ack in college, I thought board games were for a certain person. You know, the type who drinks wine coolers and wears holiday-appropriate clothing and does dumb things, like playing board games. Sure, I'd drop anything to piledrive someone at Trivial Pursuit, but that wasn't so much a board game as a rash I'd developed at an early age. Youngest child revenge syndrome. When people announced their intention to have a party with board games, I thought, "Jesus, can't they just drink?" But after a thousand parties at which people did nothing -- nothing -- but drink, and I sat around chainsmoking and trying to nudge my way into conversation, it was time to reconsider.

Board games are cool y'all. The truth is that I love all types of games -- board games, video games, card games, word games, crosswords, everything -- and anyone who went to college with me can tell you that even in my anti-board game phase, I was the one insisting on the 2am round of "Truth or Dare" and "I Never."
"Dude, I'm tired."
"That is not how it's played. Now drink."
"Everyone's passed out. This game sucks."
"I don't care. You're gonna play and you're gonna have fun!"
I was kind of fascist about it. And I suppose that's what people dislike about board games, if they do indeed dislike board games. A kind of prefab enjoyment, an obligatory enthusiasm that, much like pep rallies and Christmas carols, just seems to sap all the fun out. But I had a reawakening. This started a few years back with some friends at work, who had a party where we played the original "Family Feud" board game.
"What did 100 married men say was their wife's worst habit?"
#2: Talking
That year I had the best interview of my career while playing a two-hour bout of Scattergories.
"A Popular Halloween Costume starting with L."
"Lionel Richie," said Jerm.
Learning Spanish in Ecuador, there was nothing I understood better than a good game of hangman. And when I ran out of things to say to my native friends, nothing worked like Crazy Eights. This Thanksgiving, my family played Taboo, "The Game of Unspeakable Fun!" It's not the most brilliant game, but it's a good way to spend a few hours. And now Aaron writes me that he's been playing Scrabble, which is not my forte but I still enjoy it. And my boyfriend and I drove back from Austin together trying to invent the Ultimate Board Game, which became this elaborate strategy/trivia/honesty/creativity game with like 145 rules. So now I'm all high on board games, and not in an ironic or nostalgic way either, just in a plain dorky earnest heartfelt way, the only problem is I don't actually own any, so now you know what to get me for Christmas. A few wine coolers. One of those snuggly green sweatshirts with the little plaid teddy bear dressed like Santa saying "Ho, ho, ho!" And board games. What mandatory fun we'll have.