Playing these 5 classic board games is one of the best ways to combat stress. Sometimes, it is necessary to do something fun to stop ourselves from dwelling too much on negative thoughts and emotions. Do you find yourself taking life too seriously? It’s time to bring out your favorite board game.
Break away from stress and anxiety thru play. Keep a positive atmosphere at home with these fun and entertaining board games.
1. Battleship
2 Players
Children and adults alike enjoy this as one of the classic board games. Popular since the 1930s, this game from Hasbro has taken on many different forms since then. This is a naval battle game where each player tries to sink the opponent’s ship to win.
In an ultimate battle of wits, players start off the game by secretly placing their battleships own grids that only they can see. Each player then chooses specific coordinates to fire a missile and see if it hits the any of the other player’s ship. They do this in turns with the goal of eliminating as many of the opponent’s ships before they hunt yours down
2. Boggle
Multiple players
This word game made its debut in 1972 and is still popular today. It’s a simple board game that involves players wracking their brains to come up with words. Be sure to have a dictionary ready to check if a word actually exists!
The game starts off by shaking the cube to rearrange the letters inside. Once the lid is off, players have 3 minutes to make up as many words as they can from the 16 letters on the 4×4 tray. Having the same word as your opponent eliminates that word from your list right away. So be sure to listen what the other players are saying so you don’t’ use the same word. You can play by teams too.
This portable word game is tons of fun. The only downside is that it will be quite noisy when you play this game. Make sure you don’t shout too much so your neighbors don’t complain.
3. Checkers
2 players
Checkers is one of the oldest, classic board games. Even Greek writers Homer and Plato mention it in some of their works. The board consists of 64 alternating red and black squares where players can place their black and red checker pieces. There are other color variations available too.
This strategy game involves jumping over various squares to get to your opponent’s side of the board. You can do this by jumping over your opponent’s checker pieces and removing them from the board. Each piece can move only on the black square and only 1 diagonal square forward each time. You need to jump over your opponent’s piece to move 2 squares.
4. Chinese Checkers
2-6 players
Despite its name, this game was actually invented in America in the 1920s. In fact, it’s based on an earlier Victorian game called Halma which was originally played on a 16×16 square, checker or chequer board.
It has evolved into the hexagonal board that we are familiar with today. The holes on the board form the shape of a 6 pointed star. Each point forms a triangle with 10 holes. The hole is where players place their 10 pegs. Players have 6 different colors to choose from.
The goal of the player is to be the first one to move all 10 pegs into the triangle opposite them. Players take turns to move a single peg at one time. If less than 6 players will play, they must do so in pairs. They will place their pegs on opposite sides on the board.
5. Chess
2 players
Chess is another one of the oldest, classic board games in the world and one of the most familiar to adults and kids alike. Apparently, it appeared in the 16th A.D. century in India and spread to other parts of the world from there.
This game of strategy and wits is both fun but also mentally challenging. Even as a spectator to this game, you can feel the anticipation of each player’s next move. It’s the strategies that professional players use to win the game that makes watching a chess match truly amazing.
Try your hand at this game just for fun. The goal of this game is to put the opponent’s King in checkmate. If you don’t know what that means, then it’s time to learn the basic rules. See if you can come up with a strategy to hinder your opponent’s progress as you try to advance your pieces on the board. Who knows, you might discover a hidden talent for this game while you’re learning it.
If you are a parent, playing these board games with your kids will not only be fun. It will make your kids feel closer to you in many ways. This will also help them open up their thoughts and feelings to you so you can help them achieve their dreams. Plus, it will help train their minds and creative skills so more opportunities will open up for them in future. You experience the same benefits too.
Feature Image: Original Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash.