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Roll the dice, draw a card, move your playing piece, and enjoy some board games with neighbors.

When guests arrive, have them choose partners and a table at which to start. Set a timer for 30 minutes, and begin all the games at the same time. The winners of each game move to a new table. The rest of the players stay where they are. If the timer goes off before a game is finished, the person with the most points or farthest on the game board is the winner of that round.

Continue to play until each game has been played three times or until guests are ready to stop. Give mementos to everybody who played; for instance, you might give everybody a candy bar, bag of coffee beans, or CD of music you compiled electronically.

Helpful hint: A fun twist on the popular game Scrabble is to play without the board. “Speed Scrabble” starts with each player drawing seven tiles. The person with the letter closest to A says, “Go!” Players should use their own letters to make words horizontally and vertically so that all their letters are used to make words. Players can rearrange their tiles as much as they want to create new words throughout the game, as long as all the words are connected. Players do not play on each other’s letters; rather, each player works to use all of his or her own letters.

When a player has used all of his or her letters, he or she says, “draw,” and all players must draw another tile. The game continues this way until all the tiles have been drawn and a person has used all his or her tiles. The values of any remaining letters not used in a word count against that player. The values of the letters used in a word count for him or her. At the end of the 30-minute round, the goal is to have the most points possible.

Instant Intentions

Word-based games such as Pictionary or Scattergories often provide opportunities for you to reveal things about your life that wouldn’t otherwise come up. Before the game, pray that the Holy Spirit will guide your play and open doors for you to share about your faith. Don’t force it, but if you see an opportunity, tell a story about a time God made a difference in your life.