Hot take: family game night got better when I stopped trying to make everyone happy

Last month we did our usual Saturday game night with my brother's family and my in-laws. I used to plan every game around what the kids liked, and it turned into a mess. Arguments, crying, everyone checked out by 8pm. So I flipped it. I picked a strategy game I wanted to play, said we're doing this one, and if you don't like it you can sit out. Three people grumbled, but guess what? My sister-in-law ended up loving it, my nephew got into it after 20 minutes, and we played until 11. My wife said I was being selfish, but honestly, pretending to like kid games for 3 years wasn't working either. Has anyone else just picked what they wanted and it actually saved the night?

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cameron_webb29d agoTop Commenter

Tbh, I used to be the opposite, I always thought it was my job to be the referee and make sure everybody had a good time. But after like two years of that, I was dreading game night so bad I almost cancelled it. Then one night I just pulled out a complicated euro game and told my brothers to deal with it. Half of them rolled their eyes at first, but by the end two of them were arguing over who got to play the expansion next week. Nobody cried, nobody rage quit, and even the guy who said he hated it was asking questions by round three. It kinda blew my mind that people actually respect you more when you stop trying to please them. Now I just rotate through stuff I like and anyone who wants to join can, and it's way better for everyone.