7+ Games You Can Play on Your Break

 

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. So goes the cliché, and we somehow experienced it a bit the past year. We may be at home, doing online work, with very little play outside. We might have played games on mobile, or a game console, but it’s certainly so different when sweating out with friends. I for one has played volleyball with friends when we can, but since the restrictions, we haven’t spiked one for more than a year.

   

Most of us are still working at home, and probably have even before the pandemic hit. Personally, I go out with friends when I can so that my day is not monotonous, it’s not everyday though. And since there are other things, I mean a lot of things, to do at home – work is somehow not as boring as it seems.

If you are already working online, it’s best to break up the time spent in front of the screen once in a while. However, if you have no one to play with, online games would also suffice.

Card Games

Every household probably have a deck of cards stacked somewhere. It may not be the traditional deck, could also be UNO, but surely, card games are fun games for the family.

Solitaire

This is a game you can play alone. I’ve only learned of the many ways to play solitaire when I stumbled upon this website where you can play its many versions. I had only played Klondike since I was a child – and that was with real cards.

Try the many versions using a deck of cards (you can play them first online then use real cards).

UNO

Is your kid or are your kids at home too? You can play a round of UNO with them on both your breaks, say after lunch to get a little breather.

Word and Number Games

Too much use of the keyboard can result to hand pain and numbness – what  we know nowadays as carpal tunnel syndrome. To avoid this, get a pen and paper to play:

Sudoku

A number-placement puzzle, sudoku is played  by filling a 9×9 grid with digits so that each column, each row, and each of the nine 3×3 subgrids that compose the grid  contain all of the digits from 1 to 9.

Crossword Puzzle

The classic crossword puzzle is still an entertaining and fun game. You can still find them in newspapers, and those who want to pass time, and those who want a little challenge find them worth spending spare minutes for.

 

 

Board Games

Well, if you have someone to play with at home, these board games can be enjoyable with even just 2 players.

Chess

The classic strategy game, it is played on a square chessboard with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. Each player controls sixteen pieces (one gets the white pieces, the other gets the black pieces). The object of the game is to checkmate the opponent’s king. Whereby the king can no longer move to other squares, the other pieces are meant to protect one’s own king and corner the opponent’s.

Playing might probably tire your mind after too much work, but chess on your break might give you a mental stimulation you need for the day. Don’t play more than once though, and don’t think of your loss or what you could have moved alternatively to not exhaust your mind even more.

Go/Baduk

Go (Japanese) or Baduk (Korean) is dubbed as the chess of asian countries. There’s a difference though with the board used, and the pieces are called stones which are double convex stones as little as 6mm.

Gameplay: Players take turns placing the stones on the vacant intersections (points) of a board. Once placed on the board, stones may not be moved, but stones are removed from the board if the stone (or group of stones) is surrounded by opposing stones on all orthogonally-adjacent points, in which case the stone is captured. (source: Wikipedia)

Despite its relatively simple rules, Go is more complex to play than chess. It has both a larger board with more scope for play, and games can take longer, for hours on end. So this probably works on day breaks not hour breaks… Also, on average, a Go game has many more alternatives to consider per move.

Other Fun Activities and Games You Can Play on Your Break

Games you can play on your break need not be just mind games, but a Rubik’s cube is always a fun challenge. You can also get creative while on your break. There are some kind of exercises and activities that can also be considered games and there are those that are beneficial to our health and mentality. Here are some:

Jump Rope

Jump rope or skipping rope is considered as a cardiovascular workout, similar to jogging, and has a high  intensity level. This aerobic exercise can achieve a “burn rate” of up to 700 to over 1200 calories per hour, just 10 minutes into it is equal to running an 8-minute mile.

Sing

Music and singing is good for you, I’m sure you know this personally. How your mood changes when you hear a song you like is proof. Music can also evoke many emotions in you, and if you choose the right song, you’d be motivated to work enthusiastically.

Why not turn your singing into a game? If you have a karaoke at home, a few minutes of singing will relieve stress especially if you get a good score. Health-wise, singing stimulates the immune response and improves lung function – what we need nowadays in connection to the virus threat.

Draw and Color

Drawing improves your mood, no matter if you are skilled or not. You can do mindless scribbles, make abstract shapes and see how it gives you a different mood.

You can also color mandalas, even make mandala patterns (disregarding the origin of the word), or try flower coloring books to make your creativity flourish. No matter which media, drawing is sure to do the following:

-Enhances one’s creativity
-Helps with focus
-Improves holistic Health
-Helps with coordination
-Reduces Stress
-Foster inventiveness
-Discover concealed emotions

So get your colored pencils, crayons, sketchbook, watercolor, brushes, draw and paint some and start improving your mood.

Surely, there are a lot of fun activities and games you can play on your break and on rest days. Engaging in them not only makes us physically in shape but also helps us be mentally fit. Stay safe and healthy!