This contest is meant to spark memories of fun games nights, playing Scrabble at home or visiting an arcade, with family and friends. In this rapidly evolving world of AI generated social clickbait clamouring for our every waking minute of attention, you can easily get more Ā« human-time Ā» by playing one of the great social past-times of our youth. Board games guarantee hours of fun with ā€¦ people! Realā€”sometimes in your face, but always laughing, cheering, and having funā€”people. Even arcades were best when shared with friends. There is no better time of year for a contest like this than now with the amazing Play at Best Buy event happening. Read on to learn about the prizes in this contest and what Play at Best Buy is all about.

Gaming is universally socially acceptable

Last year for both of my twenty-something daughters’ birthdays, I bought them each a board game. The reason was simple: playing board games is very popular with them and their friends. In fact board game cafes are catering to all ages in cities all across Canada, providing the space, food, and drinks (some are even licensed for alcohol) so friends can gather and play. Families too are rediscovering that a simple game is all we need to rediscover each other. It’s hard to socialize and empathize when we all have our heads buried in a screen. Board games don’t just bring us back to a simpler time, they focus our attention on each other. We see each other, we listen to each other. It’s not a new concept, just one many people, families, even friends, have lost.

A recent essay about board games published on April 6, 2023 in the The Atlantic Monthly, stated that, “Board games are hostage situations.” I agree to an extent because you are settled in for the duration of the game, like it or not. However, most of us know that if you pick the right game, and the right co-hostages, everyone can have a great time. Even discovering together that a game is not to your taste is a bonding experience. Gaming is better than just conversing by bringing out personality and anecdotes organically, without pressure: the point of being there is to play … learning about each other is the pleasant by-product.

Organize a games night in your home

The trick is the choose the right game. If five friends are coming over, you most likely can find something more inclusive than chess. My wife loves Scrabble, but many people are not as into words as my wife (an English teacher) and myself (Editor in Chief at Best Buy). One approach, especially if you are about to host a games night for the first time with many of your guests, is to pick a game that’s quick to learn, easy to master, and quirky and fun. Additionally, you could select a game that is new to everyone who will play: there are tons of great YouTube videos to learn from … and you can all quickly learn together! The prize packs we are giving away in this contest each include a range of nostalgia (Hasbro favourites like “Game of Life” “Clue” “Connect Four”) and new adventures (like Skull, Werewolves, and a fantastic variation on the escape room adventures called Unlock!). Winners are sure to get something for a perfect games night. Oh and there is one added bonus in each prize packā€”an Arcade1Up arcade experience that you won’t want to miss.

Gaming month is now: are you game?

We have our amazing Play at Best Buy gaming event with the best video gaming contest on the planet during the month of June. This is gaming month because many of the new games for each year get announced in June. For example, the new Mortal Kombat 1 was recently announced. To commemorate that we have included some Arcade1Up Collectorcade Mortal Kombat arcades in two of the prize packs of this games night contest as a nostalgic homage. The other two prize packs include another classic: Pacman!. Do you prefer the nostalgic games or the newer games available at Best Buy? If you were holding a games night, which game would you choose from the ones we are giving away? Are you game to participate in this contest? Be brave, be bold, take a chance and enter now!

How to enter

Entering this contest will be fun and you can enter in two different ways:

  1. In a comment below: tell us which game we are giving away in this contest would you select to play at a games night in your home and what is it that makes that game the best choice.
  2. Social post: For one additional entry, create a public post on a social media channel sharing with your friends and followers which board game available at Best Buy that you have never played before would you most like to try. Show a screen shot of the game from Best Buy’s website, and include the hashtag #BoardGameContest, so we can find your post. Then return here and tell us in a comment below on which channel you posted it and the name of your channel (since many people use pseudonyms) so that we can check and verify your entry. You can use any social media channel (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, etc.), but the post must be public so we can verify it is there.

What you can win

At the end of the contest, we will randomly select four (4) winners from all eligible entries. These winners will be randomly assigned to the four prize packages shown here so each winner will get one of those four prize packages.

Prize 1Werewolves Of Millerā€™s Hollow Card Game / Hasbro The Game of Life /Hasbro Scrabble / Pacman Collectorcade 
Prize 2Hasbro The Game of Life/ Hasbro Clue Board Game/ Unlock! Mythic Adventures Card Game / Pacman Collectorcade 
Prize 3Skull Party Board Game / Habro Scrabble / Hasbro Yahtzee / Mortal Kombat Collectorcade
Prize 4Hasbro Clue Board Game / Mortal Kombat Collectorcade / Unlock! Mythic Adventures Card Game / Hasbro Connect 4

This contest runs from June 3rd to July 5th.

Remember you can enter two times as mentioned above. Contests are a type of game really. And you don’t have a chance at winning if you don’t play. And playing is more fun when you have more people, so tell your friends to enter too.

Win an amazing game night prize pack

Good luck.

Martin Renaud
Martin Renaud
Editor in Chief
Martin loves working with the talented editors and writers on the Best Buy Blog as Editor-in-Chief. During his spare time he is either working on his next novel, cooking up a masterpiece in the kitchen, or adding some smart tech to his new home on Mayne Island in British Columbia.
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633 COMMENTS

  1. I left a screen shot on my Facebook account under Patti Whillier it’s swt to public and has the #BoardGameContest

  3. My absolute favourite game is Yahtzee because it’s the game I always play with my mother in law when we get together.
    We moved two years ago 9 hours from my inlaws and I miss our yahtzee and chin wag sessions so much I hope one day soon we can have a nice long tournament.

  5. We do need some replacement parts for the game of life. It is a good game for not being much of a “trap” like the article talks about. Not being the winner is not that bad so the kids don’t feel like the world is against them.

    • I would play the pacman collectorcade as it would bring back childhood memories of hanging at the arcade after elementary school. Yes… Im old.

  12. I love board games and even though Scrabble is one of my favourites, it isn’t as popular with my husband and grandkids so I would go for Hasbro Yahtzee as we all have fun with that and it’s simple enough for younger children to follow!

  13. I would choose the game of Clue. It was one that I played during my earlier years and was always fun and could be played with several people. Will be fun to share with my kids and grandkids

  15. I would love to play all of them but I choose Yahtzee as we have always enjoyed that game over the years.

  20. I would choose the game of Clue. It was a favourite of mine when I was young, and I’d like to introduce it to my grandchildren.

  22. connect four! played it when the kids were young and it never gets old.Can socalize and play at same time!

  27. Game Night With The Grand Daughters The Game of Life plus Clue Board Game. Would be a Real Hoot For Summer Holidays. Sharing The Board Games I Grew up on playing. Thank You Best Buy.

  31. I choose the game of life because it’s a strategy game and it is a lot of fun to play with

  34. The Game of Life would be perfect for a family game night because the kids are just starting out on their own and it would be fun to see how they handle REALITY!

  35. I would choose Yahtzee because it has been around for so long and is one of my favourite games … so fun!

  36. I would select Pacman Collectorcade to play at a games night in my home because it would bring back memories when I played it when I was younger.

  39. Yahtzee would be fun as I haven’t played it in awhile but remember that we had fun when we did!

  40. Would love to add mortal combat to my arcade collection. Love playing old school retro games

  42. I would love to play the game of Life with my family. Many realistic situations that come up while playing!

  48. Definitely Pac-Man. I used to own a small arcade Pac-Man toy that I spent hundreds of hours playing especially at camp. Parents eventually sold it in a garage sale, without telling me. šŸ™

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