SNAP Review: Tokyo Jutaku
Have you always wanted to be an architect? Try your hand at creating towers to fit in tight spaces in Tokyo Jutaku, a speed building game from Jordan Draper Games.
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149 – Origins Preview with the Kirbys – The Family Gamers Podcast
We have a great conversation with Ellen and Randy Kirby, of We Game Together, about all things gaming and kids… and what we’re looking forward to at Origins this year.
» Read moreIceCOOL 2 – Frozen Boogaloo
When the teacher’s away, the penguins will play! Each player will take a turn being the hall monitor (or Catcher) while the other penguins (Runners) try to collect fish hanging over the doors. IceCOOL 2 is a sequel and/or expansion that we prefer slightly over the original IceCOOL.
» Read more148 – FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) – The Family Gamers Podcast
We all have experiences in life we don’t want to miss. FOMO, or fear of missing out, seems to hit particularly hard when it comes to hot new boardgames. Between Kickstarter and conventions constantly hyped on social media, how can we deal with this irrational response?
» Read more147 – Isaac Villa, Gaming with Sidekicks – The Family Gamers Podcast
This week we’re happy to welcome Isaac Villa. He runs a site similar to ours, called Gaming with Sidekicks. We first met at PAX Unplugged, and we’re always happy to talk with other family-focused gamers. Gaming with Sidekicks branched off from a different website; the founders met while playing Dice Masters competitively. At one point, they had four different podcasts!
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146 – Top 5 Family Food Games – The Family Gamers Podcast
Who doesn’t like food? There are tons of great food games, and we can’t play them all. We rank our top 5, from preschooler-friendly to adults-only.
Play along as we try a food-themed round of Order of Invention. You’ll be surprised which food innovation came first!
» Read more144 – All Filled Up! Top 10 Filler Games – The Family Gamers Podcast
We’ve got a top 10 today – yes, actually 10! Inspired by some filler games we recently received in the mail, and looking forward to hanging out with One Board Family (because we talked filler games when we had them on the podcast), we decided we’d talk about our favorite filler games today. First we thank Breaking Games, whose game
» Read moreTiny Towns: A Miniature Masterpiece!
We have loved Tiny Towns since the moment we laid eyes on it. The simple mechanics of the game left us to wonder how it was possible a game like this hadn’t already existed. Place wooden cubes in configurations to collapse into a building – so simple, our 4-year-old can play, but a surprising amount of depth and strategy as well.
» Read more143 – Joe Comings, Art of Boardgaming in an RV – The Family Gamers Podcast
It’s our friend Joe from ArtOfBoardGaming.com! How does he keep up with boardgames now that he’s on the road? Can we recommend a dice-heavy game that he’ll actually enjoy?
» Read more142 – Abstraction! Top Abstract Games – The Family Gamers Podcast
Abstract strategy (or abstract puzzle) games are Anitra’s favorite! Let’s talk about what makes these games great for family game night.
» Read more141 – Joe Hopkins, Endangered – The Family Gamers Podcast
Let’s talk to Joe Hopkins, the designer of Endangered. Endangered is on Kickstarter right now. Published by Grand Gamers Guild, with art by Beth Sobel and Ben Flores, we think it looks great!
» Read more140 – Build Me Up, Buttercup – The Family Gamers Podcast
Building games! We’re taking a lot of liberty with this idea, but centering around creating a “structure” you can see throughout the game. What’s your favorite?
» Read moreMy First Castle Panic: So Easy a Child Can Do It!
Playing Castle Panic (a fantastic game) with my 4-year-old felt more like giving instructions to an unwilling robot. He wasn’t enjoying himself, and I wasn’t enjoying him not enjoying himself. Would My First Castle Panic be different?
My First Castle Panic is a cooperative tower (castle) defense game for 1-4 players ages 4+ that plays in just 20 minutes. Team up and protect the castle from monsters coming to knock it down! Throw the monsters in jail and save the castle!
» Read more138 – Time is Ticking – The Family Gamers Podcast
We talk about the use of time in boardgames. Time and time travel can make for an interesting theme, and some games use interesting time mechanics to add tension to the gameplay.
» Read moreSNAP Review: Shikoku – The Middle Path
In Shikoku, you learn that coming in first isn’t always the best. We try to tackle this game with rules that are easy to learn, but hard to explain, in about 8 minutes of audio.
» Read more137 – Super Saturday Super Showdown – The Family Gamers Podcast
This episode is special! It’s our combined show with Flip Florey at Granite Game Summit, with special guests Gil Hova, Jason Lees, and “Your Moderator” Chris Michaud. We’re calling it the Super Saturday Family Gamers Super Showdown.
» Read moreSpell Smashers: Crushing Expectations
You’re the most capable heroes in the land. Squash terrifying creatures, disintegrate their wills, and splinter their ranks. But how do you do it? With words, of course. Words like Bravery! Like Righteous! Like… Hamster? Spell Smashers, from Renegade Game Studios, supports 1-5 players, ages 12+, for 60 minutes of word-building (and world-building) fun.
» Read more136 – Spring Cleaning – The Family Gamers Podcast
If your shelves are overflowing, it’s time to take a hard look at what you’ve got. How can you decide to get rid of boardgames? We share listener feedback and how we’re making these hard decisions.
» Read moreSNAP Review: Get the MacGuffin
Get the MacGuffin from Looney Labs is a fast-playing game of player elimination. It’s silly and incredibly quick, even at the maximum of 11 players. Can we find the MacGuffin or were we disappointed?
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