Boggling the Mind

There are nights where the games come out, and we hop from one to the next without a problem. Our brains are ready to be stimulated with gameplay. The hours slide by to the point where we finally glance at the clock, and we are shocked at the hour.

There are other nights where the desire is high. We’re both standing in front of our game wall, scanning the boxes for just the right game. Scanning. Scanning. And nothing is selected. Our minds don’t have enough in the tank to follow through on the want to play a game.

I get really frustrated when that happens. Picking a board game shouldn’t ever be that kind of struggle. Especially when entertainment options are at a low. Perhaps not an all-time low, but it’s close. Well, that’s not true.

If this had happened when I was a kid, I would be in dire straights. Growing up, my parents didn’t purchase cable. There were a total of five board games in the house, one of them being Monopoly. Everyone knows what that would have led to. Most of our entertainment was procured via the library, Blockbuster, and the movie theater. All of which would be closed.

Now, there’s Netflix, Amazon, Amazon Prime…The list is substantially longer than that, but I think we all get the idea. While all of these entertainment outlets don’t make the situation now easy, I’m certainly grateful I’m not systematically rereading my book collection.

So why can’t I always be up to play a game when the mood strikes?

The answer probably lies within the effects of the pervasive stress, the increase in Zoom/Hangouts, the reduction in our social circles, and a whole boatload of other factors.

I can’t always fight off the feeling of wanting to play a game but not having the mental capacity to execute that desire. But there is a game Adam and I have thrown into our repertoire that has been helping.

Boggle.

The title alone is entertaining. Boggle is a fun word to say and even type.

The premise, for those unfamiliar, is a competitive word search. Players get between three and four minutes to form as many words as possible, depending on the version of Boggle you have. The letters in each word much touch and can only be used once in the word formed.

After the time runs out, each player compares their found words. Any common words don’t count towards the scoring. Point values assigned to the unique words on your list are based on the letters used; the more letters, the more points earned.

And that’s it. Not much else to remember.

The game’s overall simplicity is the very thing that’s attracted both Adam and me to this game. We hadn’t touched the game in years. I should have taken a picture to show the dust on the box. Now, it hasn’t left the credenza in the dining room. We play it every couple of days. Sometimes it’s for a couple of warm-up rounds before we switch over to another game. Other times, we’ve sat out on the deck till nightfall trying to get the upper hand over each other.

Skimming through the other games, I’ve reviewed will show I am not complex game adverse. This game’s gravitational pull is a reaction to the rest of life being really complicated and overstimulating. But it’s brought us back to a game that is friendly yet very competitive. At our table, the competition isn’t so much the highest score but the most unique words. Well, those generally lead to a high score, I suppose. However, that’s not always the case.

If you’re looking for a low maintenance and easily consumed game, I don’t know any better than Boggle. The best part is the different size boards available for purchase. Adam and I have been switching between the four by four board and the six by six board. Both have their advantages, although the larger board does offer more variety on the words found. The larger board will lead to less frustration and higher scores if you have a younger crowd willing to play. The smaller board can definitely keep the scores low each round.

And that’s all I’ve got today, Nerd Girls. As ever, stay safe and healthy!