Party Games

I have this picture in my head of 19th-century upper-class dinner parties -- the kinds of gatherings where prominent authors were either in attendance, or were widely read by the guests. At such events, the conversation would turn to weighty topics, polite disagreement and debate occurred, and everyone left the party entertained and edified.

In today's world, the populist equivalent is "Party Games." When a group of people gather, they play games that might require some knowledge, or might not, but will certainly elicit conversation and the sharing of opinions and ideas.

My post yesterday (I realized after I sent it) was really one of those games. We own a game called "Would You Rather...?" In this game, people read questions similar to the ones I posted, and then other players must predict which answer will be chosen. This is fun (if sometimes a bit uncomfortable for the "Minnesota Nice" crowd) and stimulates some interesting discussion.

Of course, like "Outburst!" and "Cranium" and others of that ilk these games have ways to keep score and win, but unlike those, there is no trivia or knowledge base involved. "Would You Rather...?" is much more about using the game construct to get to know one another and to think about topics that don't come up in typical daily conversation.

I wonder sometimes if there are still pockets of people who spend their conversation time delving into the business of getting to know themselves and others more deeply. I recall meeting Karin's boyfriend (now husband) for the first time, and he asked me "What three people would you like to invite to join you for a dinner? Anyone, from any period in history."

This is a cool question, but it's not the sort of thing that I would expect to be brought up in a first meeting. We Scandinavian/German/Lutheran folk might ask that of our spouses by the time we reach our Silver anniversary. [On the other hand, why rock the boat? ]

Anyway, that's one reason I like "Party Games" -- it's not so much the competition as it is the discussion and reminiscing and shared experiences that result. A party game will never fill my need for strategy, but it sure helps in socializing.