The Board Game Family: Reclaim your children from the screen

by Ellie Dix

In The Board Game Family: Reclaim your children from the screen, Ellie Dix offers a roadmap to integrating board gaming into family life and presents inspiring ways to engage even the trickiest of teenagers and manage game nights with flair.

Many parents feel as if they are competing with screens for their children’s attention. As their kids get older, they become more distant – leading parents to worry about the quality of the already limited time they share. They yearn for tech-free time in which to reconnect, but don’t know how to shift the balance.

In The Board Game Family, teacher and educationalist Ellie Dix aims to help fellow parents by inviting them and their families into the unplugged and irresistible world of board games. The benefits of board gaming are far-reaching: playing games develops interpersonal skills, boosts confidence, improves memory formation and cognitive ability, and refines problem-solving and decision-making skills.

With these rewards in mind, Ellie shares a wealth of top tips and stealthy strategies that parents can draw upon to unleash the potential of those dusty game boxes at the back of the cupboard and become teachers of outstanding gamesmanship – equipped to navigate the unfolding drama of competition, thwart the common causes of arguments and bind together a happier, more socially cohesive family unit.

The book contains useful tips on the practicalities of getting started and offers valuable guidance on how parents can build a consensus with their children around establishing a set of house rules that ensure fair play. Ellie also eloquently explains the ‘metagame’ and the key elements of gamification (the application of game-playing principles to everyday life), and describes how a healthy culture of competition and good gamesmanship can strengthen relationships.

Furthermore, Ellie draws upon her vast knowledge to talk readers through the different types of board games available – for example, time-bound or narrative-based games – so that they can identify those that they feel would best suit their family’s tastes. The book complements these insights with a comprehensive appendix of 100+ game descriptions, where each entry includes a brief overview of the game and provides key information about game length, player count and its mechanics.

Ideal for all parents of 8–18-year-olds who want to breathe new life into their family time.

Chapters include: Chapter 1: Disrupt your thinking; Chapter 2: Getting started; Chapter 3: What is in a game?; Chapter 4: Master the metagame; Chapter 5: House rules; Chapter 6: Obstacles to victory; Chapter 7: Taking board gaming further.

Genres: Games, Parenting, Nonfiction

210 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2019

Reviews

[Gail · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anyone that knows me knows I love gaming. I'm on BGG, play online with Board Game Arena and in person whenever I can. I just wish my household loved to play as much as I do. This book did have some nice ideas/strategy to try to get my family more active with board games.

Ellie Dix did a great job of being thourough as to the benefits of gaming, ways to get into gaming and how to modify things for your own family and different scenarios.

It was preaching to the choir but regardless I enjoyed it and would recommend it to anyone who is interested in board gaming/playing cards.

[JD · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cannot recommend this book enough. As you read this book, you will receive plenty of tips on initiating your family to boardgames, creating great sportmanship from your children while also developing their social skills. Many tips can be applied immediately (and cheaply!) and will result in increased family time of higher quality.
Whether you are completely new to boardgames, somewhat experienced or a regular at boardgame nights in your local town, there is something for you to take away from The Board Game Family. Not being a parent should not disinterest you from this book either as Ellie offers plenty of advice on, among other things, initiating others to boardgames that can help you when trying to bring some friends into this fantastic hobby of ours.
With such a subject as "reclaiming your children from the screen" you might expect this book to very professoral in its approach; however, to many readers delight, Ellie's writing style is much more fluid, friendly & entertaining. The personal anecdotes present throughout the book help bring some of her examples to life.
If you were hoping to find a reason not to buy this book, i'm sorry to let you know that I can't think of any.

[Victoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve really enjoyed reading this book. Although aimed primarily at families with older children there was still plenty to take away.

We’ve recently begun playing more board games together, and being home educators we’ve found that games are amazing vehicle for learning. They’re also a fantastic way to spend quality time as a family and, after reading a magazine article by the author, we’ve set up a weekly family game night.

I love that this book is full of useful practical suggestions and provides a very comprehensive list of games to try out as well. It’s a book I’ll certainly be dipping into time and time again.

After reading this book, I’m keen for us to visit a board gaming café together and the UK Games Expo!

[Shivani · Rating 4 out of 5]

Offers a lot of tips on how to integrate board games into family life and get others to enjoy them as much as you do! Gives a great introduction on the various categories of games out so that you can figure out what might appeal to you and your family.

[Natasha Mairs (Serenity You) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is all about, you guessed it, board games. It talks about how board games can bring a family together and different family tradition you can have with board games.

The first few chapters are the positives about playing board games as a family - spending more time together, less screen time, etc. And how to start a board game collection.

There are plenty of tips in the book on how to chance the rules of the game to suit your family needs, ie. if you playing with young children who some one who has a learning disability. There are tips on how to make the games unique to your family. Like in my family, when playing Monoply if we have to pay money we put it under the free parking, and who ever lands on that space gets to keep the money.

There's advice on what do do if a member of your family doesn't want to play, or there is arguments or sore losers. There are lot's of little tips that I myself as quite a big board game player will be taking away and using. There is also a list of board game suggestions too.

Overall, this book is great if you are thinking about starting a family board game night. I would recommend it to people with young kids and teens a like. You can also gain a lot from reading this book even if you don't have children.

4/5 stars for me.

I was sent this book from the publisher. All options are mine and 100% honest