-Isms: Original views on life in rural America

“Money can’t buy happiness, but it can buy board games, and that’s good enough.”

It is unclear who initiated this statement, but it’s true. Money spent on board games is money well spent. Board games offer valuable life lessons: luck, strategy and teamwork. Don’t we all need a little luck now and then?

Our family plays board games at every get-together. A stack of game boxes sat on the top shelf of the entryway closet at our grandparents’ house. Aunts and uncles would bring other games, and at Christmas, long after the allure of new gifts faded, we’d gather around the dining room table and pla...