Where are the beautiful (and peaceful) wooden games of yesteryear?!

I always wonder where those nice, quiet wooden games of the "pre-digital" era have gone. The board games, for example, played for hours on end on the beach at Eforie Sud by my father with a friend he had made ad hoc to wake up at 6.00 a.m. to grab a seat on the sand. From the way they played - full of energy and shouting - you got the impression that there was nothing more important on the beach at that hour than their game. And yet it's a peaceful game, there's nothing more going on than '6-6, take it home' and maximum of 'I gave you Tuesday. Now I'm talking to my nephew, who in his own way is the embodiment of pacifism, who is telling me (laughing out loud at my slightly changed face at the absurdity of the situation) how he is going to take out who-knows-who in who-knows-what game and how, if he manages to "buy" a more powerful weapon, he will take them all out. Don't you think nostalgically of those quiet games? Let's remember some of them.

Box of tables was famous. It was also sold everywhere, in the mountains or by the sea, in boxes made by local craftsmen. Inside, it had the design for the backgammon game, and on the outside. chess board.

In the box, mixed together, were the chess pieces and the chess pieces, beautifully crafted and polished to be pleasant to the touch. There were craftsmen showing their skill with the chess pieces, but there was also a skilled craftsman on the chess pieces. The chess pieces, however, left the imagination more free and you could find a game in which the pieces were more elaborate, more special. It was a real joy to come across something like that.

With the same props, you could play lady. The chess pieces were used on the chess board. There were also free-standing games of checkers, but they were less common.

Then it was the domino. Beautiful wooden boxes and rectangular pieces with various numbers inlaid like on dice. Unfortunately, I don't remember how to play. There was more to it than simply arranging the pieces and knocking them down according to the "domino principle". As far as I remember it was a full-fledged game, played with a minimum of 2 people, where you had to collect some points.

I understand the jenga also comes from the past. I have to admit that I only found out about him recently, but I liked the way he looked and the simple but clever way he played. A while ago, Calin from Massive Oak about the game made by Nicu Rosioru for a friend. It was his birthday and knowing him, Călin chose to present him with a personalized jenga game. It turned out very well and the friend was delighted.

I first heard about Nicu Rosioru from Călin, and then I met him at the fair. With the hustle and bustle there we didn't have much time to talk. A few days ago, coming to Bucharest to see a possible client (Nicu is from Râmnicu Vâlcea), he stopped by. He also came with some jenga games he made. You have no idea how much work goes into such a game! Each piece is sanded by hand, and the edges are scribed. Plus the box is made in such a way that the wood design continues down the sides. I really liked the way they are made and the fact that they are finished with natural oil.

One of the games particularly attracted me. It looked patinated, but he told me it was old wood from a 100 year old building. The patina was natural, the pores of the wood marked by the passage of time. To make it look like this, Nicu very carefully removed the top layer (we're talking less than a millimeter). He was careful not to go deeper into the wood so as not to lose the effect. But he succeeded.

It came with boxes of games in several woods. It was really interesting to identify the wood. I have to admit, I haven't been able to identify chestnutbut at cherry it worked for me. The wood used is of the highest quality, so the games look more than just... games.

Although he also makes furniture, Nicu especially likes to make games. In addition to jenga he has also made wooden "x and 0" games.

He is really passionate about wooden games and told me that he has lots of ideas and wants to try to make them all. I hope he succeeds, because the ones so far have turned out very well.