Flick, Throw, Balance, Carry: Gaming with Dexterity
The reasons folks gather around a table to partake in game play are varied and multi-faceted. For some, the draw of competition and victory reign foremost. Many people enjoy the simple camaraderie of sharing space and community in pleasant activity. Some seek out the challenge offered by games of strategy.
Personally, I like throwing things.
Hibachi
What’s that? You’re not supposed to throw things during board games? Well, obviously you aren’t referring to the delicious game of Hibachi by Grail Games, wherein players are Teppanyaki chefs throwing discs to acquire ingredients for dishes and complete customer orders.
Am I particularly good at throwing things? No, I am not. See: my 7th grade basketball career. How do I resolve this frustration during a game of Hibachi? I wildly fling my discs to sabotage the other players. I don’t win, but I have the satisfaction of knocking them all down a peg.
Pick ‘n Packers
Pick ‘n Packers by Oink Games doesn’t involve throwing, I’ll grant you, but it does add the challenge of having to work with someone else to deliver Christmas presents by drone. You and the player next to you must work in coordination, each devoting one finger to lifting the pile of presents from one spot and carefully delivering said pile to its destination.
Perhaps your partner will be so kind as to not trash talk you whilst delivering the presents, as it leads to wobbling and spilling and much, much laughter. cough Jess cough
*Note from Jess: Bwahahahahahahahahaha!
Crokinole
When I’m not dropping presents everywhere, I do enjoy flicking a crokinole disk. The game, being of probable Canadian origin, is improved by employing a Canadian accent for its entirety.
It is usually for two and involves flicking disks into the center ring, knocking each others’ disks aboot, and in my case, flicking my own disks into the gutter. The occasional (very occasional) trick shot in the center is extremely satisfying.
Jess suffered a loss at the paws of Bluetsy in The Game of Cat and Mouth.
The Game of Cat and Mouth
If throwing, carrying and flicking don’t appeal to you, may I present flinging balls a’la The Game of Cat and Mouth by Exploding Kittens?
Another two-player game, it’s a colorful feast for the eyes. Fling all your balls through a cat’s face into your opponent’s territory to win the game.
It sounds simple, and it is, but my opponents have found it anything but easy. I am an idiot savant at Cat and Mouth, a fact of which I am unreasonably proud, but we all must have our little things at which we excel and cling to like a life raft, musn’t we?
*Note from Jess: Ok, but she is like WEIRDLY, WEIRDLY, OBSCENELY GOOD AT THIS. She DESTROYED me. There weren’t even time for tears. If she takes this act on the road, she could pay off her house.
Rafter Five
Rafter Five
Speaking of life rafts, my kids can’t get enough of Rafter Five by Oink Games, which is wild, because they’re terrible at it.
On their turn, they take a piece of the ocean, flip it over to its plank side and place it on the raft. They pick up one of the five rafters, or boaters, and use the rafter to secure the plank. They also place one of their treasure boxes on the plank. If they knock anything into the ocean, it stays in the ocean, unless it’s a treasure box, then it goes in their penalty zone. And then they usually end up flipping the whole table in a rage. So it’s fun for everyone.
Jenga
Get out.
Are dexterity games right for you?
To decide whether or not you should play any of these games, ask yourself three questions:
Am I supernaturally gifted at flicking, throwing, balancing or carrying?
Am I really bad at the aforementioned skills, but in a fun way?
Can I laugh at myself?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, first, stop talking to yourself in public, and second, slap on those wrist braces and get ready for a flicking good time with dexterity games.
