Anitra Smith is the managing editor of The Family Gamers, and co-host of The Family Gamers Podcast.
Explore the reviews and podcasts she has contributed to.
Battle of Legends Volume 3 is the conclusion to the “Battle of Legends” trilogy for Unmatched, which is a little sad.
» Read more
We love the board game community, but it can lead to pressure to play MORE or HARDER games, to keep up with the newest games. What can we do to dial it back down and make games FUN again?
» Read more
At the end of every game of HUTAN, I have a miniature rainforest model right on my table, full of trees and a few animals.
» Read more
Deck building was a little challenging because even among “pure” deck-building games, some of their foundational mechanics are different. Nevertheless, we came up with three we’d recommend to learn this style of game.
» Read more
It seemed to us like the best way to play Donald Duck in Happy Camper is exactly the opposite of how the famously impulsive Donald would play it. When players can bring patience and planning, and look for just the right moment, the game still can be rewarding.
» Read more
Just like an evergreen plant that doesn’t die, these are games that stay popular year after year.
» Read more
Playing games with kids looks a lot different for us now than it did in 2015. Let’s talk about what family gaming looks like at different ages.
» Read more
Our favorite seek-and-find game is back, with kid-friendly mysteries and new tools that will help older, more tired eyes, too.
» Read more
We talked about older games last week – this week we’re moving on to modern abstract games (within the last 20 years).
» Read more
I love that here, you’re kind of dividing the group in half every round, but everyone is still working towards the same goal. I also love how the teams are changing all the time with shifting roles.
» Read more
The Guesser flips over all the cards and tries to match the cards to the sketches on the table. They’ll put a descriptor card and a subject card for each sign, and once they finalize their choices, it’s time to score!
» Read more
This week is devoted to older, classic abstract games. You probably know how to play these timeless games already, and have some of them relegated to the back corner of your shelves or your closet.
» Read more
Your goal in Flip 7 is to be the first player to score 200 points. But you cannot do that in a single round. Each round, you’ll score points based on the cards in front of you. But you’ll bust and get zero points for the round if you have two cards with the same number.
» Read more
I think this is a great step up from traditional memory matching games. The storytelling aspect is a nice twist, and when everyone feels invested in the stories, it actually makes it easier to remember what item was placed where.
» Read more
It’s convention time again! We found braille dice, an augmented-reality drawing tool, and lots of fun board game stuff at PAX East.
» Read more
Another Man’s Treasure is a great option for a game to take out if your family only plays games with regular playing cards and you just want to mix it up. And if you’re playing with multiple generations, I suspect you’ll run into more than a few situations when you throw down grandma’s canner and have your own story to tell about your own family’s weird kitchen gadgets.
» Read more
We’ve been reviewing board games for almost ten years. And sometimes, we run across ones that REALLY surprise us. Let’s talk about a few this week.
» Read more
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 more
Roll a die or flip a card, then use chopsticks to grab the right food in Octo Grabbo, a dexterity game that’s best for kids age 4-10.
EVERY kid under 12 years old that played this with me loved it and couldn’t get enough.
