Monopoly, Scrabble and Sorry: Family Fun in Only 20 Minutes

Gone are the evenings when families had time to sit around the kitchen table and play a game, especially when those games were Monopoly, Sorry, Scrabble and Yatzee. Our lifestyles are so hectic that by the time we have football, cheerleading, dance, gymnastics, band, music classes - well you get the picture - then dinner and homework there is very little time of the old fashioned fun of sitting around a playing a game before the kids go off to bed. Weekends too are jam packed with activities and errands that parents and children were unable to complete throughout the week.

Hasbro, (which includes Milton Bradley, Tonka, Parker Brothers and Tiger brands) is one of the leaders in manufacturing entertaining and fun board games for the whole family regardless of age. They recently introduced their solution to the family board game playing time dilemma. At the 2007 American International Toy Fair, Hasbro introduced several new versions of their classic games. They have named these games, express games, and they are meant to be played in 20 minutes, an amount of time that almost all busy households can set aside for some quality time together. Hasbro and many other toy manufacturers have been moving in this direction for several years. For example, our recently purchased Scene It Jr. game has an extended version and a shortened version. The shortened version takes only about 30 minutes to play, while the extended or "full" version of the game can take up to an hour or more. Trivial Pursuit has an option where players can choose to collect less than the total number of wedges before ending with the final game question. The new "Game of Life," players decide in advance how many rounds (lives) they wish to play and the rules for the game are based on that information. With smaller children in the house, the shortened version is a big hit because I can spend some quality game time with my daughter while the younger ones are napping and don't have to worry about the game being interrupted. Hasbro Company and several others producers of games have also expanded the game choices available to consumers to include "travel" games which are actually miniature versions of the full size board games, thus paving the way for the now abbreviated express games.

Among the "express games" available is Monopoly, which has sold more than 250 million copies worldwide and in several different languages and is considered the best selling commercial board game in the world. As if the original version of Monopoly was not enough there are approximately 100 variations of the original game that are based on sports, national parks, holidays, and cartoon characters. The express version allows players to roll multiple dice to purchase properties.

Also available is the popular game, Scrabble. The Scrabble of the past included choosing your tiles, and then you make a word starting in the middle of the board. Each player would take turns trying to make a word from their tiles and get the highest number of points from the words they are forming. This game could take hours as you play until all the tiles in the game have been used. Whoever has the highest number of points when the tiles are done is the winner. The express version of this game uses a letter dice instead of tiles and then the players place the words on a small board that will accommodate two words at a time.

The third game recently introduced in express form is Sorry. In the original version of this game, you travel the board and send the other players pawns back to "home" base and attempt to be the first player around the board with all your pawns (pieces). The express version allows you to capture the other player's pawns, thus eliminating that pawn from play and ending the game quicker.

The games allow for 2-4 players and are completed in approximately 20 minutes. The entire family can enjoy the fun of an old classic game that many of us remember playing as children, but with the twist of completing the game without the long hours to play the game all the way to completion.

Why is it important to have these family games available? Family game night is important for several reasons. It strengthens family unity, it provides for quality time together without the television on. Families will talk while playing the game and use their intellect. A family game increases your child's strategic thinking skills and teaches them and you necessary life skills like patience, sportsmanship, teamwork, honesty and concentration. Hasbro has developed the perfect opportunity to teach all those things, spend quality time together and no one has to worry about all the other things that they may need to do. Game night may become fashionable again and children and parents alike may now have time to spend together in a true quality fashion.