The Family Gamers - Reviews

Chronicles of Crime: Investigating Game Changing Brilliance

8/10

October 22, 2018 Updated: March 6th, 2019 Andrew Smith Reviews

It isn’t often that a board game is released that changes game mechanics in a dramatic, noticeable way. These games are exciting, remarkable, and iconic. They often capture the essence of their predecessors but with unique twists that leave players wanting more. Chronicles of Crime is one of these games.

Chronicles of Avel – The Battle of the Beast

9/10

February 6, 2023 Updated: March 2nd, 2023 Andrew Smith Hall of Fame Reviews, Reviews

Chronicles of Avel doesn’t do anything particularly new and inventive with the mechanics. However, it doesn’t really need to. Everything in the game is so well implemented, logical, and reasonable, it doesn’t really matter.

Chomp

7/10

November 27, 2023 Updated: December 17th, 2023 Stephanie Nye Reviews

With simple rules and quick set up, Chomp is easy to dive into. The complexity lies in the decisions of card drafting and placement while considering end game scoring. And it works wonderfully as a solo puzzle game.

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2 players, 3 players, 4 players, AllPlay, Clarence Simpson, dinosaur, solo, Stephanie, tile laying

Chai: Quali-tea? or Tea-dious?

8.5/10

February 14, 2022 Anitra Smith Reviews

Chai is perfect for playing in a casual group. We can talk while we play, and our kids won’t spill it like they might with a real cup of tea.

Century: Spice Road – Trading for Fun and Profit

9/10

April 21, 2018 Updated: January 2nd, 2023 Nick Martinelli Hall of Fame Reviews, Reviews

Transport yourself to centuries past to a time when the trading along the spice roads led to great wealth and power. As a spice merchant you’ll lead your caravan to exotic markets to sell your valuable spices. Do you have what it takes to play your cards shrewdly, time your trades just right to acquire five point cards first and

Caverna: Cave vs. Cave – Hidden Treasure

8/10

February 25, 2019 Updated: November 13th, 2020 Andrew Smith Reviews

The constant push and pull to acquire the right resources and rooms to ratchet up your victory point and gold total is a fascinating puzzle for me. If you enjoy the careful balance of tight resource management games you will enjoy Cave vs Cave.

Cardventures: Stowaway 52 and Jump Ship!

7.5/10

December 15, 2016 Updated: September 22nd, 2017 Anitra Smith Reviews

Stowaway 52 and Jump Ship! inaugurate the new Cardventures series from GameWright. Do these solitaire, choose-your-own-adventure story games live up to their promise? In Stowaway 52, you have stowed away on an alien spaceship. You’re trying to escape, but first will you spy on the aliens to discover their plans for earth, or sabotage their spaceship on your way out?

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Anitra, card games, Cardventures, Gamewright, pirates, solitaire, solo, spaceship

Capital Lux 2: An Absurdly Awesome Tactical Game

9/10

September 21, 2021 Dave Smith Reviews

I love games that require constant reconfiguring of strategy due to changing conditions. I can’t think of many other games that force this upon you more than Capital Lux.

Campaign Trail: Vote Early, Vote Often

September 18, 2015 Updated: September 4th, 2019 Corey Lagunowich Reviews

First and foremost, you need to understand that Campaign Trail is not a simulation. The sooner you get notions of realism out of your head, the sooner you will love this game.

CAMP: The Family Pastime

7.5/10

August 7, 2017 Updated: October 29th, 2018 Andrew Smith Reviews

We went camping this past weekend, and what better way to celebrate camping than to play camping themed board games? This week we take a look at CAMP: The Game that Grows With You, the Dr. Toy award winning game from Education Outdoors. CAMP has a lot of features that are really appealing, but do they come together to make

Camp Pinetop

7/10

August 16, 2021 Anitra Smith Reviews

Explore and collect outdoorsy merit badges to increase your scout troop’s rank in this game for 1-5 players.

Cabanga!

8.5/10

November 25, 2024 Updated: March 10th, 2025 Nick Martinelli Reviews

When I heard about Cabanga!, I knew I had to try it. The thrill of deciding whether to play a card that might cause me to gain unwanted cards adds an exciting layer of suspense, making every turn feel like a risky, strategic gamble.

Bye Felicia! – Where Great Minds Must Quickly Think Alike

7/10

June 7, 2021 Updated: July 6th, 2021 Nick Martinelli Reviews

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.

Bugs on Rugs: Elementary Entomology

7/10

January 6, 2019 Updated: October 15th, 2023 Anitra Smith Reviews

Welcome to the exciting world of bug collecting! Snatch bugs off the rug to add to your collection, but watch out for the bugs you don’t catch – they’ll fly onto the wall and do tricky things.

Brainwaves: Stretch Your Memory Muscles

8.5/10

November 25, 2019 Updated: March 27th, 2022 Anitra Smith Reviews

Brainwaves games challenge you to remember details about previously-revealed cards. But each stretches your working memory in a different way.

Box of Rocks & Parent Quiz: Trivia Games the Whole Family Can Play

8.5/10

July 6, 2017 Updated: January 17th, 2019 Anitra Smith Reviews

Box of Rocks and Parent Quiz are two simple trivia games designed for family play. Each takes just a few minutes and encourage discussion among the players. Which one is right for your family?

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Anitra, Family Games, Haywire Group, trivia

Bottle Imp – The Devil’s in the Details

6/10

December 9, 2024 Andrew Smith Reviews

It’s hard to put a twist on trick-taking that really feels new. Bottle Imp does this, but in a way that makes us work a little harder than we’d like.

Boomerang – Draft Your Way Through Australia

8/10

March 1, 2021 Updated: August 7th, 2023 Nick Martinelli Reviews

Nick reviews the first edition of Boomerang, a phenomenal small box game. Draft cards to collect photos and souvenirs all around Australia, but be careful that your “throw” card is less than the final card you “catch”!

BOO: A Petite Phantasmal Puzzler

7/10

October 23, 2017 Updated: September 7th, 2018 Anitra Smith Reviews

Did you know that ghosts can scare each other? Neither did I until I played BOO, a compact game for two players from Perplext. Did this ghostly game grip us, or were we perplexed by this petite phantasmal puzzler?

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2 players, Anitra, card games, ghost, halloween, Microgames, Perplext, spooky

Bonsai – Peaceful Potted Potensai

9/10

July 31, 2023 Updated: March 3rd, 2025 Andrew Smith Reviews

Bonsai – The ancient Japanese art of cultivating miniature trees in pots becomes a captivating tile-placement board game!

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