We’ve all had that friend. The one who bellyaches about how poorly he’s doing in a game. In adults, this behavior can be amusing, and even if it’s not, we can choose to exclude a sore loser from our gaming circle. But what about our kids? Learning to put up with disappointment is part of growing up.
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Gruff is a two-player tactical battle game. You play as a Shepherd, shepherding a flock of mutated monster goats called Gruffs. Your goal is to kill all of your opponent’s Gruffs OR to kill your opponent’s Shepherd.
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We’re talking this week with Ryan & Erin Gutowski and Ric White, the people behind One Board Family website. Why do they play games? What are a few of their (and our) favorites?
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We’re revisiting the topic of two player gaming. Plus, two items of news that will affect board gamers across the United States.
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In episode 80, The Family Gamers explored games that are pure fun. Not necessarily the “best” or “most mechanically sound” game, but games that are just plain fun to play. This week we have a game that absolutely fits that mold. We will look at a new game designed by Théo Riviére and published by Iello, Sticky Chameleons.
» Read moreWhile we’re not big on manufactured holidays, something about Valentine’s Day just cries out for puns. We started discussing board game related puns and we couldn’t stop! Here’s just a few. Feel free to share them with your special someone. Can you think of any more? Share them
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“My family is better than yours!” That’s the premise behind Ancestree, created by Eric Lang and published by Calliope Games. Draft tiles and build a dynasty worth commemorating! Or will your lineage be merely mediocre?
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We interview Josh Patton, Josh Wegner, and Theresa Wegner. The three friends created Animo, a card game currently on Kickstarter.
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Welcome to the Family Gamers Podcast! This week, we talk about a few of our favorite role-playing games, as well as what we’ve been playing, backtalk, and Andrew’s most recent “for science!” adventure.
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Playing puzzle games with children can be frustrating. If it’s mildly challenging for me, it may be impossible for my 7-year-old; but if it’s the right level for him, it’s far too easy for me. I don’t want to hold back: I want to beat my children fair and square. What to do? Match Madness gives us a possible solution.
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The rules are so simple and intuitive, even a toddler can understand them. In fact, since the game is easy enough for toddlers to understand, this makes it a great game to play with them. You can slowly introduce them to strategy, and the materials are resilient enough to handle whatever it is that makes their hands sticky all the time.
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This week, we are talking to Chris Leder (Director of Fun at Calliope Games) and Ken Franklin (designer of The Mansky Caper). Listen in on our discussion of their new game The Mansky Caper as well as what both of their families do for fun.
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What makes a game fun? Andrew and Anitra explore this topic. Although many games are enjoyable, we are trying to call out games that are fun in the moment.
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What comes to mind when you read the phrase “video game adaptation”? Jean Claude Van Damme as Belgian Guile? XCOM: The Board Game: The Companion App? Endless Resident Evil sequels? An absolutely epic pile of cardboard tokens for Civilization? Turning a video game into a movie or a tabletop game is a difficult challenge. Robots Love Ice Cream: The Card Game,
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David Wilkinson is the designer of Castles of Caladale, a unique tile-laying game, designed with family play in mind.
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As a city planner, you naturally want to make the most beautiful and crowd-pleasing city. But watch out! Other players may offload their problems to your beautiful city, even as you upgrade your buildings to become more useful. Will you flip for Flip City, or is it more of a flop?
» Read moreWe are thrilled that we have surpassed 500 likes on our Facebook page. In honor of that, we want to know what you like about The Family Gamers (so we can do more of that) and what you don’t (so we can change it). Would you take 5 minutes and fill out our survey? We’d really appreciate your feedback. Let’s
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No interview this week, but we have some announcements we wanted to get out, so this is a very short episode.
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Arr, mateys! We be pirates, sailing the high seas in search of Loot. We play cards to capture or defend merchant ships. Loot is one of the earliest games from designer Reiner Knizia. It’s been available in the United States since 2005 from publisher GameWright, but the newest version has updated artwork and comes in a metal tin.
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We’re back! As the first show of 2018, we wanted to share our top games from 2017. Return of special guests Claire and Asher, who share their favorites as well. Note: These games are our favorites of the year, not necessarily the most critically-acclaimed.
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