Play These Games During Physical Distancing
You’re probably getting
your fair share of couch time as more and more places close down life as we
know it, insisting residents to stay at home and practice social distancing
from others in order to stop the spread of the COVID-19 virus. We already
hit you with some movie recommendations that can help ease the
pain of a world without travel, and now we turn to another classic form of
entertainment - the board game - to help satisfy your wanderlust cravings.
If you’re looking to pass time and inspire future trips, here are a couple
games to consider playing with friends and family:
- Passport to Culture The goal here is
much like in real life - filling your passport. This card-playing board
game sets a good travel tone right off the bat with a world map for its
board, and the goal of seeing it all. Question and culture cards that
relate to the different countries offer a nice way to learn a thing or
two, and who knows, maybe help you find your next travel destination once
the real world opens back up.
- Where in the World The game’s
self-description says it all: It includes “the latest facts about every
country in the world including capitals, major imports and exports,
languages and religions.” With six games in one, there are different ways
to explore the world, but the main focus is geography. Play a couple of
rounds to practice filling out the world map.
- Brainbox: The World This memory-type
game offers the chance to learn and answer questions about famous
landmarks, world cultures, and geography. Players draw a card and have ten
seconds to internalize its pictures and facts, then turn the card over and
answer as many questions as they can. Great for adults looking to brush up
on trivia, and anyone looking to expand their knowledge of the world.
- Around the World in 80 Days This game
takes you back to the Victorian Era for an 80-day journey around the
globe, using various modes of transportation that require different cards.
The premise is simple: Whoever makes it around the world the fastest wins.
- Dash! A Whimsical Race Through Singapore
Looking to take a trip to Southeast Asia? This board game takes you on a
race through Singapore, including stops in some of its famous districts
and points of interest.
- Flags of the World You can play “name that flag”
games online, but there’s also a board-game version if you’d like
something the whole family can play together.
- Pandemic For those who aren’t entirely
freaked out by the concept of playing such a game during this time (aka,
people who are enjoying watching movies like Outbreak and Contagion),
there are a couple different versions of the
Pandemic game, but all carry the same theme: It’s up to you to save the
world from a fast-spreading outbreak.
- Catan This classic game can take an
entire day (or more) to play as you expand your horizons and conquer the
world. But, since finding time will not be a big issue over the next
couple of weeks, it’s the perfect time to play.
