A Good Time . . . Cost Only Dimes!

It's Friday . . . so, recreation is on my mind. But as I've mentioned again, and again, and again, we're on a tight budget. The FREEKEND idea kind of died (sorry to those of you who were excited about it!) because I didn't get any submissions to showcase. But that doesn't mean I can't share some of our tips for low-cost fun!

When we're not playing Wii, watching movies, renovating our entryway closet, or cooking on weekends . . . we're most likely playing board (and card, etc.) games! Playing them just-the-two-of-us. Playing them with our friends. Playing them alone sometimes?

Maybe. But there's no shame in that.



SOME OF OUR FAVORITES:

• Old School Battleship (we make our own bomb noises)
• Scrabble (we're both vocab geeks)
• Apples to Apples (need we say more?)
• Taboo (crazy times with this one)
• Boggle (another word-nerd favorite)
• Jenga (Stephen is much better than I am)
• Cranium (My favorite part is the clay!)

Basically all the oldies that we played as kids. By far our favorite is Apples to Apples. And we're just sad it's not a 2-player game, or else we'd probably be playing it almost every night. A couple years back, we used to have an unplugged game night with our best friends. We'd take turns hosting and providing the game of the night . . . making tons of tasty foods (and each bringing a dish to pass). Ah, those were the good days. And we're now trying to start that trend again . . .



We get most of our games at yard sales and thrift stores. Seriously, people. If you're already there to check out their selection of housewares, stop by the section with all the games. I was skeptical at first because I thought if people were getting rid of games, it likely meant there were pieces or cards missing (or weird stains, etc.).

But 9 out of 10 times, this isn't the case!

In all our trolling around, we've come across some strange ones, too! Take Pit, for example. The "exciting and fast-paced game of trading commodities" first made popular, I believe, in the early 1900s. We picked up a mint pack of cards at our Salvation Army . . . and even if the game ISN'T that fun (we still don't truly understand the rules), we had a hell of a time chatting about how weird it is . . .



We have procured most of our game collection for under $20 -- total. Now, we have an entire storage bench full of our finds, stowed neatly away in our dining room (in close proximity to the dining table -- where all the serious gaming goes down). In fact, I don't think there's any space left in there, so we may need to either stop buying games or find a bigger storage bench.




So, if you're stuck for ideas. Bored with your usual routine. Whatever. Go scope out the game section at your local thrift store. You'll have the games for years to come, you'll only spend a couple bucks . . . and, like with our beloved Pit, you may find some rare, hilarious gems that'll give you a good laugh.

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