Opinion: Paul Hickey - Long weekends, board game dramas and NZ Breakers fun

Finn Delany of the Breakers in action during the round 21 NBL match between the New Zealand Breakers and the Cairns Taipans at Energy Events Centre. Photo / Getty Images

How was your Queen's Birthday weekend?

After some initial plans to head away for the weekend fell through, my wife Katie and I ended up staying in Rotorua, and boy the city was pretty pumped, despite the weather.

There were plenty of events going on, and the restaurants in town on Saturday night were chocka-block.

We ventured into Eat Streat for dinner with friends and by 6pm we decided we'd chosen well to decide on meeting at 5.30pm!

The extra day to 'recover' and achieve a few things never goes amiss and I admit to really getting to like these three-day weekends.

Unfortunately that was the last of the recent bunch, and we now have to hunker down and make our way through winter before Labour weekend arrives to hopefully herald the start of summer.

But of course this time next year, we will actually be just a couple of weeks away from our newest public holiday, as we will be celebrating Matariki on Friday, June 24, 2022.

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This column has been missing the past couple of weeks as I've been off work, and doing a bit of travelling and other things around the country.

While we were away, Katie and I did partake in a little retail therapy.

It's been a while since I bought some official All Blacks merch, but I splashed out on a pretty cool jacket.

I did, however, refrain from buying a retro Hungry Hungry Hippos game, and also the electronic Simon game, which we saw in a special gaming store.

While both games brought back some memories, for us it is all about Monopoly when it comes to classic board games.

So much so, that we have dozens of different versions of the game, from classic, to special commemoration editions, to themed games like Game of Thrones and Nightmare Before Christmas.

We've regularly played them over the years as a family group, and I could relate to this story when I read it.

A new study says that one-in-five families have actually banned a board game for causing problems on game night … and "Monopoly" is the worst offender.

Twenty per cent said their game nights with friends or family members are often or always disrupted by competitive or unfriendly behaviour.

What kind of behaviour?

Typical antics include someone quitting because they're losing (46 per cent), someone accusing another player of cheating (44 per cent), and two or more players getting into an argument (44 per cent).

Thankfully, only 11 per cent of respondents said they've actually seen a physical fight break out.

Family game nights are supposed to be fun, right?

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On the subject of game night, how good was the NZ Breakers basketball game in Rotorua last week?

The atmosphere was massive, but I must say it is pretty tough as a spectator to keep the energy up for so long.

But the finish made it all worth it. More of these top level events in our city please!

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Paul Hickey is the host of the local Rotorua show on The Hits Rotorua weekdays between 9am and 3pm. Listen on 97.5FM or download the iHeartRadio app. Follow The Hits Rotorua and Paul on Facebook and Instagram.