A little lighthearted competition can be good for any relationship.
There’s no reason to entertain a passel of friends when you want to break out the board games. All you need is a willing partner to relive those rainy childhood afternoons of fun. You’re never too old to gloat when your partner is wrong, especially when you have the game score to back it up.
There is a Scene It trivia theme to satisfy every taste, from the “I only watch HBO” snobs, to retro lovers of Turner Classic movies, to iPod-addicted music fans. This game is great for groups, but when it’s just the two of you there’s no need to be shy about yelling at the TV (or revealing just how much pop culture you actually know). One of the latest offerings is Squabble, which challenges you to break gender stereotypes by proving that he knows all about Sex in the City and she’s a die-hard fan of the Die Hard series. Being a couple has its advantages!
 |
Sequence combines the luck of the draw with a good dose of strategy thrown in, and we’re addicted. The board is covered with a mesmerizing pattern of cards, the suits spiraling into the center. Score a sequence by placing 5 chips in a row based on the cards you lay down from your hand. Part of the fun is deciding whether to go offense or defense: do you play to score or do you block your opponent? We’ll let the two of you battle it out.
We never tire of fantasizing that we could be sophisticated spies a la Mr. & Mrs. Smith. With Coda, you can play secret agent in the comforts of home. Think you’re good at reading your partner’s mind? Put it to the test by trying to break each other’s secret code. There’s an “I’ll show you mine, you show me yours” quality here, because for every wrong guess you have to reveal one of your own secret numbers. You decide whether any “private” interrogation sessions are necessary.
