Get ready for me to nerd out on you. Our family is big into board games. It is such a good way to find common ground between boys and girls, parent and children, young and the old. Everybody can have fun.

My husband is the aficionado of board games in our family and has introduced me to some really fun ones this year. We have board games ranging from zombies to love letters. He has taught our boys to love games as well. By playing games as a family we have gained strength in encouraging words, turn taking, logic, calm reactions, collaboration and having fun. Our oldest son still has a difficult time when he doesn't win so this creates a great opportunity for dialogue and teaching (and for me learning patience. Oy vey!) Overall, board games are one of our favorite activities to do as a family at home, in a cabin in Baguio or even on the airplane.

There is no need to still be playing Candyland. There are so many new options for board games and the structure of board games. Here are a few our family has been loving lately.

Dice Games- Numeracy and probability skills are highly improved when playing dice games. Some of our favorites are Age of War, Perudo and Toss Up (great for younger children). LCR (Left Center Right) is a great game for a large crowd and many different ages.
For young children I highly recommend Ravensburger boardgames for beginning.
Collaborative Games- Jake brought home Dinosaur Escape from Hobbes & Landes last year and it was the first collaborative children’s game I had heard of. In collaborative games the goal is for everyone to work together to complete the game jointly. In Dinosaur Escape the goal is to work together to get all the dinosaurs to Dinosaur Island. This is just one example but I am happy to see this as a genre of board games.
Single Player Games- I love single player games because it occupies my son while enhancing skills, not just zoning out on an electronic device, which we do allow a few times a week in our house. We use Meta Forms, Traffic Jam and Gravity Maze currently. Thinkfun is an excellent brand.
Logic and Strategy Games- I love logic and strategy games because you are essentially tricking your kids into learning. Ha!

Manila has caught the bug of board games and board game hangouts are a total thing. We have been to Dyce N Dyne and they have a massive selection of board games. We did some last minute Christmas shopping there. Ludo is another one that is great and always hopping. Find a list here of 15 spots in Manila to play board games as a family.

To even out my neediness I asked super chic momma Mikka Padua to weigh in on the subject. Mikka and her adorable Mishka enjoying playing games together. Let’s find out why.

“As for board games, we’re always on the lookout for themes that our family is interested in such as travel, exploration, animals, entrepreneurial pursuits (monopoly). Our daughter loves board games and thus we've collected a few good ones. Our board game du jour is World Monopoly (she has just graduated from monopoly junior 😂). I get them from Hobbes and ELC and usually from our travels.”

I hope you have found something from this new series, Investing In Motherhood. The whole aim is for you to gain tips that can increase joy in motherhood. If you would like to contribute or would like a specific topic to be added for the next section feel free to email me or leave a comment.

Cheers to investing in motherhood,

Amber