Wow-- Family Night WORKED!

Instead of doing the standby movie night, or even Uno or cribbage, I wanted play a board game that we'd all enjoy.  Settlers of Catan isn't particularly complicated, but I haven't played it since BC (before children), and Wes doesn't always "get" things before Kyla is bored and ready to go back to her book, though he is the kid who most likes playing games.  I usually don't get to reflect and see all the things that went right, but this night was so perfect, I need to record for posterity.

Things Mama did right to make Settlers a success:

1. Set up the board before dinner in the middle of the island (which is almost meta...'cuz Settlers is an island...our island is our kitchen table...yep, deep).
2. We ate dinner while studying the board and discussing the different resources and chances of earning them.
3. Once we had the basic idea, we started the game by setting up our pieces. By this time, the kids were really excited to put their pieces on the board.
4. Once dinner was over and the game was ready to really play, I announced it was make-your-own sundaes night while we played.  
5. The kids LOVED it!  Dwayne and I kept catching each other's eye, as if to say, "Are these our children?  Why is this going so well?  Three out of 3--this is unprecedented!"  

The night was a smashing success, and math next day for Wes was figuring out the possibility of each role of the dice and graphing it.  Spoilers:  There is a 1 in 6 chance two dice will roll a 7; there is a 1 in 36 chance a  2 or 12 will be rolled.

I will float on this success for days....

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The Settlers of Catan

Multiplayer Board Game

Catan, previously known as The Settlers of Catan or simply Settlers, is a multiplayer board game designed by Klaus Teuber, and first published in 1995 in Germany by Franckh-Kosmos Verlag as Die Siedler von Catan. Players take on the roles of settlers, each attempting to build and develop holdings while trading and acquiring resources. Players gain points as their settlements grow; the first to reach a set number of points, typically 10, wins.