I thought I'd share one of my family's hobbies which in a bug-in situation would definitely stave off boredom for years and years. Boardgames!
Now, I'm not talking about the usual boardgames like Monopoly, or Game of Life, or Snakes & Ladders, as they are largely based on luck and thus have limited appeal after the first few games. I'm talking about the huge number of skill-based boardgames. Of these, most people only know about card games, chess, etc., but there are many others which are more fun and colourful.
As well as being a great prep against boredom, these games I'm going to talk about are also really fantastic for expanding the minds of younger family members in our normal non-SHTF lives, or forcing married couples to spend time together within hectic schedules
. The skills they require are tactical and strategic. If my post has piqued your interest, you can join the "Boardgame Geek" facebook page and/or lookup reviews or gameplay of the games on the popular video-sharing site. Here are a few skill-based boardgames that I'd recommend:Flash Point Fire Rescue
This is a cooperative game, meaning you and your fellow players have to work together. You are fire fighters and the board is a plan of a house. You set up the board with casualties, smoke, and fire, then each player has a certain number of action points per turn to spend on various actions like moving, putting out fire, smashing through a wall, hauling a casualty out of the house. My 6 year old easily learnt the rules. This is the most played in my house.
Ticket to Ride (Europe)
Players compete to place train routes between (European) cities. Easy to learn, very hard to master. This is my wife's favourite, and the favourite of several friends.
Pandemic
Another cooperative game, where the board is a map of the world. Players are specialised virus/disease experts who need to stop the spread of a pandemic. This is my favourite - I've never played anything which has so much tension and where each decision is of such significant impact. My family becomes a finely honed, trembling TEAM playing this.
Carcassonne
This is a tile placement game, where you get points by placing tiles down in a certain manner to create fields, roads, cities, and monasteries. It's gentle and lazy.
Dominion
Although there are loads of expansions, all you need are the cards in the original game. Players start with a small deck of cards, which they use to build up a larger deck of cards. Cards can be used to buy other cards, take actions against other players, etc. The game is addictive.
Stone Age
This will certainly appeal to preppers! You're the leader of a Stone Age tribe in competition with other players. You have a small number of tribesmen to place into the forest, or clay pit, or stream, or hunting grounds, or various huts, etc. so that at the end of the turn you consequently earn wood, clay, gold, food, or another tribesman, etc. Who can build the most successful tribe? We love this!
There are so many more! As well as the prepping advantages of boardgames, I hope I get some of you into this wonderful world before the SHTF.
