219 – Funny Board Game Moments with Grant Lyon – The Family Gamers Podcast
Episode 219
Funny Board Game Moments
with Grant Lyon
Our guest this week is Grant Lyon, comedian and board game designer! His game Curmudgeon is coming out soon.
Fact about 219: The Heinkel He 219 Uhu is a night fighter that served with the German Luftwaffe in the later stages of World War II.
(Speaking of history, our homeschooled 9 year old is working on memorizing the first two paragraphs of the Declaration of Independence. He’s doing a much better job than he expected!)
Thanks to First Move Financial for sponsoring this episode of the podcast. Visit firstmovefinancial.com/familygamers to schedule a time to talk to First Move.
What We’ve Been Playing
Everdell (Starling Games)
Cindr (Smirk & Dagger Games) – We saw this at PAX Unplugged last year.
Tang Garden (ThunderGryph & Lucky Duck Games) – which answers the question: “What would Andrew and Anitra do if they had half a day with no responsibilities?”
Haunt the House (Kids Table Board Gaming)
Zombie Dice (Steve Jackson Games) has been a family favorite for many years.
BOO (Pack-O-Games) is an Othello-like puzzle with gumstick cards.
Curmudgeon (25th Century Games) – which we talk about in the second half of this podcast.
Clank! (Renegade Games) came off the shelf of opportunity!
Horrified (Ravensburger) – a great co-op for Halloween.
SNAP Review – Food Fighters
Asher and Elliot tell us all about this food-themed dueling game. Accessible for all ages and fun for everyone.
Read the transcript and see more pictures at our SNAP review page.
Grant Lyon, Comedian and Boardgamer
During the pandemic, Grant started making short videos, and calling them Grant’s Game Recs.
As a comedian, he wants to make people laugh, and he’s trying to bring more of that to the boardgaming world.
Funny Stories from our Community:
Mom and Dad can’t agree what “romance” means in Codenames…
Captain Kirk becomes “Caption Kirk”…
Grandma gets a little too excited playing LCR.
Grant’s friend also finds Codenames clues frustrating…
Corey references “this one time where my friend’s wife threw the game…” (it was Anitra).
About Curmudgeon:
Grant is the co-designer for Curmudgeon, coming from 25th Century Games at the end of November.
Curmudgeon is a game of silly insults, that works a bit like Mad Libs. Make up fill-in-the-blank insults and throw them down on other player’s “Life” cards.
Unlike Apples to Apples or Cards Against Humanity, Curmudgeon gives more options back to the players. You can be creative – and make it as clean or dirty as you want.
The game is recommended for age 17+, but we played with our 9 year old and 12 year old, and simply needed to pull out a few cards before playing (referencing sex, middle finger, crass words, etc.) This doesn’t throw off the balance or anything, just makes it more family-friendly.
We think the structure of the game makes a lot of sense, but gamers will be happy that there are real decisions to be made. The fluidity reminds us a little of Fluxx (especially being able to declare an insult “LAME”).
Find out more about the game at CurmudgeonGame.com – you should be able to pick it up for about $25 just in time for the holiday season.
Find Grant Online:
On Youtube: Grant Lyon and Grant’s Game Recs
Instagram: @grantlyon1
Twitter: @grantlyon1
Find Us Online:
Facebook: @familygamersaa and thefamilygamers.com/community
Twitter (X): @familygamersaa
Threads: @familygamersaa
Instagram: @familygamersaa
TikTok: @familygamersaa
Youtube: TheFamilyGamers
or join the Family Tabletop Community on Discord! thefamilygamers.com/discord
Or, for the most direct method, email us! andrew@thefamilygamers.com and anitra@thefamilygamers.com.
Check out our new Family Gamers and Play Games with Your Kids merchandise – T-shirts, hoodies, and mugs – at thefamilygamers.com/merch.
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The Family Gamers is sponsored by First Move Financial. Go to FirstMoveFinancial.com/familygamers to learn how the team at First Move Financial can help you pile up the victory points.
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