Episode 398 – Room to Grow: Classic Abstract Games

I bet you played checkers or chess with your relatives when you were a kid. We talk about newer games all the time on this podcast, but we think old games are great and you should play those, too! We recommend three that facilitate learning strategies.

0:00:00 Fact for 398

In the Dewey Decimal filing system, 398 is the category for folklore (and 398.2 is fairy tales!)

Sponsor Message

Have you heard of the fun ratio? This idea comes from The Opposite of Spoiled by Ron Lieber.

If you want to talk about other ways to equip your children for their future, go to firstmovefinancial.com/familygamers to schedule a time to talk to First Move today for free.

0:05:30 What We’ve Been Playing

Azul
Trio (our review)
Flip 7 (review out this week! Keep listening)
Disney Lorcana (Gateway review this week)
Food Chain Island
Toriki (review coming soon) – great for playing with kids
Gruzzle: The City – very hard! But take a look: gruzzle.com
5er Finden (our review)
HUTAN: Life in the Rainforest (review coming soon). So many trees!
Adventure Party (our review)

0:25:00 May Monthly Report!

Anitra: 26 unique games, 51 plays. H-index: 3 – most played: Combo (7 times), Lorcana Gateway (6 times), Flip 7 (4 times), plus Patchwork and Food Chain Island.
37% of plays for the month were during the two days at PAX East.

Andrew: 13 unique games, 26 plays. H-index: 3 – most played: Lorcana, Toriki, Flip 7.
42% at 4 players!

0:27:00 Community

Welcome to our newest Facebook community members!

#Backtalk

Last time, we asked about your favorite convention memory. We got a couple of answers on Discord.

0:29:55 SNAP Review – Flip 7

A tiny card game that works with up to 18 people and you can learn in under a minute? Flip 7 does exactly what it sets out to do: provide fast moving fun for families or groups of any size.

Watch the video or read the transcript of our review.

0:37:15 Room to Grow: Classic Abstract Games

We enjoy abstract strategy games, but often find ourselves only talking about ones that are NEW (even if we compare them to older games). So this week is devoted to older, classic 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.

Our goal with Room to Grow is to bring your kids – or your family – through a series of games that grow in complexity. Normally, we take a beginner game, an intermediate game, and an advanced game (and some honorable mentions). They offer a plan for growth for players to get comfortable with that mechanic, and all are family-friendly.

What’s an abstract (or abstract strategy) game?

No theme, or a theme that only exists in the player’s heads. They don’t require any kind of fancy art to pull you in.

Perfect information – no hidden cards or secret advantages.

Little or no luck – you’re not going to depend on dice or shuffled cards. (Can’t Stop and Backgammon are fantastic games, but don’t quite fit here.)

Why play old games?

Lots of people know them.
Rules tend to be simple, even if the strategy is not.
Old abstract games can be played with the equipment you have at hand. You don’t need to go out and buy a fancy board or pieces (although those are nice!)

Beginner: Tic-Tac-Toe

Also known as “naughts and crosses”, this is a very basic abstract game with easy rules and a simple goal: get three of your pieces in a row.

Tic-Tac-Toe is basically a “solved” game, and with just 8-9 moves, most adults know whether they can win by their second turn. Because of this, parents get tired of it quickly. But it is an excellent introduction! Since it’s so simple and games are so short (usually over in just 8 moves), kids can really master it with just a little bit of practice.

(And move on to variations like Hollywood Squares, Ultimate Tic Tac Toe, 3D Tic Tac Toe, larger boards, or Connect 4)

Intermediate: Checkers

This one is also known as Draughts.

Checkers is still a simple ruleset, but games are longer and present more options.

Double-check that you know the true rules before you start! Handicapping and house rules are OK, but do them intentionally and clearly.

Since there are still relatively few options, Checkers encourages kids to start looking ahead to future moves, without presenting so many options that it’s overwhelming.

Getting bored of the regular rules? There are dozens of games you can play with a standard American checkerboard and some or all of the pieces.

Advanced: Chess

Chess requires a significant jump in skill. It’s a harder game to learn, because there are lots of kinds of pieces and they move in lots of ways. You end up with a lot to keep track of, especially when you’re learning.

But it’s been popular for over a thousand years – and for good reason! It’s rewarding to learn and to see the different ways you can outmaneuver your opponent.

Ways to dial back the difficulty, especially for learning:

No Stress Chess
Chess.com has both lessons and puzzles
Play with fewer pieces and fewer kinds of pieces!

Other Highly Recommended Classic Abstracts

Go (the quintessential “easy to learn, hard to master” game)
Othello
Backgammon isn’t quite an abstract strategy game, because there’s too much luck involved, and there are a lot of edge cases in the rules.
Nine Men’s Morris is another one that’s very easy to learn, and you could probably play it on a checkerboard.

We just highly recommend the Klutz Book of Classic Board Games (edited by Sid Sackson) if you can find it. And maybe also the Games of Art book from Sid Sackson and Eagle-Gryphon Games (which is admittedly much more modern).

0:59:15 New Backtalk Question

What’s your favorite classic abstract game?

(Anitra’s favorite: Mancala, Andrew’s favorite: Chess or Chinese Checkers)

Tell us on Facebook or on Discord!

1:02:30 Giveaways

We almost forgot – we are giving away two games for our 400th episode: Avant Carde & Avatar The Last Airbender: Aang’s Destiny. Enter the giveaway here!

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