How many do you own? Why did you chose these particular ones? Are they ones that you had as a child or are they new ones? Do you play board games regularly or are they things you only bring out on a rainy day or when ‘you want’ your family to play something together so that you are having some ‘together time’?
How competitive are the games that you have to play? What level of gloating and teasing is part of the game when you are playing Monopoly? What are the words that you have ‘permission’ to use when someone loses that you normally wouldn’t use in a board game compared to other things that people can lose?
How do you teach board games? At what level do people’s interest start to drop off? Do you have issues with everyone following by the rules? Do you have particular rules for how ‘your’ family plays it? or do you need to play by the rules of one member of the family so that the game goes smoothly for everyone else?
Self harm can be the repercussion of board games and the frequency and intensity of this needs to be taken into consideration before games are chosen for play. The speed with which some individuals can respond can cause distress for others and may result in damage to personal property in the area around the board game. Looking at the criteria for success and the types of alternatives is important. Some students may enjoy or seek out playing games where the winner collects things to show that they are more ‘powerful’ than others. A simple alteration in the choice of game can result in a smoother more fluid flow of turn taking due to the reduced level of competitiveness which therefore results in lesser self harm.