(#29 - #37) The Play and Create

50 Fun Things to Take Game-Playing to New Levels!

I have known Sara and her husband Dave, the co-founders of Anrias Games for several years. Most recently, we have done some collaborations between Anrias Games and 50 Fun Things®, a movement I created to foster fulfillment, joy and connection. 

Earlier this year, I hosted an interactive 50 Fun Things® session where we brainstormed ideas for inviting more play into our lives. A big part of this discussion centered on playing games. I picked out 50 ideas to improve or add novelty to your gaming experience. As a guest contributor to the Anrias Games' blog, I’m sharing these ideas with you to inspire even more appreciation for games.

Games get us to think strategically and creatively. They open up our imaginations and teach us new skills. They inspire our collaborative team-spirit while also fueling our competitive side.  I've broken them down into ten categories that align with how we approach game-playing. In the last posts, I started with the categories of Introduction, Environment, Goal, Contents, Rules and Behaviors. In this post, I’ll share the next categories of The Play and Create. I’ll share the remaining ideas in the next and final post. Here are ideas 29-37:

The Play:  (The sequence of how the rules are played.  How the game starts, how a player moves from action to action and how the game moves from player to player.

29. You can play games together online with on the House Party app or via Facetime or Zoom. For example, you can play virtual Bingo online HERE. 

30. For games that involve drawing, increase the challenge by having players draw with their non-dominant hand.

31. Play simple and old-fashioned games like Cribbage! Imagine how the game was originally used and where. 

32. Research what games were commonly played during a certain era (e.g. during Westward expansion).

Create: (Why not create your own games?) 

33. Make a hopscotch grid on a sidewalk.

34. Invent a game together for your family or friends.

35. Develop new traditions of special games you like to play for certain holidays.

36. Create your own pretend money or color in or add drawn mustaches to your game money for a creative flair

37. Make word scrambles and crossword puzzles for others. These can be hand-created or there are free online tools where you can enter the words and clues you want included and it will create the games for you!

Research shows that play supports our well-being, reduces stress, increases our brain function, skill-building, sense of connection and much more. Why not get creative and intentional with how you incorporate games into your life?

Which ideas will you use? Please share your ideas as a comment to the blog. 

Coming in the last blog post of this series to take your game playing to new levels:  Connect and Win.

Teresa Thomas is a speaker, facilitator and author whose focus is on catalyzing mutually beneficial connections for joy and fulfillment personally and professionally. She is the creator of 50 Fun Things®, a movement and tool which motivates people to dream and take action to live joy-filled lives.

What’s new at 50 Fun Things®:

Teresa’s inspirational book, Enjoy the Small Things launched earlier this year. Order it for yourself or as gifts and check out the other fun items in the 50 Fun Things Shop!