Board games have not died. Even with all the advances in video games and the exercise program known as Pokemon Go, not much beats a good family board game.

Our son, Aaron, came home from the U for the weekend. His sister, Cynthia, made a dash home from Rochester to spend a little family time together. They broke out the board game Carcassonne. Between defending castles, placing thieves and battling dragons, it was a bloodbath of a Saturday afternoon.

I will never forget when Aaron was a preschooler and we played RISK. He grandmother was helping him and offering advice. After a few battles she suggested he end his turn and fortify his positions. He could not be convinced of the logic of that, so he continued to attack until his armies were spread too thin to fight anymore. He went on to beat me. He took the same strategy every time we played over the years. I'm not sure if I ever beat him. I told myself I was letting him win.

I used to beat him in chess, until he mastered the rules and went on the attack. I beat him a couple of times in Monopoly until he learned the best strategy was to get the railroads. No sense putting a hotel on Boardwalk when you can have spaces that your opponent could land on with any turn.

I will always cherish those times of playing games when the kids were young and look forward to matching wits with them in the future.

  • Roy Koenig, Townsquare Media
    Roy Koenig, Townsquare Media
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    1

    Monopoly

    Monopoly is a great game to learn how to make change and wonder if Baltic Avenue is really worth its cost. Marvin Gardens has got to be the best name on the board.

  • Roy Koenig, Townsquare Media
    Roy Koenig, Townsquare Media
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    2

    Scrabble

    Our best strategy in Scrabble is to keep moving your letters around on the stand to spark ideas for words.

  • Roy Koenig, Townsquare Media
    Roy Koenig, Townsquare Media
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    3

    Carcassonne

    Players place tiles on each turn to create castles, roads and farms. You have to decide which ways to use your limited number of followers to generate the most points.

  • Roy Koenig, Townsquare Media
    Roy Koenig, Townsquare Media
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    4

    Risk

    Attack. Attack. Attack. That is Aaron's strategy. Give yourself all day if you decide to try RISK 2210 A.D.

  • Roy Koenig, Townsquare Media
    Roy Koenig, Townsquare Media
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    5

    Sequence

    Sequence is a quick, easy-to-play way to spend some time. Be sure to block your opponent while creating your own sequences.

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