resources post – board games

in case you are wondering, i still have insomnia, and even the tablets aren’t helping. SO, I thought I hadn’t do a resources post for a while, so am popping up some fav games – the list isn’t exhaustive .

But it does come across that we are a little bit addicted to them…

BB likes playing these, as well has her new game, Giro Galoppo. she also loves ludo. the rubbish recycling game is a bit younger child for the whole family, tho we play with her. The others, tho are fun for the whole family. i do like games that we can all play together. for set, with a younger child, we tend to take turns rather than see who can win. treehouse is a really useful little game that fits into a small handbag for playing on trains, or in cafes and restaurants whilst awaiting a meal and desperately trying to keep face v good for small as well as larger children. Bohnanza, or the bean game has a v simple premise, and you can play cooperatively with younger children or demonically with other adults with BB we tend to only go once through the pack of cards rather than 3 times due to attention span. A v much loved game, and usually comes on hols with us, as doesn’t take much space. would be possible for longer train journeys and flights too. Set encourages pattern recognition, and is kind of critical thinking in a game. She also often chooses to play Gamewright Hisss Card Game and Landlock, both we bought from playmerrily, though I think they are discontinued now there are loads of other small child games

these are the games SB has played most this christmas. like her parents, she likes games playing . Alhambra is a good game, with simple rules that sometimes over strategising makes it go horribly wrong! it is quite hard to predict at the beginning who will be the winner. We like to have games that are ‘different’ to each other, rather than all working in the same way, so alhambra really acheives this. there is quite a chance element to it, as well as strategy. i guess we play more gently with the kids than some families we know ,especiallly when it comes to puerto rico. I think, on the whole, this is a game for kids who play games and adults, rather than a first game. it is long, convoluted, and strategy absolutely required [tho it can be completely queered by your other game players] it takes quite a while, and we have managed to adapt to a 2 player, and tend to play not so competitively as you can with SB, though obv with other adults no holds barred . SMallworld was her christmas game, and i guess it is our only game where shafting other players is part of the key strategy so it is again quite different from the others. I am actually not a competitve player [hears snorts of ppl reading this] as actually i think i enjoy winning cos of strategy rather than killing my competitors! but actually a pretty enjoyable game with SB, might be not the same for me with someone with a more ruthless streak, but then, they would partic love it!! i hate monopoly, but she plays this with her cousin. She also enjoys the games BB plays, and games that we play too. It is quite hard really to shortlist! I guess all time favs would probably include

we don’t own all those games friends have some of them. BB likes blokus too. and she is starting to play by the rules! We have the three player ticket to ride, as bought that as often do 2 or 3 player games with sb, and the larger ones wouldn’t really work. it is a lovely game in its own right, the rules are slightly diff, but we would all recommend this for a family to purchase, either the smaller game like us or the bigger game, depending on number of likely players. sb likes the labyrinth game at friends, def one aimed for kids of her age, but fine for adults too, and well enjoyed. a friend has fire and ice, and i periodically think of purchasing that, a sort of variation on chinese checkers, and quite different from anything we currently have. and also a beautifully tactile game we have made variants of that and similar games ourselves though. Blokus is again a quite different and v beautiful game and you have to try and place all your pieces, def encourages spatial awareness!

So what about us grownups! on the whole, we try and buy games for the children that we will also enjoy playing. But there are some we play that they aren’t so ready for – though SB did enjoy pandemic this christmas But agricola is far too complex, and i think caylus is too, though settlers she plays quite happily. I think currently pandemic is my favourite, especially with the expansion pack! Pandemic: On the Brink which seems particularly cheap at the moment. I like the cooperative approach of players as a v chatty and Oh No! kind of game. I do still love agricola, but it takes a while, and have to be in the right mood!! for quicker games, race to the galaxy and alhambra are good. pandemic doesn’t last too long tho, we tend to die quickly!

so, lots of games to whet your appetite there!! oh, and games friends have that i beg them to bring

go on, try a few

these websites good for reviews and buying gameboard geek and gameslore

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