1. Getting off screens

2. Socializing

But it still also accomplishes one of my favorite things to do: thinking — specifically problem solving and optimizing.

And, as an introvert, socializing actually naturally is secondary in our group, but that’s ok — a good heavy heads-down board game (think 3-5 hours) is still quite enjoyable in the presence of other human beings. A bit of a lost art in the day of the “black mirror” (cell phones).

If you haven’t tried getting into board games lately, I highly recommend it. If you don’t know where to start, I’d be happy to offer suggestions!

I’m just going to get this off my chest here because I think a lot of “board game people” might not really understand why their enthusiasm doesn’t catch on with a lot of people

I know a decent number of board game “enthusiasts” that will pull out a fancy new game to show off, and spend a couple of hours setting it up and explaining the rules to everyone…

And then the next game night its the same thing. Check out this great new game! Let’s set it up and let’s all learn a new set of cards and board.

This happens so often to me. These people never want to actually _play_ a game, or at least they can’t get over their obsession to buy new games that I rarely end up playing a game that I just learned the rules to. Next night it’s a new game!

It’s exhausting and honestly I tend to avoid board game nights now. And I like games!

I had so much fun playing dominoes or simple card games with my friends before board gaming got huge. Because the point was not the actual game, but the time spent with my friends.