VT Catholic Campus Ministry 2026 Issue 1

Fr. Tom Yehl, Y.A. Chaplain chaplain@catholichokie.org Chris Hitzelberger

Director of Campus Ministry director@catholichokie.org Kingdoms, Railroads, and Relationships: Chris Hitzelberger One of my joys is getting to spend time with a small group of students playing board games. It is a great opportunity to spend time with others and enjoy some good, holy leisure. I am sometimes asked to give board game recommendations. I tend to like games that are easy to teach, that don't take too long to play, and while they have some strategy, they don't require a ton of thinking. Here are three games you might enjoy: King Domino: This game came out about 10 years ago and has some similarities to dominos–you are laying down tiles and matching one of the ends. But instead of numbers, you are connecting different land types (forest, water, etc.). The goal is to build a 5 by 5 square with large areas of the same type of land. You compete with other players, selecting tiles and trying to make the best kingdom. It’s a great game for families too, as it is accessible to kids as young as 6. Ticket to Ride: This is an older game, and it has several different versions, but the original is a classic! You are building lines of trains across the USA, connecting cities. The longer the connection, the more points! It has some nice strategy to it, fast game play, and builds tension well as you race to complete your trains before the game ends. First to Worst: This is a newer game and great for those who like social games. One person gets five cards with different words on them (eg: Breakfast, Roller coasters, Horror movies, etc). They secretly rate them First to Worst. Then, the rest of the group has to try to guess how the first person rated the five cards. It’s a great game to get to know people and also to see how well you know your spouse–also very fun to play with kids!

There are tons of great games out there, and I would love to hear your recommendations! Scan the code to let us know what games you love. And the next time you are in Blacksburg, stop by the Newman House for a board game!

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