Fun Family Activities – Playing Games with your Spouse/Partner

Author: Seth Brown – www.risingpun.com 

Why Game with your Partner?

A friend of mine once told me, “Board gaming is like sex:  It’s a lot more fun with someone you really like.”

Presumably, if you have a spouse or partner, you really like that person. And you probably like board games too, whether for the brain health benefits, strategic challenge, or pure fun. It stands to reason, then, that combining those two things you like would be a great idea. Board gaming with a loved one is not only a cost-effective way to get an evening’s entertainment, but is also much more interactive than sitting in front of a movie. By playing a game with your partner, you’re really spending an evening *with* her, not just next to her.

Make the Suggestion

Casually bring up the idea to your partner. Tell him, “Hey, instead of a movie tomorrow night, would you be up for trying a game?” If your partner doesn’t seem receptive at first, be willing to postpone gaming with him for another night, after you’ve brought it up again. You don’t want to push really hard and demand gaming when your partner isn’t in the mood for it, or he’ll be pre-disposed not to enjoy it.

Bring it up again later and be willing to compromise. If your partner will agree to game with you instead of watching another TV show one night, then you may have to agree to try one of his hobbies. But don’t worry; in many cases, once your partner gets a taste for playing good games with someone he loves, he’ll be hooked.

Choose Your Games Carefully

This is probably the most important thing you can do when planning a game night with your partner. If you’re looking to get her to play games with you, then you’ve got to pick the games that she is most likely to enjoy. First of all, consider how much gaming your partner has done in the past. If she’s never played a board game before, then it doesn’t matter how great your favorite complex strategy game is, because it’s probably going to be too complicated for to enjoy it as her first modern board game. You’ll want something with rules that can be learned in five minutes.

Think about what your partner likes, and pick games with themes or mechanics that might appeal to her. If she likes Indiana Jones movies, consider a game with an archaeology theme like Lost Cities. If she likes playing Tetris, consider Blokus.

Make sure the game you have chosen plays well with two players. Some games like Lost Cities are made specifically for two players. And some games like Dominion can handle up to four players, but play wonderfully with two. However, certain multi-player games (especially auction-based games) become less fun with fewer than three players, so if you’re not sure, try it out with another friend first, so your partner doesn’t suffer.

Start Slow

Don’t overwhelm your partner by demanding a 4-hour gaming session on your first night.

Your ideal game for a first night out should have simple rules and a playtime of under a half-hour, so you can play a few games of it without taking the whole evening. Lost Cities and Dominion are both highly recommended.

Treat the first game as a learning experience. Play with your hands open, allow your partner to take back moves, and so forth. The only people playing are you and your partner, so you don’t need to worry about slowing things down for anyone else.

Finally, avoid being hyper-competitive, unless you know that your partner enjoys it. Forcing your partner into a new hobby so you can trounce him and gloat about it is not going to make him want to play games again.

The More The Merrier

If your partner starts enjoying gaming as much as you do, make it a regular occurrence. Set aside one night a week as “game night”, and you’ll know that you can both look forward to quality time with the one you love – whether that one happens to be Lost Cities or Dominion.