The Games Tin

We love documentaries in our house. In fact, every Sunday night is devoted to cooking something exotic, squeezing together on the couch and watching whatever documentary suits our fantasy.

You know, once in a blue moon, something comes along that challenges all your preconceptions. Something that makes you look back and try to remember a time before something that feels so obvious even existed.

As parents, we can take active steps toward re-establishing close connections with our children. We can try to talk to them about cyber shenanigans, or, get the family together for some quality time with a board game.

There's no prize money in winning a Spiel des Jahres award. No shortcut to fame and fortune. No sudden glory. The winner may use the logo for their marketing although there are licensing costs for doing so and the economic benefits in terms of sales is considerable. However, the Spiel des Jahres prize has, in its 30 year history, become the biggest and most sought after award in the world for table top games.

There's nothing quite as versatile as a simple deck of Bicycle Playing Cards. Easy to carry, easy to understand, no other element can be used to play such a wide variety of games. But there are also some important health benefits to learning a card game or two.