This time last year, I didn't know what to do with myself. I was lucky enough to be holidaying with my nephews in the Lake District, but unlucky enough to have chosen a wet weekend. As the rain teemed down we got drenched. Then disheartened. Then, once dry, boredom gripped the boys and I was forced to accept that I wasn't the great children's entertainer that I'd always imagined myself to be.
With the weather worsening I got to thinking about how best to keep Sean, Fynn and myself entertained. I needed to be resourceful – any venture outside the motorhome was likely to result in a soaking, coupled with a sneezing fit. And not only had I failed to pack more than two boxes of tissues, but
I didn't relish facing my sister after returning her handsome little soldiers in a far snottier state than before. So we stayed inside and made the most of eye-spy, one pack of cards and sketchy TV reception.
Determined not to repeat this experience, I decided to embark on a weekend-long 'gameathon' to find the best ways to have fun in a 'van, so that my patience would not be tested in future.
Never ones to miss out on
a little gaming, some of my Practical Motorhome colleagues came along for the ride: deputy editor Sarah, art editor Martin, and photographer Dave, helped me test the more adult games, while nephews Sean and Fynn forgave me last year's rainy debacle on the promise that Uncle Mark would 'Argos it' and find them something fun.
9am
On a sunny Saturday morning I arrived at the Caravan Club site in Crystal Palace, in the Knaus Sun Ti. My sister wasn't due to drop the boys off until 11-ish so I thought I'd begin brightly by exercising my brain. One great way to flex the little grey cells is to tackle a puzzle, and in particular a Puzzleball.
I set about constructing a 540-piece model of the globe which, with a diameter of 22cm and a handy display stand, is both challenging and impressive. I managed to build most of what lies south of the equator, occasionally cheating by using the numbers that are printed on the inside of each piece. This build-by-numbers method proved useful but rather defeated the object, by robbing me of a test.
Puzzleballs are a great way of whiling away a few hours, but as I only had about 30 minutes until the wee ones arrived, I pushed aside the half-finished globe along with my compulsion to finish it and picked up a Nintendo DS Lite.
10am
Believe it or not, this handheld Nintendo games console was for my entertainment, not the boys'. Did I say entertainment?…
I meant, er, education. The game that I played, and have been playing every day since, was Dr Kawashima's Brain Training. This comprehensive learning tool provides a training programme for your brain, similar to a gym plan for your body. The daily training exercises different parts of your brain using simple mathematics, colour differentiation tests and linguistic examination. There's also a quick brain age check, which assesses how old your brain is through your answers to a timed test. The first time I tackled it I was told that I had the brain of an 80 year old!
The game also has a vast bank of Sudoku puzzles. And because the console has a stylus and touch-sensitive writing screen you can quickly and easily erase and rewrite your guesses, making this a tidier and more forgiving way to play the hugely popular thinking-man's pastime.
11am
But my thinking, as I debated whether to scribble a two or a nine into the Sudoku grid, was interrupted by the sound of a nine-year-old and an 11-year-old bounding into the 'van.
My sister had arrived and
I barely had time to greet her before my nephews were tearing at the box of their first game of the day, the CSI: Facial Reconstruction Kit. Initially, I'd had reservations about this game, feeling that the idea of rebuilding someone's face in order to identify a body was a tad macabre. But, no – the boys loved it.
We set up the skull on the presentation stand and began applying the clay. Although we didn't get as far as sculpting the head to the point where it actually looked like anyone, we had a lot of hands-on fun rolling out the messy clay and sticking it to the skull. Madame Tussauds it wasn't, but it was undoubtedly entertaining. But, if you're thinking of buying this at Christmas for younger members of the family, then
I would advise you to buy a plastic tablecloth. The clay
had a tendency to crumble,
so you'll need something to protect your table and motorhome interior.
12am
The boys were already enjoying themselves far more than last year, but after exercising their artistic temperaments for about an hour, they wanted to get stuck into something else. So, after a quick search for the ever-elusive batteries, we began to test the steadiness of our hands on Buzz the Wire.
Again, I played along with them, making this another inclusive family game. It only took a couple of minutes to assemble and provided us with a good 45 minutes' worth of tense excitement.
Ultimately, Sean and Fynn taught me a lesson in patience, because my preferred method was to pilot the loop along the wire as fast as possible. This resulted in a cacophonous din and a red-faced uncle.
2pm
Following lunch, the lads reached for
a classic – Operation.
This is a prince among games and a true measure of children's love of all things gory. My nerves had barely recovered from Buzz the Wire but we scrubbed up and jumped right in.
Operation has been entertaining children and adults alike for generations now, and was perfect for playing in a motorhome. It's quick to set up and small enough to play on even the tiniest table. And with the operating cards and paper money rewards it provided engrossing amusement for well over an hour.
3pm The clock was ticking and there was only enough of the afternoon left for the lads to play a couple more games,
so we unwrapped Guess Who? Although Fynn had his reservations about this one, thinking it was a little young for somebody who was already "in Year 7 you know", he really enjoyed it.
The beauty of this game is its accessibility: as soon as you pick your card the game begins and you're instantly involved. Also, it does not take long to finish a complete game, so it will easily fill a gap in a rather disjointed, rainy day's schedule.
|
