JEDDAH: Chess, Monopoly, Baloot, Snakes and Ladders — board and card games have been part of family and social life for thousands of years.
Now a Saudi store is helping these age-old pastimes fight back against the dominance of their online and mobile phone rivals, and the social isolation that these encourage.
Challenge Round offers more than 200 board games from around the world, with eight playing tables. Each table seats eight players and, for a SR35 ($9.30) fee, visitors can play with friends and family — or alone.
Rami Sunnari, Challenge Round’s founder and business manager, told Arab News: “We sometimes have one player, and in this case we help him to either socialize with a new group of friends or, if not, then the game masters gladly help him to enjoy the game.”
Four game masters at the store offer customers advice on games, with tips on rules and tactics, Sunnari said.
Dixit, Games Magazine’s best new game of 2010, is one of the store’s top sellers. It features a group of cards illustrated with dreamlike images. Players select cards that match a title suggested by the “storyteller,” and attempt to guess which card the “storyteller” selected. The game was introduced in 2008.
“A friend of mine told me about a fun game that can make people laugh out loud,” Sunnari said. “It was Dixit. I bought it from Amazon, then played it with family and friends, and we had great fun.
“I kept searching for similar games and found this huge industry of board gaming that I wasn’t aware of. In fact, only a handful of people knew about these games in our part of the world, while the industry has reached its peak in Germany, the US, Britain, France, and other European countries.
Sunnari said games could be an enjoyable way of teaching and learning, as developments in “edutainment” showed.
But while video and online games can help us to think more critically and engage with people from all over the world, they also carry the risk of social isolation, and even depression and violence.
“One of the main aims behind this store is to encourage families to find interesting ways of coming together instead of becoming isolated playing video or phone games,” Sunnari said.
“I started buying games and playing them with family and friends at weekends and even on weekdays. After a while, I owned 27 different games. And it wasn’t easy to get them because I ordered them online most of the time. Later my friends and family invited me over and asked me to play these games with them. It wasn’t long before the idea of a board gaming business came to my mind,” he said.
In March, Challenge Round will open a new branch with more space for families to play. “It can accommodate up to 100 people to play games and enjoy coffee and smoothies. And in the next five years, we aim to have our own games events and shows for the people of Saudi Arabia,” Sunnari said.
Saudi store leads fightback as board games throw down the gauntlet to online rivals
Saudi store leads fightback as board games throw down the gauntlet to online rivals
KSrelief signs agreement with Majmaah University
RIYADH: Saudi humanitarian aid agency KSrelief signed on Thursday a deal with Majmaah University to cooperate in several areas.
The agreement was signed at the center’s headquarters in Riyadh by Dr. Aqeel Al-Ghamdi, assistant supervisor general director for planning and development at KSrelief, and Dr. Mosallam Al-Dosari, vice-rector for development and investment.
The deal aims to foster cooperation in humanitarian research and boost participation from both sides in conferences, workshops, meetings, exhibitions, and other events related to the field. The two parties are also exploring the possibility of holding a workshop on humanitarian research and studies on the sidelines of the Riyadh International Humanitarian Forum, organized by KSrelief every two years.
Moreover, the memorandum aims to promote cooperation in volunteering by leveraging the university’s cadres, competencies, and CIFAL center, a UN-affiliated training hub that educates government authorities and civil society leaders on sustainable development and other UN goals.
The memorandum will also allow for the two entities to share consultancy services on relief and humanitarian work, draw on each other’s experiences, and benefit from capacity-building programs provided by the university’s CIFAL center.
The agreement comes in line with the Saudi Vision 2030 objectives, which encourage cooperation between various national actors and the promotion of humanitarian action in the Kingdom.
Date confirmed for Health Tourism Future Forum in Riyadh
- Event will showcase the Kingdom’s importance as a promising global market for health
- Aim is to attract visitors, interested parties, and investors from all over the world, as well as promote major projects, such as Amaala
RIYADH: The Health Tourism Association has revealed what is in store at its future forum, which will be held in Riyadh from April 28-30.
The event, which is being organized by the Health Tourism Club and the Health Tourism Association in partnership with the Global Healthcare Travel Council, will showcase the Kingdom’s importance as a promising global market for health tourism, presenting investment opportunities in the tourism and healthcare sectors, along with new destinations, while hoping to establish a new annual global platform for the industry in Riyadh.
The aim is to attract visitors, interested parties, and investors from all over the world, as well as promote major projects, such as Amaala, in an effort to make the Kingdom an attractive destination for safe, high-quality healthcare with international accreditation.
The press conference preceding the event spoke of patients seeking healthcare benefiting from the advanced system in the country and the extensive network of distinguished, high-quality hospitals and medical centers throughout the Kingdom.
Scent of success as Saudi Arabia aims for 2bn roses
- Reef Saudi, which focuses on enhancing productivity of vital agricultural crops, announced a 34 percent increase in rose production last year
- Reef also seeks to diversify agricultural production across rural areas, while ensuring optimal and sustainable use of natural agricultural and water resources
RIYADH: Reef Saudi, a sustainable agricultural rural development program, has almost doubled rose production in the past four years, increasing from 500 million roses in 2020 to 960 million roses, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
The program, which focuses on enhancing productivity of vital agricultural crops, announced a 34 percent increase in rose production last year, and said it aims to reach a figure of 2 billion roses by 2026.
Reef also seeks to diversify agricultural production across rural areas, while ensuring optimal and sustainable use of natural agricultural and water resources.
As part of the program, plant nurseries have been established around the Kingdom, with mobile clinics to diagnose plant diseases.
The Reef program aims to raise the living standard of farmers and rural families, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve food security.
It has developed six sectors: fruit, coffee, honey, rose, rainfed agriculture, and a support program for rural families in agriculture.
Sports medicine professionals gather at global event in Riyadh
- ECOSEP conference will run until April 27 at the Crowne Plaza Riyadh RDC under the supervision of the MOVE Center for Comprehensive Sports Medicine
- MOVE Center is a specialized integrated sports medicine facility, that places a focus on diagnosing, treating, rehabilitating, educating and protecting athletes from sports injuries
RIYADH: A major global sports medicine conference began in Riyadh on Thursday, with more than 60 speakers arriving in the Saudi capital from 15 countries around the world.
The European College of Sports and Exercise Physicians (ECOSEP) conference, one of the largest events in the industry worldwide, will run until April 27 at the Crowne Plaza Riyadh RDC under the supervision of the MOVE Center for Comprehensive Sports Medicine.
The MOVE Center is the first facility specialized in integrated sports medicine in the Kingdom, focusing on diagnosing, treating, rehabilitating, educating and protecting athletes from sports injuries.
Dr. Mubarak Al-Mutawa, the center’s CEO, said: “One of our main goals at MOVE is medical prevention. When I take one’s measurements and weight, and evaluate their condition, I always solve them with preventative solutions.
“The world is taking the lead toward the importance of being cautious and aware. A quality life consists of good nutrition and staying active because those factors prevent chronic conditions, such as diabetes and high blood pressure.”
Nikos Malliaropoulos, ECOSEP secretary general and a sports consultant, told Arab News that constant learning is the most important part of working in sports medicine.
“It (sports medicine) is starting to expand all over the world and I am really happy that we are here today in Saudi Arabia, opening the doors to sports exercise medicine.
“I think it is important as Saudi Arabia will host the World Cup in 10 years. So, over the next 10 years, this knowledge needs to be expanded to all healthcare professionals. This course changed my life and my practice 20 years ago. It was the motivation and the drive to develop that.”
Dr. Amir Pakravan, a consultant in sport and musculoskeletal medicine, as well as an ECOSEP board member, told Arab News that he previously had experience working in fast-paced medical environments, which prepared him for his job as a sports consultant.
When he is on the field, Pakravan ensures that he has a checklist of procedures memorized at all times, to ensure a quick response if an athlete is injured.
“What I would say to myself is to stick to the one, two, three and four of your list and check that you have done all of them. That focus on procedure is important.”
The three-day conference will host a series of workshops as well as sessions with industry leaders and officials.
It comes as an extension of efforts in the Saudi sports sector under the Kingdom’s Vision 2030.
47th Saudi relief plane for Gazans arrives in Egypt
- The aid will be transported from Egypt’s Al-Arish International Airport into Gaza
- Relief is part of the Kingdom’s historic role in supporting Palestinian people in times of crisis
RIYADH: The 47th Saudi relief plane carrying medical and shelter supplies for the people of Gaza arrived in Egypt on Wednesday evening.
The aid will be transported from Egypt’s Al-Arish International Airport into Gaza.
The plane was operated by the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center in coordination with the Kingdom’s Ministry of Defense, Saudi Press Agency reported.
The aid is part of the Kingdom’s historic role in supporting Palestinian people in times of crisis, SPA added.
