With all the electronic toys and games available to them nowadays, your kids might be falling into the trap of disparaging traditional board games and card games.
This is happening all too often, all over the world – Monopoly is being replaced by Modern Warfare; Go Fish replaced by Angry Birds. But tabletop games, such as board or card games, are no less fun today than they ever were – you just need to help your kids see that.
Studies suggest that board games will form a large percentage of the children’s gift market for Christmas 2012, with old classics like Monopoly rubbing shoulders with the more recent releases. Here’s a run-down of some of the bestselling board-games-to-be for Christmas 2012.
Monopoly
Arguably the most iconic board games, and certainly still one of the most-played, that has ever been produced.
Monopoly sales have remained fairly consistent throughout the last ten years or so, borne aloft by the yearly release of a new themed version – usually dictated by whichever films are popular at the time! 2007 brought us The Simpsons Movie, and a subsequent upsurge in sales of The Simpsons: Monopoly.
With 2012’s wildly successful Avengers and The Dark Knight Rises releases, experts are predicting a similar swell in sales of Marvel Monopoly and Batman Monopoly.
Stone Soup
Aimed at younger audiences, Stone Soup is a memory game where players team up to whip up a batch of special soup by matching pairs of ingredients. Designed to help your little ones master both memory skills and social interaction, Stone Soup is bound to be a hit with toddlers this Christmas.
The Settlers of Catan
Where Stone Soup was aimed more at younger players, The Settlers of Catan has a distinctly more mature target audience. The game’s premise bears similarities to both Risk and Monopoly, as teams earn and spend resources to build and advance their societies. The game board can be varied each time you play, offering a different scenario with each game.
Sooner or later your kinds are likely to come across The Settlers of Catan – it’s already been confirmed that the game will be gracing Facebook before long.
Lego Heroica
That’s right – the world’s best-selling toy has bridged the gap between stand-alone plaything and board game. Lego board games add an additional element of interactivity to your game, as the board, pieces and even the dice has to be assembled before the game can begin.
With four separate games in the set, each can be played as a stand-alone affair – or you can unite sets to create the ultimate version of the Lego Heroica game.
Jigsaws
Don’t laugh! The jigsaw is a timeless source of entertainment, with one particular strength when it comes to other types of board game gift – they can be completely tailored to the age and skill of the giftee.
You could buy a 9-piece jigsaw of a cartoon duck for your three-year-old, while your retired father might prefer a 5,000-piece 3D puzzle of the moon. Although modern toys are starting to outstrip the humble jigsaw by a considerable margin, there’s no reason that they shouldn’t be just as fun today as they were fifty years ago!
Don’t shy away from teaching your kids the benefits of table top games. Many families sit down together every Christmas to play Pictionary, or Scrabble, or Mah Jong – even though they might not play it again for the rest of the year. This yearly tradition is often cited as a family favourite – don’t let your kids miss out!
This article was contributed by Sean Dominey, who writes on behalf of Cards For Good Causes. For more information on Christmas and charity Christmas cards, you can visit the CFGC website.
