Shortly after 2019 rolled in, our family did a refresh around the house. We tackled a few long-neglected organizational projects, threw away a bunch of old papers, and redecorated areas that had grown stale. It was nice. Home suddenly felt a little more homey.

One of the decisions we made was to pull several of our board games out of a cabinet and move them into our children’s area in the living room. We put Guess Who?, Battleship, and Catch Phrase in a visible and accessible place, and placed Scrabble, Boggle, and others in another storage area nearby.

According to Rave Reviews, Scrabble, Monopoly, and Catan rank one, two, and three as the best board games of all time. Popular Mechanics released a list of fifty “best” new board games in December of 2018. The first three on the list: Root, Dinosaur Island, and Hardback. I had not heard of a single game on their entire list. Also, how many games released last year? How difficult was it to narrow this list to fifty?

We moved our board games into a prominent place in the house to increase the chances  we’d play them when our kids begged for screen time or if we needed an alternative to a movie.  I put a couple of classic pegboard games–the tricky triangle and tic-tac-toe–on our dining room table. I did so because I think these games are better ways to connect, to learn communication skills, to engage the mind, and to have fun. They also give us opportunities to teach moral lessons about such matters as fairness, being a good sport, healthy competition, emotional control and emotional intelligence.

I also thought it would provide something for us to do when we have guests.

So what’s your favorite board game? Or games?