Gaming With Grandma - 1

My mother (Grandma to our kids) usually visits every Saturday morning. It's an opportunity for her to catch up with us and see her two grandchildren. It's also an opportunity for me to play games with her. I've introduced her to a lot of games in 2006 and she's always ready to try something new.

This morning we played some old favourites. First up, Grandma and I played Mamma Mia! which is a card game all about trying to make pizzas. We played 2-player and while not bad, I enjoy it more with 3 or more players. I won this 8 orders to 4.

My elder daughter then joined us for a game of For Sale. For Sale is a fun card game of bidding for properties and then trying to sell those properties for the most cash. Final scores were me, Dad, $76K, Grandma $70K and Elder Daughter $45K.

After that, Elder Daughter went off to play with her dolls while Grandma and I played a game of Pick Picknic. Pick Picknic is a game of different types of birds vying for corn in six different farmyards while trying not to be eaten by foxes. Definitely more fun with more people. As a 2-player game it lacks the conflict that occurs with more players. We ended up being tied with 66 corn each.

My wife joined in for a final game of Cloud 9. This is a push-your-luck style game of attempting to rise to higher value clouds in a hot-air balloon. Knowing when to hop out and take the points is the key to this game. My wife ended up winning, Grandma came second and myself a close third.

I really value these Saturday mornings. Interacting with family and developing bonds is so important. Gaming together is a special way to enhance our relationships apart from the normal day-to-day contact. I hope this tradition continues.