Twin toddlers, board games, and the "boom crash piece"

​Having twins is wonderful – but it is sometimes like a Die Hard movie. They run over smaller toys with ride-on dump trucks, know professional wrestling moves innately, and love to crash cars into airplanes.

Twin A, Zechariah, enjoying fresh air at the park.

Twin B, Elijah, loves motorcycles of all sorts.

​Yet I could not resist their ever-so-nice and cute smiles asking to play board games on the shelf. And when Zechariah was jumping up-and-down in excitement for “Daddy’s game” (Stratos), with Elijah ready to climb the bookshelf for it, well, I gave in.

Fortunately, they love to help and to build things for people. Both have such generous spirits, and it melts my heart every time I see them sharing and helping each other when they might otherwise be painting the walls with spaghetti sauce. Or fighting/arguing over who is, in fact, Batman (conclusion: they are both Batman). 

You thought this was going to be about more crashes and explosions, didn’t you? Me too. 

I am continually fascinated by how much board games can have a calming effect on my twin tornadoes. Here it gets Zechariah counting the pieces and telling me about them, and Elijah telling me stories about the dragon and the owls in the spooky forest, echoing some of his favourite bedtime stories. 

It amazes me at how much it brings out their creativity and storytelling, some of which ends up being in their own twin language that only they understand, laughing at each other while I observe, completely befuddled.

Ultimately, I’m observing board games shaping how my twins engage with storytelling in a tactile way, helping their world become more alive. 

Elijah making a funny face

It’s a joy to be a father of boys, who are as into games as deeply I am; I guess I’m not surprised. Like father like son as they say. This is why I try to set a strong example of hard work mixed with creativity and humour. I can’t wait to see what’s next. Even if it has a boom crash piece.

​For reference, one of their other favourite activities is running around naked wearing buckets on their heads. Those pictures may be saved for future wedding days. We’ll see. 

More than anything, I see in them the free-ness, innocence, and joy that inspired me to create Stratos in the first place. They really do remind me of me.

I really thought this would turn out like Jumanji. It hasn’t … yet. I am hopeful, though, that sharing with them may inspire a future development. 

Me and Elijah, watching and listening.

​So try introducing board games with your kids. Watch as they fall into a new world and observe theirs expand. It may result in random nakedness, yelling fits, and lots of Lego pieces underfoot, but I would not trade any of this for anything in the world. 

Thanks for reading, 
Jacob Chodoriwsky | Lead Designer, Stratos

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Hey, it's me. Come say hi at a Comicon or a Hamilton game night sometime.