September 24, 2023: One Weird Trick To Play More Games

I'm an introvert who fights with my own brain a fair bit of the time. Here's a "life hack" that's worked well for me which might prove beneficial to some of you.

My little family likes to play games. However, whenever we have some free time, we're often vapor-locked by being overwhelmed by our choices. Too often, that precious free time either evaporates, or we gravitate toward one or two "standbys" that we pick because we know them. (Those "default" games are often loads of fun, but they're also not making use of our extensive library . . .)

Here's the trick we've found to broaden our horizons: Schedule something specific ahead of time. Don't simply say, "We'll play a game Saturday morning." Add to your calendar, "We're playing GreedQuest Saturday morning at 10:00 a.m." (replacing GreedQuest with any game of your choice, of course).

This method helps us in a few ways. First, it speeds up that Saturday-morning process. We know when to get together and what we're going to do — playi GreedQuest! Second, it allows us to prioritize time beforehand to do any prep work. Have we not played our chosen game before, or do we need a rules refresher? Deciding on the game earlier in the week gives us a chance to read the rules, sleeve cards if the game needs it, or otherwise prepare for gaming.

Brains are funny, and each one works a bit differently. However, we've been happy to find this trick that greatly improves our odds of successful gaming time. Hopefully it inspires you and helps you play more games!

-- Steven Marsh