AQs: what #boardgames mean to me.

(Meandering thoughts pt4)

I remember a card game we used to play as children. A simple card game, where each round, someone would suffer physical punishment as a forfeit. In retrospect, it was absolutely brutal.

It was a form of peer pressure. It was a form of validation.

The magic circle can be a dangerous place. There can be a real abnegation of responsibility as we accept whatever rules are dictated to us and agree to abide by them, no matter how little sense they might make. Peer pressure is heightened and there's not always the fully informed consent that you should have when physical (or emotional) danger is involved.

But games also have the power for great good.

Entertainment and escapism are important. A distraction from the drudgery of life. A chance to forget some of your problems for a while.

But when we step back outside the magic circle - getting rid of all the obligations/restrictions/agreements we made - we are changed.

Game can teach us. Offer us another perspective. Train us to strategise; or improve our arithmetic, dexterity, bluffing ability, or even empathy (when we play to the judge),

Games can leave us with smiles, laughter, or actual scars on our knuckles.

Games can change us as people.

#boardGames #games #gamesAreArt #AmIUsingTooManyHashtags? #I haveNoIdeaWhatIAmDoing #theMagicCircle #BezLovesGames