SNAP Review – Block Ness
Who can win control of the lake? Block Ness is a 3D area control game, and we review it in 5 minutes.
» Read more
Bye Felicia! – Where Great Minds Must Quickly Think Alike
Bye Felicia! is one of the few party games that makes the cut to stay in my library. It’s light and easy to teach, but gets your brain working.
» Read more247 – Board Game Mosaics with Katia Howatson – The Family Gamers Podcast
Tidal Blades: Heroes of the Reef
“It has been fifteen years since the Great Battle. Fifteen years since our esteemed Engineers from the Citadel of Time made their wrenching decision and created The Fold; fifteen years since the last assemblage – and ultimate sacrifice – of the Tidal Blades.”
» Read more246 – Five Tips for App-Integrated Games – The Family Gamers Podcast
There has been huge growth in board games that also use mobile apps over the last couple of years. We’re seeing more and more of it. We have 5 tips for playing app-assisted family board games.
» Read moreSNAP Review – Lucky Numbers
Place numbered clovers into a 4×4 grid. Can you make 4 rows and 4 columns where all numbers ascend?
» Read moreGameschool for the Boring Parts (Math and ELA – Part 4 of 4)
The 3 Rs (Reading, wRiting, and aRithmetic) are a huge part of elementary school, even at older ages. Can games make these “boring” subjects more fun?
» Read moreToy Story: Obstacles & Adventures
Toy Story: Obstacles & Adventures is a cooperative deck-building game. Take on the roles of iconic Toy Story characters and work together to overcome hazards. The game includes six different adventures that will have players jumping back into action faster than Woody can say, “There’s a snake in my boot!”
» Read more245 – Jonathan Chaffer – The Family Gamers Podcast
Jonathan designed several of our family’s favorite games, including Filler, Stroop, and The Kringle Caper. He tells us a bit more about those, and about his newest micro-escape room, The Independence Incident.
» Read more244 – Play This, Not That! Scrabble & Monopoly – The Family Gamers Podcast
In Play This, Not That, we examine two “classic” games that you might be tired of – you want to encourage your kids, or parents, or friends away from these games, keeping the parts you enjoy from these games and ditching the parts you don’t.
» Read moreMeeple Land: Build a Better Park
Design your Meeple Land theme park – full of fun rides and attractions for all kinds of meeples… Wait, where’s the bathroom?
» Read moreSNAP Review – Hedgehog Haberdash
The baby hedgehogs are playing dress up, but they don’t have spiky quills like mom and dad. How can they dress up and pretend to be adults? Maybe with this bag of pointy leaves?
» Read moreGames for US History and Geography (Gameschooling Part 3)
Science isn’t the only place that games can help! Our social studies curriculum this year was US history and geography, with a concentration on local Massachusetts history, culture, and geography. Could we use games to reinforce these lessons too?
» Read more243 – Purging Board Games – The Family Gamers Podcast
Why do we need to “spring clean” our board games? How can you make the decisions on what to purge? We tackle the tough question of “how” in this podcast.
» Read moreFruit Passion: Work Your Melon
Play fruit-themed cards one at a time into columns. But don’t peek at what you’ve played before! Test your memory with this simple but challenging card game.
» Read moreGames for Science! (Gameschooling Part 2)
Last week, I explained why we are using games to supplement our first year of homeschooling. We had the most success adding games to our studies in science.
» Read moreSNAP Review – King of 12
The two of us don’t usually love social deduction games, but having the die as the focus of the game gives a concrete goal. I want to get my die value high (or possibly low). Having that concrete goal made King of 12 a game we could really enjoy.
» Read more242 – Room to Grow: Deduction Games – The Family Gamers Podcast
Our goal with Room to Grow is to help you bring your kids through a series of games that grow in complexity.
Logical deduction is a skill that usually needs to be intentionally taught; these three games will help you teach it!
Our Year in Gameschooling (Part 1 of 4)
A lot of parents are re-evaluating school choices now, like I did. What does it look like to jump into homeschooling with an older child? Games can help.. but could we strike a balance that allowed for a lot of fun but didn’t get in the way of learning?
» Read moreThe Key: Sabotage at Lucky Llama Land
The Key feels a lot like a logic grid puzzle. As you work to gather your clues, you’ll feel that you’re getting closer and closer until you find the key piece of information that makes everything else snap into place. More complex than games like Outfoxed and Concluzio, this might be the next step if your family wants a more challenging deduction game.
» Read more