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.
Anitra
249 – Gameschooling Interview – The Family Gamers Podcast
We continue our gameschooling series by interviewing the student himself, our son Asher. 249 Fact – “Lot No. 249” is a Gothic horror short story by Arthur Conan Doyle. Read it here: https://www.arthur-conan-doyle.com/index.php/Lot_No._249 Sponsor message: If you want to talk to First Move about other habits you can build to take that next step toward your goals, go to firstmovefinancial.com/familygamers to schedule a call. What
» Read moreQuatorze: Seven7s Plus Seven More
Quatorze seems like a short filler game, but it’s deeply strategic. It will probably take longer to learn it than to play it the first time.
» Read moreSNAP Review – Mass Transit
It’s rush hour! Can you build a network of busses, trains, and ferries to get every commuter home to the suburbs?
» Read more248 – Gameschooling (part 1) – The Family Gamers Podcast
Have you heard of gameschooling? We revisit what worked for us this year, incorporating games into our homeschooling.
» Read moreMatch 5 – Find Links, Create Connections!
All players race to come up with words or short phrases that connect the ideas on each pair of dice. Try to come up with something for all ten possible combinations before time runs out.
» Read more246 – Five Tips for App-Integrated Games – The Family Gamers Podcast
There has been huge growth in board games that also use mobile apps over the last couple of years. We’re seeing more and more of it. We have 5 tips for playing app-assisted family board games.
» Read more245 – Jonathan Chaffer – The Family Gamers Podcast
Jonathan designed several of our family’s favorite games, including Filler, Stroop, and The Kringle Caper. He tells us a bit more about those, and about his newest micro-escape room, The Independence Incident.
» Read more244 – Play This, Not That! Scrabble & Monopoly – The Family Gamers Podcast
In Play This, Not That, we examine two “classic” games that you might be tired of – you want to encourage your kids, or parents, or friends away from these games, keeping the parts you enjoy from these games and ditching the parts you don’t.
» Read moreMeeple Land: Build a Better Park
Design your Meeple Land theme park – full of fun rides and attractions for all kinds of meeples… Wait, where’s the bathroom?
» Read moreGames for US History and Geography (Gameschooling Part 3)
Science isn’t the only place that games can help! Our social studies curriculum this year was US history and geography, with a concentration on local Massachusetts history, culture, and geography. Could we use games to reinforce these lessons too?
» Read more243 – Purging Board Games – The Family Gamers Podcast
Why do we need to “spring clean” our board games? How can you make the decisions on what to purge? We tackle the tough question of “how” in this podcast.
» Read moreFruit Passion: Work Your Melon
Play fruit-themed cards one at a time into columns. But don’t peek at what you’ve played before! Test your memory with this simple but challenging card game.
» Read more242 – Room to Grow: Deduction Games – The Family Gamers Podcast
Our goal with Room to Grow is to help you bring your kids through a series of games that grow in complexity.
Logical deduction is a skill that usually needs to be intentionally taught; these three games will help you teach it!
Our Year in Gameschooling (Part 1 of 4)
A lot of parents are re-evaluating school choices now, like I did. What does it look like to jump into homeschooling with an older child? Games can help.. but could we strike a balance that allowed for a lot of fun but didn’t get in the way of learning?
» Read moreThe Key: Sabotage at Lucky Llama Land
The Key feels a lot like a logic grid puzzle. As you work to gather your clues, you’ll feel that you’re getting closer and closer until you find the key piece of information that makes everything else snap into place. More complex than games like Outfoxed and Concluzio, this might be the next step if your family wants a more challenging deduction game.
» Read more241 – Beyond Board Games – Reading with Rajani LaRocca!
Once a quarter, we welcome a guest to the show who has NOTHING to do with board games, but is still awesome. This week, for our first episode of Outside Board Games, we welcome author Rajani LaRocca.
» Read moreSNAP Review – Snail Sprint!
The snails are racing through the garden and over the wall (and over each other!) Which snails will make it to the winners’ podium? A great game for younger kids to play with their whole family.
» Read more240 – Room to Grow: Roll & Write Games – The Family Gamers Podcast
We pick roll and write games that avoid arithmetic and sequencing, in four levels of difficulty. Which roll and writes give players room to grow?
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