Defying Gravity

When you think of Family Game Night, what image comes to mind?

Possibly memories of sitting with your kids at the dining room table with a Scrabble Board and tiles scattered around? Or gathered in the living room by the fire playing Sorry, whacking your dad’s game piece back to Start? How about playing Jenga, trying to prevent the tower from toppling?

Now imagine playing all those games, not at the table, but on the Wii.  Yes, you heard me right, the Wii.

I was at BestBuy over the weekend and happened to wander through the aisle with all the Wii games. There on the shelf was “Hasbro Family Game Night,” consisting of Connect Four, Boggle, Sorry!, Battleship and Yahtzee. Next to it was a sign advertising “Hasbro Family Game Night 2” with Operation, Jenga, Bop-it and Pictureka, which arrives this weekend.

Now don’t get me wrong, I LOVE games, and I LOVE my Wii, but really? The Classics on Wii? This is sacrilegious if you ask me.  Playing Sorry! or Battleship on the Wii just doesn’t have the same appeal. How do you slide down the arrow yelling “wheeee” or take any pleasure in carefully arranging your ships and plugging the holes each time your opponent misses? Or take Operation for cripes sake! It took years to master the steadying-of-the-hand in order to safely pluck the funny bone out without scaring yourself half-to-death when you make the buzzer go off!

I just don’t get it. Family game night has always been special, and we are told day after day that families don’t spend enough time together. While this may be getting the family together, it doesn’t seem the same as sitting around a board in the middle of the floor with game pieces to throw at one another when your brother knocks you out (or was that only in our house?!). Plus, all it’s contributing to is more hours in front of the television – another thing researchers have told us we spend too much time doing.

I’m sure this will be a best seller, but please, I implore you, if you’re going to have Family Game Night, be traditional. Go to the cupboard, pull out the boxes containing Monopoly, Trivial Pursuit or Hi-Ho-Cherry-O, sit at the kitchen table and have fun the old-fashioned way.