Introduction

Theater brought some amazing people into our lives. Unfortunately, it took us a few years to realize just how amazing. But, we made up for it over the last few years. Two years in a row, we met them for trick or treating. Last year, we hung out with them for a Halloween party, too. Then, this year, early on during break Christine invited them over to our place for what we hope to be the start of a new tradition. I’m calling it Annual Game Night 2025.

They brought snacks; crackers and cheese, spinach dip, veggies, etc. We provided our own dip (buffalo chicken) and I made chicken sliders and beef sliders. Great food, good discussion, Some controversy when the topic of musicals came up. But, I left the room and came into the living room to hang with some of the kids. One worked on a puzzle while another commented how cool the corner of our couch was. Kids find joy in the simplest things sometimes.

Blockbuster (The Game)

We finally settled enough for several people to suggest starting a game. We offered about a dozen different games and our guests brought a dozen of their own. Ambitious, to be sure. Initially, we tried to play a phone game that supposedly could be cast to the television, but that technology failed. Then someone saw the Blockbuster game and suggested we play that.

Those that know me know my love for the old video store. I watched the documentary about the last store. It almost inspired me to drive to Oregon to visit them. Instead, as Christine mentioned a couple of times during the game, I paid $10 to walk through the Blockbuster Experience at comic con. Everyone else asked me how I liked it. I said, I’d do it again without hesitation. Cool experience and the right kind of nostalgia.

We played two teams of 8, which went surprisingly well. The only snags came when some of the kids didn’t know some of the movies. But, we helped them through and it made the game even more fun in my opinion. Oh, also, the games took so long that we didn’t have time enough for any of the other games. Hence, my “ambitious” comment earlier.

The Verdict

Every January, we try to highlight new games. While I haven’t updated the header yet, I want to keep things going on the page after all the momentum I built during break. Also, I wanted to talk about how much fun the Annual Game Night 2025 was and how much we want to do it again. Stay tuned for more thought on the actual game this weekend.