Day 18: Hooray for a new game!

 


    When asked recently about my hobbies, I had to of course mention board and card games.  When my kids were young I hated them.  I played because I wanted to be a good mom, but I ended them as quickly as I could and avoided them if possible.  When my kids entered their teen years, some friends of ours began introducing us to two kinds of games I'd never heard of before: deck builders and European games.

    The first deck builder we played was the DC Deck Builder game.  Once I wrapped my head around the concept I was hooked and in the last eight or so years since I started I've collected every base set and expansion available and I'm bought into the kick starter for the new sets coming out early 2023.  I love the variety, the challenge, and the fun brought by this game style and I've added a few others in this genre to our collection as well.

    European style games also impressed me far more than the traditional games like Sorry and Uno that I was raised with.  Our closets and shelves are now bursting at the seams with games like Terraforming Mars, Wing Span, Settlers of Catan, and Small World.  When my husband and I have spare time together, our first go-to activity is playing a game.  We even keep small games in our glove boxes to play when we go out for coffee or breakfast. 

    Today a new game arrived from Amazon, Terra Mystica.  I've played this game several times on an online service called Board Game Arena, but I felt like I wouldn't be able to master it until I played it in person because it is so involved.  I introduced my husband to it after dinner tonight and had the pleasure of winning my first game, I'm sure that had to do with my quick wit and not the fact that it was his first time playing ;).  I'm so glad I finally splurged and made the purchase.  I'm sure it's one we'll be playing for a long time to come!

Here's the thing:  Games are great for helping keep my mind sharp and excercising my short-term memory.  They also give us fun things to do together.  I'm so glad I've found this hobby!

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