Pickleball is sweeping the nation as the most popular and exciting sport to come along since underwater basket weaving came into being. While pickleball is appealing because it’s much like a giant version of ping pong, one of the reasons behind its explosion is the fact that it requires less moving than tennis. Those with injuries hoping to swing some rackets around find pickleball to be a great consolation prize. Unlike these players, we would not be content giving up board gaming in its current form as we age or succumb to injuries. The experience is just too great to give up. Here are a few things you can do to ensure board gaming will be part of your life, forever:

Sharpen your memory

Our brains aren’t what they used to be. Years of debauchery and convoluted instruction manuals have turned them into putty with short attention spans and even shorter memories. This is unfortunate, because our minds are what drive board gaming decisions and enjoyment, and to be not of sound mind means board gaming is no longer an option. Try strengthening your brain with a few workouts that can be easily completed from home. Start with some tucks and curls—brain tucks and lobe curls—and don’t forget to stretch those synapses before exercising. Try jogging, too, specifically jogging your memory for at least 30 minutes a day or 3 miles, whichever comes first. Full replacement or reconstruction remains an option for those most desperate among us.

Tone those bones

Board games often don’t require large movements, but it’s the micro adjustments that threaten to take us out. Lifting dice, picking cards, moving pieces and cleaning up loose board games are all matters of the bones; it only takes one arthritic joint to introduce pain. Start strengthening those bones and joints today with plenty of milk—for best results, drink it straight from the oat or almond udder. Once again, full replacement might be in order, so save those mini pencils that came with your board games.

Stay in the know

While many board games are timeless and are set during historical time periods, many others look not only to the future but the present, more than anything, to inform the setting and mechanics of their worlds. As a future old person, though, it’s inevitable you’ll lose touch with what the “kids” are talking about, rendering you lost and confused like so many grandparents before you. Start changing this now by purchasing a baseball cap to wear backwards (or sideways) and find an uncomfortable chair to turn backwards and straddle. Kill the lights in the room and shine a single spotlight overhead as you deliver a rap about the dangers of smoking cigarettes. Members of Gen Alpha will marvel at how young and “in the know” you are!

Get used to technology

Board games are one of the ultimate tactile experiences, but as our lives become increasingly digitized, it won’t be long before our fingers and toes go the way of the cell phone headphone jack: useless. With so many developments happening in board games, get ready to intimately interface with new and exciting technology. It starts by asking Alexa out on a date.