Games I Grew Up On: Mille Bornes

My dad didn't give up playing games with us kids like my mom did, but there weren't that many games he would play with us (especially once Top Gun for the NES made him give up video games).  One of the games we could consistently get him to play with us was the game of Mille Bornes.  In this classic French card game, players are racing to be the first to reach 1000 miles (or 700 with the option for an extension).  Players must start by playing a green light card, they may play hazards (like flat tires) on other players, remedies (like spare tires) to fix hazards on themselves, safeties to completely prevent hazards (like puncture proof tires), and miles to get to the end of the race.

It's not a complicated game, but there are a lot of strategic options depending on how vicious you want to be to the other racers.  It also (at least in the version we had growing up) comes with both English and French words on the cards, so just like Bang, players can learn a completely different language - although if you're like my dad and me, you will learn the correct word, but pronounce it as ridiculously as possible (e.g. Roue de Secours becomes Rudy Sookers!).  I think using games to teach players is under utilized.  This is a prime example, if you made a game out of vocabulary flash cards (with phonetic spelling on the card), the act of repeatedly playing the game and needing to know the words to win the game will teach the players in a fun way.  Likewise, math flash cards in a game could easily teach a player basic math skills if done well.  The simplest game I can think of off the top of my head would be a game like Taboo or Catch Phrase where you try to solve as many math problems as you can before a timer buzzes and someone watches you with that terrifying buzzer for wrong answers.  But given some time I'm sure I can come up something more entertaining.