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Writer's pictureAshleigh Altemann

It's Just a Game


Setting up for a game of Punk.

My brother and I sit, diagonal from each other at the kitchen table, closely guarding the few cards we each have left in our hands. We scan the table and the cards the other players, our spouses, are running through. One of them has the last ace. Evan has the two of clubs. Carla has the four. Is the three in my brother's hand? I know he is waiting on a seven of diamonds. Does he know I have the five of clubs?


We play other games, but always come back to Punk. Best described as competitive Solitaire, we learned it from our mom. She, if memory serves, learned it in college. We've never encountered it outside our family. My sister-in-law calls it "heart attack." More often than not, time spent with my brother - at his house, at a brewery, visiting our dad - includes a couple hands of Punk.


With roughly 30 years of practice under our belts, my brother or I tend to win most hands of Punk, but Carla and Evan are both improving. The trash talk gets sharper as the games progress. Inevitably, Carla's ire turns towards me. My ire turns towards my brother, who plays his cards with such speed and force that they cause the pile he's played on to explode in a mess over the table.


It's just a game.


As spectators or players, we have probably heard or maybe even said these words before. We use them to put things in perspective. To check emotions that may be getting a bit too heightened. Yet, this phrase discounts the incredible power of games.


There are many studies that detail the benefits we reap from playing games. They help us develop and retain cognitive skills, they help us practice healthy ways to express emotions. They can helps us accomplish things we may have otherwise avoided doing, when we turn a chore into a game. Scientists even used publicly available games to study DNA, the human microbiome, and more. As much as we might say "it's just a game," it very much is not. Games can be a simple way to pass the time, but they can be so much more.


Cornhole at St. John Game Night.

Here at St. John, game night might not be as consequential as games geared at scientific advancement, but it is still important nonetheless. Yes, we can reap the benefits of exercising our minds, our emotional regulation skills, maybe even our bodies. But, perhaps most importantly, game night is an opportunity to build community.


One of my favorite things about games is that they provide a mechanism for people to interact. As a generally shy person, I can struggle to engage with others. I don't know how to start. I'm uncomfortable and awkward, and prone to saying the wrong thing. A game allows a structure for me to connect with others. There are rules. There is a mission, a purpose to the interaction that helps move past the awkwardness. Games can foster connection to build community, making it easier for us to come together in other, non-structured contexts.


Game night at St. John offers a chance to get to know someone new, to nourish already established relationships, and to grow an even stronger community.


It's not just a game.


Our next St. John game night is Friday, October 11th. Please join us!


Explaining the drawing from a round of Telestrations at St. John Game Night.

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