Five Best New Board Games

Why do I love and recommend playing board games so much?

- Because your nose is not buried in some screen. (How many hours per day do you and those you know spend with your nose facing some computer screen, cell phone screen, TV screen or other screen?)

- Because you are in the presence of, interacting with, and bonding with, other live human beings, typically those you care about. (People spend increasing amounts of time at work, on the phone, texting, and on Facebook, and increasingly less time in direct and prolonged social interaction with everyone, including those they care about.)

- Because board games exercise and expand your brain. (Studies show board games improve your focus, creativity, memory and more. But they don’t “hurt,” they don’t feel like you’re working, even though you are benefitting!)

- Because they are fun and you often even laugh a lot. (The average kindergartener laughs 300 times per day. The average adult laughs 17 times per day. That’s not just a problem, that’s an epidemic.)

- Because they are an inexpensive way to have a great time. (Have you seen the cost of movie tickets lately? The cost of snacks at the movie theater?)

With that in mind, here are five of the best board games that I highly recommend. (Those are newer, as you likely already know of the great classics!)

Buzzword Board Game
You pick a card. It contains a “buzzword.” Now you and your teammate (or teammates) have 45 seconds to solve 10 clues, and each answer for each of those clues must contain that buzzword. For example, if the buzzword was “apple,” and the clue was “the object of my affection,” your team’s answer would be “the apple of my eye.” This is a great board game for small get-togethers.




Qwirkle Board Game
This board game has earned multiple awards and accolades, including a Mensa Select Award. It shares some similarities with Scrabble, though you are attempting to build connecting lines of shapes and colors versus words. It is easy to learn and so adaptable to different age groups that even young children love it, but if you are playing with other adults prepare for an addictive high-strategy experience!




Sequence Board Game
This game is not only one of my all-time-favorites, but it tends to become an all-time-favorite of anyone else who plays it with me. Playing from the cards you were dealt, you try to form a sequence of five chips in a row on the game board while blocking your opponents from doing the same. Requiring your foresight, backup plans, luck, laughter and sometimes your silence, Sequence is brilliant fun.




Twister
Ok, I cheated. This game is not close to new. In fact it has been around since 1966. But if you have ever played it at all, when was the last time you played it? In a sense, then, it is likely new to you! And I triple-dog-dare you, no matter what your age may be, to pull your friends and family together and play it - especially those with who you may be having “issues” and those who you have an overly serious relationship with. See how long whatever it is that seems so stern and important starts to disintegrate as what really matters – love, laughter, enjoying the presence of one another – bursts forth. If you don’t know, or don’t remember, the simple rules of this ridiculously beautiful and bonding game, click the link above. (One more thing: if you do accept my dare, I further dare you to video record your game of Twister, post it on YouTube, and contact me at IntenseExperiences.com with the link! And the older you are, the more I dare you ☺ )




Wasabi! Board Game
You are an apprentice to a sushi master competing against other hopefuls, and you must prepare the best combinations of taste, color and creativity with your sushi. You can also earn special actions to disrupt your opponents’ painstaking creations in this unique, fast and extremely fun board game.



- Brian Vaszily, Founder of IntenseExperiences.com, Sequence Board Game Champion