Episode 334 – Noisy Games: Extra Fun or Parents’ Nightmare?
Episode 334 – Noisy Games:
Extra Fun or Parents’ Nightmare?
This week’s topic is polarizing! Every parent has some LOUD game that their kids love. Do you buy into the fun factor of noisy games, or do they drive you crazy? Maybe you just barely tolerate them…
334 Facts! On February 16, 2023, Family Gamers Community member Stephanie had to tell her 7 year old to put her dirty socks in the hamper 334 times before that task actually happened.
But seriously, there are 334 million people in the United States, according to https://www.census.gov/popclock/
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What We’ve Been Playing
We played a ton at Tantrum Con, and some more last week:
Key to the Kingdom (Restoration Games)
Coconuts (Underdog Games)
Similo (Horrible Guild)
Blueprints of Mad King Ludwig (Bezier Games)
Berried Treasure (Restoration Games)
Asking for Trobils (see, Mike?)
Velonimo (25th Century Games – review coming soon!)
Gasha (25th Century Games)
Control (Keymaster Games)
Splendor Duel – inspired by last week’s episode!
GROVE – on an airplane tray table
Unmatched
Wildtails
MicroMacro: Crime City
Lacrimosa, played solo – read the review
Gift of Tulips (Weird Giraffe Games)
Anomia Tongue Twisters deck (a free print-and-play!)
Maul Peak (Pencil First Games) – we’ve been looking forward to this ever since our preview.
Naked Court
Starship Captains (CGE) – a lot of setup and it feels just a little too short.
Dice Cards (CardLords) – coming to Kickstarter soon
February Monthly Report
Andrew & Anitra both have H-index of 3.
Most played: Similo, KuZOOka, Wildtails, Wonder Woods, Unmatched
Almost half of our plays for the month happened at TantrumCon!
SNAP Review – Wildtails: A Pirate Legacy
We love how clever this game is; creating replayability through multi-use cards and scenarios, and upgradability through stickers and special abilities.
If you like solo or 2-player coop, check out our review of Wildtails: A Pirate Legacy.
Welcome New Community Members!
Stop in and say hi – we’re feeling FABULOUS this week.
Noisy Games
This week’s topic was suggested by Claire, our daughter. Mall Madness: Littlest Pet Shop Edition (featured during the intro) used to be her favorite game when she was young.
We all have some kind of noisy games in our house that drive us nuts. But they’re not all bad.
Cons of Noisy Games:
They can drive us nuts. Especially if you’re not playing the game – you may feel like listening to it is inflicted upon you.
You can’t play noisy games in an environment that needs quiet. (Like after your kids go to bed – whoops!)
From our community:
Courtney White “sounds like games to avoid”
Stephanie Nye hates Bugs in the Kitchen. The little nano Hexbug makes a surprising amount of noise when it’s in the game box. It’s really grating. (Other community members agree.)
Really chaotic games (Hungry Hungry Hippos…) are just so loud.
Pros of Noisy Games:
They can be more engaging, because the noise MAKES you pay attention to the game. It can add to the fun with aural feedback for doing the right or wrong things.
This is also true with app-assisted games like Beasts of Balance. Although at least with an app, you can adjust the volume.
Many people enjoy Perfection for this reason – Anitra is not a fan.
Operation is an even older “electronic” game that gives immediate sound feedback.
What about games that are loud even without electronics? We think of Jenga, Click Clack Lumberjack, and Hungry Hungry Hippos.
Many community members mentioned liking the Taboo buzzer – and we’ve seen the same thing when our kids play Poetry for Neanderthals. It’s fun to be the person who gets to give that immediate negative feedback.
What about large amounts of dice (Boggle) or the Pop-o-matic bubble from Trouble? (Note: other games have used the Pop-o-Matic, but all are out of print except Trouble.)
We have really enjoyed Tapple, which is loud in multiple ways: a ticking timer, clicky levers, and shouting out words!
There are different kinds of noisy games!
Sometimes noise is made by physical components, sometimes by electronics, and some games encourage shouting.
There’s been a huge renaissance in sound-effect and voice-acted games. We’re thinking about Stop Thief, Familiar Tales (fully narrated!), or Return to Dark Tower. These become more of a media experience or interactive audiobook.
The Hearmees is almost the opposite. It’s a game about LISTENING, so everyone needs to be very quiet while the “supervisor” draws on a scratchy board.
And the idea of putting sounds in games is still evolving!
Games with Shouting:
Poetry for Neanderthals
Spaceteam
Pit (the shoutiest game!)
Is There a Place for Noisy Games?
We think so.
We quickly mention HEIST, an electronic-talking game that our family really enjoys. (And you have to stay quiet to listen to the voice!)
Lest you think all noisy games are for kids, don’t forget about Atmosfear, a video/app driven board game with a horror theme.
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