Andrew Smith is the executive editor of The Family Gamers, and co-host of The Family Gamers Podcast.
Explore the reviews and podcasts he has contributed to.
Just like an evergreen plant that doesn’t die, these are games that stay popular year after year.
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Playing games with kids looks a lot different for us now than it did in 2015. Let’s talk about what family gaming looks like at different ages.
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We talked about older games last week – this week we’re moving on to modern abstract games (within the last 20 years).
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I love that here, you’re kind of dividing the group in half every round, but everyone is still working towards the same goal. I also love how the teams are changing all the time with shifting roles.
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The Guesser flips over all the cards and tries to match the cards to the sketches on the table. They’ll put a descriptor card and a subject card for each sign, and once they finalize their choices, it’s time to score!
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This week is devoted to older, classic abstract games. You probably know how to play these timeless games already, and have some of them relegated to the back corner of your shelves or your closet.
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Even if you never go past the four walls and 120 cards of the Gateway box, this is a full and wonderful Lorcana experience.
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Your goal in Flip 7 is to be the first player to score 200 points. But you cannot do that in a single round. Each round, you’ll score points based on the cards in front of you. But you’ll bust and get zero points for the round if you have two cards with the same number.
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I suspect almost every game-loving parent has had experiences similar to mine. I used to play Dungeons and Dragons with my friends…
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I think this is a great step up from traditional memory matching games. The storytelling aspect is a nice twist, and when everyone feels invested in the stories, it actually makes it easier to remember what item was placed where.
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It’s convention time again! We found braille dice, an augmented-reality drawing tool, and lots of fun board game stuff at PAX East.
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Another Man’s Treasure is a great option for a game to take out if your family only plays games with regular playing cards and you just want to mix it up. And if you’re playing with multiple generations, I suspect you’ll run into more than a few situations when you throw down grandma’s canner and have your own story to tell about your own family’s weird kitchen gadgets.
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We’ve been reviewing board games for almost ten years. And sometimes, we run across ones that REALLY surprise us. Let’s talk about a few this week.
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Looney Labs did some fun and clever things with how they want you to put your words together for success in this game.
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Do you know what a “eurogame” is? Could you explain it to someone who hasn’t played a lot of boardgames? What are some other jargon terms we use that are unfriendly to new players?
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“The dual nature of the cards forced me to keep swapping back and forth and think of both aspects of every card – how it could be used for its scoring condition, and how it could contribute to the goals I’d already set out.”
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Little Alchemists is a “room to grow” game all by itself, starting at a very low level and slowly adding more complexity. You can stop at any time on a level you feel comfortable with and just play that for a while, or even move back a level if you or your kids aren’t ready to move up.
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I had picked up this game because I heard great things about it – and the new version fixes some small issues with the first edition. Is it worth it?
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I’d recommend Mezen to two distinct audiences: Families who want a jumping off point to study more about folk art, especially in Russia or Scandanavia – and gamers who want a puzzley game with no player interference and challenges that never feel punitive.
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