My cousin insisted we try a 'no phones' rule for our game nights last month.

We played Codenames for 3 hours straight and actually talked. Anyone else have a simple rule that improved your group's vibe?

3 comments

3 Comments

hayes.tara2mo ago

Hell yeah, the phone basket by the door was a game changer for us too. We actually finish whole games of Ticket to Ride now without someone scrolling.

julia6222mo ago

Finishing a whole game of Ticket to Ride sounds like a dream. My group still hasn't managed it, phone basket or not. I'm usually the one who caves and checks my phone first, then everyone else follows. I guess the basket just holds my guilt now instead of my phone.

paige5141mo ago

julia622 said "the basket just holds my guilt now instead of my phone" and that really got me thinking. Maybe the problem isn't the phones at all, it's that nobody actually wants to finish the game in the first place. Like, are we all just playing Ticket to Ride out of habit or social pressure and the phone is the escape hatch? It's wild how we blame the devices when deep down, half the group might be bored but nobody wants to admit it. I wonder if skipping the basket and just asking straight up if everyone really wants to play would change the whole night.