war and peace
My two middle children have decided they are France and England in the 1300s. One of those children is determined to be king. The other one is almost content to let the first be king, but is hoping for a kind and benevolent king. Unfortunately, the sibling king is more in line with the tyrannical dictator model.
Even with the Hundred Years’ War flaring up from time to time between these two, they can play chess for hours on end. They go from waging war and retaliating to giggling themselves silly all in a matter of minutes. I don’t understand it, but I sure am grateful for the magic of our chess table to calm emotions and put these two on friendly terms.