Bored with e-games? Go back to board games

Sure, in this X-Boxed, e-gamed world, you can find hours of entertainment at the touch of a button.

But some people still prefer gaming the old-fashioned way — with a group of family or friends seated around a table, interacting with each other as well as the game.

Even if it's an old-fashioned way to play, however, there's no end of new and exciting options for today's gamers.

"There are so many fun, new games out there," says Valerie Hall, co-owner with her husband, Tim, of Game Night Games, a store in Sugar House where people come not only to buy board and card games but also to play them. She sees a strong trend toward increased game-playing.

"We have a lot of people come in who have not even heard of many of the games, but they want to play. A lot of people liked to play games as kids but have got away from it as adults because they only remember Monopoly games that seemed to go on forever." But there are a lot of games, she says, that are fun and quick and are good for families as well as parties.

"Playing games is a great way to spend time," says Joe Schlingen, director of gaming education at the store. "It's a lot of fun, it's a great way to interact, and it's good mental exercise."

"Studies have shown that people who participate in particular hobbies have a 65 percent decrease in dementia," says Hall. "Board games are included on that list of hobbies. They keep your mind alert."

Game Night Games has also done youth education programs at the University of Utah, she says. "It was neat to see parents playing with their kids. It's a way to bring families together."

On any given night, they have between five and 20 people playing games at the store. Monday nights are designated as Family Nights. Wednesdays are "meet-up" days when a lot of people drop in to play. "It's a rich experience. A lot of friendships are made playing games," says Hall.

There are games for every taste and skill level. By monitoring the games that people like to play at the store, they get a pretty good idea of what is popular, says Schlingen.

For example, Australia, which was picked by Games magazine as Game of the Year, "is a lot of fun. There's a lot of decisionmaking going on," he says. "You always have six things you want to do but can only do three. One critic called it 'decision angst.' "