Fun Freebies

With the holidays just around the corner and the economy heading for the coroner, finding perfect gifts for family and friends may be a daunting task for you and your students. Budgets are tight and spirits are sagging. What better gift to suggest than a game?

You wouldn’t be surprised if I sang the praises of the great value for money in the nearly endless replay opportunities from purchased board and card games. You might be surprised to learn, though, that there is a vast wealth of free print and play games for you to make and play in both classroom and home settings. 

Just type the words print and play free board and card games into your search engine and an abundance of sites listing a cornucopia of games will appear. My favorites come from www.printgames.net, which lists games suitable for ages 7+, and www.boardgames.about.com, which not only details links to various sites but also offers game industry guru Erik Arneson’s list of favorites and a 7-week e-course in free games.

If you find that the most you can do with scissors and glue is bond the blades together, there is also a wide range of parlour game that can be played with few, if any, supplies or props. The only resources parlour games require are enthusiasm and that most precious gift of all – time. Wikipedia.org’s page on Parlour Games incorporates links to instructions for 15 delightful games described elsewhere in the wiki as well as external links to sites detailing even more of these centuries old pastimes. My favorite for a large party is Mafia, but two can enjoy endless hours of amusement playing Botticelli (surprisingly omitted from the list of parlour games, but described elsewhere on Wikipedia.org).

Whatever your budget, there’s no excuse not to play this holiday season. Just make the time for timeless memories.

[Editor's Note: You can also find some fun free games at www.liveoakgames.com. Just click All Day Fun, Car Games, or Other Games]