games with Your Kids merchandise – T-shirts, hoodies, and mugs – at thefamilygamers.com/merch.
PLEASE don’t forget to subscribe to the show, tell your friends about the show, and leave us a review at Apple Podcast or whatever your podcast subscription source is. We’re also on Amazon Music, TuneIn, and Spotify.
The Family Gamers is sponsored by First Move Financial. Go to FirstMoveFinancial.com/familygamers to learn how the team at First Move Financial can help you pile up the victory points.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 51:35 — 35.4MB)