Nostalgia Story: Family Game Night

Growing up, we spent a lot of time together as a family. That is, up until I was a teenager and was often off doing my own thing with friends or closed up in my room, reading, listening to music my parents hated, and chatting with friends on my phone. Still, we found ways to spend time together as a family. I was an odd duckling who still liked hanging out with my parents clear up to the age of 18. So at least twice a month, I would skip time with my friends on the weekend, and have family game night with my brother, mom, and dad. 

Two weekends a month we would dig out a board or card game, put on some music, and binge on junk food. My mom would have a full spread of nachos, pizza, wings... the kind of spread you would see at a Super Bowl party. We mostly played trivia games, but would also play Monopoly, Clue, UNO or other classics. Music trivia games were always a battle between my dad and I. Both of us were into music, and both of us were really good at music trivia. 

Family game nights didn't just stop at our home. When I was much younger, everyone would gather at my aunt and uncle's house on weekends. The adults would be in the kitchen playing cards and us kids would be upstairs playing or in the living room watching a movie. 

It was much the same when we would go to my grandparent's house on weekends when my cousins would be home from Pittsburgh. Sometimes we would all sit around and play Boggle. Grandma would always win of course. As we all sat there with a dictionary challenging every word she used, we realized playing Boggle against a woman with a large vocabulary was almost impossible. We still had fun. Some nights we would play Phase 10. That ended up being the go-to card game for a lot of family get-togethers and parties. That's a hard game when you have 8-10 people playing it. 

These ended up being some of my favorite memories growing up, which is why I carried them over into adulthood with my own children, and hopefully soon with my extended family. I enjoy any chance I get to spend with my loved ones. It's a bonding experience, relieves stress, combats boredom, and is a tradition that everyone looks forward to and remembers for life. We've had some of the best laughs on family game nights. And of course, we have a pretty impressive game collection that just keeps growing. Games from my childhood and even newer games, for every age, are stacked floor to ceiling in my walk in closet. My kiddos are even starting their own collections now, to pass on the tradition with their children someday. 

Discussion topic: 
Let me know in the comments below what your favorite games were growing up.
Did you have a family game night?

Nostalgia Stories is my new blog series where I will write about fond memories I have from my childhood and how they shaped traditions I have started in my own family now as an adult. At the end of each Nostalgia Story, there will be discussion topics. I would love to read your comments on your memories of each Nostalgia Story topic.
I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I enjoy writing them, and I hope it brings back some of your own happy memories.