🎄HOLIDAY ACTIVITIES🕯️
With the holiday season upon us, family gatherings could be even more memorable by encouraging multiple generations to play a video game together. Did you just roll your eyes? Haven’t touched a video game since the 1980s? Not a problem. The world of gaming doesn’t always have to be all kid’s play. There are a host of classic board games that have come to life digitally. The Freelance Informer offers a list of online family-friendly games and highlights how they help carve memories, boost multi-generational engagement and provide valuable life lessons.
If like me, you cringe at the thought of playing video games, it is time we stopped being Debbie Downers, got over ourselves, our inhibitions and pre-judgements. Video games are a gateway to a kid’s world. That’s reason enough to get engaged. It also provides an opportunity for kids to teach grown-ups a thing or two.
“Kids don’t have a lot of power, so giving it to them in a virtual sense [over a video game] is always fun, but more importantly, they’ll see how you handle yourself,” writes Stephen Johnson over on Lifehacker.
“This gives you a golden opportunity to model behaviour. If you always play fair, show good humour in the face of frustration, remain respectful, and keep your composure whether winning or losing, they’ll notice, and it will sink in better than just saying the words,” says Johnson.
As Johnson suggests, many parents may not realise that playing online and even traditional games is an excellent way to create a host of life lessons. From being patient, brushing off defeat to seeing the inner kid in adults. For instance, when Dad or Mom plays the “trickster Monopoly banker” and conveniently “forgets” to pay the kids their salary when they pass Go. In the era of helicopter parenting, silly tricks like this teach kids to be independent thinkers, plus it keeps them on their toes. When they catch the naughty banker out, the kids can stand on the moral high ground!
More adults are playing online games, so why not you, too?
More than half of UK adults (51%) are playing online games including board games with COVID-19 lockdowns leading to the numbers more than doubling, new research from digital board game group Marmalade Game Studio shows.
Its nationwide study found 28% of adults downloaded games for the first time during the crisis as they looked for new ways to entertain themselves and their families while forced to stay at home during lockdowns.
Over the period of the lockdowns, family-friendly games with multiplayer features that can be played by family and friends remotely have increased 144% in total over the previous 18 months, according to Marmalade.
If your kids want to continue the fun after the holidays, they can play virtually through single, multiplayer and AI-assisted player modes, so they can keep playing with cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents whenever they want. Kids can show family members how to download the games via their laptops, tablets or mobile phones. The end-user will have to pay the related download price (HINT: this makes a great gift).
Family-friendly video games
JUMANJI: The Curse Returns
After 26 years the Jumanji board game, based on the classic from the 1995 film, has come to mobile. JUMANJI: The Curse Returns, is a new casual co-op board game adventure from Marmalade Game Studio, launching on Android and iOS. It can also be played on a PC through STEAM.
The Game of Life
For 60 years THE GAME OF LIFE has shown us how to win at growing up. Now the contemporary sequel, THE GAME OF LIFE 2, introduces up-to-date choices and new crossroads to the traditional mix. With a thousand new ways to live, and money no longer the only path to success, what will you choose? Players can find their happiness, whether that means money and fame, or academic fulfilment and a dozen cats! Will you be a Video Blogger or an Engineer? What roads will your friends and family take? There are more choices and more freedom since the game works across a handful of beautiful, fully animated, 3D boards.
Monopoly
The popular Hasbro board game is enjoyed by over a billion people worldwide, and now it’s available on mobile and tablet. The game brings some important personal finance lessons to life through buying and selling properties. The online game allows players to choose different locations, from New York to Transylvania.
The nice thing about the virtual version is that families can play when they are in different locations, which makes it a great game night alternative. MONOPOLY now includes multiplayer video chat.
HOW TO VIDEO-CHAT IN-GAME
Video-chat in MONOPOLY is supported by our Bubble social platform. Bubble exists within the game app itself, so it’s all in one place.
To invite your friends, simply:
- Create a FREE Bubble account within the MONOPOLY game app
- Invite at least 2 friends
- Form a chat group
- Start a game!
- You’ll transition to video chat as soon as your game begins.
CLUE/CLUEDO
CLUEDO, also known as CLUE, is based on the classic mystery game. WHO, with WHAT weapon and WHERE!? Join Miss Scarlett, Colonel Mustard, Mrs Peacock, Reverend Green, Dr Orchid and Professor Plum on a night of murder and mystery.
A selection of different boards will have you sleuthing your way through historic and fantastical locations, with the help of an innovative logic-assisted virtual Clue Sheet to take notes and eliminate red herrings.
Minecraft
What Game Designing says:
The great thing about Minecraft is that it can be played by essentially all ages. With smaller kids, you can play the sandbox ‘creative mode’ and just build stuff together, and with older kids, you can play the survival mode, where you’ll have to fight, dig and explore to survive. It’s actually pretty fun when you get into it.
Overcooked
What Game Designing says:
This is one of the better and critically acclaimed party games out there. The premise is simple: You have to cooperate with the other players to cook a specific type and number of dishes before the time runs out. The twist? The stages are alive!
I am sure that COVID will end someday and families will unite in reality. I hope I will finish my collaborative game controller project by that moment 🙂