As an increasing number of people are stuck inside to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus, many are searching for fun ways to escape the boredom that has come with social distancing.
With movie theaters, parks, beaches, museums and most public areas closed, I find board games especially vital in keeping you and your quarantined loved ones from extreme boredom. So to help ease the unease, here are the five board games my family has been playing to alleviate our boredom during quarantine.
1.) Scrabble
For those of you not familiar with Scrabble, it is a word game in which 2-4 players score points by placing tiles, each bearing a single letter, onto a game board. The board itself is divided into a 15×15 grid of squares. The tiles must form words that, in crossword puzzle fashion, read left to right in rows or downward in columns, and be included in a standard dictionary!
2.) UNO
Uno is definitely a family favorite. If you're new to the game, the game's objective is fairly simple: Try to get down to just one card...hence the title of the game UNO, which means the number one in Spanish. When only one card is remaining, the cardholder must shout "Uno!" alerting others that he or she is down to the last card in his or her hand.
UNO is played using a deck of 108 cards in four-color suits, numbered from 0 through 9: 19 blue, 19 green, 19 red and 19 yellow. The deck also includes eight "Skip" cards, eight "Draw Two" cards, eight "Reverse" cards, four "Wild" cards and four "Wild Draw Four" cards.
Each player is dealt seven cards at the game's start, with the remaining ones placed facedown to form a "draw" pile. The top card of the draw pile is turned over to begin a "discard" pile.
The first player has to match the card in the discard pile either by number, color or word. For example, if the card played is a red 7, the next player must throw down a red card or a 7 of any color.
According to Mattel's website, once a player has no cards left, the hand is over. Points are scored, and the dealer doles out new hands to everyone.
So when a player plays all his or her cards, the others count their points based on their remaining cards. Numbered cards are face value, colored special cards are worth 20 points and Wild cards are worth 50 points. The first player to play all of his or her cards receives points for the cards left in the opponents' hands. The first person to reach 500 points is declared the winner.
3.)Connect Four
Connect Four is a game that we can play for hours upon hours! So much fun! The rules of this board game are simple: The aim for both players is to make a straight line of four own pieces; the line can be vertical, horizontal or diagonal. Before starting, players decide randomly which of them will be the beginner; moves are made alternatively, one by turn.
4.) Wooden Tetris puzzle
The Wooden Tetris puzzle is perfect for your child's problem solving skills and well...for fidgety adults!
The objective of this game is just like the electronic version we know and love. You need get these blocks all back together on the board with no spaces. It is a good alternative to computer and mobile phone games.
It is perfect for imagination and hand-making, encouraging children to practice problem solving and creativity since it can be solved so many different ways. While there are multiple ways, it is still a challenge. You won't solve it every time.
Order yours on Amazon!
5.) My very own Lil’ Libros Lil’ Loteria
As many of you know, I am the co-creator of Lil' Libros and we have our own amazing board game... Lil' Loteria! This one is dear and close to my heart, as Loteria is a staple of Latino culture. Lil' Loteria is perfect for the little ones, and a great time.
Lil’ Loteria is a fun twist on a traditional classic that turns the game of bingo into a bilingual learning game! Kids learn memory and matching skills plus vocabulary words in English and Spanish. Once the game board is filled with the matching cards, they shout LOTERIA! The first to shout, wins.
Order Lil' Loteria here!
PHOTOS: Lil' Libros / Lil' Loteria , Amazon