A few weeks ago, while enjoying a cup of coffee on a rare quiet Sunday morning, I was greeted by an enthusiastic seven-year old who started his day with a strange question.

"Do we have chest?" he asked.

“Yes, we have chess,” I corrected him with a laugh, “but why are you asking?”

“Can we play it?” He asked, unconcerned with my curiosity.

“Absolutely,” I replied enthusiastically.

Now in my house we do play a lot of games, but for the most part, it’s been video games, Uno and Candyland due the boys being aged four and seven.

But in truth, I’d been waiting for a moment like this for years, because I’m a bit of a board game junky. My friends and I still get together when we can to play complex board games that can often take half-a-dozen hours to complete.

Unfortunately I hadn’t played chess in years and my only board was glass.

Knowing that my four-year-old son would be intrigued by what was about to unfold, I thought it best we visit a store and get the boys a new, more durable set.

So off we went to pick him up his very own chess board - a day I think we’ll both remember forever.

On the drive there it was revealed that the sudden interest in chess stemmed from an episode of Bluey, a popular kids show.

I let him pick out his own board, the kid has expensive taste, and fielded a variety of questions on the way home.

Excitement built as he unfolded the board and fiddled with the wooden pieces.

He asked questions about set-up and movement and turn order and time limits, which I answered in rapid succession.

Once he was satisfied, we played and then we played some more.

He showed improvement quickly. After five or so games we tried a round of checkers, but he preferred chess. So we played with his younger brother, myself and his mother all taking turns.

In the weeks since, he’s been introduced to a variety of old games including Chinese Checkers and Nine Men’s Morris, Ludo and a few card games. Just last night we watched some videos on how to play Backgammon, which is one of the few games I never learned to play.

It’s been a nice change of pace trading screen time for something more personal.

One of the best parts of being a parent is leaning into things kids are interested in and it’s particularly rewarding when it lines up with your own interests.

In these modern times, it’s easy to come home worn out from the day and overwhelmed by the work that still awaits you. It’s easy to waste our precious time scrolling phones or streaming services.

I have a love-hate relationship with technology.

On one hand it’s amazing that I have the resources beyond anything I could have imagined at my fingertips. I can learn new skills, play games, read books, listen to books, any time I want to without leaving my home or interacting with anyone or spending any money.

On the other hand when I get lost in all these wonders, I’m trading that precious commodity of time I could be spending with real human interaction. It’s not always easy to balance this reality.

I know that the boys will eventually get bored of nightly board games, but I hope it’s something we keep at least on the weekend cycle, because there’s nothing quite like seeing the joy on a child’s face when they yell Uno, or Capture your Queen or confidently tell mom and dad that they “are going down.”

So dig out those old games and find someone to play with. There is a reason some of these games have been played by humans for more than a thousand years.

Jimmy Lawton is news editor of North Country This Week.