Now I’m bringing you a few stories from home.

When I first discovered the world of modern board games back in 2013, the classic board games took a bit of a back seat. They were always there, in some way, but not in the spotlight. Then, when I started playing board games with my 2-3-year-old daughter around 2019, it never even crossed my mind to turn to the classics.

Then she started showing interest in a couple of more modern games (like Abalone), so I brought out my favorite classic game, Kalaha, and it was a huge hit. In fact, it’s a game we can pull out anytime—we’ve easily played over 100 rounds of it over the years.

After that, I became a bit braver and taught her the rules of International Checkers. Here, giving a handicap is important since we’re at very different skill levels, but even so, it’s great fun. While it hasn’t been as big of a hit, we still keep coming back to it again and again.

The past week’s evenings have been spent playing Backgammon, and the score is currently tied at 3-3. It’s amazing how strategy, calculation, and luck go hand in hand in this game. And it’s equally wonderful to watch my daughter scanning the board, her mind working through the possibilities. Here we are, sitting in our modern home, surrounded by all kinds of gadgets, and being entertained by a game that’s hundreds of years old. And in moments like this, everything feels just right.

I wouldn’t say I’ve drifted away from modern board games, but watching the Chess World Championship, exploring the depths of Go, working on puzzles, playing classic Hungarian card games with my grandmother, and sharing these moments with my daughter—all of it points to a growing presence of classic games in my life. What will this lead to? I don’t know. But they have an incredible power, one that’s amazing to experience time and time again!