Flashback Friday - Puzzles and Games

Did you play many games when you were growing up? What were they? (Include outside games as well as board & card games.) Who did you generally play with? Did your entire family play games or just the kids? Were there any traditional games your family always played? What were your favorites? Are they still around today? What about puzzles? Was that a popular pastime at your house? Were puzzles saved for holidays or did you do them any time? Were they set out for anyone to work or just one person?

I have loved playing games for as long as I can remember. Card & board games, that is. Softball, volleyball and other sporty games, notsomuch.

We had the standard games when I was little - Monopoly, Life and Clue, among others. One of my favorites when I was really little was Candy Land. I loved when my kids got old enough to play it. And then there was the family favorite, Scrabble--the ultimate word-lover's game!

It is still one of my favorites and I am totally addicted to my iPhone version. I love playing the computer!

One game that I remember enjoying, which isn't available any more, is Park and Shop. I don't remember a whole lot about it except for going to various stores scattered around the board. This game is when I learned that a place to buy hats is called a haberdashery! Then there was the department store, the dry cleaners, and others which have left my memory.

Since I was so much younger than my other siblings, I played Solitaire a lot. I can still see myself sitting on the bed with a deck of cards and playing while my little bedside radio was on. Besides Solitaire with cards, I remember playing Yahtzee by myself a lot. I absolutely loved that game and still enjoy playing it with my kids or on my phone. I also played hopscotch on the driveway a good bit.

My sisters did play games with me some. In addition to the board games I have this "snapshot" memory of us playing "Mother May I?" out on the driveway after dinner while we ate our ice cream cones! We only had a window unit type of air conditioner when I was growing up, and it was aimed right at the dining room; by the time we finished a meal we were often pretty chilly, so on the nights we had ice cream, we would head outside for dessert!

My paternal grandmother was also a big game player. I remember playing Scrabble with her and canasta, as well as Crazy 8 when I was younger. She also had Carrom, which we would play when we went to visit her. We never used the sticks, just flicked the rings with our middle finger (like you would thump someone on the head, tucking your finger behind your thumb and then letting go). My main memory of that game is how sore the fingernail on my middle finger would get!

We played all sorts of card games - Go Fish, Authors, Spades, Gin Rummy, War, and occasionally Hearts. Oh, and Spoons! That was always a fun party game or one to play with cousins. I haven't played Spoons in decades!

Another game our family played a lot was 42. When my parents and my aunt & uncle got together they almost always played that, and I remember watching and trying to learn it when I was young. I haven't played it since college, though.

We played games a lot at school. I think we played kickball at recess every single day in third and 5th grade. I absolutely hated kickball. I had no athletic ability, and I was always picked last for the team every single week. It is still beyond my comprehension that teachers let kids pick teams like that; it certainly had a negative impact on my self-esteem and cemented my disdain for playing any type of sport. There was also Four Square, Dodgeball (another game I hated), "Red Rover, Red Rover, Let ______ Come Over," and Red Light/Green Light. On rainy days when we had to stay inside we usually played Eraser Tag or Seven-Up. I am sad to say I used to cheat at Seven-Up; I would peek to see what shoes were by my desk when I got tapped.

Of course, I didn't have to cheat when we played Hangman, I was in my element with that word game! Another activity that I loved was making words out of words, which we usually did around holidays: "How many words can you find in Happy Thanksgiving?"

The game I associate with college is Backgammon. I had (and still have) a really nice board that a friend gave me for my birthday, and one of the other girls on my hall in the dorm and I played every single day when we were freshmen. We also played a variation called Acey-Deucey.

We also had several jigsaw puzzles. My brother and one of my sisters loved puzzles. My brother had a couple of military-type puzzles with 1000 pieces. I never even tried those! The ones that were 250-500 pieces were the ones I liked. Most of them were scenery puzzles. I also enjoyed several of our "little kid" puzzles. One was a thick wooden USA puzzle. I learned where the various states were while playing that. The other fun one was a block puzzle. It had about 20 blocks which had pictures on all six sides. I can remember most of the pictures - a fire engine, a boat, a turtle by a pond, a puppy lapping up spilled milk, an airplane, and one more. If you worked it correctly, you could flip each row of blocks 90 degrees and the next puzzle would be completed also. I thought that was really cool.

The USA puzzle reminded me of another game, called something like Game of the States, which my brother gave me for my 10th birthday. (The reason I remember that is my birthday was just before his wedding and he gave me my present when we were at the hotel the day before his wedding.) Anyway, it was a game that taught the capitals of all the states. I used to be able to say all fifty of them, but they've faded from my memory.

It's funny how I can't remember the capitals but I can remember the circumstances of receiving the game! As my brother says, "Getting older means I forget the things I want to remember, and I remember the things I want to forget!"

Okay, enough about me. If you're game, post your memories on your blog so we can enjoy them. And come back throughout the weekend; sometimes folks post a little late! Don't forget to link up here!