Friday, June 15, 2018

Parent breaks or Fidget Box part two

The rules for Down, a tiny little nine-card game designed to be played in your hand (and one I know I’ll review sooner than later), includes the term ‘parent break’ which is when you hide from your kids for a few minutes in the bathroom. I love it.

While I have yet to hide in the bathroom to get a game in, I definitely understand that idea. A lot of my gaming is done while keeping one eye on our four-year-old snacking or drawing or playing with play dough. Unfortunately, any game involving dice or pawns is more interesting than whatever he’s doing so it’s cards only. (And this is why I have played Pocket Landship so little :’( )

Heck, I have a tiny fidget box of solitaire games that basically exists for parent breaks. 

It’s an interesting niche. A game has to be a solitaire game, take up minimal playing space and playing time and be playable while being largely distracted. It’s something I didn’t look for a few years ago and now I’m accumulating them. (It doesn’t hurt that you can find a number of games like this in PnP)

I also wonder how long I’ll be needing games that are suitable for these kind of parent breaks. At some point, either our son won’t need as much supervision or HE WILL WANT TO PLAY GAMES WITH ME BY THE RULES!!! 

Still, I can state that parent breaks are a real thing and a perfect time for a quick game. Sometimes, they are all the gaming I’m able to do and they do provide a helpful mental break. A coffee break for my mind and they only take a few minutes.

We all need a break now and then, clear the cobwebs from our brains and de-stress. Parent breaks, of one kind of another, are how keep it together. And sometimes, they can be tiny solitaire games.

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