There was a point in all of our childhoods when playing some sort of board game was part of the routine. It could be an hour of your family time or when your friends came over. Back then, sleepovers were still a thing, and life was fun and straightforward.
However, as we grew up, some things were left out as a memory; a memory you would look back to often and wish it were the present. It could be the people you played with, the place, or even the game itself but something about board games makes us highly nostalgic.
In the recent past, things have taken a turn. With a change in everyone’s lifestyle and more time being spent at home, most of us have started reaching out to older ways of entertainment.
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Even though you now have time and reason in your hands to stay at home, not all of us are lucky to be surrounded by the people that we love. Hence, even if you wanted to bring back the old routine, you don’t have the company to do it with. This is where 21st-century technology comes into play.
Let’s understand how our phone screens have helped replicate board games and give us a new version of our favorite time as a kid.
Ludo
One common game, known to create havoc (in the right way), and a part of all of our childhoods is Ludo. Some of us drew columns on cardboard or paper with makeshift tokens, and some of us had the all-colorful board with real tokens.
This game has been made even better by the ludo board wherein you can play this with exactly all your childhood companions even if they are far away in different countries. To bring back your childhood days, the ludo wala game lets you talk and/or chat while playing, making it all the more impressive.
Even if this wasn’t a staple during your childhood, the rules are so simple that you could try it now with your colleagues or college friends and make it your go-to pastime.
You could also play it at the most random hour with random other people you can find on the app. You need to roll a six on the dice to get started and move according to the dice to get all your four tokens to safety.
Remember how fun it was to capture and send back your rival’s token? With a little bit of luck and a lot of strategizing, you can live it all over again.
Chess
The game of the intellectuals, now made accessible to everyone irrespective of age. There are many apps for playing chess, each with its own advanced features. This mobile version can be equally enjoyed by everyone as it is the exact same as the real-life version.
For beginners, this mobile game is ideal because you can take your time in understanding the rules, having practice sessions, and becoming a pro in no time with little help from the bot in strategizing.
For advanced players, you can challenge yourself with other players in apps that let you play with members of your choice and sharpen your decision-making skills and problem-solving skills.
Snake and Ladder
Probably the first board game you played as a child. This has been the game that helped a parent bond with their child. With snake and ladder, the rules were as simple as it gets and flexible enough to have any number of people playing it.
This game of pure chance has way too many memories hidden in each of those ladders and snakes. The mobile version of this still stays true to help with some quick parent-child time. You could also bring out the child in you and play this game.
Monopoly
Moving on to the more complicated one, Monopoly takes us back to our teenage and early adulthood. Mayfair, Trafalgar Square, Coventry street are places you loved owning but never actually visiting. This has a mobile version as well.
The features of this mobile version are that you can play online with people far away from you or you could play alone with the AI as your opponent.
Carrom
If there is a carrom board in front of you, there is no way you can resist playing a game. As a kid, most of you would have half an hour family-game-time in the afternoon, which was a stress buster for all the members equally. This is one game where elders and kids can play together and equally enjoy it.
The mobile version of this sure feels a little different from actually feeling the striker on your hand, but it sure gets more interesting as you play.
This again has features that let you challenge your friends, making it all the more fun to play against a person you know, rather than a bot. You can play against a bot to sharpen your skills instead.
Conclusion
You would think that digitalising all of these games will lose its quality, but the truth is, with highly advanced technology, most of these games have become even more fun with added features.
The fact that it can be played with your family and friends irrespective of where they are, work perfectly for our current lifestyle. In current times, most of us find ourselves at home because of work-from-home.
Even children are at home with their online classes. Spending the entire day inside your house can get pretty monotonous, and when you don’t have the luxury of going out when you feel like, you need alternatives that keep you and your family sane.
Because of work-from-home and online classes, even though almost the entire family is home, you still don’t get time to spend together. Your work/college/school schedules clash with each others’ break time.
This brings in the need for online games which can be played with others far away from you. Expensive video games can be bid goodbye.
Replace those with these free mobile apps that are not just a game, but also a fun way to connect with your family and friends. A much-needed stress relief used to be in the form of board games. Now, it’s on your screens.