CC0 Public Domain.
Since I was tiny, there have always been board games around my house. One of the first ones I remember was a magnetic chess board which was used for travelling. I was utterly taken with the pieces and their little drawings; I especially loved the king. Once I grew up, I learnt how to play from my siblings and even though I have never been very good — I lack the patience to analyze all the possible outcomes — I enjoyed playing. But notably, in this case, I was always amazed at how others played and how they used their brains in a way that sometimes I never thought it was possible for me.
I think what I loved mostly about playing games, let those be electronic or board games is the time I share with others; I have mostly played board games with my siblings and when I lost I would be looking on to see what strategy they followed to copy it next time and learn in the process, even though sometimes I was not very successful. When we went to the arcade to play video games and had to make good use of the few coins we had and taking turns once our lives were gone, it was very satisfying to be able to reach the high scores screen and put my name on it for others to see.
Lately, I do not play as many video games as I used to but do play board ones when I am on holidays with my family and now is not so much about winning or losing (who am I kidding? Of course, it is!!) but about spending time with my loved ones just enjoying our time together, which with every passing year becomes more precious.
-Alicia García Pajares
Junior Girl
Girl Museum Inc.