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.
Very Bad Lands
6.5/10
Reviews
Via Magica – Powering Patterned Portals
9/10
Incantatum! Open magical portals through the power of crystallized Animus spirits. A bingo-powered game for up to 6 players, perfect for families of all ages.
» Read moreVineyard: A Winemaking Game – A Shared Vintage
7/10
In Vineyard, players cultivate grapes, harvest them, craft wines, and ship them to earn stars. The player who contributes the most to producing quality wines wins the game.
» Read moreViral: Sick Fun
8.5/10
Ever thought about the viruses and bacteria that get you sick? They’re fighting back against your body’s immune system to grow and reproduce.
» Read moreVisitor in Blackwood Grove: An Alien Assumption
8.5/10
An alien ship has crash-landed in the forest outside of town. Agents have been tracking the craft and rush to the scene, hoping to dissect the Visitor and seize its craft. But a local Kid has also ridden her bike out to the wreck to save the Visitor. Who will make it through the ship’s force field first?
If you’re up for an unusual deduction game with asymmetric roles that accommodate many skill levels, we highly recommend Visitor in Blackwood Grove.
» Read moreVoodoo: Should You Do the Voodoo Too?
6/10
What does the word “Voodoo” make you think about? Is it a doll with pins? Is it an African religion? Most likely, you don’t think about the game Voodoo, a crazy magic game from Mayday Games. This week we take a stab at this game to find out if it casts a spell on us.
» Read moreWandering Towers – A Magical Race
8.5/10
Wandering Towers brings a special kind of magic to the table. It’s a game that will click after a single turn, and keep you super engaged until the last wizard drops into Ravenskeep.
» Read moreWatergate – Conspiratorial Cardboard Cunning
8.5/10
In Watergate, one player is a Newspaper Editor & one the Nixon Administration. Who can secure or hide the evidence? A thrilling race begins!
» Read moreWelcome To Your Perfect Home
6.5/10
We would recommend Welcome To… if you regularly find yourself wanting a game that can play six or more players simultaneously without a lot of time pressure or player interaction. For smaller groups, there are so many more games available, that we wouldn’t reach for this one.
» Read moreWhat in the Wild?: Catch Frogs Without the Mud
7/10
Match It, Slap It, Group It, Build It, and Connect It, building habitats for wildlife in this educational card game system. What In The Wild? is produced by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, but covers species native to most of the northern United States.
» Read moreWhat the Heck? – The Highs and Lows of Bluffing
8/10
In What the Heck? players bluff their way to victory using a deck of cards numbered from 1 to 15. Each card can only be played once, and players who play the same card cancel each other out. The game rewards crafty and unexpected play — with either a Point Card in your pocket or a friend berating you for your silly play style!
» Read moreWhat’s Up and Strawberry Ninja: Short and Sweet!
8/10
This week, we take a look at a pair of short, simple games from Strawberry Studio, What’s Up and Strawberry Ninja. Strawberry Studio’s mission is to “enrich the world of gaming with a line of smart, fun and easy to play microgames for families and friends”. Do they succeed with these two titles? Let’s dive in and find out.
» Read moreWindUp War: Cute Cards, Cataclysmic Combat!
7/10
Be the last toy faction standing; battle other toys by picking your five actions to attack and block – but you won’t be able to change the order once the round starts! An action-programming battle game for 3-6 players.
» Read moreWisdom of Solomon: Calling All Wise Builders!
7.5/10
In this worker placement game for 2-5 players, governors must skillfully manage their resources while they create new buildings, carefully construct trade networks, and toil to build the Temple itself. In the end, the governor who secures the most favor with King Solomon is the winner.
» Read moreWise Alec: Family Trivia Game
7/10
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
» Read moreWomen in Science
7/10
Women in Science is a card game celebrating women in science, naturally. We theorized that this game would be fun. But does Women in Science + The Family Gamers = FUN?
» Read moreWonder Woods – Don’t Get Spored!
7/10
Wonder Woods is a very good introduction to deduction. We think if you give it a try, it will grow on you.
» Read moreWoodland Rush
8.5/10
There are lots of different kinds of tasks involved here – matching, dexterity, memory, logic, and following instructions. And the combination of the timer and group participation on the Hide-and-Seek task means that no one has time to get bored.
» Read moreWooly Whammoth: Eating Good in the Pleistocene Neighborhood
8/10
Compete with tribes of Cave People to shove mammoths off cliffs… or trick each other into careening off the edge! Survive prehistoric pitfalls and collect Mammoth Meat to feed your tribe.
» Read moreWorld’s Fair 1893: Ride the Ferris Wheel!
9/10
Step back in time to Chicago in 1893. The World’s Fair is coming to your city. But you’re not merely attending the fair – you’re helping to design and organize it! Such is the premise behind World’s Fair 1893, an area-control game by Foxtrot Games.
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