Every winter storm carries the risk of a power outage. I ran out of electricity around the same time last year just as I was getting ready for the holidays. How do you pass the time when the power goes out? You can’t play video games, watch movies, or scroll through Twitter mindlessly. And when the power goes out in winter, playing outdoors is a rather miserable experience.
No electricity is required for parlor games. All you need is lights, a table and willing participants. While the old cliché states that board games lead to arguments and tossed game pieces, this is just a cliché and is not based on any universal human truth. In fact, the opposite is more often the case. Board games are a wonderful bonding tool for families and groups of friends, with plenty of time for jokes, chat, and snacks between rounds.
Here’s a list of five board games that I wholeheartedly recommend as the perfect way for families and groups of friends to pass the time when the power goes out or during Christmas parties.
1. Villainous
A particular favourite. Each contestant plays as a different Disney villain, such as Cruella de vil, Malificent, Dr. Facillier and many more, with his own board and gameplay while being able to thwart the other players. The first to reach their goal wins. There are also Marvel and Star Wars versions of the game.
2. Banana grams
Bananagrams is basically Scrabble without a board. A bag of 144 tiles is thrown onto the table and players form as many connected words as possible.
3. Apples to apples
Lots of laughter. Apples to Apples players start with seven red cards containing nouns. A judge is chosen and plays a green card with an adjective. The other players have to convince the judge that their noun goes best with the adjective.
4. Trivial striving
Trivial Pursuit is a trivia game. Players move a piece on a board and answer a question determined by the theme of the square they land on. For extra fun there are special editions on specific themes such as sports, horror films, the Beatles and dinosaurs.
5. Note
An oldie, but a goodie. Keep things fresh and new by playing other mystery game editions like Master Detective, Haunted Mansion, Scooby Doo, Star Wars, Bridgerton, and Seinfeld.