Stephanie Worsop: The new obsession that's made us drop our phones

Stephanie Arthur-Worsop has developed a new obsession. Photo / Getty

OPINION:

Do you ever get so consumed by a new interest or fad that you feel like you're going to burst if you don't share it with everybody you know?

I've always had a tendency to get a bit "passionate" about my interests.

If I read a good book or listen to a captivating podcast series, I will practically corner family members and friends, talking their ear off until they agree to look into it in a desperate attempt to change the subject.

I will consume every bit of information I can find about said topic and for a couple of weeks, it is all I can think about.

My husband will attest to this little personality quirk of mine as he's often the victim of my incessant babbling on the long car rides up to Auckland.

History is usually the topic of choice so on these road trips he's been subject to oral dissertations on why I think Tsar Nicholas II was a victim of poor counsel, the social and political influences leading to the rise and fall of Anne Boleyn and my theories of what happened during the 1959 Dyatlov Pass incident.

I will often fall into obsessions about the same topics - Tudor history, the Romanovs, the world wars, ancient Greek mythology - because I know I like it and I know where to look if I fancy a late-night rabbit hole session (I'm a creature of habit, okay).

But recently, hubby and I accidentally fell into a new, shared interest which has not only taken over all our time (and money) but also has us yapping on about it to anybody who will listen.

It started when we went to board game cafe Cakes And Ladders in Auckland. We told the owner we had a couple of hours to kill and could he suggest something that was quick to learn and good for two players.

He picked a couple of games out and told us the rules, staying nearby to help us with our first few turns.

The games he picked - King of Tokyo and Splendor - are not your run-of-the-mill Monopoly or Cluedo and so it opened our eyes (and wallets) to the expansive world of board games.

In the months following that fateful day, our board game collection has ballooned from 10 to more than 50 and every night we're bringing one out to play.

We each have our own wishlists which we've added to after watching board game reviews on YouTube (yes, that's a thing, who knew?!)

And we now know all the lingo like the difference between roll and write, worker placement and resource gathering games.

When my sister and brother-in-law stayed with us over Christmas, we dragged them into our obsession, teaching them a new game (or two) every night and the recent visit from my parents had us virtually forcing Ticket to Ride and Sequence on them.

Who knows how long this new obsession will last but we have quickly filled up that bookcase I cleared during my Marie Kondo kick.

And the best part is it has stopped us from mindlessly scrolling on our phones or watching TV after the baby goes to bed.

People will roll their eyes at us and call us nerds and that's fine because, well, they're not wrong.

But what I will say is this: don't knock it until you try it because I haven't had this much fun in years (and if you want some recommendations, I'd be happy to give you my hot takes).