Ombre e Luci wants to issue a joyful invitation: to rediscover the value of play, the pleasure of having fun together.
We know this much: play delights and cheers both children and adults, sparks imagination and focus, builds physical strength, teaches the joy of working together toward a shared goal—and we could say much more. Yet these days, people play less. Even young people are forgetting how. Television, the endless commitments that fill our schedules and our children's, the pull of "doing nothing" when we finally have free time—it all conspires to crowd out this precious activity. And the dangers of the street, the shortage of green spaces, rob our children of real play. "Go play," we tell them. "Why don't you play? Find something to do." We say it often. But in our hearts, we don't quite believe it. We've resigned ourselves to watching them bored and planted in front of a screen.
But starting today, that changes. Let's begin saying instead: "Let's play together," "Let's have fun as a family." Let's remember that older siblings, aunts and uncles, grandparents, neighbors, school friends, and travel companions can all enjoy themselves with us and our children—if we have the imagination and the warmth to organize games well, to be fully present.
So here, across these pages, you'll find our marketplace of games. Games of movement and games of stillness. Games to pass the time and games for special occasions. Games indoors and out, for groups, for pairs, for a child alone. Old games, new games, games yet to be invented. Games for after school, after a workshop, at the beach, around the fire on holiday evenings.
Games for everyone—even for those who can do very little, who struggle to move or cannot move at all, who need time to choose or who rush ahead, who speak little or too much. Games for those still learning how to play, and for those who've forgotten what it feels like to be together and laughing. Games for mothers and children, grandmothers and grandchildren, and big games for many friends in wide-open space.
Come one, come all—everyone, ladies and gentlemen, young people and children. Vacation has arrived, and with it free time, camping trips, days at the seaside or in the mountains, time in country homes. Here is the chance we've been waiting for to discover the best games. These will always be games suited to the moment: not difficult challenges or fierce competitions, but joyful collaborations, hilarious contests, chances to learn. Not tired repetitions of the same old moves, but simple and yet wonderful inventions!
Come, everyone! Let us learn together, choose well, and prepare to give our friends hours of joy. Let us organize the games, make them active and engaging. And above all, let us prepare to have more fun than they do—because only then does play become truly magical and work.
- Maria Teresa Mazzarotto
Thank You
We are grateful to the friends who sent us descriptions of games that have been played with great success in their communities. Some proposals could not be published because they were unclear, too general, or repeated what others had already suggested. Still, their authors deserve credit for helping make this special issue what it is—a collection of the very best ideas.
A Note
In almost every game here, pairs—a helper and a child—can play as a single participant. How the pair works together—one carrying the other, one pushing a wheelchair, one guiding the other by the arm—depends on what the child can do. Experience shows that those who play in a pair have just as much fun.