Weekend Activity: Play Games

If both of you enjoy playing games – whether video games or board games – this will be an easy, yet beneficial, weekend activity.

However, there may be some of you who get perturbed by your partner’s screen time while playing video games. All I ask of you is to give it a whirl this weekend. Ask to play. Have your partner teach you about the game strategy. Be open to playing the games. See if you gain an understanding as to why the game is so enjoyable to your mate.

For those of you who may think playing games is a waste of time, check out this awesome TED Talk by Jane McGonigal entitled The Game That Can Give You 10 Extra Years Of Life.

After watching this video, you may have a different opinion of games. Maybe you will begin to make gaming a regular activity with your partner, family, and friends.

Personally, I enjoy regular game nights with my partner and friends. We learn a lot from playing board games together. Sometimes we are playing against each other, sometimes we are on teams, and at other times we are all working together for the same mission.

Through all these different modes of play we see in others their level of competitiveness, whether or not they are a sore loser, and other valuable traits that offer us an understanding of the other person that in turn helps us to be a better partner and friend.

Not only are you able to learn more about others and strengthen bonds, gaming has countless other benefits as well. Playing games for just 30 minutes a day can be more effective in treating anxiety and depression than prescription medications. Gaming is also a great stress reliever.

There are many different methods of game play. You can play solo or online with others through a video game console such as Xbox or PlayStation. You can play card or board games with your partner. You can even go outside and make up your own game. You can go play put-put or race go-carts. The possibilities are endless.

If you enjoyed Jane’s talk as much as I did, here’s another talk about how gaming can make a better world. She also has a couple of books out that would be great reads if you like the way she presents the topic of gaming. They are SuperBetter and Reality Is Broken.

Now, go decide on a game for this weekend. You can check out the Resources page for more ideas. Enjoy!