play while working
Who said that offices are only for working? The modern concept of "work environment" It encompasses many more activities including playful and sporting. Today we want to show you the games that best fit into these work environments, whether due to their design, dimensions and physical and mental activity.
Ping pong, the king of the room
Among all the board games that can be found in work environments, the table tennis, Without a doubt, it is the most successful, followed closely by the billiards and table football.
And it is proven that the practice of table tennis develops the Reaction capacity, la psychomotor coordination, la concentration and the memory. Ping-pong is a relatively easy game to learn, although not to play professionally. Its rules are not complicated and it can be played by anyone in a work environment.
Born in England at the end of the 1988th century, it was created as a mini extension of court tennis, which could not always be played due to the rainy climate of the region. Little by little it was acquiring success and popularity, but it was not until XNUMX that it was incorporated as olympic sport. For decades, China has been the highest authority in international and Olympic competitions, although in the last decades of the XNUMXth century, the Swedish school created a series of players who gave a worthy battle to the almighty Chinese. Today having a ping pong table in a modern office is a benefit that companies offer workers to do more attractive work environment.
Conditions to have a ping pong table
Although the ping pong table has some regulatory measures (2,74 m long by 1,52 wide), there are smaller models that fit very well into spaces and are just as efficient. Of course, space always has to be rectangular and illuminated homogeneously. Regarding the environment, it is preferable that the background is dark no bright lights or windows nearby. The floor cannot be clear, reflective or slippery. Brick, ceramic, cement or stone should be avoided; and choose wood or other synthetic material rollable. These are the regulatory recommendations, but it is understood that these conditions do not always exist in work environments, since it is done for physical and mental exercise. Many models are foldable and with wheels to move them from the area or remove them if necessary.
Billiards and pool
the table of billiards It is another of the “must have” of the play areas of modern offices. In either of its two modalities, it requires concentration, precision and strategic ability. Its modern origin, from the XNUMXth century, is disputed and is claimed by both the French and the English. However, it is known that something very similar was already played in ancient Greece and Egypt.
Its universality has resulted in a endless variants and modalities that in each country is different. But there are two basic types of games that depend on the table: if the game consists of balls and bands colliding with each other, it is carom (or French) billiards; but if the table has six holes and the game consists of putting the balls into them until the game is over, we talk about pool or American billiards, although there is an English variant, the snooker.
In any case, the table offer is hugeTherefore, it is advisable to consult a professional. There are from 600 euros for the humblest (plus transport and assembly), to tens of thousands of euros for professional or luxury (methacrylate, glass, noble wood, etc.). We must also consider the cloth that covers them, It must be of good quality since it facilitates the sliding of the ball but, above all, greater durability. If players are just starting out and are not very skilled, they tend to lift the cloth with the cue and create irregularities on the surface that divert the ball's path. This must be taken into account if you put a table in the office, where everyone who wants to play, regardless of their mastery.
Table football, the most universal Spanish game
The story tells that it was the Galician Alexander Finisterre (Alejandro Campos Ramírez) the inventor of this game that quickly became popular. Poet, bricklayer, editor and anarchist, he was quite a character who had an extraordinary life, given his non-conformist and vindictive spirit. During the Civil War, while hospitalized, he came up with the idea of creating a table football so that children who could not play football could have entertainment, inspired by table tennis (ping-pong). With the help of a hospitalized carpenter friend, they were able to create the first Spanish table football. After the war, he went into exile in France, losing the papers of the license which he had registered in Barcelona in 1937. He went into exile in Ecuador, Guatemala and Mexico, where he simultaneously worked as a literary editor and inventor. In Guatemala he perfected the table football and it was able to be produced on a larger scale, spreading it throughout the continent. Thanks to his more than 50 inventions, He was able to return to Spain during the Transition and serve as executor of the poet León Felipe, of whom he was a close friend.
Although table football did not bring him any benefit in Spain, he has always been recognized as the inventor of this magnificent game that has never gone out of style. On the contrary, the incorporation of it in modern offices has further enhanced its attractiveness, as it is a Team play, with specific rules, which requires concentration, coordination between hands and eyes, and great precision and reflexes.
Other game options
There are other board games that are also suitable for offices, such as air hockey or shuffleboard (in the image). Although they are less well known, the objective and the rules are all similar: two teams, from one to four people, who must slide a disc by hand or with the help of a grip. Are games of skill, concentration and precision, that help the worker to free himself from ordinary tasks, but, at the same time, develop other qualities.
Unlike traditional board games, such as Backgamon, Scrabble, checkers or chess, etc., in all these games there is an important physical component. The objective is for the worker not only to be distracted but also to move and exercise, even if it is in a few meters. Of course, traditional board games also require sharpness, concentration and great intellectual skills, but they are executed in a static way, which is why the desired objective is not achieved: that the worker come out of the state of physical rest.
Mini versions in multi-game rooms
What happens if there is not enough space in an office? No problem, all these games have reduced versions that allow you to have, in a single space, several games at the same time. The other big question is where to place them. The ideal is to have a specific room for games, well insulated, since the fervor of the players can disturb the rest of the workers. If this is not possible, the logical thing to do is to place the tables in the social areas, dining rooms, bars, etc., where ambient noise is more permissible. Of course, it is not convenient to place them in areas with multiple workstations, since it can be really annoying for the rest of the colleagues.
But this topic is not finished. In another post we will talk about the “office sports”, such as basketball, climbing, even skating, which can be practiced indoors in a reduced version.
