Love that song, and am coming to love games again as well.
Now I have your attention, what old games are getting you through shut-in and lockdown?
My partner and I were remembering all the games of our childhood. Grandparents who played Euchre by the hour. We looked up the Rummy rules and it came back just as quickly as riding a bike. We play the occasional game of bananagrams, Scrabble, but haven't broken out the chess set or the Viking game or the backgammon. Haven't seen the Queen's Gambit yet, though. Kids downstairs are enamored of Battleship. An old game to me, but new to them. They're both studying to be Lawyers, and it gives them a break. A good friend does puzzles.
I so remember all the fun my bro and I had of a Sunday night when we, poor as church mice, played Parchesi and Monopoly by the hour, split a pint of ice cream four ways, and listened to radio dramas as a family. Was how I came to love the Marshall, Matt Dillon.
You can only garden, sew, walk, read, and watch TV so much. I guess the game I play most is Solitaire, and occ. the partner and I play together but separate at the same table.
Do you do cellphone games? I am not fully into the 21st century yet with my jitterbug.
What games are you playing?
What game would you give for Christmas?
And one last question. We were amazed how quickly Rummy came back to us; do any of the seniors you care for still remember card games in the same way they sometimes have a sort of automatic memory of such things as piano playing?
Rook is my favorite card game but you need 4 people to play and that’s not always possible these days.
This was a wonderful idea for a thread, Alva!
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Though not a game, I also love to author greeting cards that I gift.
Applesauce and enough cinnamon to make a dough . Yeah not real good to eat but nothing harmful. And it smells good and it can be shaped and dried to make ornaments. (I think it comes out to equal portions of applesauce and cinnamon)
I suppose the only real "problem" with it is that it is brown. Not a real pretty color, not a Holiday color but at least it smells pretty good.
we play games with our young adult children every week!
I'm wondering if play dough would be good? Make sure no one eats it.
With my older friend, Jer (87), I play scrabble with a 'real' board that my client, Anne (101!) gave me during one of her 'cleaning out' sessions. It is a magnetic board which makes placing the letters easier although the letters are small. Still, playing w/Jerry, I need to be patient and remind him "you can go up-down or side-ways 'hooking' on to a letter already on the board - and ALL need to be words.
While I am not advocating using an iPad or phone for games, I'm personally totally hooked on computer SCRABBLE, blackjack (21) = got up to over a billion so started over and over... and if locked out of those, backgammon or hearts. THESE ARE STRESS RELIEVERS for me.
Unfortunately ... I'm too young to know of some of the games mentioned here. I played whisk/bridge, poker, Chinese checkers, monopoly as a kid. I created my own 5 card draw poker game. Low card wild; two card exchanges which could easily change the wild care. Lots of fun. I'm a low-grade gambler at heart. Gena.
I loved Queens's Gambit, though I was never a good chess player, and always loved Parcheesi and Monopoly. We used to play Monopoly on the set my Dad's family got back in WWII or just after.
I never got into cell phone games, though I do play Runescape, an online multiplayer computer game which often has hundreds of thousands of players at a time. I have a group of about 30 friends there from around the world that I only know in that game.
Thanks for the questions, it is fun remembering back to the '50's when we played games every night in the winter and when it was too hot to play outside in the summer.
Scandinavian name is Hnefatafl. Don't ask me to say it.
Weeroo, I love that about your Mom.
There are a couple of soothing visual matching phone games out there--one called "butterflies" and another called "Tiles", from the New York Times. Crosswords are great, too, but they have to hit that sweet spot between possible and challenging. Not too easy, not to hard.
Later in life my husband and I would play partner pinochle with my mom and dad nearly every Friday night in the fall and winter at their house, mom and I teamed against my husband and dad because the "rule" was that married couples should never be pinochle partners... mom would make dinner or we'd order a pizza and then we'd play cards until midnight, singing along with Casey Kasem's Coast To Coast Countdown on the radio. Those nights are some of my happiest memories that I never, ever want to forget. Now I play pinochle against the computer; since mom passed away neither of the guys wants to play 3-handed cut throat pinochle.
cwillie I also play the Microsoft solitaire games... I hate playing online with other people and would much rather either play against the computer or just solo for pretty much the same reason.
Great topic, took my mind off things in the nicest way possible for at least a few minutes.
I have them hooked on Gin, Rummy, Crazy Eights (weren't they surprised to find out it is just like UNO!) I am working on Spades with them.
I have taught them several types of Solitaire games some on the computer some with "real" cards.
I truly want them to get into Scrabble a bit more but it is tough. They seem to like numbers more than letters. (I am opposite)
Several different Dice games and they both love Yahtzee.
My Granddaughter has found a love for reading and for her birthday (12 years) I gave her The Book Thief. For some reason she has become fascinated with that era. (we were watching Woman in Gold last week)
And baking! (again with math skills)
Art projects are always a go to.
I love the idea of a Bag O Games! That might be one I put together for the whole family.
On New Years we do a "Pizza Taste Off" We order 3 pizzas from 3 different places and we each try 1 piece of each and vote for the best. Then we play what the kids call "Drunk Cards" my daughter and I will finish off a bottle of bubbly while we all play cards. Then about 10:00 pm I walk home.
Thanks for starting this, gives me some ideas.
I might have to get out the Dominos.
Look up the rules to Backgammon and teach (and learn ) a few new games.
I cut school to play canasta with Mary Ann and Gaye and Shirley. Wouldn't you know I would cut school before I cut most of my teeth!
I put a 'letter' in each bag and told them the idea behind the games was to spend more time together as a family in 2021 as we await the slow return of our 'normal lives' if they ever do.
It remains to be seen if this very- time consuming chore was a hit or miss. With my son's kids, who are spoiled absolutely rotten--I doubt they'll like it--but the other 4 families should.
Anyway--I am ALL DONE with Christmas shopping and it feels good. I can spend December doing service projects and relaxing a little.
I have such memories of playing endless hands of Canasta with my grandmother. I mean---hours on end. We had such fun. I can't even remember how to play, but I do remember my grandma was one big cheater and we loved to catch her out.
I play Batteship on ZOOM with my 10 yo granddaughter and she beats me every time. It's kind of embarrassing. But it's a really fun game for a quick ZOOM, if you don't have a lot to talk about with a younger kid.
My Mom played piano. I refused lessons in all my wisdom (not). So not in this life, and I wish music was more in my life.
CWillie, you may be right about Euchre. My lineage all German, and the Grandparents were from Germany.
We used to play Chinese Checkers as well; that's something I might resurrect.
Playing games was so relaxing.
Unfortunately, any automatic memory I might have seems to have been filed away in unknown storage areas. I do plan to practice piano again as eventually I want to play in rehab centers as I did years ago. That was a very worthwhile endeavor.