When’s the last time you and your friends sat down at a table, pulled out a game that required no electronics and played it as a group? I know with how far video games, movies, and other media have come along, this may not sound like the most fun option. However, what if you and your friends could live through that kind of thrilling adventure together, and tailor it specifically to your tastes? Well, luckily for you, tabletop games have been doing this for years, and have been growing alongside everything else!

The tabletop gaming market has led to some amazing games over the last few years; including games like Betrayal at the House on the Hill, Cards Against Humanity and Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition. Now, which of these you would want to try or would enjoy comes down to personal preference, and your experiences with them will not be the same. For example, my friends and I dive deep into D&D when we play together; we make art of our characters, write our own stories and really get into role-playing the characters we make for that game. With my family and their friends, however, they tend to be less involved but use it as a medium to be able to stay in contact with friends on a weekly basis and just hang out with one another.

Many of these games also offer something that tends to be rarer in other media: a chance for an entire table of people to work towards a common goal. We’ve played a plethora of board games during my family’s games nights, and a fair share of them have required us all to think and plan as a team to have a chance of beating the game at… well, itself. These games allow us to practice our problem-solving skills and use our creativity to find solutions to rather unusual scenarios.

And if your friends aren’t available to meet in person? That’s fine too! Plenty of games can be found and used online with other people, and online communities make it even easier to find people to play with you. What you want to play and what you’ll enjoy is up to you and your gaming group, and honestly, the best way to find out what you like is to find something that catches your eye and give it a shot! I personally love Dungeons and Dragons, but I also play that four times a week so I may be biased.

Next time you have friends coming over, or you want to find something new to do, try going down to a local game shop and finding something new! The people there will help you find something to your liking, so ask around and keep an open mind!

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