As the days grow colder and the nights grow longer, it’s lovely to be able to spend time playing games with our children.

This year has seen a definite shift away from playing mostly games designed specifically for kids towards more grown-up ones. Games such as Guillotine and Ticket to Ride were already family favourites but over the summer we discovered Splendor, which is definitely our current first choice.

So when my parents and brother came to visit this weekend, out came all the card and board games, both the more recent ones and a few of our older staples. At various times we have had all three generations of our family huddled around our dining table, with Toby in particular gleefully explaining how to play to his Grandma – who is to playing board games what I am to competing in triathlons.

All credit to her, though, she played along and had a go, even though at the age of 80 she had to put up with grandson running rings around her. Toby plays well beyond his not-quite eight years and shines brightest in the most complex and strategic games.

In this week’s photo, he’s playing The London Board Game with Grandma. We first discovered this on a visit to the London Transport Museum a couple of years ago and, based on the Underground network as it is, Toby has always loved it. He meticulously explained the rules and basic tactics to his Grandma and uncle – and then soundly trounced them both. Obviously.

Toby may never be able to kick a football straight but I have no reservations about his capacity for creative, flexible strategic thinking. Yes, he’s a bit of a geek. But then so is his dad. I hope he’ll still want to play games with me when I’m his Grandma’s age. As long as I still win the odd one, that is.

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