A new trend has cropped up over the last decade that has got me confused. Board games have gone from mildly fun family entertainment to a kitschy underground hobby to a mainstream phenomenon. But what kind of people have been caught up in this fad? There are plenty of the usual suspects — the families with young kids, the nerds and geeks — but what is really surprising is that a lot of my friends and family who are on the “jock” end of the spectrum have become absolutely obsessed with board games. It seems everyone has jumped on the bandwagon. Well, everyone but me.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t have a problem with King of Tokyo or Settlers of Cattan. I actually like that it’s bringing the Dungeons and Dragons crowd and the Fantasy Football types into some common ground. It’s just not my cup of tea. I spend all day thinking and working and doing menial tasks, when I’m looking for entertainment, I don’t want to have to put any effort in. My all time favorite game is Pass the Pigs. 100% luck. No work or strategy involved. Plus the pigs are adorable. And yet my friends and family are constantly asking me to try their latest purchase (a new one each week, it seems like). Every time, without fail, I say, “Board games aren’t really my thing. I don’t like anything more complicated than Uno.” and every time, without fail, they say, “This one is really fun! It’s really basic and simple! You’ll love it!” So, off to the table I go to get started. Then the best part, “So, what are the rules? How do we play?” and “It’ll make more sense if we just start playing.”

But here’s the thing. I am NOT a board games kind of girl. I rarely play them. I’m not up with all of the latest types of games. And it may seem easy for them to “figure it out as they go” because they already have. They read through the rules, then played it a few times to get the hang of it, and now they are all pros. Then there’s me, completely lost the first time around to the point where I have to show all my cards/tokens/chips and they have to tell me each move to make. After a round or two, I may have it figured out, but by then game night is over, and the next time it will be a brand new game and we will have to start the process all over again. Maybe if I ever got past the learning stage to play some of these games, I would have a different experience, but next time? I’m bringing Pass the Pigs!