5 Kid's Games Parents Will Want to Play Too!

When I was growing up I loved to play games with my younger sister.  I remember lazy afternoons filled with games of Sorry!, The Game of Life, and Uno.  Some days we would even make up our own version of a game and try to teach it to our parents.  Thinking back, we were definitely lucky to have each other because we always had someone to play with.

Besides playing with each other, we also enjoyed watching our parents played games of Trivial Pursuit, Rummy or Monopoly at our holiday gatherings.  Sometimes they would even let us join in as the special dice roller or question asker.  All of these past experiences have helped shaped my love for gaming, which I fully plan to pass down to my children.

Logan's first game night.

Wait!  Who am I kidding, it's in my kids' blood!  Since day 1, my oldest son has been fascinated with our game nights.  Whenever we pulled out a game, he'd sit and watch every move.  Now at age 4, he is a force to be reckoned with at the game table.  In fact, as soon as he gets up most mornings the first thing he'll ask to do is play a game.

Over the last year, his board game collection has grown tremendously.  It has gotten so big, that his collection now rivals ours!  Now let's face it, his (or any kid's) passion to play can sometimes get a little tiring.  Children's games tend to be lacking in the strategy department and rely heavily on a spinner or have a roll and move mechanic.  Not the most exciting games to play over, and over, and OVER again.  Luckily, board games, both adult and kids, have changed a lot since I was young and I wanted to share 5 great games for kids that you'll want to play too!

Hey, That's My Fish!
  This adorable little game features cute little penguin figures and lots of nice sturdy hexagonal tiles. You play as a determined penguin who is hungry for his next meal.  players compete for their next meal atop a shrinking Antarctic ice flow.  You see, each time a penguin moves, the tile they were on is collected.  Will you be the one to collect the most fish before the ice flow has you trapped?  Quick learning time, an ever changing game board, and simple mechanics make this a great game for any age, but the ability to make the game as casual or strategic as you need makes it the perfect game for a family of growing gamers.

Catan Junior
  If you are a true gamer, you have probably played Settler's of Catan.  Catan Junior is a new spin on the classic game with simplified building rules, child-oriented trading, and a more forgiving robber equivalent know as the "Ghost Captain."  Now I know that sounds like it might be too simplified, but trust me it's not.  There are still plenty of strategic moves to be made throughout the game and without the ability for the game to be bogged down by trade negotiations, I find it much more enjoyable.  Plus its themed out with pirates.  You just can't go wrong!

Castle Panic
   This one is great for a family that wants to play as a team.  While there is an option to have an ultimate winner, the game itself is completely cooperative.  Monsters are invading from the nearby forest and you must work together to protect your castle.  Through trading cards, rebuilding walls and working together to hit and slay monsters, you can keep your tower intact.  There is some reading needed for this game, but due to it's cooperative nature, other players can easily help younger ones who may not yet be able to read.

Enchanted Forest
  Who doesn't love story tales?  Enchanted forest is a game of hidden treasures.  During the game each player must search the forest for the treasures needed at the king's castle.  You might need to find the glass slipper, or maybe its a dwarves hat.  Each turn you search the forest by rolling 2 dice and moving that number of spaces.  There are many roads throughout the forest and a quick-thinking player will know the best paths to take to reach the trees.  Once you've discovered the treasure requested by the king you must make your way to the castle and announce it's secret location.  The first player to find three treasures for the kings is the victor!  I love to play this game with my son.  It has been wonderful to watch him learn different strategies and see how concentrated and focused he gets.  Memory is key in this game and the variable board keeps the game fresh play after play.

Whoowasit?
  This is another great cooperative game.  By taking turns and gathering clues found in various rooms in a castle players work as a group to solve the mystery of who stole the magical ring from the king. The ring protects the kingdom from the evil wizard. The castle animals witnessed the act of thievery in the night and can give the children clues (cause only children can understand animals). If all players together can solve the mystery before time runs out, everyone wins. If the players can't, everyone loses.  The game comes with an electronic treasure chest that gives you clues throughout the game.  The game also has a time limit which prevents it from dragging on and offers some suspense each time the fairy announces the time.  Several game level options add more variety to the game as well.  Of all the games listed here, this probably has the most difficult rules.  The first game may be a bit slow, but after your initial play the kids should be able to play on their own.

All of these games have had a dedicated spot on our game shelf and I can see them lasting there for several years to come.  What games do you not mind playing over and over with the kids?  I'd love to hear the games you find fun and challenging with your kids.

Catan Junior i.e., Pirate Catan!

Hands On Impressions: The Adventurers: The Pyramid of Horus

Deep in the desert lies a newly discovered pyramid.  You are one of eight skilled adventurers daring enough to explore its secrets within.  The question is, will you make it out alive???

 

Filled with mummies, snakes, scorpions, and Egyptian Gods, The Adventurers: The Pyramid of Horus takes you on a new adventure into perilous conditions.  This is the second in the Adventrurers series with eight new characters and a new set of dangers to avoid.

If you recall, The Adventurers: The Temple of Chac presented players with a rushing river, lava pit, and a Giant Boulder!  So naturally, I was excited to try this new standalone version.  Like The Temple of Chac, you control an adventurer attempting to gather valuable treasure before becoming trapped within.  In this scenario, the Pyramid is crumbling and the ceiling is caving in.  You never know which ceiling block will fall, and if you are not careful, you may become trapped inside forever.  The further you explore, the more valuable the treasure becomes.  As you gather more and more artifacts, your backpack gets heavier and heavier, making it harder to move.  Also, with dangers lurk around every corner, the sting from a nasty scorpion or the strike of a venomous snake could slow you down even more!  Gather what you can and get out alive!!

The Good
  *The game feels very much like the first Adventurers and makes learning the rules a cinch.  We read the rules, set the game up, and were playing within 10 minutes.  (There were a few times we needed to check the rule book during play, but not many)
  *The components are a nice quality and the board draws you in visually.  I especially like the feeling the blocks give to the game as they begin to fill up the space and you realize that time is running out!
  *The game plays in about 45 minutes making it a great choice for family game nights or gatherings. And bonus! You can talk to your kids about the Egyptian Gods, pyramids, etc and get a history lesson in as well ;0)

The Not So Good
   *The game doesn't draw you in the same as The Temple of Chac.  There is a distinct path in the first game.  In this one, you go out the way you came in.  Something about that made the game feel less exciting. 
   *All of the cards do not fit on the board.  I understand that a board can only be so big, but when all the gods cards have nice spots accept one, that seems a little odd and sloppy to me.  It doesn't really affect anything though.
   *Once you've played the game, you know the strategy and where to go.  There seems to be less mystery in this version.  There are no puzzles to solve and I think if I was given a choice to play on or the other, the Temple of Chac would win every time simply because it has more replay value.

All in all it is a good game that was worth a try, but perhaps not worth a permanent spot on my game shelf.

 

 

Hands-On Impressions: Rune Age

As a member of the press at Gen Con, I rarely get to play games.  Most of my days are spent photographing the fun and excitement others are having with the new and shiny products.  So I was thrilled when I was given the opportunity to play Rune Age, a new deck building game by Corey Konieczka this year.   Dan, Jeff and I sat down in hall G on Thursday evening and got our first impressions of this highly anticipated game.

Listen Here for our full impressions

What makes this deck building game different from all the others are its "modes" of play.  There are four scenarios in the base game and each is arranged to give you a different type of play experience.  Our table was set up for the first scenario, Resurgence of the Dragonlords.  This particular scenario is a race to defeat a specific foe, but also has the option to directly confront your opponents.  The first player to defeat the enemy is declared the winner.

The other three scenarios allow for outright confrontation and player elimination (Runewars),  cooperative play and survival (The Cataclysm), and parallel play with little player interaction (The Monument).  Therefore, you should always be able to find a mode that suits your groups style of play.

There are four races in the base game.  I chose to play the Latari Elves, Dan snatched the Daqan Lords, and Jeff grabbed Waiqar the Undying.  The other race available was the Uthuk Y'llan.  Poor Uthuk, no play time for you!  Any who, we completed our set up and began the game.  I immediately fell in love with the elegant flow of each turn.  There are no limits on actions or buys and each can be done in any order.  There are three different ways to acquire cards.  Some cards require that you pay gold, others that you pay influence, and still other use strength.  And, in the case of a stronghold, you have the option to either pay gold or use strength to secure it.  Once you learn the general layout of the cards, turns move quickly and smoothly from player to player.

Once everyone has had their turn, an event card is drawn and you resolve its effect immediately.  Sometimes this is an ongoing effect and sometimes it will effect one or multiple players.  One particularly helpful card, for me in particular, was Rally Support. This is a reward card that the first player gives to the player on his right (ie. the last player).  This turned out to be extremely helpful since as the last player, I had a bit of a disadvantage in the game.  You see, there are a static amount of certain cards, and each player before you has the opportunity to try to gain them.  This extra boost of influence helps the last player gain momentum and actually have the chance to obtain some cards before others are able.

All in all, we enjoyed our first experience with the game.  We even hoped to play a second scenario, but our time ran out.  There was a little bit of slow down that occurred near the end of the game, so I am curious to see if other scenarios address it.  It almost feels like you are waiting for the right hand of cards in order to beat the final challenge and win.  There seems to be very little you can do on those last few turns aside from battling each other.  In any case, we really enjoyed the game and I am anxious to play the other scenarios and even this one again.  The fact that this game is so diverse should make it a definite purchase for any fan of deck building card games.

Dan and Jeff never stood a chance!

Interview with Reiner Knizia

Dr. Reiner Knizia is a master game designer, and we had the opportunity to speak with him during Gen Con 2011.  We met at the Lego booth to learn a little more about his involvement with Lego's new board games.

Listen to the whole interview HERE

 "What fascinates me the most is actually (Lego's) approach to say, uh, first of all we build the game, that's typical Lego. Now it's new, we play with the game. But then comes a very creative part, and then we change the game. So, there's always an invitation in each role of the game...because we are Lego you can rebuild the board you can rebuild the figures, you can redo the rules." -Reiner Knizia

 

"Of course it isn't a wooden die, it is a Lego die...In some of the games the die actually changes while you play." - Reiner Knizia

Dan: "So, they are encouraging future game designers. After they play, they can become the next Reiner Knizia."
Reiner: "Yes, why not?"


There is no doubt that Reiner is passionate about games.  His love for games and certain individual themes can be seen in many of his titles including, Star Trek Expeditions from Wizkids, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings board game from Fantasy Flight Games, and Ramses Pyramid and Ramses Return from Lego.  To hear more about Reiner and his games, stay tuned for the new Board Game Documentary: Going Cardboard coming soon from Lorien Green.


 

Hands-On Impressions: Lord of the Rings LCG: The Massing at Osgiliath

On Thursday, I had the opportunity to play the first print on demand scenario for The Lord of the Rings LCG at Gen Con 2011. The Massing At Osgiliath, sends the players through the ruins of Osgiliath, across the Anduin river, and through the Pelennor Fields towards the safety of Minas Tirith. Piece of Cake, right?

Well, let's just say they didn't really prepare anyone for what they were about to encounter. We arrived at our table and began to set up the scenario. We had decided not to bring our cards with us because the event info had said that no materials were necessary. Big mistake! It turns out that the scenario was built for constructed decks and we had little chance of success with the pre-cons. That begin said, we were still optimistic we could succeed in our endeavor.

The scenario begins with the heroes encountering a large horde of nasty creatures. In fact, since we were playing with all four players, our staging area was swarming with 12 monsters! It was at this point that we decided to ask the question, “What level scenario is this?” Turns out it was an 8.

Listen here for our full account of  

The Massacre, I mean, Massing at Osgiliath!

The New Stuff!

One of the coolest aspects of the Lord of the Rings LCG Scenario: The Massing at Osgiliath is the new objective entitled Ranger of Ithilien. When this card is flipped from the encounter deck, the first player takes control of the Ranger and he becomes an ally for your party committed to your quest. Likewise if you flip him as a shadow card, you also have an opportunity to add him to your team by exhausting a character. In addition, he deals 2 damage to the attacking enemy as he appears. It's nice to see a positive card amongst all the negative effects of this encounter deck. Previously, the best you could hope for was nothing, and in this scenario any extra allies you can gain, the better.