Major Fun's Five Funnest Family Games
In answer to the question: “If you had only five games to take
with you to your next family and friends gathering, what would they be,” developer
of the DeepFUN® method for teaching people
how to make their lives more fun Bernie De Koven (a.k.a Major Fun) names
this year’s
five “Best Laugh
Out Loud Games.”
De Koven has spent more
than 30 years teaching people how to have more fun: teachers, prison
guards, forest rangers, therapists, physical educators. Though he’s
designed innovative games for hundreds of thousands of people, communities,
neighborhoods, families, couples, and singles; he’s more interested
in “fun” than in “games.” He offers extended
retreats at the Esalen Institute, where he teaches people how to make
everything more fun. His DeepFUN.com website is a living chronicle of
his games and teaching.
"Each of these games,” he explains, “are about the kind of
fun that I teach people about - the kind of fun that makes people laugh
a lot, in a warm, loving, getting-closer-together kind of way. These
games are my top five because they really aren’t about winning
or losing as much as they are about laughing and loving. They are easy
to learn. They can be played by as few as three people or as many as
twelve, as young as seven or as old as they come.”
With having fun together as the goal, De Koven’s top five are:
- thepollgame (thepollgame, LLC), because people learn about each other
as they play
- Apples to Apples (Out-of-the-Box Publications), because there are no
right or wrong answers
- Curses (Play all Day Games), because it gives people a chance to
set shyness aside, and get really silly together
- Catch Phrase (Hasbro),
because it makes people watch and listen and
really try to communicate with each other, and perform, even.
- Swap (Patch Products), because it makes losing almost as fun as winning.
De Koven explains:
“
With the holiday season coming up, most of us are in for extended visits
with the family. Sometimes painfully extended. The right game can
make all the difference. Most games, even the “good” ones,
tend to divide people more than they get them together. Especially the
kinds
of games that people can take too seriously, where winning becomes
too important, and playing is about overpowering or fooling each other.
The
games I chose as Best Laugh Out Loud Games are games of ‘Loving
Fun:’ Fun that is like a hug, that makes people feel more together,
in every way."
De Koven’s top five are each recipients of his coveted ”Major
Fun” Award.
