It really was the last thing I felt like doing after a hard day at the library. We had organised the evening for about a month now so it would be wrong of me to bail....even though I really felt like it! Board gaming night, usually it would be an occasion that I would jump at and get right into...but not this time. This time it felt like it was going to be a drag.
Boardgaming and pizza night was something that we didn't usually do, but when we did it was always good fun. My sister and I arrived, and no time was wasted as we went straight into the game of cranium. There was 5 of us there so we decided to go for girls v boys. Despite my earlier negative attitude towards the evening, I was actually getting quite excited about playing and had with me my competitive spirit. I rolled first and we ended up only moving one space. There we had to answer a data head question which none of us knew. This was not a good start at. We stayed in that spot for the next 3 rounds as we just couldn't answer any of the questions. The boys were well in the lead and we were falling so far behind it would almost be impossible to catch up. However, boys being boys and getting quite big headed, they ended up staying in the same spot for 4 rounds as they were not very talented when it came to drawing. This gave us a chance to race ahead...and that we did. Not only did we just passed them..we were well and truly in front.
This is why I love boardgaming, the sense of victory is just riveting!
The Need for Board Gaming
I think it would be important for to first discuss the need for meaningful occupation, as this essentially could be what board gaming is to some people. Hasselkuss (2002) defines this as "Meaningful and everyday occupation are dimensions of living that are of the utmost importance to quality of life for each of us" Our occupations are what defines us and shapes us to the people that we become.
Now I'm not saying that board gaming is going to have that much of an impact and go as far as to say that it 'defines' and 'shapes' us. However it can provide people with an oppurtunity to engage in an activity and social interact with other players. However in my opinion I find that most important need for board gaming is that it takes us away from our usual occupations. It gives a some time out and provides us with the oppurtunity to engage in something thats different from work or study. Mark Twain (The adventures of Tom Sawyer, p.16, 1876) once wrote, “Work consists of whatever a body is obliged to do. Play consists of whatever a body is not obliged to do.” I see board gaming as a treat or a reward after a hard days work.
Twain, M. (1876). The adventures of tom sawyer. USA: Emptitude Books.
Hasselkus, B. R. (2002) The meaning of everyday occuation. USA.
Jazzy,
ReplyDeleteI have been loving reading your blog! especially the story that I feature in, am I really that mean when I play?! I like how you have made sure that you have written about your experiences or board gaming each week. I was thinking that when you are board gaming it is also an opportunity for your imagination to run wild, and as you said in an earlier post you can be whoever you want to be. In saying this have you thought about the movie 'Jumanji'? I used to love this movie as kid, the whole movie is about a group of four people playing a board game. Jumanji is not any ordinary board game though, everything that happens in the game when they roll the dice comes true in real life. The characters in the movie have to work together to try and finish the board game so that they can beat it and get rid of it. This relates to your story this week as you and your friends had to work together to beat the opposing team! Anyway, if you haven't seen it I would encourage you to watch it! It might help to stir up some more ideas and get you thinking for your reflective essay.
Keep up the good work,
Gracie:)