# Board Games Are Good For A Marriage



## Mer-Maid

I ran into a neat article about how couples playing board games together is good for a marriage. I didn't post the direct link because I don't want to break any forum rules, but if you google/yahoo/etc. search for the exact title of the article, you'll be able to find the original source if you wish. 

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*5 Reasons Board Games Are Good For A Marriage*
By Paula Reece​
_Playing games can be good for marriage, so long as they're of the Scrabble variety._

As I was cleaning out our game cupboard after Christmas to make room for the 6 or 7 new board games we have now added to our collection, I found myself reminiscing about the memories that some of the games sparked. Sure, there are plenty of memories involving our three boys, but the sweetest memories, surprisingly, included just my husband.

He was much more of a "game geek" than I was growing up. My family played the occasional game of Trivial Pursuit or Go to the Head of the Class (my personal favorite), but my husband’s family was hard-core about playing games. Board games, card games, video games, his family played them all. It still makes me giggle to think about my husband and his friends as high schoolers, whiling away the weekends playing epic games of Dungeons & Dragons. So it was no surprise that when we got married, games became a favorite way to spend time together.

There was the Scrabble phase (which was frustrating because although he was the math major and I was the English major, he could always beat me). For a while it was cribbage. And who can forget the Great Dominoes Epidemic of '96, which spread throughout our entire circle of friends.

If you haven't played games with your spouse (I'm talking board games here, not head games or sex games. We'll save those for a different post.), I suggest you blow the dust off Yahtzee and give it a try. And I'll even give you five solid reasons board games are good for you and your spouse:

1. Playing games together is a good way to practice how to handle yourself when you're in the "losing" position. You're not always going to win in a board game (unless you're my husband and you're playing me in Scrabble), and you're definitely not always going to win in your marriage. Being a good loser in a board game can help prepare you when those bigger conflicts arise. It's humbling to lose a game, especially to a spouse, but humility is a necessary ingredient in a strong marriage. Conversely, you also get the chance to practice being a gracious winner, which is also important after being proven "right" in an argument. Restraint and compassion do more good in a marriage than gloating and shouting "YES!!!" with a simultaneous pump fist, no matter how tempting it may be.

2. Playing games with other couples can help you and your spouse practice teamwork. OK, I know it's just Catch Phrase, but anytime you get to be on the same team as your spouse, you're strengthening your bond and working on your relationship skills. Maybe it's figuring out how to "read" each other to guess the correct word, or maybe it's compromising in order to come to a consensus about an answer. No matter what you're actually doing, the important part is that you're working together on a common goal. 3 Ways To Perk Up Your Marriage Connection

3. By playing games, you may just find out something you didn't know about your spouse. This is especially true with games that involve ethics, like Scruples, where you have to answer "What if" questions, or games that involve explaining your opinion, like Would You Rather? I must give out a warning here, however: You may find out something about your spouse you didn't really want to know. Yes, I am speaking from experience, involving three other couples, a few drinks and a very awkward round of The Newlywed Game that culminated with the question, "Which person in the room (not counting you) would your spouse find most attractive?"

4. When you're playing a board game or card game with your spouse, you have to actually sit together, usually facing each other, and interact. With our laptops, TVs and smart phones today, it's all too easy to be in close proximity to each other but actually be far away mentally, like two toddlers on a play date, one building with blocks and the other looking at books. Playing games forces you to be present with each other and not just "parallel play" on your electronic gadgets.

5. A little friendly competition can be sexy. Uno? Sexy? Yes, you read that right. An evening of game playing, especially when it's just you and your honey, can be a great opportunity to flirt with your spouse. You're relaxed, you're having fun. Why not get your flirt on while you're at it? Think of it as foreplay to your foreplay. Who knows? Your spouse may challenge you to a game of Clue every night!

What are your favorite games to play as a couple?


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## Plan 9 from OS

Scrabble and Clue are games we'll play from time to time. Admittedly, not as much as we should. I agree it's a great time for bonding for couples and families. We try to play more games as a family. We'd play Monopoly too, but the kids ruined the game. Card games are also a popular one we do from time to time, but that involves the family plus BIL and in-laws.

Probably for another thread, but much of these benefits are also achieved via spending time together in activities as well. Walking together, riding bikes together or even sitting outside together on the porch while the kids are outside running around and interacting together. These may not have the competition component (although surely it could be added here too), but it's still quality time together.


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## jld

Yeah, we used to love to play Yahtzee. I am sure dh always beat me. And we used to play cards (can't remember what) when I was pregnant with our first kiddo. 

But after kids came, it mostly stopped. Dh will play board games with the kids, if they want, but mostly everything is electronic these days. It is too bad.

But maybe we'll try to revive this . . .


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## MSP

FWIW, I think that copyright laws mean that you should link to the article and post an extract here, rather than posting it verbatim. Though it can depend on the author's individual permissions. 

My wife and I used to love playing board games together, although it was hard to find ones that we both really enjoyed. A favourite of ours in Scattegories. Half the fun for me is making up words and then convincing people that they exist. 



Mer-Maid said:


> Restraint and compassion do more good in a marriage than gloating and shouting "YES!!!" with a simultaneous pump fist, no matter how tempting it may be.


Nah. Part of the fun is in celebrating your good dice rolls or whatever. I'm a guy--we're competitive. If my wife doesn't like it, she can marry a woman.


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## Plan 9 from OS

I think family game night is more challenging now that everyone has multimedia devices and sophisticated gaming systems. Regardless, we usually have decent success with family game nights.

Great card games for kids: thirty one, Euchre and all forms of poker. Why poker? Because it teaches kids about probabilities and strategy.


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## Satya

I played many board games with ex H and ex in-laws. Loved it! 

Now my bf and I play tabletop games with friends once a month. I'm thinking of starting a game for just the two of us. Our quality time together is pretty limited due to our schedules.


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## jld

MSP said:


> If my wife doesn't like it, she can marry a woman.


Not a very loving attitude . . .


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## Kolors

My STBX and I played board and card games and it was really quite fun. Some of those nights are highlights of the last few months that we spent as a couple. 

I have a group of friends now that play card games, board games, and tabletop games every few weekends for fun. To me, it is a great way to hang out with no TV's or cell phones. Just a table, some sort of distraction, and a few drinks.


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## soulseer

I truly dislike board games with a passion.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## GIM003

soulseer said:


> I truly dislike board games with a passion.
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


Ouch. That reminds me of my one daughter who loathes Monopoly, while it is the favorite game for my other daughter.

My wife's family is big on games, especially Scrabble. I will play, usually in the role of good sport/sacrificial lamb, but sometimes I turn the tables on them. 

Once in a while my wife and I will play Scrabble one on one. Often it is a humbling experience (but then I probably need to humbled once in a while); always a bonding experience.


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## soccermom2three

We don't play board games but we do play games on our phones against each other like Draw Something and Words with Friends. We usually have about 6 games of WOF going at any given time.


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## waiwera

We play board games and cards quite regularly. Last one was Sponge Bob Square Pants Game of Life....it was a hoot!

Our teenaged kids no longer want to play with us :rofl: so unless the power goes off we play alone

Love to play trivial pursuit with hubby...he's so smart...such a turn on! 
:smthumbup:


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## TurtleRun

Game boards games gets a bit ugly in my house lol. I am such a sore loser and my husband wins almost every time....


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## Dredd

Sounds like a good idea


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## SoxFan

Wife and I used to play Trivial Pursuit every Saturday night after we put the kids to bed back in the day. We would play our game in our family room then adjourn to play some bedroom games. Brings back lots of good memories.


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