Different parents will have different views on video games that they let their kids play in general, but what makes Fortnight so different than playing hours of Minecraft or even a first person shooter Star Wars game? The difference may be the high level of addiction that seems to be occurring with Fortnight players.

Fortnight is easily chalked up as a blend of Hunger Games meets Minecraft, but there’s more. There’s creating your character’s, or avatar’s, skins (usually at a financial cost) to look cool. There’s the element of teamwork, or working together online with real friends from down the street, or online with friends from across the world. And, yes, there is first person shooting.

Maybe your child has already been exposed to first person shooter games, such as Call of Duty or Star Wars Battlefront, so this isn’t new territory. Is the concern with kids playing Fortnight a concern around first person shooter games or is it more than that? Certainly with the epidemic of school shootings happening, predominantly across the United States, it begs to question why parents would be comfortable allowing their kids to play the role of a shooter.

Some will argue that video games first person shooter games are simply make believe and do not impact the thoughts on the kid’s likeliness to go out and become a threat to society. Research to date has not supported a correlation between first person shooter video games and active shooters. However, it may seem unsettling to know these are the images coming into your kid’s minds and possibly seeping into their dreams.

So what’s the big deal about letting kids play Fortnight if they love playing it so much? The problem is just that. They love playing it so much. So much, in fact, many kids are choosing Fortnight over games and activities that they used to enjoy; games and activities that helped them have balance in their lives.

Being allowed to play hours on end of Fortnight takes away from other activities that may include physical activity like soccer, basketball, or whatever sport they previously had an interest in. Playing so much Fortnight also takes time away from developing their minds through seemingly “boring” activities like reading, playing music, playing outside, or having artistic interests.

Choosing to predominantly do one activity over others is a sign of addiction. As a comparison, just because doing social drugs may feel good, it doesn’t mean they’re good to do in terms of social, emotional, and physical development. Fortnight needs to be addressed for what it potentially is: an addiction.

The American Psychiatric Association has now added gaming addiction as a diagnosis. Signs of a gaming addiction include: a preoccupation with gaming, signs of withdrawal including sadness or anger when not playing, and giving up other activities that were previously enjoyed, to name a few.

This generation of Fortnight players is going to be a social experiment for the future. Perhaps parents should ask themselves, do they want their kids to be the guinea pig for such an experiment that could have life long effects? That’s for parents to decide.

Reference:

American Psychiatric Association. Internet Gaming. 2018.

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Frequently Asked Questions About The History of Jenga

Who invented Jenga? Who Makes Jenga?

Hasbro, the game’s current manufacturer, credits Leslie Scott, a well-known British board game designer, as the game’s creator. But is this the truth? The game that many people only know as “that tower building game with the blocks,” has a much more interesting history than one might imagine.

Where Does The Word Jenga Come From?

The word Jenga literally means “to build” in the Swahili language. So we’re pretty certain that either Jenga, or some primitive version of the game, originated in West Africa. In fact, If you’ve ever played it then you know that “to build” perfectly describes the game.

What Are The Rules of Jenga?

In Jenga a tower is built out of 54 wooden blocks. The tower consists of 18 levels of the blocks stacked in rows of three. As each level is built the direction of the three blocks alternates so they are always perpendicular to the row beneath them.

Each player takes turns removing one block from the tower and placing it on the top. Players must only use one hand and are allowed to nudge blocks to see how loose they are. If a player starts to remove a block, he must continue taking it and cannot push it back in to choose another. The game ends when the tower topples. The last player to successfully remove a block and place it on top of the tower is the winner.

When Was Jenga Invented?

The current rules of Jenga have remained nearly the same since the early 1980’s when the game was first released by Leslie Scott. She launched the game at the 1983 London Toy Fair through her own company, and it instantly became a hit. Offers were soon pouring in from all over the country and the United States and Canada as well. Over the years Jenga was manufactured by such big names as Camphill Village Trust, Pokonobe Associates, Irwin Toy, Milton Bradley, and Hasbro.

Scott claims to have invented the game in Ghana, West Africa where she lived with her family during childhood. No one in the family remembers exactly how the game was invented, but the game we know today evolved from a rudimentary version that they played with children’s wooden building blocks since the early 1970’s.

A Similar Game Exists!

The Parsons family began selling a very similar game they named Ta-Ka-Radi in 1978 – five years before the release of Jenga. There are two main differences between the games. Ta-Ka-Radi is played with 50 blocks instead of 54 and they are stacked on their narrow sides with gaps in between blocks, instead of on their broad sides with no gaps.

According to the Parsons family an African friend brought a simple version of the game to their home on a visit. They were told that it had originated in West Africa decades before. In fact, the Ta-Ka-Radi website states that “Ta-Ka-Radi is the original game as it has been played by generations of West African people.”

Behold! Drama and Controversy!

Which version came first? Is Jenga really the original as Scott says or is Jenga merely a rip-off of the less popular Ta-Ka-Radi? While board game conspiracy theorists insist that it has to be, information has come to light in the last few years that says otherwise. As unbelievable as it sounds, the visitor to the Parson’s home actually learned the game from a stay with the Scott family in West Africa! They had given him an early version of their game where the blocks were stacked on their narrow sides with gaps in between. Furthermore, there seems to be no evidence that the game was around any earlier than the 1970’s or that native Africans had created it. So, it looks like the Scotts really were the creators after all.

But We All Like the Same Thing!

Rarely has a game come along that is so easily shared by both young and old, neither have an advantage in Jenga and the thrill of putting a block on top of the wobbly tower and hoping it doesn’t collapse is shared by all. Whether you are primarily a Jenga or a Ta-Ka-Radi fan, be sure to share your new knowledge of the game with family and friends on your next game night!

The post The Curious Story of The History of Jenga appeared first on Hanging Hyena.

Unfortunately, the game is not for everybody. It’s crude, offensive, and off-color. The game’s humor often derives from shock value or touching on taboo and sensitive topics. (It is no wonder that Cards Against Humanity describes itself as a “party game for horrible people.”) The game features plenty of cards that poke fun at things like walking in on your parents having sex, poorly timed Holocaust jokes, dead strippers, and other equally offensive phrases. These can all be quite entertaining, but many people feel uncomfortable playing the Cards Against Humanity due to its often dark subject matter. The game’s creators have removed several cards such as “Passable Transvestites” and “Date Rape,” but have still cards with equally deplorable and awful phrases. It is also very uncomfortable to play around your family members and younger children.

But there are other problems with the game besides its questionable content. Even seasoned board gamer fans who love the raunchy humor still notice several faults in the game itself. The humor is often forced and there are only so many times you can laugh at the same card over and over. The game soon feels repetitive when you see the same cards over and over, which is probably why there are so many expansions around. It can also feel somewhat mindless as there are no real challenges or struggles when trying to decide what to play. Players can pretty much go on autopilot and disengage themselves from the game.

Perhaps you don’t really like Cards Against Humanity but would be willing to pay something similar. Or perhaps you are a fan of the game but have trouble playing it with your playgroup. Whatever your reasons are, there are a ton of similar party games that are totally family friendly and easy to introduce to new players. If you’re looking to take a break from Cards Against Humanity, try some of these fun alternatives:

1) Apples to Apples

This game could be considered to be the original Cards Against Humanity, but without the offensive nature. It’s a classic board game that involves creativity, matching, and thinking. Apples to Apples is very simple. One player acts as the judge and plays a red apple card (usually a noun) and each other players anonymously submit a green apple card (usually a verb). The judge who played the red apple card then chooses the description that, in their mind, best matches their card. For example, if the judge has a card that reads “Exhausting,” they might pick a card like “Paying Taxes” or “Skiing.”

It’s a very easy game to learn and encourages each person to think outside the box and try and get into the mind of the other players. The game can host up to ten players, making it a perfect game for a large group of people.

2) Dixit

What Apples to Apples is for words, Dixit is for pictures. Each turn, a player takes the role of a storyteller. That person picks a card in his or her hand, provides a somewhat vague description for it, and places it face down on the table. Each other player picks a card in their hand that they think matches the description and also puts it face down on the table. Then, each player who isn’t the storyteller votes for a card that they think matches the description. If they vote for the storyteller’s card, both players get 3 points. If a player guesses another person’s card who isn’t the storyteller, that person gets 1 point. If everyone or nobody guesses the storyteller’s card, everyone except the storyteller gets 2 points.

As you can clearly see, the storyteller has to give a description that isn’t obvious enough that everyone can guess it, but also can’t give a description vague enough so that nobody can guess it. It also requires a lot of creativity on the other players’ parts because they have to match and guess with the best of their ability. The base set of Dixit and each expansion contains 84 beautifully illustrated cards with dream-like artwork. It is a great game to teach people creativity and outside box thinking.

3) Funemployed

Do you remember the stress of trying to look for a job and trying to explain to an interviewer about your skills and qualifications? Funemployed takes all those miserable experiences and makes them into a fun and funny party game. Each turn, one player takes the role of the interviewer trying to find someone to fit a certain position. The different types of careers are wild and varied ranging from psychics, astronauts, politicians, secret agents, and altar boys. Each other player takes the role of a job candidate attempting to explain why they are best for the job.

But, there is a catch. Each job applicant has four “qualification” cards that they must use to describe themselves. A few examples include “Nunchucks,” “Passive Aggressive,” “German Accent,” “Beard,” and even “X-Ray Vision.” How will you find a way to incorporate these silly traits into your job interview?

4) Snake Oil 

A snake oil salesman is used to describe a con man or charlatan that is trying to sell something dubious or fake in order to make a profit. In Snake Oil, each player gets a chance at becoming their very own snake oil salesman and attempting to sell strange and wacky products for customers to buy.

The game goes like this: First, one person takes the role of a customer and picks a green card that describes their role. They could be a witch, cheerleader, dictator, or even the last man on Earth. Each other player takes the role of a salesman and must combine two of the purple cards in their hand to create an irresistible product for the customer to buy. The purple cards contain various nouns and objects such as broom, money, ear, TV, grenade, butter, alcohol, and so forth. The player who can create the best product wins the round.

Snake Oil is an excellent game because it has people thinking on their feet and finding unique and unusual ways to connect to otherwise unrelated items. Most of all, the game can be a blast with the right crowd and your party guests will be laughing in no time.

5) Say Anything

Want to get to know your friends better while having a good time? Then Say Anything is your kind of game. The purpose of the game is to try and get into the other player’s head and guess what they are thinking. Every turn starts with someone taking the role of the judge and asking an open-ended question. Some of these questions include “Who’s the best rock musician or band?,” “What would be the dumbest thing to say in a job interview?,” and “What should we learn in high school that we don’t?” Each other player writes down their answer on a whiteboard and then the answers are revealed for all to see. Then, the players get the chance to bet on which one the judge will pick. Players who guess correctly receive one point each.

Say Anything has won over thirty awards including the 2008 Golden Geek Awards for best party game and best family game. It’s excellent for situations where you have to introduce strangers to one another as they can easily break the ice and learn about other people.

Conclusion

Cards Against Humanity may be a fun and popular game, but it’s raunchy content does make it hard to bring to family gatherings. Hopefully, this list has persuaded you to look into alternative board games that are not only fun and funny, but also help teach children skills such as creativity and thinking. Each of these games has the potential to be the center of any party, so why not give them a shot?

The post 5 Family Friendly Party Games To Replace Cards Against Humanity appeared first on Hanging Hyena.

All of which can be applied to Fortnite, of course.  After we play a few rounds of card games for family gathering to socialize with the rest of the family. In any event, here are a few new card games your kids haven’t seen before…

Beggar-My-Neighbour (2 players, ages 5+)

This British card game for two players is easy for young children to play.

Divide the deck between two players. Players hold their pile of cards face down and take it in turn to play cards face up into a central pile. This continues until a face card is played, at which point the other player has to ‘pay’ a number of cards: 4 cards are paid for an Ace, 3 for a King, 2 for a Queen and 1 for a Jack. The player who played the face card then picks up the central pile and places it at the bottom of their pile. If one of the cards being paid is a face card, play switches so that the person who last played a face card gets paid for their face card. The objective of the game is to win all of the cards.

A slightly more complex version of this game allows you to win cards by being the first person to slap the pile when two cards of the same rank are played. This variant is suitable for slightly older children as it increases the amount of skill needed to win the game.

Cheat! (3-5 players, ages 6+)

A game that is suitable for slightly older children, Cheat can have children in fits of laughter as they try to determine who is telling the truth and who is bluffing.

Divide the deck between the players. Players take it in turns to play cards of the same rank from their hand face down into a central pile, while announcing the cards they are playing. The following player must play cards that are of the same rank, one rank above or one below the previous play, with Aces high or low. However, players may ‘cheat’ by lying about the cards they are playing. If any player suspects that someone is lying, they may accuse that player of doing so by calling, “Cheat!” If a player is accused, they must show the cards they played to the group. If they are found to have cheated, the cheater must take all of the cards from the pile into their hand. If the accusation was false, the person who made the accusation must take the cards from the pile into their hand. The winner is the first person with no cards in their hand.

Rummy (2-4 players, ages 8+)

A more complex game enjoyed by many teens and adults, Rummy has several enjoyable variants.

Each player receives a hand of 7 cards. One card is placed face up in the centre, with the remaining cards placed face down in a pile next to it. The objective of the game is to collect a set of 3 cards and a set of 4 cards, which can either be in runs (sequential cards of the same suit) or melds (cards of the same rank). Players take it in turns to draw and discard one card per turn, collecting cards to make sets. Cards may be drawn from either the face-up pile or the face-down pile and must be discarded into the face-up pile. The first person to collect a set of 3 cards and a set of 4 cards says, “Rummy!” and displays their cards to win the game.

Try These Card Games for Family Gatherings

Seriously. Give them a go at your next family evening! I’m personally a big fan of beggar thy neighbor, but there are plenty of other good ones here as well!

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