Once again it is the time of the retro games that have been played throughout centuries, surviving as the world develops and proving that not even technology can push them to extinction.
Because of their inclusive nature, card games were the first to combat the hand held consoles.
Euchre, 500, and Rummy Cub quickly captivated the masses until it was but a minority who would not be playing.
However card games were quickly made redundant by the battle of the minds that is chess.
The first board was made from a cupboard shelf and black acrylic paint, remnants of the room's previous use.
The pieces were brought from home.
The board's less than attractive appearance proved to deter none and the board quickly gained popularity. "Chess to me perfectly reflects the human mind," states Reuben Henderson a common room dweller, "being such it is an extremely absorbing game for those up for the challenge."
Chess flourished and multiplied within the common room, the number of boards and pieces trebled.
This success spread, a less than surprising progression as Logan Park High School recently won the Otago Secondary Schools Team Chess Champs.
Chess proceeded to infiltrate the international student room causing the number of boards to increase yet again, and integration between the two rooms soon followed.
The ancient game of knucklebones did not attempt to combat chess but rather seemed to complement it perfectly.
Being a game that requires little to no thought knucklebones provided a break from the mental alertness and patience involved in a game of chess.
It also filled the small breaks in the day that could not fit a game of chess into.
However knucklebones was not to last amongst the common room as its popularity peaked before sliding down to an insignificant plateau.
Focus on one medium of competition dispersed so the common room diversified yet again introducing Shogi the ancient Japanese equivalent to chess.
The resurgence of retro games is proving to not be a fad.
While the attention on one particular game may come in waves rather than returning to electronic games of contemporary times the common room diversifies introducing new games of the past.
It appears these games will survive yet another generation.
- Nikolai Sim is a yuear 13 student at Logan Park High School
