This game is so challenging, it can feel nearly impossible to win — but it can also be a lot of fun to keep trying! Teamwork games like this one that provide consistent opportunities to “fail” together are a great way to build persistence and growth mindset in a lighthearted way.

To play Concentration ABCs, everyone at the table closes their eyes and goes silent for a moment. Then, without any pre-planning at all, one person begins by saying “A.” The goal is to get through the whole alphabet from A to Z with every person participating, and without breaking these rules:

• No letter can be spoken by more than one person. If two or more people say the next letter in the sequence at the same time, the game is lost and you have to go back to the beginning of the alphabet.
• No sneaky “ordering” — it’s tempting to just go around the table to take turns, but that takes the suspense out of the game!
• No person can say more than one letter in a row.

You’d be surprised how difficult it can be to make it all the way to Z! The good news is that you don’t have to get there in the space of one dinner. You can always keep track of what your personal family “best” is, and make it a goal to get past that letter the next time you play.