No kids please, we're playing board games

Ever heard of Ticket to Ride? It's a board game, and one of my new obsessions. A few short weeks ago I had never played it. Then, after a game night with friends and an iPhone kidnapping venture*, an addiction was born. It's a challenge that brings out the competitive streak in me in a big way. And there are trains. The only downside is my total lack of geographical knowledge - which, admittedly, is a bit of an issue in the European edition, and I don't know where anything is.

But it doesn't really strike me as a kids' game. It recommends players be 8+, but really? It's far more entertaining as a group of adults with the intention to completely screw up any chance of other people achieving their goals in the game. Add a bit of alcohol (or more than a bit), see if you can guess what happens.

Do you remember board games as a kid? They provided maybe half an hour of entertainment. They were a mild distraction suitable for after lunch and before "proper" playtime. After playing a game a handful of times, it lost its appeal, since you've pretty much already played through just about every possible ending: I win, you win, or nobody wins. As much as they try to teach us as kids that "winning doesn't matter", we all think otherwise at that age.

Board games now are for more fun than they ever used to be. We actually do enjoy playing the game rather than just caring about the ending (although my competitive nature tells me it is still important to win wherever possible). We can make a single game stretch on for hours with enough people. And there are a lot of games that are quite clearly not intended for kids (Munchkin, anyone?). I do wonder if it's always been this way and I was just too young or thick to notice, or if we're just getting better board games as time goes on. Either way, it works for me. More games please!

* This is not actually as exciting as it sounds. I tried to swipe my other half's iPhone so I could play the Ticket to Ride app on it. I failed to do so without being caught. Thankfully he didn't mind. I was even able to challenge him to a game. And two rematches. (I won.)