We live in a world with an incredible variety of entertainment options pouring on us from all directions. Sometimes it is hard to imagine that anyone can get anything done with so many memes, clips, apps, music videos, and other distractions like the need to always check social media. We are constantly competing for our increasingly short attention span thanks to our increasingly need to be connected and reliant on technology. Today, we carry smartphones in our pockets – miniature entertainment hubs with social media, games, and an endless stream of distractive things at our fingertips. We can watch a show, listen to music, play progressive games with massive jackpots available at Euro Palace – and all this with a few swipes and taps on the screen.

How about taking a step back from technology for a while, and dive into some entertaining activities – games, mind you – with no need for technology? The options below are surprisingly entertaining and easy to learn.

Card games

A deck of cards is small, fits into your pocket, and can be a source of fun wherever you are – and all you need to play it is light and sometimes a flat surface of some kind. Playing cards have been around for more than a thousand years, proving their worth even today, in our connected world. While card games of all kinds are available on smartphones and computers, too, ranging from the single-player games at the Euro Palace to multiplayer options like poker, Uno, and basically anything else – nothing beats actually sitting around a table and playing with them for real.

When alone, you can kill time easily with one of the many Solitaire games that need nothing but a deck of cards to be played. And when you are with friends, you can have even more fun with the numerous options you can find.

Dice games

Dice have been around for far longer than playing cards – the oldest die ever uncovered is thought to have been made around 5,000 years ago. Dice have been with humanity for the better part of written history, showing up in Asia and Egypt, being described in the Bible, being used by the Romans, and being used to gamble and play ever since.

Dice are associated by most with gambling and board games but they can make a great plaything on their own, too – if you have enough of them. Dice poker, Yahtzee, Liar’s dice, and Farkle are just a few games that can be played by groups without the need for any sophisticated technology – only the dice, a pen, and a piece of paper for keeping score. These games may or may not involve bets – that’s up to you to decide.

Board games

Board games are a type of game that gather cards and dice, and then some, to offer an incredibly entertaining pastime relying not on screens and speakers but your imagination. Generations have explored fantasy worlds, fought each other by sword, finance or skill, and killed hours at a time throwing dice and drawing cards around a game board.

Board games come in an incredible variety of shapes and sizes, from simpler ones like “Snakes and Ladders” through others involving strategy (like Backgammon or Ludo) to complex games that take their players to distant lands (like Catan), fantasy worlds (like Talisman), distant planets (like Battletech and Warhammer) or even post-apocalyptic landscapes (like Earth Reborn). And all this while relying on nothing but static, printed boards, dice, some printed cards, and the players’ imagination. While some modern board games have already tried to add augmented reality to the mix, expanding the printed board with a digital layer, the majority of games available today can be played in candlelight if you want.

Word games

Word games can be of many types, from crossword puzzles to board games like scrabble, and they all have one thing in common: they put the players’ vocabulary and language abilities to test. Perhaps the best-known and most widespread such game is Hangman, a game two can play with nothing but a piece of paper and a pen. And there are many others that don’t even need that – just another player to join, games like Charades, Mad Libs or Fortunately, Unfortunately.

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Drinking games

Last but not least, a very popular game type, especially among younger generations and at parties – especially since they involve drinking often massive quantities of alcohol. Surprising as this may sound, drinking games are not a new invention – records of such games were discovered as early as the 5th and 4th century BC.

Drinking games can be of many types, much like all of the other types mentioned above. They range from games testing the alcohol tolerance, endurance, and speed of the participants to others involving skill (like Beer Pong), thinking (like Think or Drink, Never Have I Ever, and pub trivia games). Some involve playing cards, dice, and other aids, others require the participants to watch a movie or a TV show.

What these all have in common is that they involve companionship, fun, and loads of alcohol – and that they seem a better idea at the time of playing than they end up being the morning after.

Tags Games