Last year I thought it would be a great idea to implement a family game night to bring us all together for a time of family fun and bonding. As part of this plan, I even ordered several new board games for us. Unfortunately, the regularity I was anticipating creating around this idea did not develop as I had hoped; my consistency was not, well, consistent. Even so, we did manage to carry the tradition on and off for several months, and, honestly, I sort of miss it. 

That’s probably why last week when my 16 year old suggested we play a round or five of Tapple, I didn’t hesitate to respond with a resounding, Yes! For one thing, Tapple is the kind of game that easily gets us equally laughing and lamenting, and for the same reason. If you’re not familiar with Tapple, it is a timed game in which a category is selected and each player has an extremely limited amount of time to think of an item in that category that also corresponds with the letters still available on the board. If you’ve played Tapple or any similarly-timed sort of game, you know how everything you know about a given topic will fly out of your mind as soon as the timer starts. 

Thus, the lamenting and the laughter.

As the rounds progress, we also tend to adopt our own way of playing—as one person struggles to come up with an answer, anyone with a response shouts it out and restarts the timer. We’ve found that this still allows us to come together, but it’s not so much about winning or losing as it is about beating the game itself by clearing all the available letters and enjoying each other’s company.

Remembering this rapid-fire round-playing game time, I am inspired to consider creating space in our schedules for more times together like this one. After all, we have many games stored on a dedicated shelving unit that easily lend themselves to similar celebrations of laughter and lament and it’s been too long since we’ve broken any of them out to enjoy.

I have to admit, however, that my enjoyment the last time was more about the connection and joy of the game rather than the winning or losing. Sometimes, even though they are teenagers, the competitive nature of some games can cause more strife than frivolity and that definitely is not the goal. Perhaps that is in part the reason my idea of a weekly game night was disrupted. And, to be completely transparent, I have been known to suggest a game to my husband only to become overly annoyed when I begin to lose. 

It’s one of the reasons I tread carefully when it comes to game options and winning and losing. I remain a greater fan of collaborative games that provide us an opportunity to work together. Not only does that strengthen our family dynamic, it builds some of the perspectives we all need when navigating the world around us, you know? That’s not to say we don’t enjoy games like Exploding Kittens or What Do You Meme? Those elicit wonderful bursts of laughter and joy and therefore they remain in the rotation. But we also are dipping our toes into Dungeons & Dragons through some of their simplified board-game options as well as some of their introductory open-ended quests.

Whatever the game, I enjoy bringing our family together for laughter and silliness. And I love that our teenagers are game for those options as well. They provide us the opportunity to learn and grow and create together or they simply open the door to mayhem and mirth. Wherever they lead, I’m happy to go along on the adventure with our girls.