252 – Room to Grow: Drafting Games – The Family Gamers Podcast
Episode 252
Room to Grow: Drafting Games
This week, we are talking about games that focus on drafting, while growing in complexity. Skip right to the topic!
Fact: 252 is the title of a certain Japanese movie… but it’s not one we can recommend. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1260932/
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What We’ve Been Playing
The Game: Face to Face (our review)
Our daughter Claire is really focused on the Gameschool Summer meeple badges, so she’s pushing to play a lot more games than she usually does.
Mmm! (our review)
Filler (our review)
Gorinto
Tumble Town (review coming soon)
Camp Pinetop (review coming soon)
Ubongo 3D (review coming soon)
Zombie Kidz Evolution
Poisons (review audio included in this episode)
SNAP Review – Poisons
Watch the video or read the transcript on the SNAP review page.
Welcome
Welcome to our new community members! Go to Facebook and say hi: https://www.facebook.com/groups/familygamersaa/posts/2956934217929382/
Room to Grow: Drafting
Our goal with Room to Grow is to help you bring your kids through a series of games that grow in complexity.
Sometimes you want to help your kids grow into the games that you really want to play.
What is drafting? A drafting game is one in which players pick something (usually cards, but could be tiles, dice, resources, etc) individually.
A closed draft is also known as “pick and pass”; hands of cards (or whatever) are passed around the table and each player picks simultaneously, then all players pass their now-smaller hands.
In an open draft, players pick in order from a common pool.
Kidsplaining does a good job to explain drafting in a short video.
For Beginners: Draftosaurus
This is our favorite drafting game and we think it’s a good introduction. (We reviewed Draftosaurus in 2019.)
- no reading required
- we love holding the dinosaur meeples in our hands
- you have a board in front of you that clearly indicates where you can place dinos.
- Includes a die, which adds excitement and luck – and gives a way to handicap when playing with a younger child.
Find Draftosaurus on Amazon.
Up a Level: Sushi Go Party!
You’re unlikely to play with the same set of cards every time, and so you’ll have to think harder about what strategy will work for you.
The rulebook has many suggested sets of cards to use in different situations.
It’s a little harder than a game like Draftosaurus, because you’re creating sets, starting from nothing.
Find Sushi Go Party! on Amazon.
Other Mid-level Games
Ancestree by Eric Lang (our review) forces you to look at the players on either side of you.
Azul is an open draft game that will slowly grow your incentive to look at other players’ boards.
Bugs on Rugs from Kids Table Board Gaming (our review) is another open draft game – and because it’s an open draft, you can talk through how to play and give advice.
Grown Up Drafting: 7 Wonders
7 Wonders is more complex and considered a “classic” drafting game.
It’s a closed draft game, but every card can always be used (if not for its stated value, then for coins or for building your “wonder”).
It’s in the complexity and multiple paths to victory that drafting really shines.
Find 7 Wonders on Amazon.
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