Catan, Dominion, Sequence, Splendor…Better than Monopoly

12 hours. He could play for 12 hours. His eyes were glazed over with desire. I’m not him. I could not play board games for 12 hours. I can play for 2 hours, and then I need a potty break. If I play for 3 hours, I will also need a food break. And, depending what I eat…I’ll either play the following half hour like a champion or like a mindless zombie.

Table top board games are like an acquired taste in 2021. Sure, we’ve lured in some more people since the pandemic, as families and roommates search for things to do together. But table top board games can a have a place in our lives, all decade-round. They teach us to take turns, to pay attention when we’re not actively playing, to strategize, to proudly fail, to lose with abandonment, to win without feeling guilty, to be cooperative until a key point where we then turn competitive. Board games teach us that there are “seasons” in our strategies, just as there are “seasons” in how we carry out our plans in real life.

However, if you’re someone who doesn’t have plans in real life, then table top board games are not for you? Or are they? What is engaging about table top board games is that if four players sit at a table, four people start with relatively equal stance. Real life isn’t like that. We’re deal the cards that we’re dealt and then every person is out for themselves.

Table top board games is like a case study on how your friends are feeling at the moment. Are they slow and patient, or do they go all in on their bet or strategy? The best thing is that even if you tend to act one way, you can become a whole different persona in the game. There’s nothing to lose and nothing to gain, except you get to see how decisions are made and how the consequences of those decisions pan out.

There is such a thing as a sore loser. There is such a thing as a cooperative competitor. All these things exist because you can either have mercy on your peers to prolong the game, or you can be the one to end it. Whether it’s a two hour or a three hour commitment, the true winner is the one who plays cordially enough that the same peers will want to return for another day, for another game.

Table top board games is a chance to display different mentalities, both in yourself and to witness in others. It’s an attention to detail. It’s an opportunity to strategize. It’s an opportunity to put someone in their place with playfulness. Lastly, it’s a way to bond. Unless it’s Monopoly.

Written by Jeannie Tso on September 25th, 2021