Suggestion #3: Distract them

Finally getting around to your actual question, if you have competitive games that you want younger gamers to play without worrying so much about winning, then find a game that makes them laugh. If you can make the game less “serious”, then the game becomes less about winning and more about having fun. Personally, I find dexterity games to be great for this, as they can have all kinds of chaos. Ice Cool would be my first recommendation, as if kids bump the table, you don’t have to worry about the game falling apart. Plus it has cute artwork and the kids will love flicking the pieces around the board. Also, I’ll throw another suggestion in there for free (call it suggestion 3a): play in teams. Having someone else around to “help” them might make it seem less like adults overpowering them (even if you are “going easy on them”). In fact, if you want a great silly dexterity game that is good to play in teams, I recommend HOP! It kind of reminds me of the “Physical Challenges” in Family Double Dare, where someone draws a card and has to toss a ring to another player in all sorts of different ways (under your leg, various people trying to block, using only a finger, etc.).

Hopefully, one of those ideas will help the young gamers focus not on winning, but having a good time. Feel free to suggest other ideas in the comments below, or let me know how bad my advice is if you try it out for yourself. You can also talk to me on Twitter and Facebook! See you next time!