Anomia is a word from a Latin root and means “without name”. It’s the term for being unable to come up with the name of an object. Anomia is also a game (from Anomia Press), in which players race to come up with a word that fits a certain category, ranging from “color” to “rock opera” to “shampoo brand”.
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But have you noticed that simply holding a pencil encourages nearly everyone to doodle? Why not make it a game?
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The bakers in Sprinkleton have a big problem – monsters keep stealing all their donuts! Can you pick out the suspects and help the bakers recover their donuts? Monster Match is a new collaboration from the team that brought us Happy Salmon – designers Ken Gruhl & Quentin Weir, with art by Linda DeSantis. As with Happy Salmon, Monster Match
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After dinner, I asked Nonnie if she was up for a game… By the second or third game her competitiveness kicked in; she was trash talking my dad, razzing my daughter and having a blast. Then, she ditched me and wanted to play on her own. She was smiling, laughing and really enjoying herself.
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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
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The ugly duckling emerging into a beautiful swan. Zooscape, a Tasty Minstrel Games remixing of OKAZU Brand’s Curio Collectors, is exhibit A of the mantra: “Don’t judge a game by its first playthrough.”
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Some games, in my opinion, fall into the category of “must have” in your collection. There are some games which I seem to never get tired of playing. Some games that are good “gateway” games; games that are great for helping introduce inexperienced players to more complex games. Dixit is an incredible game that fulfills all these categories.
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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.
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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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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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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?
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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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BLANK is basically a starter pack for the interested designer; it provides a template to create rules and effects to make the game your own.
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Remove windows from the Macroscope and be the first to guess the picture correctly. Did Macroscope reveal hidden depths, or was it out of focus?
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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.
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In Dairyman, you are a dairy farmer, competing with your fellow farmers to see who can produce the most milk. Make cheese and ice cream along the way, and don’t let it spoil! Do we think Dairyman is a gouda game, or is it all jacked up? Read on to see if it hits a rocky road, or if it is the cream of the crop!
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Masters of the approachable family game, Gamewright delivers another multi-age filler game in Qwingo, a roll & write game designed by Heinz Meister. Read on to find out if we think Qwingo ranks highly, or if it makes us roll our eyes!
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Work together to deduce which gang is helping Furriarty before he can escape in this cooperative game perfect for families.
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Whizz! Clack! At first glance, Potion Explosion looks like just a gimmick – a board game adaptation of digital match-3 games like Bejeweled. Pull out marbles, make matches. But there is so much more to this delightful game!
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