Benefits

• Each type of game has its own benefits. Card games, including games like Solitaire, are known stress relievers. Since stress affects just about every area of your body, it is beneficial to play card games to reduce the stress. Sports games, such as soccer or volleyball, are great for exercise. These outdoor games can keep a person in shape, which increases a person's chance to stay healthy. With a growing epidemic of obese children, outdoor games have become a necessity. Board games can be beneficial for families and provide some much-needed bonding time. There is an old saying that rings true: "A family that plays together stays together." Finally, there are strategic games, such as chess or Sudoku, that benefit the brain. These games, in a sense, give your brain a workout and keep it sharp.
  
  

Time Frame

• Each game has its own time frame, and this can vary from minutes to weeks. The time frame is how long the game lasts from start to finish. Most card games like "Go Fish" or "Old Maid" are completed in a matter of minutes. Board games like "Monopoly" and "Life" can take a couple of hours. Still, sporting competitions can be hours, as well as weeks. The time frame for one particular football game for example, may be three to four hours, but the time frame to find the Super Bowl winner takes months. To know the time frame for the game you want to play, you must read the rule booklet that came with the game.
  
  

Features

• Each game, no matter what type, will come with a set of features. Each game will have a set of rules. This set of rules will only pertain to the particular game you bought. You cannot use the rules for Risk when you are playing Boggle. Each game also comes with its own pieces. This can include a game board, soccer ball, cards, fake money, dice, spinner, player pieces, uniforms and much more. Each piece belongs to a particular game and it cannot be used with any other game. In other words, a soccer ball won't do you any good when you play Sorry. Each game also requires a set number of people to play it. Solitaire is card game that only one player at a time can play. Soccer can only allow 11 players per side on a field at any given time. You must know ahead of time how many people can be featured in the game you want to play.
  
  

Evolution

• Actual board games date back to the 30th century BC. Sir Woolley found two board games in a tomb. These board games were dated and found to exist 2600 BC. Board games and other games have evolved over the years as technology has evolved. Games use to be made out of wood or items people could find at home. Games were eventually made available for sale in stores. The next step came with the invention of the computer. People could now enjoy their solitaire even if they didn't own a deck of cards. Finally, we have entered the age of the video games. Kids have no problem plopping themselves down in front of a television screen to play video games. A new entertainment system comes out every year with promises that it has evolved in to something newer and better.
  
  

Risk Factors

• Although games are, for the most part, friendly, you do have your time or two when games can actually pose a problem. Any game that involves two or more people creates an atmosphere of competition. Some people will go to any length to win. They hate to lose so badly that they will steal from, cheat and curse anyone who stands in their way of winning. A great example of this is from the Old West, when cowboys would play poker for money. If someone was caught cheating, that person was sometimes taken outside and shot. This is an extreme example, but many sports games end up in physical altercations. We see evidence of this on television. Parents have even been known to cause trouble at their children's games at school. Even cursing out other parents or their child's coach. Be aware of your surroundings, and keep your eye on the other players at all times.