It just isn’t a family gathering without chicken salad and a game of Scrabble.

We laugh and make stupid faces at each other – complain about our letters and space stealing.  We should invest in a timer because my sister will spend 20 minutes making sure she can’t earn another single point and I spend 20 minutes talking when I should be figuring out a word.

It’s a complete miracle but I actually won with those letters. By less than five points but a win is a win. I then proceeded to get my butt spanked in the longest game of Scrabble known to man and decided I was done with Scrabble for the remainder of the vacation. Prolonged loserdom isn’t for me. Good thing we always have a whole slew of other games at the ready.

If you stop and visit (like my dad), bringing juice and doughnuts is a start but you’ll still be forced to earn your keep by playing games.

My dad and I both tried Farkle for the first time and I definitely had some beginner’s luck. I won the game with some help from my dad and sister’s lack of risk aversion.

This year, my mom brought a game that she found at a garage sale and if it wasn’t just less than $30 on Amazon, I’d buy one for myself in a heartbeat.  Scribbage is my newest favorite thing ever.

I love sitting at a table, laughing, “what’s the score”ing, and just sharing friendly conversation and competition with my family. Do you have a game that you always play when your family gets together?