Don your deerstalker hat and grab your magnifying glass! This week IDW Games brings us Purrrlock Holmes: Furriarty’s Trail, an adorable take on deduction and cooperative gameplay that puts you in the role of a new inspector at Scotland Pound. Is the stalking of our felonious feline worth the trouble? Should you take the time to track these criminal critters? Let’s take a look!
Nothing says family fun like marshmallows on a campfire. Can you toast your marshmallows to a beautiful golden brown, or will your opponents cause you to roast them, leaving you with nothing but a blackened crisp?
We went camping this past weekend, and what better way to celebrate camping than to play camping themed board games? This week we take a look at CAMP: The Game that Grows With You, the Dr. Toy award winning game from Education Outdoors. CAMP has a lot of features that are really appealing, but do they come together to make a compelling experience, or does the mix of mechanics create a natural disaster? Let’s take a look and find out.
A s’more traditionally consists of two graham crackers, one marshmallow, and one piece of chocolate. S’mores: The Card Game tries to re-create the fun of assembling a s’more in a card game. Can you craft a s’more from your cards before the deck runs out?
This week, we take a look at a pair of short, simple games from Strawberry Studio, What’s Up and Strawberry Ninja. Strawberry Studio’s mission is to “enrich the world of gaming with a line of smart, fun and easy to play microgames for families and friends”. Do they succeed with these two titles? Let’s dive in and find out.
Whizz! Clack! At first glance, Potion Explosion looks like just a gimmick – a board game adaptation of digital match-3 games like Bejeweled. Pull out marbles, make matches. But there is so much more to this delightful game!
You are a king (or queen), looking to expand your kingdom. As you explore the terrain, you must decide which territories will be the best and most productive. But watch out! Other monarchs are scouting the territory, too, and may steal your most-coveted lands!
“Ask yourself a question!”
“When you recall the past, can you always distinguish which memories were real events and which were dreams or fantasies?”
A baobab tree has a thick trunk and flat, spreading branches. Why? Because the players have to build it that way! Can you build a spectacular canopy, or will your tree tumble? » Read more
The clue-scouring gumshoe has always been a role masked in mystery and intrigue. Hardly a role for kids usually, mysterious detective tales filled with riddles and enigmas are designed to confound even the brightest observer. Enter Outfoxed, a lighthearted cooperative whodunit game from GameWright aimed squarely at a younger generation. Somebody stole Mrs Plumpert’s pot pie and it’s up to the team of young detectives to find out who it was before they get away! Is Outfoxed outstanding, or is it insipid? Let’s find out.
Summer is here, and with it comes car trips, family gatherings, and other situations where a typical board game isn’t a great choice. What about a simple trivia game, or two?
Box of Rocks and Parent Quiz are both simple trivia games published by Haywire Group. Both can be played in just a few minutes, and encourage discussion among the players. Which one is right for your family?
Crashing lightning, booming thunder, and thousands upon thousands of gallons of water pour from the sky. The drumming of torrential downpour on the roof of the Ark is calming in its regularity, as the unending rows of matched pair animals bray and paw nervously. There is a loud creaking as the rising water level begins to lift the massive boat off its perch, a dry dock in the middle of the desert. You’re in Noah’s Ark. But how did you get here? Are you Shem, Ham, Japheth, or are you the patriarchal head, Noah himself?
What could be more classic than a naval battle between two warring pirate ships? With straightforward mechanics and great art by accomplished artist Kevin Rechin, The Haywire Group brings us Pirate Ships, a simple game of naval destruction! Do we think Pirate Ships is seaworthy? Or is it cannon fodder?
Scuttle! by Jellybean Games is a card game full of pirate adventure, attacks, conquest, and fun, for 1-5 players. Manage the shifting seas of cards like an old salt, be the first to collect enough treasure, and you’ll win the title of master pirate captain.
Arrrrre you ready to find out what makes Scuttle! so interesting and different every time you play? Hop aboard, and you’ll earn your sea legs as we explore this great game and sail to capture the most doubloons!
The king and queen of Geometria have declared a tournament to build a great monument. Will you favor the careful construction of Queen Structura, or the bold creativity of King Curvanimus?
Oh no! All the animals have escaped the barn and are hiding out. Can you fill your pen with the most valuable animals and avoid the sneaky crows?
Barnyard Roundup is a simple bluffing game for 2-6 players designed by James Hudson and published by Druid City Games.
One of my recently adopted criteria for a good family game is total length – from setup, through play time, to teardown. In this, Clear for Takeoff excels. Designed by Hagen Temeryazev, an airline pilot, illustrated by Etienne Hebinger, and published by Blue Orange Games, Clear for Takeoff is a card game that has you racing to get all three of your planes down the runway and into the air before anyone else. Hampered by an over-dependence on luck, and at times descending into maddening waits for just the right card draw, the game is still a fine amusement for a wide age range when you’ve got only a few minutes for play and even fewer for reading a rulebook.
Unbelievable tales of legend filled with debauchery, treachery, and heroism make the stories of the Greek gods fascinating to anyone who enjoys a good adventure. From the snakes of Medusa to the rippling muscles of Hercules, to the near invincibility of Achilles, every hero and villain captures our imagination with their epic tales of adventure, victory, and heartbreak.
With virtually countless characters to draw from, it’s a small wonder we don’t see more games in this setting. Fight for Olympus, released last year by MayFair Games and Lookout Games, puts the Greek roster to good use. One of the gods has died and you are fighting to ascend Mount Olympus and assume their recently vacated post. But will Fight for Olympus yield a mountaintop experience?
Hoyle, the familiar name in playing cards, is introducing its own line of original card games for kids, under the brand name Hoyle Play. Their motto is “fun with room for a lesson”. The Family Gamers were given three of these games to try. All three reinforce early math skills, but are they fun enough to keep playing?
Whether it’s the intricate twists and corners, the woven patterns, or the unbroken strands, Celtic knots capture the imagination. Now you can build beautiful Celtic knot designs with Knot Dice, from Black Oak Games. » Read more
