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Every few weeks, I see it on my feed: a perfectly styled family game night. Charcuterie board in the middle of the table. Candles lit. Everyone is laughing, nobody is fighting over the rules. The caption says something like “our favorite Friday night tradition,” and I think, that would never work in my house.
Not because my family doesn’t like games. We love them. But that version of game night, the big elaborate production, was never really how it happened for us.
We recently hosted a team of high schoolers for a track dinner. These are teens who’ve been running together all season, coming together for pasta and to hang out before one of their final meets. I watched and made small talk as they overfilled their paper plates with mac and cheese, baked ziti, salads, and spaghetti from the potluck table and found spots around the house to eat. And then something caught my eye.
No one was on their phone.
One group was crowded around the dining table, slapping cards and laughing. Another rowdier crew had pushed the furniture aside by the fireplace and was huddled together, yelling, laughing, and making chaotic hand gestures. Even my 12-year-old had somehow gotten a seat in the circle. Turns out, they were playing Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza. And they were completely lit up with laughter.
Later that night, when everyone had gone home, I asked my middle daughter about it. As I picked up sticky solo cups and crumpled napkins, she said, “Oh yeah, we play that all the time. On the bus or at meets. Card games are our thing.”
Teens who play card games and put their phones on the back burner? I’ll take it.
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Games aren’t just entertainment. They give kids a way to connect, belong, laugh, and reset without the pressure of being perfect.
Why Board Games Are Secretly Magic
The rest is for my paid subscribers:
How to actually introduce games so kids engage from the start
What to do when losing feels like the end of the world (and why it’s more normal than you think)
The independence move that changes everything about sitting at the table together
What to do when it’s not working
The games I’d actually buy, organized by age, with my honest take on each one
Next week in Something Playful: Magnetic Tiles. Which brands are actually compatible, which ones aren’t worth the price, which accessories are worth investing in, which to skip, and how to set them up so kids use them independently at every age. This is the week to start.
