One of the great frustrations I've discovered in gaming with my kids (ages 11 and 7) is that they both tend to get angry, indignant and occasionally even burst into tears when they lose in pretty much any family game we may be playing.

Naturally, this tends to ruin all the fun we've had playing the game, and it has effectively put an end to family game night in our house.

But I recently stumbled upon what looks to be the solution to my kids' unfortunate bad sportsmanship--teaming them up with me, my wife, the kids next door, pretty much anybody . . .

Somehow, losing as a duo or trio is far less traumatizing, and winning that way is a lot more fun. I think maybe the memebers of the losing team can quietly blame their loss on each other. And it certainly seems like more fun to share the glory of a win with teammates.

Whatever the reasons or psychology behind it, playing in teams holds the promise of bringing game night back to our family table--which is great news as far as I'm concerened, no matter who wins.