Why Busy Adults Should Try Board Gaming

It is hugely important for us to take time to switch off, unwind and distract ourselves from all the things that life can throw at us, and what better way to do that than to sit around a table with friends and have some fun.

Talking of switching off, unlike other forms of entertainment board games (generally) do not require a screen, unless you class the ones used to hide your actions, which I don’t!

Again, limiting our screen time can be hugely beneficial, and board games seem to be one area of analogue entertainment that is actually growing in popularity, as people look to live out their fantasies without the need for a digital medium. I think this is a major reason why busy adults should try board gaming.

So much so, that many big-name franchises in the film and tv industry have put their names on a board game or two, Marvel, Game Of Thrones, Star Wars and many others have all dipped their toes into the board game scene, and consequently, the hobby and your ability to explore strange new worlds is all the better for it.

Break The Ice

I don’t know about you, but I’m not the best at social situations! Small talk is just not one of my strengths. Sports, current affairs, politics and other adult conversational subjects are just not something I’m that knowledgeable on, so I find it hard to connect with people I don’t know.

Therefore, the opportunity to get the conversation flowing through the medium of playing games is very useful to me. There have been a few gatherings where games like Monikers have done wonders to break the ice. These silly, deceptively simple, party games are a real leveller. You really haven’t lived until you’re trying to mime octuplets to a bunch of strangers without using a single word!!

Interact And Reconnect With Others

I guess this topic is related to the above, in that games give us a canvas for interacting with others.

But they are also an awesome way to renew old bonds and create new ones. I remember one of my friends broke out The Resistance at my stag party to get everyone to engage on a common subject. It turned out that I was the Spy, which I managed to hide very convincingly even after a few drinks. This is still something that gets brought up in conversation when we get together today.

These sorts of shared experiences can create bonds that literally last a lifetime.

Meaningful interaction can also strengthen the bonds that you already have, my wife and I struggled through the first lockdown here in the UK, as many people did. Trying to balance childcare and work got to the point where finding any downtime at all became a challenge. This is another reason why busy adults should try board gaming.

The solution, it turned out, was pretty straightforward. We made a promise that, once a week, we would set aside a night to ourselves to play a game. It would have been so much easier to just sit in front of the TV, but we wanted a better reason to put down the laptops and share time together. Our first game was Marvel United, it was a fun experience even though we failed to beat the villain on the first attempt. This was partially due to us not having read the rules properly and partially luck of the draw.

But instead of giving up, we played again, and this time we were successful. That moment we knew we had the villain on the ropes and the board game gods saw fit to grant us the cards we needed for victory is exactly the kind of shared buzz that brings us closer together.