Family Games Today

In the summertime an Olympics themed party can be just the ticket to get your family active and moving rather than sitting in front of the television all day. You can use the idea of a party to get everyone interested and the Olympics theme to get everyone involved in some fun active sports. You can even set up a buffet table for in between the sports so the family can refresh themselves.

If you plan on inviting extended family and friends to the party go ahead and send out Olympics themed party invitations. You can call the event after your own family’s surname, so it could be called, ‘The Harris Family Olympics.’ These Olympics are easy to decorate for. Try stringing up bright yellow streamers all over the party area. You can pick up wall hangings and Olympic posters to stick on the walls and hopefully provide inspiration for the family.

Some Olympic activities you can put together are the 100 meter dash, a relay race, wrestling, jump rope, double Dutch, tennis, volleyball, basketball and even more. The list is pretty much endless; as long as you have the room and the equipment you can turn any sport into a family Olympic game. After each game or every three games or so you can have an award ceremony and give out bronze, gold and silver medals to the winners of the matches. Make these medals out of chocolate and wrapped in different colored foils and your family will be chomping merrily away after the games. In order to make it fair you can create a rule that keeps people who’ve already won an award from being able to take part in further games.

Make up goodie bags for everyone to take home after the game are over. Put in stickers, tattoos, pencils and pens.

Mrs. Party… Gail Leino takes a common sense approach to planning and organizing events, celebrations and holiday parties with unique ideas for birthday party supplies and fun free educational party games. She explains proper etiquette and living a healthy life while also teaching organizational skills and fun facts. The Party Supplies Hut has lots of party ideas with hundreds of free coloring sheets, printable games, and free birthday party activities. Over 100 adorable Party Themes to fit your birthday celebration, holiday event, or “just because” parties is at the Party Theme Shop. Party themes include cartoon characters, sports, movie, TV shows, luau, western, holidays, and unique crazy fun theme ideas.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Gail_Leino

FACT: Entertainment costs are going up.

In case you have been under a rock lately, gas costs you about $3.30 per gallon (about $45 per filling on an average car). Movies cost between $7.00 and $10.00 per person. That’s before you get your munchies. Oh, that will cost you about $10 for a large popcorn and a drink…but you get free refills on the popcorn. You want to go out with your special other for dinner and a drink? That will run you about $50 or so.

Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy a night out as much as the next guy…but my wallet hates it every time.

Do you have kids? If you want to have a night out, don’t forget the babysitter at $6.00 per hour per child.

Some Quick Math

Alright, I am an Average Joe, with an average income. My wife is unemployed right now. We have two kids. So, let’s say I want to take my wife out for an evening without the kids to dinner and a movie.

Let’s see…how long will we be out? A movie averages about 2 hours. For dinner, expect 20-30 minute waits (it is Friday night), take 45 minutes to eat. That’s just over three hours. But wait, I haven’t driven anywhere yet. Figure in about another hour for driving - we live in Orlando and everything is 30 minutes away. So, we need to cover about four hours.

Babysitting

Babysitting - I am out $6.00/hour for four hours. That’s $24. Wait…I have two kids. I might get away with $40. That’s before I even walk out the door!

Dinner

That dinner, if you eat at an average dining establishment (Olive Garden, Red Lobster, Chili’s, and the like) will be about $30 when you include tip. No Alcohol - just Tea.

The bill is now $70. Let’s go see that flick. It better be good!

Movie

So, we decided to go see a big action picture. Think Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, or Matrix. That means you go to the IMAX and get the goodies (we can skip that on the romance or comedies). So, we maxed out with two tickets at $20. Those goodies rang up to $10…and we got our free refill. As a side thought, these epic action movies are not usually two hours - They are longer by about 30-40 minutes. Better ring up another $10 for the babysitter.

For the movies, we spent $30.

Gas

If you are going somewhere, it probably isn’t on a motorcycle. That car needs gas. If you drive an hour, expect that gas to cost about $10.

Add ‘Em Up

Here’s the damages…

• Babysitting - $50
• Dinner - $30
• Movie - $30
• Gas - $10

So, to take my wife out to a movie and dinner cost us $120. Are you kidding me? Read that again. $120. And, for just over two of those hours, we are not interacting with each other. We are watching a giant movie screen.What if I had taken the two kids to the movies? Remove the babysitter, but add $20 to the meal and about the same to the movie. It’s the same $40. Oh, and you don’t get to interact with the kids during the movie either. So either way, you spent $120 for an evening of very low interaction with your family that you cherish and love to be with.

And, before I offer the solution to the problem, let me ask you one more thing. How much does it cost the next time you want to take your family out? $120. Do that once per month and you spent almost $1500 in a year.

Designer Board Games to the Rescue

But, I don’t want to sit at home and play those dumb games. I have been playing those since I was a kid.

Certainly, as a parent, you don’t want to keep breaking out the standards, like Monopoly, Scrabble, Life, Sorry, and the like. You are correct. You have been playing them since you were a kid. You can put those away, because I have a better offer.

Have you heard about designer board games? These are a new breed of board game that is popular in Europe and starting to take hold here in the US. The catch…you won’t find them at Toys R Us or Wal Mart. They aren’t that mainstream yet. You need a hobby shop or someplace like that. That means you have to become one with your inner geek and go to a sci-fi or hobby shop to find these games. Or, you can shop online through a board game store or find them on eBay.

From a difficulty level, they land somewhere between Monopoly and Chess, so they will keep your attention.

Why Designer Board Games?

Here’s the breakdown. These games are designed to be highly interactive. Some games, like Settlers of Catan, have players interacting with each other the entire game. For the family, a common gameplay mechanic is no player elimination. This means you don’t have players going bankrupt or long, drawn-out endgame battles like you do when you play Risk or Monopoly. This is great for the younger kids.

They tend to be wrapped around a theme, have nice artwork, and they take about 1-2 hours per game. So, you can play multiple games in an evening.

But, What About The Cost?

Let’s remember the cost of our family night out…$120. Got it? Focus on it…this is important.

One game, like Settlers of Catan, Carcassonne, or Ticket to Ride will set you back about the cost of that babysitter - $40. So, you want to get two games, so you are not playing the same one over and over again. This will cover about 3-4 hours of time (same as your evening out) So, for two games, your cost is $80. Hmmmmm. That’s interesting. We are already ahead.

You Make Your Savings The Next Time You Play

It cost us $120 to go to the movies and dinner. It cost us $80 to have a night with the family and our games. Toss in $20 for pizza, so you don’t have to cook - so call it $100 even.

How much is it the next time you have night out at the movies? $120. How much is it the next time you have a family board game night? $20 for the pizza.

Your Friends Can Enjoy The Games Too!

You can even create a very fulfilling social life with board games. You can invite all the friends you want over to enjoy them together. Have one group play one game and the other group play the other. Then, switch. You provide the games…your friends provide the pizza. Your cost just went down.

If you wanted to, you could even loan out your games when you weren’t using them so your friends can enjoy their own game nights.

It’s Not Just A Board Game

The bottom line to all of this is that it is about relationships and richness of life. Your relationships with your friends and family are very important. These are the memories you have to keep - not the dinners and movies. It is the laughing, the joking, the strategy plays, the teams, and the personalities that come out around the game table. You just don’t get that with dinner and a movie.

Imagine the memories and skills you can teach your children by offering them uninterrupted one-on-one time without a television, computer, music, and that other stuff that just gets in the way.

An $850 Savings for a Rich Year of Gaming

You do the math.

• $120 per month for one dinner and a movie with your family.
• $60 per month for a new game and a pizza with friends and family

Your savings is about $850. That’s a really decent amount of movies from Netflix. That would also really help against the rising cost of gas. There’s even some extra money here for you to go to dinner and a movie once in a while. You also get a new board game every month, so you would start your second year with 13 games to choose from if you bought a new game per month (you started with two games).You Gain Friends, Family, and Community

The biggest gain you make does not have a dollar value - and never will. It is the time you get with your family, your kids, and your friends. You can expect your circle of friends will grow and expand because there is a large modern board game community being established here in the US.

Give designer board games a chance. Your entertainment and wallet deserve it.

For almost three whole months, all I ever heard was “can we get a Wii, please?” You see I have a family of three kids and the oldest even had the little one begging for it. I hesitated for a long time as I didn’t want them simply laying around a TV all day with a little controller in there hand when they could be outstide having real fun instead. Before long, Christmas rolled around and that’s when we decided to go ahead and get a Wii console for the kids as it would still let them be somewhat active as it seemed more interactive than simply pushing a few buttons and besides, we would make it a family game instead of someones personal entertainment console.

The first game we had actually came with the Wii console itself and was the sports package. This game turned out to be a real blast at family time as we could make some hot dogs and pop some popcorn and have our own little bowling tournaments and such. My middle child that has an age difference of about 5 years to her older sibling actually got so good at it, that she started beating him. It was really exciting to see how they interacted and was relating to each other. It actually started bringing them closer together with the friendly and sometimes not so friendly competition.

We soon found out though, that as with most sports (either real or virtual) you either like it and it sticks with you or it becomes old and boring and soon forgotten or never to be played again. Thus, Wii Sports went by the wayside into that unplayed bin of games that never fails to accumulate. I still like it though so it does see some action still these days. We started looking around some more for different games that we might all still enjoy together and that’s when we stumbled onto Guitar Hero.

This game has truly revolutionized our Friday nights as we now know it. It took a little getting used to but soon my son and I were playing on the more difficult levels and actually trading secrets on how to hit those notes that seem to be flying at you. Now, instead of taking the family to the movies or heading out to dinner and spending close to a hundred dollars every Friday, we hold our own little mini-concerts in the comfort of our own home and only end up denting the budget for about twenty dollars with a much needed and aligned Friday nights together and some simple fast food. Besides, who has time to cook when you can be heating up the guitar instead.

Chris is a Guitar Hero For Wii fanatic who’s family has turned into a bunch of Guitar Hero 3 Wii junkies.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Chris_Copeland

The game of Carrom is also called as Carroms which is known as a family game played on tabletop. This game has a similarity between the games, table shuffleboard and billiards. Carrom game has many kinds of names across the globe, such as carum, carrum, karam, karom, karum or simply called Indian finger billiards. The origin of this game is unsure; according to some sources this game of Carrom has an Indian origin, while some say that it has a Chinese origin. Countries like Zimbabwe, Ethiopia and North Africa seem to play a role for the origin of the Carrom game. However in the West this game is somewhat similar to billiards.

The game of Carrom is played on plain plywood which is about 74 centimeters or 29 inches. The border of the playing board in bounded with wood bumpers. Here instead of balls like in billiards, here wooden disks are used. It is also called as Carrom coins or pucks. Generally there only four types of coins, black, white, red and a striker. The aim of the game is to strike the coins with the help of the striker and move them into the corner pockets. The red colored coin/puck is called the ‘queen’. Carrom can be played with two to four players. The Carrom board has variations; it is available in smaller size for children and boards with larger corner pockets for beginners to learn the tricks and practice the game.

The American version of the game is quite different as the game is played with cue sticks with checkers or chess like patters in the middle of the board. You can note that, the corner pockets of the board are much larger than the traditional/original Carrom board. The American Carrom was played in 1950s and 1970s in South California, using larger square board and with cue sticks and wooden rings. The Filipino Carrom is played in Philippines which is called ‘pool table’ or ‘Karombola’. The Australian Carrom is similar to the Indian Carrom which is know by the trade mark ‘Puckpool’ which is played using hands without cue sticks. However the Australian Carrom is played only with eight coins, black and white coins plus with a queen or crown puck. The International Carrom Federation (ICF) is the international governing body for the game of Carrom, which has delegates from Sri Lanka, Malaysia, India, Germany, Maldives and Switzerland. The ICF sets the Laws for the Carrom game.

Sree Jos is a seo copywriter having more than 3 years of experience in this field who is currently working for the site carrom accessories. For further information on carrom game, carrom rules and carrom striker please visit carrom board or contact me through mail: sree.jos@gmail.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sree_Jos

Like cards, but not gambling? Then turn to your PC. The Internet has great card games to tickle your mind, while you don’t have to bet a penny. Curious? Try these PC games:

ShapeSolitaire (Dekovir)

ShapeSolitaire is a new unique card puzzler. The game adds a modern twist to the classic card game. With ShapeSolitaire, you have to fill all open tiles with cards by following one simple rule - you must place a card on the field next to another card with a value one less or one greater, regardless the suit. Shape Solitaire is a fantastic game for card and puzzle fans alike. Download it and test your luck.

PrettyGood Solitaire (Gamesol)

You will enjoy countless hours of fun with PrettyGood Solitaire. It’s probably the largest solitaire card game collection that lets you play 600 different solitaire card games, from classic games like Klondike, FreeCell, and Spider, to original games found nowhere else, such as Demons and Thieves, Aces and Kings, and Double FreeCell.. In addition to that you can use PrettyGood Solitaire to play Pyramid, Cruel, Gaps (Montana), Crescent, Diplomat, or Indian Patience. Pretty Good Solitaire contains a solitaire game for every mood. Whether you want an easy, mindless game or an intellectual challenge, you will find it here.

BVSSolitaire (BVS Development Corp)

BVSSolitaire is an award-winning collection of 385 solitaire games. You’ll be able to learn solitaires created by BVSSolitaire founder and not found elsewhere. Another advantage of this game is that BVSSolitaire gives you the plethora of statistical and scoring screens. You can track your performance and progress in playing solitaire about as completely as many people use a computer to track their finances. And you can publish your personal statistics on the BVSSolitaire web site to appear in the top scores list.

Rummy (YPR Software)

In the addictive Rummy game, you play your cards on the table in groups of three or more, and you win when you play all your cards before your opponents do. You can chose to play online or offline against the computer players, varying difficulty level. As an added bonus, you can choose from many different variations of the Manipulation Rummy game, playing with cards or tiles. You can ask the program for a hint while you play. You can undo and redo your moves and can set a time limit for each turn to make the game more fast-paced. Save the game you are playing and resume it later, if something suddenly distracts you.

Free Download Links:

Shape Solitaire: http://www.deprice.com/shapesolitaire.htm

PrettyGood Solitaire: http://www.deprice.com/prettygoodsolitaire.htm

BVSSolitaire: http://www.deprice.com/bvssolitairecollection.htm

Rummi: http://www.deprice.com/rummi.htm

John Deprice loves card games. His extensive card game collection is available for free download at http://www.deprice.com/games-6-1.htm

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=John_Deprice

Christmas as a child was always spent building up to the big day when you would wake early, rush to the tree and start shaking the boxes underneath it that mysteriously appeared during the night before. In years gone by we got excited about our 16-bit state of the art Super Nintendo’s and MegaDrives, only for the unpacking and plugging-in to create a divide between the gamers and non-gamers in the house. This has largely remained the status quo whenever a new console or game was given as a gift, but surely the ideal would be for the whole family to gather round and enjoy it together?

These past few Christmases have bucked the trend with the release of SingStar and Buzz games on the Sony PlayStation 2, not to mention the success story of the Wii. In each of these cases it seems that the main barrier to non-gamers, namely the complicated control systems, has been bridged by innovations in user inputs. For SingStar anyone can pick up the microphone and start singing - the main problem lies in whether they can sing in tune!

What was seen as a haven for gamers became an accessible forum for budding singers who had their sights set on the pop music industry. Practising alongside their idols, every singer is comfortable with a microphone in their hands and the success of SingStar proves this.

It was this innovation that led to the creation of a new input to accompany the Buzz series of games. For anyone that has ever watched a quiz show and thought they’d be able to do better, now is their chance. Buzz, with its simplified controller and multiple rounds of random questions based on TV game show formats, has allowed all the family to gather around the TV and be a part of the entertainment. It is not uncommon to see parents revelling in the delight of triumphing over their children in an arena normally renowned as belonging to the kids. Since the original music quiz version there have been another seven Buzz titles (with more in the pipeline) including versions specifically for younger children, realising the goal of inclusive gaming across generations.

Not to be out done and taking things one step further, Nintendo developed their most recent console with this ‘gaming for the family’ idea at the core of the project. The end result was the release of the Nintendo Wii with its distinctive controller and advertising campaign all new to the video game market.

We’ve all seen the adverts that focus on lots of people of all ages, genders and nationalities playing, especially family groups all enjoying the game of choice, but the focus is not on the game anymore, it is on the people playing. This is no gimmick; the Nintendo Wii has outsold its Sony and Microsoft counterparts and bares no sign of losing popularity any time soon.

On the internet you do not have to look far before you come across forums extolling the Wii for bringing new avenues of joy to family get togethers. From pensioners to youngsters, the intuitive controls have brought the whole family to the video game arena and it’s been such a success that one chain of retirement homes in the US has implemented the Nintendo Wii games system into the everyday life of residents after a grandchild brought in their new toy to show their grandma!

I am probably giving away my age, but I can remember a time when we all ate our dinner at the same time; we did not have 300 plus cable television programs to choose from each day; and children did not spend countless hours playing video games, talking on cell phones, or sitting in front of computer screens. When I came home from school, weather permitting, I was expected to go outside and play. My friends and I would go to the playground, play ball, jump rope, and play running games.

Children today are frequently stressed out by many hours of homework, a longer school day, over-scheduling of extracurricular activities and the pressure to take college level courses for advanced placement before they are intellectually ready for it. I have heard of children getting by on only a few hours of sleep each night because of the long school day and an excessive amount of homework. One teen that I knew even skipped lunch to meet the demands of a high school curriculum which would award her college credits upon graduation. Frequently both parents are at work outside the home, and there is no parent present to see that the child engages in wholesome outdoor activities during these afternoon hours.

Children today are more likely to be found surfing the internet, playing video games, talking on the cell phone for hours, or watching television or the VCR (all sedentary activities) than engaging in sports and recreational activity. It is no wonder that we have seen an increase in such lifestyle disorders as high blood pressure, obesity, and type 2 diabetes-disorders that are preventable and even treatable by attention to diet and exercise. This increase has been seen in both children and adults. A recent survey showed an increase in prescription medications taken by young people for hypertension and hypercholesterolemia (high cholesterol).

In a message from former Surgeon General, C. Everett Koop, M.D., written for the Shape Up America program, Dr. Koop stated: “A survey conducted by Shape Up America has revealed that child care responsibilities are interfering with the efforts of many families to get more exercise and at the same time we know many children are now overweight or obese. The solution is a commitment on the part of the entire family to spend more time together. I encourage you to choose activities you can do together and support and reward each other’s efforts to be more active at home, at school, at work, and in your communities. I urge you to replace the use of food as a reward for good behavior and offer to take a walk with your child instead. The pleasure of your company is the best reward your child can receive and the best gift you can give.”

This is good advice indeed. Start a family fun night and take turns choosing an activity. The family can engage in both indoor and outdoor recreational activities depending on the time of year. Remember that not all activities have to be physical. Board games are always fun for the family to play and encourage thinking skills, strategy, eye/hand coordination, and most importantly family togetherness. Choose a variety of games that are appropriate for all ages and skill levels involved in order to keep the chosen activities interesting and fun for all involved. Remember that the “family that plays together stays together.”

Helene Zemel, M.A., M.B.A., has been blogging and writing about family health and fitness. She is the owner of http://www.thefamilygamer.com which is a site devoted to family recreation. This site has a special section devoted to children’s sports and activities. Ms. Zemel is also a Regional Sales Director for AmeriPlan®. For more information on AmeriPlan’s discount dental and medical benefits visit http://healthplansplus.net

Also visit her blog at: http://www.healthplansplus.blogspot.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Helene_L_Zemel