Friday Five: GAMES!!

Jan from RevGals writes:

In less than three weeks, my family, including children and their partners, will be gathering in Seattle, WA for 12 days. After various days in Seattle sightseeing and in Bellingham seeing family, we will travel to the coast of Washington State to spend three nights in a large rented house. With nine adults (from almost 20 years old and up), I am thinking that we need to have some activities pre-planned–like GAMES! (Any ideas will be appreciated.)

So this Friday Five is about games, so play on ahead. . . .

1. Childhood games?
Cardgames: WAR, Go Fish, Crazy Eights and Old Maid
Boardgames: Go to the Head of the Class, Parcheesi, Chinese Checkers
Outdoor games: Kick the Can, Capture the Flag, Horse Doctor, Freeze Tag,
Other stuff: jigsaw puzzles, the Labyrinth, Pick-up Sticks

2. Favorite and/or most hated board games?
Not big on board games, period.
Find another person for: Monopoly, Trivial Pursuit, Candyland, Chutes and Ladders, Clue, and the Barbie ™ Shopping Game

3. Card games?
My family plays Four-Handed Solitaire on steroids! (It is like regular Klondike solitaire, but with all Aces to the middle for anyone to play on.) A few years ago, the Harpist brought home from camp the game Dutch Blitz which is hard to find but you can buy it on-line here.

4. Travel/car games?
Counting cows: You count animals out your side of the car. Every time you come to a cemetery, all of your “cows die” and you have to start over.
License plate game: I just heard there are fancy pre-printed pages for this now. We just used a spiral notebook!
Ghost: Spell words, one letter at a time going around the circle. Word have to be above 3 letters. If you end a word, you are 1/3 of a ghost. After you collect 3 losses, you “are” a ghost and the other players can’t talk to you or they are “ghosts” too.
Croc count: (or if necessary “socks with sandals” count): Keep track of the number of ugly footwear combinations you see. Bonus if you find an employee of a company wearing them.

5. Adult pastimes that are not video games?
We actually enjoy the above-mentioned card games. Also Apples-to-Apples, Spoons, Taboo, Dictionary and Pictionary.

Bonus: Any ideas for family vacations or gatherings?
We have fun together. Menus get pulled together by the crew, and everyone has a turn helping. (In Girl Scouts we called it a “Kaper Chart” but it gives everyone a chance to be a part of the work. And the fun.) We also have an “Everyone’s Birthday Party” including confetti “poppers,” cake, etc.

Bring-alongs which help with kids are sidewalk chalk, bubble solution and wands, water balloons, water pistols, and the fixings for s’mores!