Board Games B4TV has been built to provide information about board games and card games. You will find articles about every board and card game there ever was. The site was originally intended to provide the rules of Carrom but has since been expanded to include many other games, including poker, chess, bridge, checkers, monopoly, and role playing games.

The idea behind Board games B4TV was to consider what people did before television was invented. Social activities are very important for family bonding, skills development, and pleasure. Watching television is NOT a social activity even if there are other people in the room. Michael Franti had it right when he wrote "Television, the drug of the nation,breeding ignorance and feeding radiation". Watching television has so become part of many people's daily lives that conversations are no longer started with "Read any good books lately?", (or "Played any good board or card games lately"), but " Did you see that program on the telly last night?" The most worrying thing is that people now consider sitting in front of an electronic soporific as normal. It is chewing gum for the eyes. When Karl Marx described religion as the opiate of the people it was because he had never seen television.

Spending time on the internet has also become a big issue. Reputable online bingo sites have been around for a few years now, and online bingo players are growing exponentially. Similarly to television, people often regard playing games online a social activity. However, even games like online bingo, which are considered by many to be a social platform, lack live face-to-face interaction with other human beings.

Board games vary so much in complexity that there is something for everyone. From a simple game of Snakes and Ladders right up to exalted games like Chess and Go there is opportunity for all ages, intellects, religions and nationalities. Board games have been around for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. African counting games have been found carved in rocks in the Kalahari that date to prehistory. The intellectual challenge of not only playing board games, but also devising them, continues to attract many enthusiasts. Modern role -playing games have breathed new life into the hobby and attracted a new generation of board game players.

It is amazing how the same pack of 52 cards has been used to create so many games. Like Board games, they also range from the simple to the complex. A game of Snap can be taught to a toddler, but Bridge can take many years to master. Fortunes are won and lost playing nail biting games of free Poker, whereas the many versions of Solitaire can be deeply peaceful and satisfying.

If you are sick of watching the goggle box, want to engage with members of your family in a mentally and emotionally satisfying way then board and card games are an excellent alternative. Parents can teach their children recognition, counting, patience and fair play without having to force these useful lessons of life apon them. Friendships can be made and enhanced over a board game. Your imagination can be stimulated and excited by engaging in historically accurate role-playing games. Your understanding of strategy developed during play can be useful in your day to day life.

So you see, there's always something to watch on TV, and the internet is filled with creative ways of wasting your time. Addictive games like FarmVille, online slots, and WOW will always be around, and the latest episode of Desperate Housewives is not going anywhere. As addictive as TV can be, for most people is just an illusion.

In the world of television the only people having fun are those actually making the programs, or in other words the people TAKING PART. We cannot all be fortunate enough to be in a similar situation but we CAN all take part in activities. It is the taking part, rather than passively watching, that provides board and card games with the life analogy.

©Martin Muckle & Jan Hvizdak