One of the things I like most about lunchtime is that we are all together and there is no television or distractions, just us and our conversations. We take the opportunity to ask the child how his day at school has gone, to comment on anything, plan activities and ultimately, talk to each other. We never wanted to have TV in the dining room so we wouldn’t lose that.
Unfortunately, many families cannot enjoy that moment. Life in the cities is not the same as in the villages, many children stay to eat at school, jobs and their incompatible schedules, the rush …
And that’s where a good game fits for families like the one I teach you today, ¡Dime!, family edition serves as a communication tool while offering us fun times and strengthening our family ties.
Do you know the games Tell me!?. At the moment only the families and couples editions are available in Spanish, but in French they also have the “friends” and “children” editions.
Tell me! families is our game, which we have been testing for 2 weeks to be able to give our opinion conscientiously of this game for families that we also use with very close friends.
Tell me!. The game for families.
The game is simple because you do not have to read long instructions, understand the mechanics or require a great previous preparation.
The ¡Dime! box contains 144 cards divided into 4 categories: Point of union, Retro, Scoop and You.
You can mix all in the deck to draw randomly or leave them in those 4 piles to choose one from each category.
Start the game who you want, for example, who has celebrated his birthday most recently.
This person pulls out a card and asks the question to whoever is on his left. When he has answered, you repeat in that order.
The 4 categories of the cards seek to bring out the subject on a specific point.
Categories:
Junction point: Letters to find and / or recover the connection with the rest of the family and get to know each other much better. Ex: What would you like to do as a family in the coming months?, or When have you been happier for me this year?.
You: Deck of cards that invites us to talk about our desires, tastes and dreams. It helps us to talk about ourselves, bring out topics that we do not usually touch and open ourselves to others. Ex: What are the 3 things that make you happiest?, or Is there a mistake from which you have learned a lot?.
Retro: In this category we can share our battles, anecdotes and memories. A wonderful excuse to relive wonderful moments as a family. Ex: Can you name a happy family moment that you will never forget, or If you could relive a past event, what would it be?
Scoop: Category designed to play with the imagination and put yourself in fictional situations to discover our reactions and opinions. Ex: What would you do if you were invisible all day?, or If our family were a government, what ministry would each one have?
Meet and get to know each other as a family and with fun.
All cards are designed to get to know ourselves and others a little more thoroughly.
What differentiates a family game from a game for families is that with the latter we seek to have moments of union, to express feelings and emotions through the game, to let ourselves know a little and let ourselves be surprised by meeting others, and strengthen our family ties. Here it’s not about winning or losing, it’s about having a very good excuse to sit together and remember, know, laugh and enjoy.
At first glance it may seem like a game that is not very ideal to repeat over and over again, but I do not agree with it. I think it’s a game that doesn’t want us to use it every day, whether we’re 2, 4 or 10 people. For me the ideal is to take it out after a family meal, in a meeting with other members, after an important event or a rainy afternoon in which you are all at home without any plan.
It is true that there are questions that only admit one answer and this will be the same every time you play, but others leave room for open answers and changes of opinion according to our tastes or current situation. There will always be some surprises.v