Episode 402 – Room to Grow: Deck Building

00:00 Fact for 402

“The Kids from Room 402” – a kids’ TV show from 1999-2001.

So our fact this week is a direct callout to basically anybody in their mid to late thirties who grew up in the US or Canada. In the late 90’s and early aughts, there was a kids’ TV show that came out called “The Kids from Room 402”. Do you remember that Anitra?
This was an animated show based on the book “Gracie Graves and the Kids from Room 402”. It was basically a sitcom with all sorts of goofy school-based adventures the kids were going through. Animation wise it reminds me of Doug, but less polished. Do you remember Doug?
Anyway, you can find full episodes of The Kids from Room 402 on YouTube and remember what it was like being 14 years old and having plenty of time to waste watching TV. And that’s my fact!

Sponsor Message

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With a better estimate of the cost we can do a better job of making a realistic plan of how to get to that goal. If you’d like to talk to someone about your goals, remember you can book a free meeting with First Move at firstmovefinancial.com/familygamers.

04:00 What We’ve Been Playing

Paint the Roses – after 5+ years. First saw at PAX Unplugged 2019.
Jekyll & Hyde vs. Scotland Yard – great, but we don’t like it as much as Jekyll vs. Hyde.
Toriki – new review!
HUTAN – review coming soon. Try it on BGA!
Stew
Skulls of Sedlec
Cake Stack – a homemade game.
Trio – our review.

22:00 The Family Gamers Community

Welcome to our newest community members! https://www.facebook.com/groups/familygamersaa/posts/4104499843172808

#Backtalk

We asked for your family’s evergreen game(s). You answered on the #backtalk channel on our Discord, and in this Backtalk post in the Facebook community.

27:10 Grow into Deck Building Games

What is deck building? We defined it this way all the way back in episode 64: “play cards, to accumulate currency, to buy better cards that will allow you to do more things.”

Room to Grow

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.

Deck building was a little challenging because even among “pure” deck-building games, some of their foundational mechanics are different – how you add new cards to your hand, how many cards you can add, how you get rid of cards you don’t want (if you can get rid of them at all!), and even what the PURPOSE of the deck building is.

Nevertheless, we came up with three we’d recommend to learn this style of game more thoroughly.

Beginner: Star Realms Academy

The subtitle to Star Realms Academy (our review) is “my first deck building game” and that seems about right!

Compared to other deckbuilding games, you have a very small hand size (3 cards).
There is very minimal reading, and only a few icons.
Like many deckbuilding games, you gain coins to use to buy better cards – but in this game, you can SAVE some of your coins from turn to turn.

And the purpose of the game is easy for kids to understand: attack your opponent and protect your own health.

You can, of course, move on to Star Realms from here, but we’d recommend…

Intermediate: Dominion

This is the game that started it all – the very first deck building game, and sets a foundation to learn this mechanic.

Play card(s) from your hand, then use currency from what you played to buy ONE new card. Then everything goes into your discard pile and you draw a new hand.

As you build your deck, you get opportunities to buy more cards, set cards aside, or trash cards (aka “culling”). When enough piles run out, count victory points on the cards in your deck & in your hand.

Some of the features we don’t love in Dominon (card market is static, little player interaction) also make it easier to learn. And Dominion can have its own “room to grow” moment by adding expansions.

Advanced: Co-op deckbuilding games from The Op

A trio of games:

• Harry Potter: Hogwarts Battle [we mistakenly called this “Hogwarts Legacy”]
• Toy Story: Obstacles & Adventures (our review)
• Avatar The Last Airbender: Aang’s Destiny (our review)

What makes any of these games special:

• The starting decks are not identical! You’re playing a specific character in the story
• It’s a cooperative game. You’re all trying to help each other meet the group’s goals.
• They’re hard to win/advance, but put you in the story you already know.

42:40 Other Recommended Deck Building Games

We recommend these games to explore other aspects of deck building:

Tea Dragon Society Card Game (our review) – simple and cute, but more reading than Star Realms Academy.
Abandon All Artichokes (our review) (episode 345 interview with Emma Larkins) – deck “wrecking”
Clank! – build a deck to get further into the dungeon and find more treasure
Avant Carde (our review) – build your deck to play more cards on your turn.
Quarriors or Marvel/DC Dice Masters – a “deck-builder” with dice instead of cards!

51:45 New Backtalk Question

What board game mechanic do you struggle with – or you really don’t like?
Do you want to get better, or do you avoid those games?

Tell us on the #backtalk channel on our Discord, or in this Backtalk post in the Facebook community.

Find Us Online:

Facebook: @familygamersaa and thefamilygamers.com/community
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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.

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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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