Anitra Smith is the managing editor of The Family Gamers, and co-host of The Family Gamers Podcast.
Explore the reviews and podcasts she has contributed to.
We played the first Back Stories – and it was awesome! We hoped our kids would enjoy this second spy-themed mission.
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This cooperative game includes monsters from all over the world. Can you defeat the Sphinx, Jiangshi, the Yeti, or even… Cthulu?
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Boardgames aren’t the only way to connect with your kids – and they aren’t always the BEST way, either.
We discuss other ways to connect, and recommend some videogames.
Battle of Legends Volume 3 is the conclusion to the “Battle of Legends” trilogy for Unmatched, which is a little sad.
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We love the board game community, but it can lead to pressure to play MORE or HARDER games, to keep up with the newest games. What can we do to dial it back down and make games FUN again?
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At the end of every game of HUTAN, I have a miniature rainforest model right on my table, full of trees and a few animals.
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Deck building was a little challenging because even among “pure” deck-building games, some of their foundational mechanics are different. Nevertheless, we came up with three we’d recommend to learn this style of game.
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It seemed to us like the best way to play Donald Duck in Happy Camper is exactly the opposite of how the famously impulsive Donald would play it. When players can bring patience and planning, and look for just the right moment, the game still can be rewarding.
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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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Our favorite seek-and-find game is back, with kid-friendly mysteries and new tools that will help older, more tired eyes, too.
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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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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 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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