Growing up my parents made it clear that enjoying time with family was very important! They didn't come out and say it all the time and they didn't need to. They did it with actions and as the saying goes, "Actions Speak Louder Than Words". They did this by turning their basement into a home game room. It was done before I was born and games came and went all in the name of good old fashioned family fun! Now I'm the last of 10 children, 8 boys and 2 girls and I tell you this, our home game room worked wonders in keeping this family close!

When I was young just about every weekend I remember my brothers and sisters who weren't living at home anymore, visiting. We'd play pool, pinball, pachinko, cards and more all the while listening to golden oldies on the jukebox. Before you start thinking we were rich, don't, we were just a large middle class family. My dad worked very hard, often seven days a week and made just enough money to keep a roof over our heads and food in the fridge. My mom worked even harder taking care of us! The home game room functioned on it's own keeping us at home base on most weekend nights!

The games were all bought second hand and didn't work when my parents acquired them. Luckily my dad and a few of my brothers could fix them. That's how we ended up with pinball games, a jukebox and an old bowling machine in our basement. Those were some of the best times in my life. Playing pool and games with my brothers and sisters into the early hours of the next morning.

Of course not every moment was perfect. We had our fights. Sometimes they were HUGE FIGHTS! But usually by the following weekend things were back to normal and we'd play together all night once again. On many nights we had to swallow our pride!

Those games taught us many life lessons right in our own home. They taught us about winning and losing graciously. Although tempers flared at times someone would step in and remind us that it's just a game. We learned that cheating was wrong, especially with so many siblings watching over the games. We were taught to respect adults and that they would play first and we'd get our turn if we waited! Also that helped us to learn patience. There were so many life lessons learned in our game room that I'm probably only touching on a fraction of them.

We had so many great times in that game room with family and friends. On some nights you'd be the winner and others you'd be the loser. It's the same as in life as an adult. Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose but you have to keep your head up and try harder the next time.

All of those experiences made us become closer as a family. We learned how to deal with the different personalities of each family member and it's kept us close to this day. No a home game room won't solve every problem in the world. And it may not work for every family. But I firmly believe that "Families That Play Together, Stay Together". That is coming from my own life experience.

Home game rooms are good for another reason also. They teach some great skills to children. From the hand-eye coordination from playing pinball to the angles, cut/slice shots and bank shots in pool. Those coordination skills come in handy when you're older and are great to learn as a kid. With pinball you learn how to count numbers and keep score. In billiards alone you learn how to hold a stick, aim and shoot the balls and rack them up afterwards. Also for the youngest of children the pool balls are different colors with different numbers. I've never seen a child who didn't LOVE to sit on a pool table and roll the balls into the pockets. (Just make sure you're watching the child closely so they don't fall off). Every table game is good for learning skills. That includes ping-pong, air hockey, foosball and shuffleboard also. You'd be amazed at what a child can learn by playing those basic but fun table games.

It's a good idea to turn off the computer and video game once in a while and play a "real" hands-on game! Invite family and friends over on the weekends. Sure it doesn't have to be every weekend but a couple times a month would be great. Show them your new trick shot. Have some laughs! And maybe a few tears will even be shed? No matter what happens it's getting family together and sharing experiences what counts. And playing games with family and friends in a fun setting like a home game room is something every family could learn to enjoy!

In closing I'd like to say that "no" my family is nowhere near being the perfect family. We have our problems like every family does. We argue and we disagree on many things but we can still stay close. Somehow having a game room and playing games with family and friends seems to relieve that stress and tension and can make even the biggest of problems go away, at least for the moments we're together anyway! So I'm convinced from my own experiences that:

"Families That Play Together, Stay Together"