Sparking childhood memories; Boardgames continue to thrive

KIMBERLY EDGAR, Reporter

 

A deck of cards and little characters remind people of their childhood, as well as boardgames from the past. Boardgames such as Sorry, The Game of Life, and Monopoly remind people of their childhood.

“Monopoly for sure is the most nostalgic game,” says Sophomore, Katie Kinhart. Monopoly is the boardgame that everyone knows about. With the little characters that go around the board while you try to buy the most properties and get your fellow players’ bankrupt. Kinhart also states that she would “play it almost every weekend in the winter” with her dad in elementary school.

Hungry Hungry Hippos is another game that sparks something in the back of people’s minds. Sophomore Sarah Brown says she remembers “slamming the chopper so much fighting for the food” with her brothers. Brown also mentions she still plays it to this day. Hungry Hungry Hippos is a very competitive simple game where the objective is to steal the most food.

Nostalgia does not just come from how fun the games are, according to Alyse Knorr on Kotaku, it comes from the emotion’s kids invest in the game. It is the “excitement” that keeps them going back to the game says Sophomore  Jenna Wedge. Unlike Wedge, Kinhart says the best part about these games is the fact that it brings family and friends together.

Games like these are starting to become outdated, but the lessons to be learned will never disappear. Kinhart believes she will continue to pass her childhood games on to her future family, to “teach them to spend some valuable time with family”.

It always feels good to win a game, but according to Wedge, that is not the most important thing. She states that she played Trouble with her best childhood friends “almost every weekend”, and it’s the fact that she had the time to “chill out with no distractions” that was important to her.

Fireside Games says that playing games with others is a way of “human nature” and that it helps us with social skills and “encourages cooperation”. It is the memory of this that lets the tradition of “game nights” thrive, as well as the added strength it gives to the bonds people have with others.

Video Games are also known to give nostalgia to kids of this generation, but there is a different type of feeling. The interactivity while playing with family and friends face to face sparks something deep inside of children and adults. Fireside Games also mentions that the “laughter, excitement, making new friends, and creating new memories is what we love about games.”