My sons drifted away when they became online gamers. I revived game night to bring us all back together.

• Games have always been a big part of my sons' life.
• They became serious gamers in middle school and still are as young 20-somethings.

One summer when my kids were small, our extended family caravanned to a beach rental several hours away. My sons and their cousins were all under 10, and they fondly remember that trip as one of their favorite vacations.

They don't remember playing on the beach or eating fried seafood so much as they do getting to stay up late and play board games with the adults.

At the time, they'd thankfully graduated from endless rounds of Candy Land and Chutes & Ladders to Apples to Apples Junior, Uno, and Monopoly. They tried their best to compete at a disadvantage, not knowing who people like Cher were — "What's a Cher?" my son asked in a game of charades — or Elvis Presley.

They began closing doors and disappearing into games

In middle school, they both became immersed in online gaming. That's where they'd meet up with their cousins and school friends — not outside or on bikes like in my youth but in a virtual world online. Birthday and Christmas presents centered around gaming keyboards, headsets, and GameStop gift cards.

I was seeing a lot less of them, and their laughter and good humor were reserved for online interactions.

I was somewhat prepared for this, but it didn't help that I no longer spoke their language. My husband, a weekend gamer, could talk with them about anime or what level of a new game they were on. I had no clue and little interest. I lived in Bro-ville now, and my questions were met with eye rolls, sighs, and selective hearing.

I was on my own.

As they grew older, sweet games like "Club Penguin" and "Minecraft" evolved into less mom-approved games like "Call of Duty" and "Grand Theft Auto." When they left for college, I felt like they were moving from behind one closed door to another one, just further away.

So I decided to try something. I could meet them halfway.

I organized a family game night on Thanksgiving

When they came home for Thanksgiving one year, I offered to host the extended family and some friends at our home and asked everyone to bring their favorite board game.

That night, after everyone had eaten and visited, we put two tables together and set up the gaming area. By this time, the games had matured, and so had we. Now we favored popular games like Catchphrase, Taboo, Tapple, and Anomia.

The young adults were skeptical at first, and not everyone wanted to play. Some drifted in and out, and others hovered nearby. But the adults had split into two teams and were laughing and having a great time. We were hard to ignore.

While we'd spent years listening to our kids yell into their headsets, now we were the ones yelling and cheering our teammates on.

After that first night, my son started asking if there would be a game night when he came home again from college. I made sure there was.

Over the past couple of years, it's evolved into an informal snack night between major holidays, breaks, and birthdays where everyone brings something to eat, including the young adults. They've tried their hand at fancy dips, iced cookies, and charcuterie boards. One nephew now brings his college girlfriend, and another began collecting his own board games to share.

The best thing about these game nights is that it's a relaxed evening full of camaraderie. You don't have to keep up a conversation, to my kids' relief. The games are a buffer for that. It's just light-hearted quality time together.

I still don't speak their language the majority of the time. There are still plenty of eye rolls and sighs. But these periodic game nights bridge a gap between their world of online games and mine IRL, as they say.

I'm never going to become an online gamer, and I'm sure they'd be horrified if I tried.

But our family game nights offer a place where we can enjoy being together, and for a mom, that's priceless.