At first, I assumed the game 'Settler of Catan' involved Chris Kattan, former SNL cast member and star of the underrated "Corky Romano." (Remember when the dog accidentally ingests cocaine? Funny.) I was immediately convinced the game would suck, because the cover of the box is a little, well, lame-oh. And my "slowing turning into pizza dough because I don't need to remember anything due to the internet" brain needs flash, and pizazz, and... wait, gotta go check my email... anyways, look for yourself:
Apparently, the game has won some awards. With further investigation, I discovered that 'Settlers' won the prestigious Spiel des Jahres (German Game of the Year) award in 1995. Who knew? It really is an interesting game - involving strategy, memory, and all those other things that your brain is definitely not getting enough of whilst sitting in front of a computer screen all day.
I do believe that board games can be part of, and can attribute to a healthy lifestyle. Apart from the social aspects, think about the last time you actually tapped into the part of your brain dealing with memory, information processing, motor functioning, and emotional control, ALL AT THE SAME TIME. I'll tell you when - you were probably 8 years old, getting last place at a science fair for a project called "The Aerodynamics of K-cars." I can't disagree with the fact that humans are getting lazier, dumber, and fatter, as a direct result of our increasing technological savvyness. Grrrrr. Yet another reason why the future sucks.
