Our staff reviews games to help your family find new games to play that are worth your time and money! Please see our review policy for more information.
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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Crashing lightning, booming thunder, and thousands upon thousands of gallons of water pour from the sky. The drumming of torrential downpour on the roof of the Ark is calming in its regularity, as the unending rows of matched pair animals bray and paw nervously. There is a loud creaking as the rising water level begins to lift the massive boat
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What could be more classic than a naval battle between two warring pirate ships? With straightforward mechanics and great art by accomplished artist Kevin Rechin, The Haywire Group brings us Pirate Ships, a simple game of naval destruction! Do we think Pirate Ships is seaworthy? Or is it cannon fodder?
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Scuttle! by Jellybean Games is a card game full of pirate adventure, attacks, conquest, and fun, for 1-5 players. Manage the shifting seas of cards like an old salt, be the first to collect enough treasure, and you’ll win the title of master pirate captain.
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The beauty of Tournament is in its difficulty. The pieces were intentionally designed to be difficult to use for building boring towers. Once I realized that, I embraced the difficulty; rather than trying to build the tallest tower, I began trying to build the most interesting tower instead.
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Oh no! All the animals have escaped the barn and are hiding out. Can you fill your pen with the most valuable animals and avoid the sneaky crows? Barnyard Roundup is a simple bluffing game for 2-6 players designed by James Hudson and published by Druid City Games.
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One of my recently adopted criteria for a good family game is total length – from setup, through play time, to teardown. In this, Clear for Takeoff excels. Designed by Hagen Temeryazev, an airline pilot, illustrated by Etienne Hebinger, and published by Blue Orange Games, Clear for Takeoff is a card game that has you racing to get all three of
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Unbelievable tales of legend filled with debauchery, treachery, and heroism make the stories of the Greek gods fascinating to anyone who enjoys a good adventure. From the snakes of Medusa to the rippling muscles of Hercules, to the near invincibility of Achilles, every hero and villain captures our imagination with their epic tales of adventure, victory, and heartbreak. With virtually
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Hoyle, the familiar name in playing cards, is introducing its own line of original card games for kids, under the brand name Hoyle Play. Their motto is “fun with room for a lesson”. The Family Gamers were given three of these games to try. All three reinforce early math skills, but are they fun enough to keep playing?
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Whether it’s the intricate twists and corners, the woven patterns, or the unbroken strands, Celtic knots capture the imagination. Now you can build beautiful Celtic knot designs with Knot Dice, from Black Oak Games.
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Test tubes clank as their contents are poured back and forth. “Eureka!” a voice shouts. “I’ve got it!” Dr. Eureka promises fast-paced, family-friendly gameplay. But does this dexterity-puzzle game master the formula for fun?
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In 1982, a few newspaper editors came together to eventually create a game that became a household phenomenon. Using a non-linear board that facilitated stumping friends with trivia questions across various disciplines, Trivial Pursuit became firmly entrenched in the cultural zeitgeist of the United States. But for Gen-Xers and Millennials, it existed as a game with impossibly difficult questions and
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I love playing games with my kids that have either a simple setup, a simple cleanup, or simple rules. Battle Sheep, designed by Francesco Rotta and published by Blue Orange Games, has all three. With just a handful of quality components and a very limited set of choices to make each turn, games are breezy fun with your little lambs…
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Digit’y Do is a simple pen-and-paper game that combines Bingo, counting, probability, and guesswork. It keeps kids and adults engaged and entertained. It takes less than five minutes to explain, so you’ll be playing in no time. Best of all, proceeds from this game go to a good cause: the UnitedHealthcare Children’s Foundation (UHCCF), which provides medical grants for children
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Cube Quest promises fast-paced fun that is easy to learn. Are you ready to mobilize your fingers to defeat your opponent’s king and defend your own?
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Sushi Dice is a fun, fast-paced dice-matching game for 2 to 6 players, designed by Henri Kermarrec. For this review, we heavily “kid-tested” the game, with good results, and it’s easy to learn, at any age.
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Family Gamers, we think silliness is a great way to relate to your children, and with the game BattleGoats from CardLords, there is ample opportunity for less-than-serious play.
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Monsters in the Elevator is a math-based card game from Yaya Play. Players work together to keep the elevator from overloading as monsters enter and exit. Reach the 20th floor without crashing to win!
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Stories: The Path of Destinies is a video game that blends traditional action-RPG with choose-your-own-adventure style. This makes for a game that you must play through multiple times in order to “win”.
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Dragonwood is a dice and card based game designed by Darren Kisgen and published by Gamewright Games. A “game of dice and daring” with a medieval fantasy theme, it is designed for two to four players age 8+, but any child who can read can play. With some minor rule shifting, Dragonwood was playable by our four-year-old.
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