Board Gaming in Lockdown!

Remember the days we would come home exhausted from school or work and were eager to tune into your electronic gadget and kill away all your stress through video gaming and entertainment?

We enjoyed playing video games and watching our TV shows over casual meetups with friends and family members, but did we get anything in return that actually added value to our lives?

Rarely it must have happened so. Infact, there were always consequences. Sapped eyes, lethargy, social replacement, health ailments and what not. Then suddenly a pandemic decided to hit us and BAMM!!, our lives were never the same again. (Too much of theatrics there).

Staying locked up inside our homes has become the new normal for us, cut off from the rest of the world. But one thing this lockdown has forced upon us is that it has brought us closer to the people we care for in our lives. It has taught us to value the byte sized moments in life by becoming more receptive and aware to the changes that we often ignored and took them for granted. After all, the time we have is to be happy with our family and enjoy the warmth of love in our homes. But in our homes, we are glued to the screens and getting hypnotized by the flood of content that will eventually make us dull.

The best thing we can do is to engage in activities that will make our minds grow, lift our spirits, and most importantly provide us with enriching experiences. Board gaming is the best activity you can to spend time with your family and friends. But you might say what good is board gaming compared to other forms of activities?

Well, First, you don’t get dazzled by constantly flashing screens, so your eyes get some rest. Yes, our eyes are so precious to us that we wouldn’t be able to see the beauty of this world if we damage them. Second, you will not be annoyed by the onslaught of advertisements and commercials, for sure this is something you will appreciate! Third, you will get something more than entertainment and that is engagement which is far more important to experience joy in life. You can play them virtually with your friends if you are away from your loved ones.

Board games deliver us the engagement and purpose that we are constantly looking for in any activity that we perform, and it is far beyond entertainment as it makes us grow as a person. When you are fully involved in an activity, your mind is in the state of flow, in this state your experience is deepened. The more deep and profound the experience the better is our quality of life. With board gaming, especially in lockdown, the bonds of friendship and relations are strengthened at the level of actual conversations. To have your loved ones around you is a great privilege in this busy world. There is no point to the rat race to earn and make money if you don’t have time to spend with people around you, who matter to you the most.

In the lockdown period, what you do with your time will solely decide how you grow as a person in the future. You might binge watch TV shows, movies or take up a course to learn new skills as well. Yes, you can do all those things, but most of these things will make you glued to a screen with all kinds of meaningless distractions. It is very easy to watch something in the name of entertainment, because your mind becomes dull and doesn’t need any effort from your end. It will gradually create a visual overstimulation and block the spark of your intelligence. As we progress in our life, we will notice reduced attention span getting the better of us hence shifting our focus to electronic screens is making the matter worse.

So, how can we make sure to derive the quality inputs and experiential learning by staying away from screens.

Simple, An activity where you can engage and involve your senses with your ability to react and respond will give you the most benefits. Board games deliver this experience flawlessly. They not only engage your cognition, your intellect, your ability to project into the future to build strategies, but also enhance your ability to create solutions out of situations without looking at them as problems. Furthermore, at a personal level, it will teach you the virtue of patience by reducing anxiety and making us think on our feet when faced with real life scenarios.

Board games like Monopoly will test your economics and market skills, Jenga will test your dexterity of hands and nerves. Playing cards and Uno will take you into the world of probability and luck. Pctionary and Scrable will grow your image recognition skills and vocabulary. Ofcourse, Chess and Checkers will take you on a mind bending exercise of strategy and tactics. When it comes to tabletop games there is no dearth for choices and the fun is guaranteed. If you are familiar with all the above games, you can try these new games that are beautifully designed and crafted to carefully maximize the fun with your loved ones. Apart from the classic games mentioned above, there are other games like 

Yoodh bhoomi, Indus, Onitama, Terra Loop

Star Realms, Hanabi, Sheriff of Nottingham, Diamant, Port Royal

For exclusive fun, learning and elevating the intellectual senses.

The whole board gaming community is optimistic that the board gaming segment is poised to take over from here with the aim of reacj=hing out to wider masses indulging in healthy gaming via meaningful human interaction.

Happy board Gaming Amigos !!