The games we play

The other day, some of us were in a cranky mood and before we knew it, general bickering ensued among some children, and then escalated and then things were in danger of unraveling in a big way.  So after invoking some urgent  Divine assistance, I suddenly had an idea.  Why don't we play a game?  That should distract some and attract the others, especially if it's something noncompetitive.  So we played some word game and that diffused the tension, thank G-d.  We played the ABC-I like game, where we went through the alphabet and each person had to name one thing he liked starting with his letter. There are many variations one can play with this game.  We also played some improv games.  In general, I've been playing (pun intended) with the idea of making our own board games.  It's a very versatile project that can be useful for exploring and reinforcing many different subjects.  The kids like to play games.  There is no frustration of losing or destroying pieces, because you can always make new ones. It's something that can be done as a family and with multiple ages.  And the possibilites are virtually endless as is the potential for creativity.  So this is something I definitely would like to pursue in the near future. Meanwhile, here are a few related links.
Different printable games and templates
Using your PC to create personalized gameboards