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games going strong as family and friends connect ATLANTA -- Some people wouldn't dream of going camping without a deck of cards or a favorite board game. And most of us have at least one fond memory of a marathon Monopoly game. But playing games is hardly a new phenomenon. The Chinese began shuffling paper dominoes in the 10th century. And ancient Egyptians and Greeks took time off from building the Sphinx and writing literature for rousing games of checkers. In the eighth century, the Moors invaded Persia, where they picked up chess and carried it to Spain. Today, game playing continues with enthusiasm. Even with the advent of video and other virtual, more solitary games, there's no evidence that board games are pass? "That's just a great way for us to spend time," says Rhonda Langley, who likes nothing better than to draw friends and family into competitive games. "Sales of traditional games are definitely up," says games expert Christina Charasse. She's a manager for NPD Fun World, a toy-and-video-game tracking firm. The Trivial Pursuit 20th Anniversary Edition was the best-selling game last year. And Cranium hovers near the top position. These relatively new names in games now stand alongside venerable classics that include Scrabble and Monopoly. Those traditional games, and others such as Twister, had sales of $877 million last year. Sales during the first six months of 2003 were ahead of the same period last year by 18 percent, according to Fun World. And while they always enjoy a measure of popularity, even more board games jumped off the shelves after Hasbro heavily promoted its Family Game Night campaign in 1998. "Hasbro ran a survey asking parents if they'd enjoy playing games with their kids, and they said yes. . . . They asked kids the same question, and the kids said yes," says Mark Morris, Hasbro representative. And so Family Game Night was born -- and encouraged families to use games to renew their connections. While games are just plain fun, they do have the power to bring people together. Consider holiday gatherings and how the Thanksgiving Day crowd scatters between the TV in the family room, the kitchen and the dining room. "Just because you get family and friends together doesn't mean they have a lot in common, especially when you have very different ages. So games are a great ice breaker, and they get people of all ages together through competition -- and fun," says Langley. With her competitive nature, she also loves to shoot pool and throw darts. Langley's 14-year-old niece, Amber Langley, and her family are new to Atlanta. Amber recently received an unconventional welcome during a gathering of her aunt's adult friends. They played games, including several lively rounds of Password. She admits that the age barrier pretty much dissolves, and strangers become allies when a split second means the difference between their team winning and losing. Not that winning is everything. After all, as many gamesters will tell you, it's about the fun (sure it is . . .). But when playing games with a group of varying ages, it's important to hold everyone's interest. "Clue and Monopoly are games that adults and kids can play together, and they're fun for everybody," says Jim Silver, co-publisher of Toy Wishes magazine. He admits to being a big game player. "My wife and I both like to play games. We have three kids, and one game we play a lot is Scattegories. The key to a great game is that it's easy to play and with tons of strategy," he says. There's no shortage of games available. And new ones regularly land on store shelves. Sometimes the difference between a game that collects dust on the store shelf or one that gets played is as simple as what's on the outside. "It's the box. If it's brightly colored, that helps it get attention. Also, a lot depends on whether a customer has seen a memorable commercial [for the game] on TV," says Kelly Hebert, area manager for The Game Keeper stores. The Game Keeper belongs to a chain of interactive game stores in major malls that encourage customers to handle and play games before they take them home. "The popular baby boomer games include Parcheesi, Yahtzee, UNO and checkers. Those are still really popular in our stores," she says. And if players like Langley have anything to say about it, games in general are going to remain hot commodities for a good long while. "As I get older, I think it's more fun to stay home, play games and laugh," she says. Sabine Morrow writes for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. -- Thank You |
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