2014 Holiday Rundown: My Top 10 Family Games

Whether it is a battered copy of scrabble or a shiny new copy of Kings of New York, homes all over the country will be pulling out their favorite games to play this holiday season.  Here is a rundown of my family's top 10 holiday board and card games.

But before we start, I need to share the story of the mandatory Monopoly game.
 
Ever since I met my husband back in 1995 I have had a front row seat to this family tradition.  It all started when he and his siblings were younger.  Every Christmas his family would pull out monopoly and play after Christmas Eve dinner.  Now, this was not a simple game of Monopoly, this was a cutthroat, no mercy game of Monopoly.  We're talking no free parking, no quitting, and if the next person rolls the dice before you say pay me, you don't get paid.  It is quite the sight to see.  In fact, my husband's youngest sister was banned from playing for several years due to the no whining or quitting rule!  The first few years I played as a team with my husband, but before long I was right there in the mix with everyone else.
laughing, trying to pass the dice before I had to pay, and getting in arguments over properties.  While Monopoly is definitely not one of our families favorite games, this tradition has kept us bringing it out year after year.  It's not always the games you choose to play, but the memories they make that are important.  So, Every Thanksgiving and Christmas it continues to be MANDATORY to play a game of Monopoly.

And without further ado...Our top 10 family games of 2014!

We have many, many games we love to play, but this list is comprised of the games that make it year after year to our holiday table.  Enjoy!

10: Ticket to Ride
  Since its release in 2004, this board game has made it to our holiday table year after year.  In fact, we played it so much the first year, that we took a break from it the following year before bringing it back to the table :) Ticket to Ride is a great game for a wide range of ages.  It has simple rules that can be taught in about 15 minutes making it a fantastic game to teach the whole family.  Players compete to build routes and earn points.  The longer the route, the more points you'll earn!  There are a wide variety of versions to choose from including, Ticket to ride: Europe, Ticket to Ride: Marklin, Ticket to Ride: Nordic Countries, and the Ticket to Ride Card Game.  Any would be a great addition to your collection.


9: Apples to Apples
   Who ever thought a box of cards with nouns and adjectives could be so much fun!  This game has kept us laughing over the years and it's an easy game to grab whenever we need a quick filler.  We usually don't even play to win, we'll just play until we're done laughing!  The game is super simple.  Everyone has a hand of nouns.  The judge flips an adjective and reads it to the group.  Then players rush to put down the card that best matches the adjective. Laughing ensues.  That's it!  If you are looking for something slightly different, or more grown up you might also want to try Cards Against Humanity or The Princess Bride: Prepare to Die!


8: Dixit
    This game has some of the most beautifully illustrated cards I have seen in a game.  In the game, the story-teller must come up with a phrase to describe one of the illustrated cards.  Then the other players chose a card from their hand that they think also matches this phrase.  To earn points, players must try to pick out the story-teller's card from the cards of the other players. This is a great game to get the creativity flowing and it is just so pretty to look at!



7: Quiddler
   This is one of my dad's favorites.  He loves gin rummy, so this hits the mark.  It is a card game that combines the set scoring of rummy with the word creation of scrabble.  Each round players compete to create words with an increasing number of cards.  Round 1, you have three cards, round 2, four, and so on and so forth.  Each round you score points based on the numbers each letter is worth.  If you love word games, then this is definitely one to try!

6: Cover Your A$$ets
   The goal of this game is to become the first millionaire! To do so, you must collect and hide your valuables.  Each player collects pairs of matching assets and places them in a pile in front of themselves. Each time they collect a new asset, it stacks on top protecting the ones below from the greedy hands of the other players.  If a player has a matching card to the top card of your stack, watch out!  That player can try to steal your valuables! Grandparents to kids, casual to competitive gamers will enjoy this fast past, hilarious game.  Oh, and it even comes with a recipe from Grandma Beck inside!!

5: Survive: Escape from Atlantis
   This modular board game is made up of variable height hexes that slowly disappear as the island begins to sink.  The lower areas of the board sink first causing your meeples to seek higher ground.  As the island sinks, sharks, whales, and sea monsters can attack causing all kinds of trouble.  The thick sturdy tiles, quality components and easy to learn rules make this a great family game.  My 4 year old even enjoys jumping in to play a game with us.  He may not get all of the strategy, but he definitely loves to topple boats with the whale or send the sea monster to gobble up an unsuspecting boat full of meeples.

4: Time's Up
   Time's up is similar to charades.  The difference is that in this game, you have three different rounds with varying amounts of speaking you can do.  Round 1: say anything you like accept the word on the the card.   Round 2: You may only say 1 word, and round 3: no words, just motions. This is one of our families all time favorites.  Its a very active game and involves a lot of participation, so if that is not your thing, then this might not be the game for you.  Whenever we pull this one out we are all rolling on the floor laughing before the end of the first round.  There are several versions of the game. Time's Up: Title Recall is by far our favorite version.  This version challenges players to guess the titles of books, films, songs, etc. rather that the famous people from the original version.

3: King of Tokyo (King of New York)
   This would be my 4 year old's top pick for favorite family game.  Who doesn't want to play a giant Kaiju taking over Tokyo? King of Tokyo is a simple dice and card game with a lot of luck.  With 6 different monsters to choose from, there is also a lot of variety. What makes this game so fun is the knock'em n' sock'em monster combat. There is a lot of ganging up on one another, but you never feel like you are being picked on for long.  One monster takes over the center of Tokyo and hurts all the others at once -- and every monster outside of Tokyo attacks only the monster inside. With the constant moving of players' monsters in and out of Tokyo it creates a fun and exciting King of the Hill experience for everyone.
   This year we will be adding a new addition to this little gem of a game.  King of New York is a brand new  stand alone version of the game that adds new elements and a new feel that we are sure to love too!

2: Kerflip!
   Kerflip! is another fantastic word building game and one that comes with a Mensa award too!  One of my favorite aspects of this game is the genius board design.  The board fits nicely inside the box creating little pockets to slide the letters into during the game.  At the end of the game, you simply flip the box up and all the letters end up neatly in the collection box inside. The game is quick to learn, easy to play for a wide range of ages and skill levels, and it's a blast!  I personally do not fair well in word games versus my husband, but I have been victorious many times with this one.  This game rewards quick thinking and you don't have to rely on knowing obscure words to be victorious.

1: Anomia
   If you look up the word anomia, you will find it means the loss of the ability to name objects or recognize names.  The game of anomia plays off the fact that our minds are filled with all sorts of random information.  From things to eat and what to watch, to places to visit, our minds are always working.  It's easy to give examples of a breakfast cereals or a types of tree under normal circumstances, but how will you fare under pressure?  The first time I tried this game I was 6 months pregnant with my now 4 year old.  I had such mommy brain at the time, that I crashed and burned marvelously. I had anomia! 
   The game is simple.  Draw a card and place it face up in front of you.  Does it match any symbols on another player's card? If so, you must quickly come up with an example of the noun on your opponent's card before they can say one for yours.  The quickest person earns the card and play continues to the next player.  That is, unless another symbol matches another player's after the losing players card has been claimed.  This can cause quite the cascade and a raucously good time.  

So that's it.  My family's top 10 games for holiday gatherings.  I'd love to here what some of your favorite family games are.  What games make it to your table during the holidays?

My Tabletop Toddler's 2014 Cool Geek Toy Picks

  I don't know about your kids, but mine has begun making his wishlist and I wanted to share what my little geek is most excited about this holiday season.

  Many of you have probably seen (or at least heard about) the newest Disney movie, Big Hero 6. Well, it wouldn't be a holiday movie release if it didn't also have awesome toys to go along with it. Bandai has released a collection of action figures and you can choose your favorite heroes, use their special powers, and save the world from evil villains.

  Bandai has also released the Baymax Rocket Fist and Mask Set.  My son is begging for this one. He loves to dress up and play the part.  I can see the fist flying through my house now. The flying fist is made of a soft material keeping it safe for kids to play with.

  My son is a HUGE fan of all things Superhero (Marvel in particular) and the Mr. Potato Head Mixable Mashable Heroes have made this year's list.  He has always liked creating his own silly faces with the original Mr Potato Head, and we have even added some of the the Star Wars Taters to the collection, but these little guys mix the fun of Mr. Potato Head with Marvel parts to create Wolverine, Hulk, Captain America, Spider-Man, Iron, Man and more.  They are sure to be a hit in any home with a Superhero fan.

Not a superhero fan, you can always try these awesome Dr Who themed Taters too!

  The last "Toy" to make the list so far this year is also video game based.  My son loves Mario and he LOVES the Mario Micro sets.  He would like more for Christmas :O)





   These are all fun toys, but what has my son the most excited this year is the release of Skylanders: Trap Team.  He spent a good portion of last year collecting, sorting, and playing Swap Force and now he's gearing up for the newest set.  He even took the initiative to write his own list to Santa and I was very proud of his 4 year old Handwriting.  Bonus Handwriting practice!!
 
   I have to admit, I was not sure about him playing this game.  I knew it had a heavy monetary investment.  The first game was given to him as a birthday gift and he had so much fun with it from the start that I just couldn't say no.  It has also become a special father/son bonding time that I think is well worth the money in the end.

   Now, In order to reduce some of the need for him to own everything all at once, we did institute a sticker chore chart.  He can exchange his stickers like cash for things he would like to own and it's been great.  Over time he has begun to understand that things cost money and it has taught him the value of saving.  And the two things he saves and uses those stickers for more than anything else, Skylanders and Board Games!

  My son was born into a house that loves board games.  In fact, his father owns three retail stores and publishes his own games.  Logan is only 4 and has already been to Gen Con and Pax East.  He is no stranger to the world of Games.  That being said. This is his list of board games for 2014.

King of New York: 
  King of Tokyo was such a hit, that it is no wonder that it is first on the list.  Oh, and he beats me every time!

Ravensburger Labyrinth:
  Yes this is an older game, but he has just learned to play Enchanted Forest and this is a great companion game.

Zelda Monopoly: 
  Daddy plays Zelda, son watches daddy play Zelda, Daddy collects cool editions of Monopoly.  Enough Said!

Firefly Yahtzee:
  OK, so this is not on his list, but it is on MINE! and what kid wouldn't want to own a replica of the Serenity that is also a dice cup?

Hands On Impressions: Thunderstone Advance: Towers of Ruin

While I may never fully understand the reason behind AEG's choice to name their newest version of Thunderstone, Advance, I am happy to report that the advances made in this version are great improvements to the game. 

Similar to the recent release of Nightfall: The Coldest War, AEG has updated and improved Thunderstone's starting cards as well as updating the curses.  Each curse now has its own distinct way of removing itself from your deck.  While one curse might require you to discard cards, others might order you to lose gold, or worse yet, venture into the dungeon and risk defeat by lowering your attack value and become unable to equip weapons or use dungeon abilities for the rest of the turn. 

The starting cards are also new and Shiny!  If you recall, the old starting cards included Militia, Torch, Dagger, and Rations.  While the Torch remains, the other cards have received a pleasant update.  Militia are now called Regulars and can be leveled up for one fewer XP than before.  The Daggers have been upgraded to Longspears and provide Regulars with the advantage of drawing a card when equipped.  And the Rations have been replaced by Thunderstone Shards.  These thematic shards provide a nice strength boost to heroes while also providing a boost to XP when you gather your spoils in the dungeon.

Adding to the pile of improvements, Thunderstone Advance includes a larger, more dynamic board which holds not only the dungeon cards, but also provides spaces for the village.  Gone are the days when your party ends up with one spell and all weapons to choose from (or vice versa).  The new board has a set number of slots for weapons, heroes, spells, villagers, and items making it much more balanced when choosing your randomizers.

The board also comes double sided and provides two different levels of play.  One side is the dungeon and the other the wilderness.  In the wilderness, the need for light becomes a one-to-one ratio making it a little easier to navigate and a great place for new players to start.

New to this set is the addition of Familiars.  This little twist allows players to draw one after their first victory in the dungeon.  Once drawn, the familiar stays in front of the player until used.  Then it gets shuffled into the players deck to be drawn again.  When drawn it is placed once again in front of the player to be used when the time is right.  Each familiar has several different abilities that improve with the number of XP that the player has accumulated.  For example, if a player drew the Battle Hawk, then that player can use it with 0 XP to gain 2 gold in the Village, with 3 XP in the Dungeon to gain +1 light, or with 6 XP to gain that light + draw a card and gain physical attack +1 in the Dungeon.  When used, the XP is not discarded, it's checked to see that the player has the required amount. 


Players who pre-ordered the set also received the mini Avatar Expansion.  This adds just a little more Dungeon crawl flavor to the game.  Each player chooses between Wizard, Cleric, Fighter, Thief, and Ranger.  All in all I could take or leave this expansion.  The avatars seem too unbalanced and did not add much to the rest of the game.  I think it might be more fun to play with them by randomly distributing the avatars, but that's just me :)

So that's about it! Lots of great new additions that add a lot to the theme and improve the Dungeon crawl feel.  For me this is by far the best version to date and one that has me thinking I need to move it up in my deck building ranks.  Who knows, this might just move up into second place, right under Nightfall!

If you want the full Impressions from our crew, listen to our Session Impressions for Thunderstone Advance, playing now on an iPod near you!

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.

 

 

Holidays, Moving, and Plenty of Games

Welcome to 2012!  I know, I know...It's been a while.  Life's been a bit of a whirl wind and I am just now getting back into the swing of things.  December marked the rental of our first home, purchase of our second, Christmas (and with it all the travel), and the move into our NEW HOUSE!  Now that my family has finally settled in and Logan has his brand new room complete with big boy bed, I can get back to sharing my excitement of all things geeky :O)  Let me tell you, having a toddler out of his element and typical schedule for a month can be quite trying!!!

To start off this new year, I thought I would share the games I enjoyed with my family over the holidays. It was not as exciting as past years, but this year seemed to focus more on Family games that our WHOLE family could play.

The number one biggest hit of this Christmas was Tok Tok Woodman.  Similar to Jenga, but ohhh so much more fun!! Instead of sliding pieces and stacking them up, players use an ax to chop at the bark of the tree, taking care to leave the trunk intact.  My niece found this game particularly exciting and it was great that she could share a gaming experience with the adults (not always an easy thing to accomplish).






Hey That's My Fish was another hit this year.  Though it was nothing new for me or my husband, our family enjoyed it's light strategy.   In the game, each player moves their penguins across the ice in straight lines to gather fish.  Each time they leave an iceberg it disappears and creates a gap that cannot be crossed later.  The winner is the one who gathers the most fish before becoming trapped.  I couldn't believe we hadn't ever brought it.  I was such a perfect fit for our family.  I guess it's easy to miss games when you are engrossed in them all year long :0)

Logan was introduced to his first game this year too: Lucky Ducks: Sesame Street Edition.  When I saw it I could think of nothing more perfect for his first game.  There's nothing special about the game, but for Logan it had everything he could hope for...Duckies (his favorite animal) and Ernie (his favorite Sesame Street character)!  What more could we ask for!





Here's a list of some of the other games we enjoyed over the break.
Quarriors
Sorry Sliders
Time Line
Bears!
Scrabble Flash Cubes
Flash Point
and of course Time's Up (one of our families most anticipated Christmas games!)

What games did you get to enjoy this year???

 

Gamers Raise Over 1 Million Dollars for Children's Miracle Network!

Today I am so proud to be a gamer.  Around 3 AM this morning, gamers all over the world reached an amazing milestone.  In only its fourth year, the Extra-Life 24 Hour Game Marathon climbed to an amazing total of over 1 MILLION Dollars raised for Children's Miracle Network Hospitals. 




Doc (of Sarcastic Gamer) had this to say about the momentous occasion:



"This is one of the most memorable moments of my life, and if you’re an Extra Lifer, it ought to be yours.  Because I sure as hell didn’t raise a million dollars.  We all did.
For the history buffs here were the Extra Life totals in the past:
2008 – $121,000 – 1165 gamers
2009 – $170,000 – 1654 gamers
2010 – $465,000 – 3299 gamers
2011 – $1,000,000 AND CLIMBING – 13,596 gamers
More than 13,000 gamers from 97 countries, and every continent except Antarctica (penguin scientists suck) came together to make this happen..."

If you are one of those gamers, Thank You!  If you are one of those donors, Thank You!  If you had to skip yesterday and are making it up this weekend, Thank You!  Children around the world thank you for giving them a chance at extra life.  A million dollars is a lot of dough, and a lot of hope for families. 

 

Now get some sleep.  You deserve it!

Photo Tour: The New Puzzle Stike Upgrade Pack!

Calling all Puzzle Strike Fans!

Sirlin Games is upgrading your experience.  The new upgrade pack includes 4 striking playmats and 4 retro player screens.

Both are sure to make your games run smoothly, without worry of showing your chips or confusing your gem pile with other zones.

Each Player Screen features a different game rule. I love the 8-Bit style.

The pack also includes a second set of character chips, allowing players to engage in exciting mirror matches!

 

The chips have also been re-balanced to improve game play.

And if you long for more customized play, the set also comes with 3 new puzzle chips and 15 blank chips to allow for new strategies and exciting combos!

 

Stay tuned for my full review of this exciting upgrade!

**Important**The upgrade pack does require the original Puzzle Strike game.

Hands on Impressions: Sunrise City

On a recent rainy Sunday, Dan and I had the opportunity to break out a prototype copy of Sunrise City.  For those who haven't heard, Sunrise City is a new city building game from Clever Mojo Games that combines tile placement, bidding, and strategic planning.  You are one of the founders of Sunrise City and it is your job to develop the best city possible.

My first impression of the game, as we began to set it up, was that "this looks a lot like Infinite City."  But that view didn't last long! The 60 zone tiles are in fact the same size as the tiles in Infinite City, but there is oh so much more to this game (we'll get to that in a little bit).  The game also comes with 70 Benchmark Tokens, 28 Bid Markers (7 each in 4 different colors), 20 Floor Markers, 16 Role Cards, 60 Building Tiles, 1 City Hall Start Tile, 5 Community Tiles, 1 Protester Meeple, and a Scoreboard. 

Although the copy was only a prototype, the pieces were clearly constructed to resemble their final construction.  I was particularly impressed with the heft of the building tiles.  If you have ever played Survive: Escape from Atlantis, the building tiles are about the thickness of the mountain tiles from Survive (about a 1/4 inch thick).  These tiles are the equivalent of two of the zone tiles stuck together, or the shape of a large domino.  What makes these tiles so great is that, because you use them to construct the city, the thickness really helps the city come alive as you begin stacking them up.

Now onto the game play...

The goal of the game is not to score the most points.  It is to earn the right points by strategically placing buildings that allow you to reach the top of the scoring track and earn the most benchmarks.   There are various activities involved that will earn you points.  If your marker ever lands on the star at the top of your
score track exactly, you earn 2 benchmarks.  Any time you reach the top but overshoot the star, you earn 1 benchmark.  

The game is played in 3 rounds. Each round consists of four phases: Preparation, Zoning, Bidding, and Constuction.  Before you begin, everyone drafts 3 roles, one role for each round.  At the start of your preparation phase, you will choose one of those rolls to play.  These rolls provide players with a special ability for the round.  They also help determine the first player in each round (The card with the lowest number will go first). You then draw 4 building tiles and 4 zone tiles.

After the preparation phase, you move on to the zoning phase where you begin to plan out the city.  You will take turns placing one of the 4 zone tiles you just drew in the preparation phase.  In order to play a tile you must connect the sidewalks.  It does not matter which way the tile is facing as long as you can walk between tiles.  These tiles will become the base on which you will begin constructing your buildings, so it is important to attach your zone tiles accordingly.  Each tile represents a residential, commercial, industrial, parks & recreation, or mixed use zone. 

Once the zoning phase is complete you move onto the bidding phase.  In this phase you are bidding on the zones where you want to place your building tiles.  It is important to remember that you must own at least one connected zone in order to construct a building in a given area, so this is an important step in the game.  Each player has 6 tokens with which to bid.  When the bidding is completed only the top most bid markers count and the rest are redistributed to their owners.

After all bids are placed, you will begin the building phase.  This is where the game visually shines.  Each building tile is made up of two building types that match the zones that were just added.  The tiles are placed on the board connecting the appropriate zone to the type of building.  There are three numbers on each building tile.  The middle number is earned by the player that places the tile and the two outside numbers are earned by whom ever owns the zone on which it is placed.  As you build you can also stack tiles on top of one another building multiple floors after the ground floor.  Players earn bonus points when they build the odd numbered floors. In a four player game, this can get quite impressive as some buildings reach floors of 8 or 9. 

And that's it! You complete these phases for three rounds and the player with the most Benchmark Tokens wins!

The only issue I have with the game is that there is a slight disconnect thematically with the roads.  They don't seem to go any where, and while the theme of not being able to build buildings over the roads on the ground floor makes perfect sense, the fact that the roads tend to not connect to one another, seems a little odd.  They usually end up as little circles all over town.  Like a said, not a problem with the mechanics of the game, just a little weird visually.  Regardless, I love the game play and think that it is a great middle of the road strategy game - not too simple, not too complex.  I would place it right between Infinite City and Power Grid. 

So, if you are a fan of tile placement games, I would definitely recommend giving this one a try.  It is fun, relatively quick, and has enough strategy to keep things interesting.  I can't wait to see the final product, as I am confident that it will have beautiful components to go along with its solid game play.  Also, if you pledge $50 or more to its KickStarter you will get the promo roles and community tiles too.  These will definitely add even more fun to the game, so check it out!

Play Games...Heal Kids!

Want to be a real life hero?

Who doesn't?  

Children all over the county are dealt some pretty tough cards sometimes, but on October 15, 2011, you can help those kids win.

Logan at Buffalo Children's Hospital

This is something that recently hit home.  Not long ago, my son, Logan, had his own scary adventures with the hospital.  He suffers from Febrile Seizures and, as you can imagine, it is a terrifying event for both him and his parents.  Without the wonderful doctors and nurses, I would not have known what to do.  I thank God every day for the support and care they have provided to our family.  They made us all feel safe and informed.  This event is my way of giving back, and is a cause near and dear to my heart.









Extra Life, an annual 24-hour video game marathon started by Sarcastic Gamer, raises money to help kids at Children's Miracle Network Hospitals.  It's simple.  You sign up. You get sponsors.  And you play games for 24 hours.  Fun right?  The more people you get to sponsor you, the more money you will earn for your local Children's Hospital.  And that's the best part.  You can pick YOUR local hospital and 100% of your donations go directly to them! 

Last year, GameSalute.com gathered their forces and joined Sarcastic Gamer to bring board and card games to the fight.  From 8 AM Saturday to 8 Am Sunday, gamers all around the world played games to help heal kids. Their efforts, as a member of Team GameSalute.com,  raised over $5,000 for their local hospitals.  I was one of those gamers.  So, if you are a fan of board and card games, join Team GameSalute.com or start your own!

If you can't commit to the full 24 hours (it doesn't have to be a continuous 24 hours), or if you are just not that into games, but you still want to help, search for team GameSalute.com and you can sponsor one of our team members.  I will be raising money again this year and have hopes that we can beat last year's record.

So, join in the fight and help us give kids Extra Life!