CRESTVIEW — Kids today! They just bury their faces in computer games and don’t know how to socialize, letters-to-the-editor writers periodically lament.
But that's not the case for some Crestview-area teens, tweens and 20-somethings.
“Yeah, I play video games, too,” Trea Snider said while deploying a creature card during a spirited game of Magic: The Gathering with his friends, Jonathon Hanline and Colin Dermody. “But I also love board games."
Traditional and classic parlor games, such as Monopoly and Pictionary, are among diversions some residents turn to when socializing.
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The satirical, politically incorrect Cards Against Humanity, a game that proudly calls itself "a party game for horrible people,” is a favorite for larger gatherings, Josiah White said.
“It can get pretty rude,” he said, laughing. “But it is so much fun.”
For Crestview High School junior Lindsey Wakayama, monthly family games nights are opportunities to have fun and catch up.
“It’s a good way to get away from electronics for a few hours and see how everybody has been,” she said. “It’s a good way to get closer to your family or whoever you’re playing games with.”
When playing with her peers, board games remove the pressure of some social situations.
“It’s a fun way to be friendly without being awkward,” Lindsey said.
PROXIMITY
“It’s more fun playing games with people you can see,” Hanline said, noting that online gaming opponents can be as far distant as another continent.
“I don’t play online video games,” Alex Andrews said. “I like to play traditional board games. It’s fun to see people's reactions to things that happen in the game and, if you win, you can brag a little.”
Andrews’ roommate, Jack Barr, said he believes online video games have their place, too.
“I like to socialize,” he said. “But if it’s just me at home, I’ll play a video game for a couple hours. It’s kind of like having the friends I hang out with in the room, playing a board game. It’s similar but we’re in different locations.”
He blames older residents’ assessment of young people's social skills on other factors.
“People who are home schooled don’t have a lot of face time with people their own age, and playing video games gives them a sad idea of what reality is,” Barr said. “That’s what affects socialization today.”
KIDDIE GAMES
Baker School alumnus Dillon Komula and his roommate, Justin Kidd, like board and video games, including a game from Komula’s childhood.
“The other day we played Break the Ice, and then we played Monopoly with the family,” Komula said. “But we also just bought an Xbox 360.”
While Komula used to play the online game Halo Reach — “That is the funnest one,” he said — he prefers settling down with friends, family, snacks and a board game.
“I find it more sociable because you get to be face-to-face with people,” he said. “It’s more personable. There’s more bonding. I’m kind of a social butterfly.”
“There’s nothing like having a pizza-and-game night,” Andrews said.
“When it comes back to socializing, I would include video games, too,” Barr said. “It’s still an act of socialization. I go out all the time and I work and I have good face-to-face relationships, but I am an avid gamer.”
Not so for Lindsey.
“I don’t play video games as much as I used to,” she said. “Now that we started playing board games once a month, I found myself playing video games less and less.”
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WHAT ARE THEY PLAYING?
Young Crestview area game players list these as among their favorite parlor games:
•Cards Against Humanity (Cards Against Humanity LLC): The 2011 “party game for horrible people” asks players to make the dealer laugh by playing off-color response cards to a question.
•Apples-to-Apples (Mattel): This game of comparisons is a matter of comparing, well, you know.
•Encore (Endless Games): Two teams volley back and forth singing snippets of songs containing specified words or themes as they advance to a final sing-off.
•Magic: The Gathering (Wizards of the Coast): A trading card game in which wizards deploy spells, artifacts and creatures to defeat their opponents.
•Monopoly (Hasbro): The classic real estate buying and trading game has delighted players since 1935.
•Pictionary (Mattel Games): Since 1985, players have been racing opposing teams to doodle a clue their teammates can guess first.
•Sorry (Hasbro): Players in this 1929 English board game vie to get their pawns around the course first while trying to negate opponents’ moves.
Email News Bulletin Staff Writer Brian Hughes, follow him on Twitter or call 850-682-6524.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Board games replace video games for these Crestview residents
