The Family Gamers Podcast: Recent Episodes
The Family Gamers
It’s that time again – we recommend games for everyone on your gift list.
00:00 Fact for 41010-4 is one of many ten-codes, used for clarity and brevity in Morse code & voice communications. 10-4 means “received” or “acknowledged”.
Sponsor MessageWe talk about the sunk cost fallacy. Just because you’ve already invested resources into something doesn’t tell us if it’s worth that next bit of resources to see it through.
If you need a sounding board for your life’s financial decisions, go to firstmovefinancial.com/familygamers and set up a time today to talk to First Move Financial – for free!
0:04:00 What We’ve Been PlayingINK – review coming soon of this race to place all your ink bottles.
Red Letter, Yellow Letter – our review
Odin – review coming soon. Best at 3-4 players.
Obelus – gorgeous. Our review. We are excited to see more from this publisher!
Chit Chat – review coming soon for this trivia party game.
Jekyll & Hyde vs. Scotland Yard – a really hard cooperative trick-taking game, but we’re getting better at it
0:18:15 The Family Gamers CommunityWelcome to our newest community members! You can join the community on Facebook.
Stop by and say hello!
BacktalkWe asked what YOU think makes a good gift when you’re given a board game.
A few of you answered on the #backtalk channel on the Discord and in our Facebook community.
… and yes, we did review Box of Rocks, a silly game.
Anyone interested in sharing some recipes for us to try out?
0:18:15 The Family Gamers Holiday Gift GuideWe race through all the games on our 2025 gift guide.
A friendly reminder to our listeners: many of the games on the list we received at no cost, and we do earn a (tiny) commission from the Amazon links. But every single game on that list, we have played, enjoyed, and would buy and give (or have already bought & given) to our friends and family.
1:18:20 New Backtalk QuestionWe’re heading to PAX Unplugged this week. We’ll be teaching Castle Panic on Sunday morning (11/23)!
What is your favorite thing to do at conventions?
Tell us on the #backtalk channel on our Discord, or in our Facebook community.
Find Us Online:Facebook: @familygamersaa and thefamilygamers.com/community
Twitter (X): @familygamersaa
Instagram: @familygamersaa
TikTok: @familygamersaa
Bluesky: @familygamersaa
Threads: @familygamersaa
Youtube: TheFamilyGamers
or join the Family Tabletop Community on Discord! thefamilygamers.com/discord
Or, for the most direct method, email us! andrew@thefamilygamers.com and anitra@thefamilygamers.com.
PLEASE don’t forget to subscribe to the show, tell your friends about the show, and leave us a review at Apple Podcast or whatever your podcast subscription source is. We’re also on Amazon Music, TuneIn, and Spotify.
You can also now find us on YouTube Music! So pull it up and give us a listen while you’re toiling away at work :)
The Family Gamers is sponsored by First Move Financial. Go to FirstMoveFinancial.com/familygamers to learn how the team at First Move Financial can help you pile up the victory points.
The post Episode 410 – Holiday Gift Guide appeared first on The Family Gamers.
Let’s talk about card games!
00:00 Fact for 409A little about Formula 409®.
Sponsor MessageHow do you maintain your budget during the holiday season, with gift giving, big family meals, decorations, increased travel, seasonal activities?
If you want to talk through other ideas to take some of the stress out of the holidays set up a time to talk to First Move by going to firstmovefinancial.com/familygamers today.
0:04:30 What We’ve Been PlayingFinished My City – ultimate winner: Anitra, but it was really close at the end!
HiFi – full review coming soon
Odin – with 6 players, it was less fun. Too easy to get stuck unable to play cards.
5 Towers
Jekyll & Hyde vs Scotland Yard
0:15:30 What We’ve Been Playing – OctoberAndrew: 14 unique games 25 times, H-index 2 (My City, Chit Chat, Ink, Duel for Cardia, Odin)
Anitra: 16 unique games 36 times, H-index 3 (My City, Duel for Cardia, Bomb Busters, Chit Chat)
Almost all of our games we played with each other, much more than usual.
0:18:30 The Family Gamers CommunityWelcome to our newest community members! You can join the community on Facebook.
Welcome Post!
BacktalkWe asked about your seasonal gaming traditions. A few of you answered on the #backtalk channel on the Discord, and that’s about it!
0:23:00 Our Top 5 Card Games… For NowSometimes you want something small, and fast (and cheap!). What you want is a card game. Here are five of our favorites:
Trick taking: Skull King
If you like trick-taking games but wish they were wackier, or you want to include more than four players, Skull King has you covered. Up to eight players can join in – make a bid for how many tricks you’ll win, but beware of cards like the pirates, mermaids, the pirate king, and the white whale.
Traditional (ish) card game: Flip 7 (our review)
This is another game that supports a LOT of players (up to 18?!?) It feels a bit like Blackjack, but with a lot more flexibility. Try to get the most points you can each round, but if you ever flip a number you already have, you’ll get nothing.
Party game: Anomia
It’s sort of a trivia game, but it’s just about shouting out something in the given category. Everyone stays involved, because you always need to be looking for a symbol that matches your own. We’ve reviewed the Pop Culture set and Anomia Kids, but we love the original and its sibling Duple!
Start playing right away: Circus Flohcati (our review)
Flip cards out from the deck until you decide to stop and take one. You’ll spend more time explaining the scoring than how to play.
Just plain good: Trio (our review)
This game combines memory and deduction. While it’s very easy to learn, we find that people mess up the “only highest or lowest card” rule, which can be frustrating.
You could get all five of these games together for under $75 – another reason card games are great!
0:35:50 Runners-up: More Card Games We LoveCabanga! – we absolutely love this tiny game, but it’s kind of hard to get, and going to get harder until Amigo can partner with a new US distributor.
Similo – another great party game. Remember to have guessers talk out their reasoning!
Combo – we love this semi-cooperative game, but it can be hard to teach.
Abandon All Artichokes – a wonderful early deck-building game. Cute and charming.
Tussie Mussie – a tiny split-and-choose game, at just 18 cards!
Get the MacGuffin – a goofy game about being the last player standing.
Sushi Go – an approachable set-collection “pick and pass” game. Even a very young kid could probably play this.
0:46:15 Follow UpA few people asked for the Butter Chicken Mac & Cheese recipe. So, would you like to hear about more family recipes? Maybe in a little more detail?
We also asked last week about a BGG guild for The Family Gamers. If you’re avoiding social media, we’re happy to do a guild, but so far we’ve only heard from one person on this!
0:48:10 New Backtalk QuestionWhat’s the perfect kind of game to receive as a holiday gift? Is it about the games you like to play, or the environment to play them in?
Tell us on the #backtalk channel on our Discord, or in our Facebook community.
Find Us Online:Facebook: @familygamersaa and thefamilygamers.com/community
Twitter (X): @familygamersaa
Instagram: @familygamersaa
TikTok: @familygamersaa
Bluesky: @familygamersaa
Threads: @familygamersaa
Youtube: TheFamilyGamers
or join the Family Tabletop Community on Discord! thefamilygamers.com/discord
Or, for the most direct method, email us! andrew@thefamilygamers.com and anitra@thefamilygamers.com.
PLEASE don’t forget to subscribe to the show, tell your friends about the show, and leave us a review at Apple Podcast or whatever your podcast subscription source is. We’re also on Amazon Music, TuneIn, and Spotify.
You can also now find us on YouTube Music! So pull it up and give us a listen while you’re toiling away at work :)
The Family Gamers is sponsored by First Move Financial. Go to FirstMoveFinancial.com/familygamers to learn how the team at First Move Financial can help you pile up the victory points.
The post Episode 409 – Five Favorite Card Games appeared first on The Family Gamers.
Weather’s getting colder, time for something cozy!
00:00 Fact for 408The Haslam All-Sky Radio Continuum Survey used the 408 MHz radio spectrum to map the galactic sky around 1985. This map is still used today. It gets super technical, but if you’re interested in astronomy, check this out. Basically any time scientists want to measure anything outside the Milky Way, they use the Haslam survey to remove foreground distortion.
https://www.aanda.org/articles/aa/full_html/2009/22/aa12161-09/aa12161-09.html
Sponsor MessageFirst Move reminds us that we can think about our money like little workers in the worker placement game of life. If you need help figuring out where to place your dollar workers, reach out to First Move Financial. You can find them at firstmovefinancial.com/familygamers to schedule a time to talk today.
0:06:00 What We’ve Been PlayingINK (review coming soon) – makes us think of Framework and Donut Shop with how well it’s put together. Here it is on BGA!
Duel for Cardia (review next week)
Bomb Busters
Chit Chat (review coming soon) Zitternix – out of print. so happy to have a copy again! Unmatched (Houdini vs. Sherlock Holmes / Bruce Lee vs. The Genie) – inspired by this episode of the First Player Token podcast Odin
60 Second City
Jekyll & Hyde vs Scotland Yard
My City (our review) Creature Comforts
0:30:20 The Family Gamers CommunityWelcome to our newest community members! You can join the community on Facebook.
Welcome Post!
BacktalkWe asked about your heaviest games. A few of you answered on the #backtalk channel on our Discord, and in this post in the Facebook community.
What do YOU think about having a Family Gamers guild on BoardGameGeek?
0:44:30 Ten Favorite Cozy GamesThe weather gets cooler, and it’s the perfect time to snuggle up with a hot beverage and a cozy game.
Calico (Flatout Games / AEG) – cozy, but challenging.
boop. (Smirk & Dagger) – mean but still cozy. Check our review – or boop the Halls !
Creature Comforts (Kids Table Board Gaming)
Arch Ravels (XYZ Game Labs)
Chai (Steeped Games) – our review
Flamecraft (Cardboard Alchemy / Lucky Duck Games) – our review
My Shelfie: The Dice Game (Cranio Creations / Lucky Duck Games) – our review
Leaf (Weird City Games) – our review
S’mores Galore (Mighty Acorn Games) – “exactly what I wanted in a smores-themed game”
Smug Owls (Runaway Parade) – a quiet and thoughtful party game. – our review
1:08:00 Cozy Food – Not Quite “For Science”Butter chicken mac and cheese! We make this in the crockpot and pack it up for lunches.
Would you make this? Tell us what you think – and for the recipe, check out the Discord server.
1:10:00 New Backtalk QuestionWe started talking about cozy games because it’s getting to be that time of the year in New England that we traditionally play cozy games.
Do you have a board game tradition related to a certain time of the year?
Tell us on the #backtalk channel on our Discord, or in our Facebook community.
Find Us Online:Facebook: @familygamersaa and thefamilygamers.com/community
Twitter (X): @familygamersaa
Instagram: @familygamersaa
TikTok: @familygamersaa
Bluesky: @familygamersaa
Threads: @familygamersaa
Youtube: TheFamilyGamers
or join the Family Tabletop Community on Discord! thefamilygamers.com/discord
Or, for the most direct method, email us! andrew@thefamilygamers.com and anitra@thefamilygamers.com.
PLEASE don’t forget to subscribe to the show, tell your friends about the show, and leave us a review at Apple Podcast or whatever your podcast subscription source is. We’re also on Amazon Music, TuneIn, and Spotify.
You can also now find us on YouTube Music! So pull it up and give us a listen while you’re toiling away at work :)
The Family Gamers is sponsored by First Move Financial. Go to FirstMoveFinancial.com/familygamers to learn how the team at First Move Financial can help you pile up the victory points.
The post Episode 408 – Top 10 Cozy Games appeared first on The Family Gamers.
We’ve been looking forward to making this episode for a little while. Sometimes you don’t have a lot of time to play games – so let’s talk about our family favorites that play in 15 minutes or less.
00:00 Fact for 407This one is for Zach. on 15 November 2012 a new world record was set. The most people flapping simultaneously is 407, achieved by Saint Joseph’s University (USA), in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
Sponsor MessageA successful financial life isn’t complex, but it does require discipline. The basics: create a budget; build an emergency fund; pay off high-interest debt; invest wisely; and educate yourself.
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03:45 What We’ve Been PlayingMy City (our review)
Hamster Roll (our review)
Drop It (our review)
Trio (our review)
Red Letter Yellow Letter (review next week!)
Spaceteam
Quacks of Quedlinburg
INK (review coming soon)
Duel for Cardia
Bomb Busters
Jekyll v. Hyde (our review)
Ham Helsing
15:40 September Monthly ReportAndrew: 13 unique games, played 32 times. Most played: My City (9 times!) and H-index of 3. Didn’t record anything he played at CuseCon though.
Anitra: 21 unique games, played 43 times. H-index: 4 (My City, Mr. Postmouse’s Picnic, Duel for Cardia, Trio). Over half played at 2 players (unusually high for Anitra).
18:30 The Family Gamers CommunityWelcome to our newest community members! You can join the community too, on Facebook.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/familygamersaa/posts/4172992196323572/
BacktalkWe asked about your favorite game(s) in 2025. You answered on the #backtalk channel on our Discord, and in this post in the Facebook community.
And check out Nick’s review of My Shelfie: The Dice Game!
26:15 Our Top Ten(ish) 15 Minute GamesSometimes you just don’t have a lot of time to play. But if you have a little bit of time, you can still play!
Our top choices to end a game night or get the kids together quickly to play.
Great with 3-5 players, or even more:
Trio
Circus Flohcati
Get the MacGuffin
Strike (recommended in our “Top 10 Games for Teens”)
Similo – literally anyone can play.
Just One (if you play just a few rounds)
Only for 2 players:
Duel for Cardia (review coming soon – in the meantime, try it on BGA)
Jekyll vs. Hyde
Floristry
Quarto
Solo: A Gentle Rain
39:00 New Backtalk QuestionI’d love to learn a little more about our community. What is the heaviest game you own? If you went on Board Game Geek and looked at the game weight, what do you think your heaviest game is?
We found our heaviest is Keyflower, a 3.34 weight according to BGG.
Tell us on the #backtalk channel on our Discord, or in our Facebook community.
Find Us Online:Facebook: @familygamersaa and thefamilygamers.com/community
Twitter (X): @familygamersaa
Instagram: @familygamersaa
TikTok: @familygamersaa
Bluesky: @familygamersaa
Threads: @familygamersaa
Youtube: TheFamilyGamers
or join the Family Tabletop Community on Discord! thefamilygamers.com/discord
Or, for the most direct method, email us! andrew@thefamilygamers.com and anitra@thefamilygamers.com.
PLEASE don’t forget to subscribe to the show, tell your friends about the show, and leave us a review at Apple Podcast or whatever your podcast subscription source is. We’re also on Amazon Music, TuneIn, and Spotify.
You can also now find us on YouTube Music! So pull it up and give us a listen while you’re toiling away at work :)
The Family Gamers is sponsored by First Move Financial. Go to FirstMoveFinancial.com/familygamers to learn how the team at First Move Financial can help you pile up the victory points.
The post Episode 407 – Our Favorite 15-Minute Games appeared first on The Family Gamers.
Andrew just had a birthday! Let’s talk about his favorite games from this year.
0:00:00 Fact for 406Ted Williams had the best season batting average of anyone in the MLB: .406 in the 1941 season. Listen for the story of how he got there.
Sponsor MessageIf you want to see if working with a financial advisor can help your situation set up a time to talk to First Move by going to firstmovefinancial.com/familygamers today.
0:05:00 What We’ve Been PlayingMr. Postmouse’s Picnic (so much losing!)
My City (our review) – and a lesson on studying your kids’ preferences.
Tesla vs. Edison: Duel
Duel for Cardia (review coming soon) – try it on BGA
Run Run Run! (more losing!)
HiFi – we are divided on this one.
0:37:45 The Family Gamers CommunityWelcome to our newest community members! You can join the community too, on Facebook.
BacktalkWe asked about themes that resonate with your family. You answered on the #backtalk channel on our Discord, and in this post in the Facebook community.
Sounds like for most people and most games, theme is a general push towards or away from a game.
0:46:00 FOR SCIENCE! – Reese’s / Oreo collaborationWe tried both. The Reeses-flavored Oreos were fine, but nothing special. Get peanut butter Oreos instead.
Oreo-flavored Reeses cups, however… really good. Although we disagree about how much “Oreo” is present.
0:50:30 Andrew’s Favorites in 2025This past week was Andrew’s birthday week. He did two crazy things for it. He drove to and from Syracuse for just ONE DAY of friends and gaming at CuseCon. And he also went to see Eric Clapton live in concert!
Let’s talk about what games Andrew liked the most this year from what he played.
Small/Medium Group Game: Trio (our review)
Two Player Game: Floristry (our review)
Party Game: Caution Signs (our review)
Co-operative Game: Paint the Roses (we talked about this in episodes 402 & 403)
Heavier Game: Tesla vs. Edison (see our old Valentine pun)
Most Looking Forward to: Compile: Main 2 (check out our review of Compile: Main 1)
1:08:55 New Backtalk QuestionWhat’s your favorite game that you played this year? The cream of the cardboard crop, whether it’s new or not?
Tell us on the #backtalk channel on our Discord, or in our Facebook community.
Find Us Online:Facebook: @familygamersaa and thefamilygamers.com/community
Twitter (X): @familygamersaa
Instagram: @familygamersaa
TikTok: @familygamersaa
Bluesky: @familygamersaa
Threads: @familygamersaa
Youtube: TheFamilyGamers
or join the Family Tabletop Community on Discord! thefamilygamers.com/discord
Or, for the most direct method, email us! andrew@thefamilygamers.com and anitra@thefamilygamers.com.
PLEASE don’t forget to subscribe to the show, tell your friends about the show, and leave us a review at Apple Podcast or whatever your podcast subscription source is. We’re also on Amazon Music, TuneIn, and Spotify.
You can also now find us on YouTube Music! So pull it up and give us a listen while you’re toiling away at work :)
The Family Gamers is sponsored by First Move Financial. Go to FirstMoveFinancial.com/familygamers to learn how the team at First Move Financial can help you pile up the victory points.
The post Episode 406 – Andrew’s Favorites in 2025! appeared first on The Family Gamers.
Is game theme important? Is theme more than just the art?
0:00:00 Fact for 405I-405 in California, heavily traveled by both commuters and freight haulers along its entire length, is the busiest and most congested freeway in the United States.
Sponsor MessageWe learn about “spear phishing”. If you’d like to talk to someone about how you can protect your financial assets, remember you can book a free meeting with First Move at firstmovefinancial.com/familygamers.
0:04:20 What We’ve Been PlayingSpots [Editor’s note: “The Hundred and One Dalmatians” book was published in 1956. Still within copyright.]
Red Letter Yellow Letter
Cabanga! (our review)
Floristry (our review)
Duel for Cardia
Merchants of Magick (our review) – a lesson on what to do when pieces are missing.
Get Bit! (our review)
Oasis
Circus Flohcati (our review)
INK
Trio (our review)
Junk Drawer solo (our review)
Mr Postmouse’s Picnic
Endangered (our review)
Check out the Kickstarter for Endangered: Australia!
0:33:30 August Monthly ReportAnitra: 52 plays of 31 unique games. H-index 3: Trio, Unmatched, Cabanga! (plus Backstories, Flip 7, Duel for Cardia, A Gentle Rain)
Andrew: 31 plays of 18 unique games. H-index 3: also Trio, Unmatched, Cabanga!
0:35:10 The Family Gamers CommunityWelcome to our newest community members! You can join the community too, on Facebook.
BacktalkWe asked about video games you like to play together. You answered on the #backtalk channel on our Discord, and in this post in the Facebook community.
0:45:45 Is Theme Important?Theme vs. Mechanics – why not both? Is theme important? Sometimes! For lovers of abstract games, theme can get in the way of a clean, enjoyable game.
Anitra has changed her opinion. Because a well-done theme can shape the mechanics of a game in a way that helps players join the “magic circle” and really get into the game.
This is especially true for “adult” games that can be approachable for kids. (Flashpoint, Mountains).
But not all themes are created equal!
We mentioned playing Endangered. It’s great to save endangered animals… but this game does it in the way people do it in the real world: a lot of interaction with government bureaucracy and fundraising! Not super interesting for our kids.
Know what themes your kids like! Talk to them and be aware that their tastes change.
We’ve mentioned HiFi, a game about mixing musical tracks and uses a record player as a way to choose actions. We have another kid who loves D&D and can’t wait to sink into Horrified: Dungeons & Dragons.
There’s a reason we have done episodes focusing on just a specific theme (food, dragons, etc.) and why our lists for older kids and teens are organized around theme.
The right theme is not a cure-all, but it has the power to make a game feel EASIER as well as more immersive. (Maybe because it’s more immersive, and the game progression feels like it makes sense.) Example: Lacrimosa really works for Anitra, even though it’s a harder game than she’d usually choose to play.
We mention Megaland (yes, it’s still in print) as a great way to pull in a videogame feel to a kid-appropriate board game, or more complex game themes, like Worms, Halo: Flashpoint, or Call of Duty: The Boardgame. And check out our review of Shovel Knight: Dungeon Duels!
1:02:00 New Backtalk QuestionWhere are you on the theme bandwagon? Do you care more about theme or mechanics? What is YOUR favorite theme?
Tell us on the #backtalk channel on our Discord, or in our Facebook community.
Find Us Online:Facebook: @familygamersaa and thefamilygamers.com/community
Twitter (X): @familygamersaa
Instagram: @familygamersaa
TikTok: @familygamersaa
Bluesky: @familygamersaa
Threads: @familygamersaa
Youtube: TheFamilyGamers
or join the Family Tabletop Community on Discord! thefamilygamers.com/discord
Or, for the most direct method, email us! andrew@thefamilygamers.com and anitra@thefamilygamers.com.
PLEASE don’t forget to subscribe to the show, tell your friends about the show, and leave us a review at Apple Podcast or whatever your podcast subscription source is. We’re also on Amazon Music, TuneIn, and Spotify.
You can also now find us on YouTube Music! So pull it up and give us a listen while you’re toiling away at work :)
The Family Gamers is sponsored by First Move Financial. Go to FirstMoveFinancial.com/familygamers to learn how the team at First Move Financial can help you pile up the victory points.
The post Episode 405 – Theme appeared first on The Family Gamers.
We talk a lot about playing games with your kids. But boardgames aren’t the only way to connect – and they aren’t always the BEST way, either.
0:00:00 Fact for 404404 BC: Sparta finally defeated Athens, ending the second Peloponnesian War.
404 AD: The last gladiatorial games are held in Rome.
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If you’d like to talk to someone about how you can protect your financial assets, remember you can book a free meeting with First Move at firstmovefinancial.com/familygamers.
0:05:15 What We’ve Been PlayingA Gentle Rain (our review)
HiFi
Unmatched: Battle of Legends volume 3 (our review)
Fruition
Red Letter, Yellow Letter – we played it in the car!
Backstories: Emerald Wedding Anniversary (review coming soon)
Tesla vs. Edison: War of Currents
Juicy Fruits
Dinosaur Tea Party (our review)
Prisma Arena (our review)
Obelus (our review)
Quarto (our review)
0:32:00 The Family Gamers CommunityWelcome to our newest community members! You can join the community too, on Facebook.
BacktalkWe asked about “low-key” games. You answered on the #backtalk channel on our Discord, and in this post in the Facebook community. Shout out to The Joyful Jedi for his humorous answer for Loki games instead.
0:37:45 Connecting through GamingInspired by Kendra’s comments on Facebook.
We’ve talked before about WHY to play games with your kids. But a reason that’s easy to skip over is connection: spending time working together on something – or lightly competing – can build memories and emphasize commonalities between people. And the important part is the CONNECTION, not the method you use.
Forcing your kids to the table does not really foster connection. (Bartering could work, though.)
Instead of always bringing them into the things you enjoy, bring yourself to something they enjoy.
Videogame recommendations:Free-for-all fighting games like
Super Smash Bros (any version)
Ultimate Chicken Horse
Gang Beasts
Objective-based games:
Overcooked
Moving Out
Totally Reliable Delivery Service
Minecraft, of course. “Like playing with LEGO ‘together’.”
Two-player cooperative games that have a plot:
It Takes Two (content warning: divorce, language – best for teens)
Split Fiction (we haven’t played this yet)
Unravel Two
Death Squared (abstract strategy puzzles for 2-4 players)
Jackbox (get teens using their phones to play TOGETHER)
Rock Band (or Guitar Hero, etc.) “It simulates the experience of making music together, while removing barriers”
Takeaway: Meet your kid on their terms to better connect with them!
1:05:45 New Backtalk QuestionWhat video games are you playing with other people LOCALLY? We’re talking couch co-op and local multiplayer.
Tell us on the #backtalk channel on our Discord, or in our Facebook community.
Find Us Online:Facebook: @familygamersaa and thefamilygamers.com/community
Twitter (X): @familygamersaa
Instagram: @familygamersaa
TikTok: @familygamersaa
Bluesky: @familygamersaa
Threads: @familygamersaa
Youtube: TheFamilyGamers
or join the Family Tabletop Community on Discord! thefamilygamers.com/discord
Or, for the most direct method, email us! andrew@thefamilygamers.com and anitra@thefamilygamers.com.
PLEASE don’t forget to subscribe to the show, tell your friends about the show, and leave us a review at Apple Podcast or whatever your podcast subscription source is. We’re also on Amazon Music, TuneIn, and Spotify.
You can also now find us on YouTube Music! So pull it up and give us a listen while you’re toiling away at work :)
The Family Gamers is sponsored by First Move Financial. Go to FirstMoveFinancial.com/familygamers to learn how the team at First Move Financial can help you pile up the victory points.
The post Episode 404 – Connecting Through Gaming appeared first on The Family Gamers.
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?
0:00:00 Fact for 403403 is the code on the internet for NO. If you want to go to a website, but you don’t have access, 403. Technically the word is “FORBIDDEN”, but really it means no.
Here’s actual standards document. But it’s really, really boring. https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc7235
Sponsor MessageFirst Move would like to make us all more aware of some of the newer scams out there. Be very careful clicking links, even ones that look legitimate!
If you’d like to talk to someone about how you can protect your financial assets, remember you can book a free meeting with First Move at firstmovefinancial.com/familygamers.
0:04:45 What We’ve Been Playingmore Paint the Roses, with 4 players this time. Much harder!
Charcuterie (our review)
HUTAN (our review)
Stew
Horrified: World of Monsters / Greek Monsters mashup (review coming soon)
Goblin Vaults (off the shelf of opportunity!)
Sagrada
The Magnificent
While camping:
Flip 7 (our review)
Cabanga! (our review)
Trio (our review)
Sushi Go Party!
Order Overload: Cafe
Sabobatage
Altiplano – a big miss for us.
0:24:30 July Monthly ReportAnitra: 49 plays of 27 unique games. H-index 3, with a lot of plays of Trio & HUTAN, but also at least 3 times with: Paint the Roses, Fight for Olympus, Canvas Critters, Jekyll & Hyde vs Scotland Yard, Quarto.
Andrew: 29 plays of 17 unique games. H-index 3. Lots of The Crew: Mission Deep Sea, Paint the Roses, Trio, plus Jekyll & Hyde v. Scotland Yard, HUTAN.
0:26:35 The Family Gamers CommunityWelcome to our newest community members!
BacktalkWe asked about board game mechanics you dislike, and what you do about them. You answered on the #backtalk channel on our Discord, and in this Backtalk post in the Facebook community.
0:36:00 Too Much Pressure?This hobby of board gaming lends itself to always chasing the hot new thing or trying to do MORE. Probably true of a lot of hobbies, since it’s so easy to find a community online where people brag on the cool things they’re doing.
Do you feel pressure to go to every convention, or keep up with the latest hot new thing? Pressure to get your kids to play “real” games with you? Pressure to finish a game you don’t like, or pull games off your “shelf of shame”?
First: when you feel that pressure, realize that YOU are the one putting pressure on yourself; no one else can do that to you without your consent.
0:38:40 The Shelf of ShameWe prefer to call this the “shelf of opportunity”, but it still means games that are sitting unplayed. What are some strategies to deal with this without feeling guilty?
- Set limits on bringing in new games – YOU set this limit, not someone else.
- Set a deadline on PLAYING a specific game that’s been sitting on your shelf. If you can’t manage to play it, purge it without feeling guilty. (More on purging)
- Recognize that you can move on from a game – that doesn’t mean it’s a “bad” game. Instead, it means someone else will get to try it and enjoy it!
- Getting rid of a game doesn’t get rid of the good memories you have associated with it.
- “Why do I want to keep this game so much?” If a game needs JUST the right set of circumstances to play it – be honest with yourself. Will that exact set of circumstances actually happen? And even if they do, is there another game that will be easier to get to the table?
0:48:00 Getting Your Kids to Play GamesIf you’re listening to this podcast, you want your kids to play games with you. You may also be feeling pressure from your friends (or other parent gamers) if your kids don’t want to play games!
- The point of games with our kids is to have fun – with your kids. If they’re not having fun, it’s not serving that purpose.
- Forcing someone to do something they don’t want to do is likely to breed resentment instead of fun.
- But it is okay to apply a little bit of pressure, without it being overwhelming. Examples:
- “Please play one round, then you can walk away if you don’t like it.”
- Gentle bribery with a special snack (“I’m trying to meet you halfway, and we’re doing this as a family”)
- Recognize that kids often don’t have the words to explain WHY they don’t like a game or an experience. Have a conversation with them to try to understand!
- Meet kids where they are: letting them walk away, or playing pretend instead of following the rules.
0:53:30 To Finish? Or Not to Finish?Even when we aren’t enjoying a game we often feel like “we started it, we have to finish it!”
But we don’t need to finish. Yes, we want to teach our kids not to be quitters, but we also don’t want to frustrate them unnecessarily.
How do you know if everyone is frustrated, or if you should push through to the end? ASK QUESTIONS!
There is no merit badge for finishing a game that nobody liked.
– Andrew Smith
We tell our kids “it’s just a game” when we talk about being good winners and good losers. So we need to demonstrate that in our own playing, too! It’s just a game. Being willing to set the game aside shows your kids that they’re more important than the cardboard.
0:56:12 More on Forcing Kids to PlaySometimes, it’s not that your kids don’t want to play games, it’s that they don’t want to play with you. This is especially common around ages 11-15, in our experience. This is a normal part of growing up and finding their independence!
Hopefully, you can still get kids to do some things with you, but they’ll be more interested in their friends. If you had a good relationship when they were younger, be patient! Keep offering games and fun activities, don’t be offended when they say “no”, and they’ll (probably) come back in a while.
If you can, try to set up space to make it easier for your kid to host their friends. (Be “the fun house”.) This makes it easier to stay involved and know what they’re doing, as well as making it easier to take a break with Mom or Dad when the friends go home again.
Big takeaway: games are supposed to be FUN. If they’re not fun anymore, examine why not, and try to take a break from that.
0:59:00 New Backtalk QuestionOur kids say “low key” all the time. But let’s use it the way we used to. What’s your favorite low key game? When you just want to relax, what do you play?
Tell us on the #backtalk channel on our Discord, or in this Backtalk post in the Facebook community.
Find Us Online:Facebook: @familygamersaa and thefamilygamers.com/community
Twitter (X): @familygamersaa
Instagram: @familygamersaa
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Threads: @familygamersaa
Youtube: TheFamilyGamers
or join the Family Tabletop Community on Discord! thefamilygamers.com/discord
Or, for the most direct method, email us! andrew@thefamilygamers.com and anitra@thefamilygamers.com.
PLEASE don’t forget to subscribe to the show, tell your friends about the show, and leave us a review at Apple Podcast or whatever your podcast subscription source is. We’re also on Amazon Music, TuneIn, and Spotify.
You can also now find us on YouTube Music! So pull it up and give us a listen while you’re toiling away at work :)
The Family Gamers is sponsored by First Move Financial. Go to FirstMoveFinancial.com/familygamers to learn how the team at First Move Financial can help you pile up the victory points.
The post Episode 403 – Taking the Pressure Off appeared first on The Family Gamers.
00:00 Fact for 402“The Kids from Room 402” – a kids’ TV show from 1999-2001.
So our fact this week is a direct callout to basically anybody in their mid to late thirties who grew up in the US or Canada. In the late 90’s and early aughts, there was a kids’ TV show that came out called “The Kids from Room 402”. Do you remember that Anitra?
This was an animated show based on the book “Gracie Graves and the Kids from Room 402”. It was basically a sitcom with all sorts of goofy school-based adventures the kids were going through. Animation wise it reminds me of Doug, but less polished. Do you remember Doug?
Anyway, you can find full episodes of The Kids from Room 402 on YouTube and remember what it was like being 14 years old and having plenty of time to waste watching TV. And that’s my fact!
Sponsor MessageWe talk about the “planning fallacy” and look at average in-state tuition for public college (we’ll be sending a kid to college soon). But wait! In-state tuition for schools in our own state of Massachusetts is a little different.
With a better estimate of the cost we can do a better job of making a realistic plan of how to get to that goal. If you’d like to talk to someone about your goals, remember you can book a free meeting with First Move at firstmovefinancial.com/familygamers.
04:00 What We’ve Been PlayingPaint the Roses – after 5+ years. First saw at PAX Unplugged 2019.
Jekyll & Hyde vs. Scotland Yard – great, but we don’t like it as much as Jekyll vs. Hyde.
Toriki – new review!
HUTAN – review coming soon. Try it on BGA!
Stew
Skulls of Sedlec
Cake Stack – a homemade game.
Trio – our review.
22:00 The Family Gamers CommunityWelcome to our newest community members! https://www.facebook.com/groups/familygamersaa/posts/4104499843172808
BacktalkWe asked for your family’s evergreen game(s). You answered on the #backtalk channel on our Discord, and in this Backtalk post in the Facebook community.
27:10 Grow into Deck Building GamesWhat is deck building? We defined it this way all the way back in episode 64: “play cards, to accumulate currency, to buy better cards that will allow you to do more things.”
Room to GrowOur goal with Room to Grow is to bring your kids – or your family – through a series of games that grow in complexity. Normally, we take a beginner game, an intermediate game, and an advanced game (and some honorable mentions). They offer a plan for growth for players to get comfortable with that mechanic, and all are family-friendly.
Deck building was a little challenging because even among “pure” deck-building games, some of their foundational mechanics are different – how you add new cards to your hand, how many cards you can add, how you get rid of cards you don’t want (if you can get rid of them at all!), and even what the PURPOSE of the deck building is.
Nevertheless, we came up with three we’d recommend to learn this style of game more thoroughly.
Beginner: Star Realms AcademyThe subtitle to Star Realms Academy (our review) is “my first deck building game” and that seems about right!
Compared to other deckbuilding games, you have a very small hand size (3 cards).
There is very minimal reading, and only a few icons.
Like many deckbuilding games, you gain coins to use to buy better cards – but in this game, you can SAVE some of your coins from turn to turn.
And the purpose of the game is easy for kids to understand: attack your opponent and protect your own health.
You can, of course, move on to Star Realms from here, but we’d recommend…
Intermediate: DominionThis is the game that started it all – the very first deck building game, and sets a foundation to learn this mechanic.
Play card(s) from your hand, then use currency from what you played to buy ONE new card. Then everything goes into your discard pile and you draw a new hand.
As you build your deck, you get opportunities to buy more cards, set cards aside, or trash cards (aka “culling”). When enough piles run out, count victory points on the cards in your deck & in your hand.
Some of the features we don’t love in Dominon (card market is static, little player interaction) also make it easier to learn. And Dominion can have its own “room to grow” moment by adding expansions.
Advanced: Co-op deckbuilding games from The OpA trio of games:
- Harry Potter: Hogwarts Battle [we mistakenly called this “Hogwarts Legacy”]
- Toy Story: Obstacles & Adventures (our review)
- Avatar The Last Airbender: Aang’s Destiny (our review)
What makes any of these games special:
- The starting decks are not identical! You’re playing a specific character in the story
- It’s a cooperative game. You’re all trying to help each other meet the group’s goals.
- They’re hard to win/advance, but put you in the story you already know.
42:40 Other Recommended Deck Building GamesWe recommend these games to explore other aspects of deck building:
Tea Dragon Society Card Game (our review) – simple and cute, but more reading than Star Realms Academy.
Abandon All Artichokes (our review) (episode 345 interview with Emma Larkins) – deck “wrecking”
Clank! – build a deck to get further into the dungeon and find more treasure
Avant Carde (our review) – build your deck to play more cards on your turn.
Quarriors or Marvel/DC Dice Masters – a “deck-builder” with dice instead of cards!
51:45 New Backtalk QuestionWhat board game mechanic do you struggle with – or you really don’t like?
Do you want to get better, or do you avoid those games?
Tell us on the #backtalk channel on our Discord, or in this Backtalk post in the Facebook community.
Find Us Online:Facebook: @familygamersaa and thefamilygamers.com/community
Twitter (X): @familygamersaa
Instagram: @familygamersaa
TikTok: @familygamersaa
Bluesky: @familygamersaa
Threads: @familygamersaa
Youtube: TheFamilyGamers
or join the Family Tabletop Community on Discord! thefamilygamers.com/discord
Or, for the most direct method, email us! andrew@thefamilygamers.com and anitra@thefamilygamers.com.
PLEASE don’t forget to subscribe to the show, tell your friends about the show, and leave us a review at Apple Podcast or whatever your podcast subscription source is. We’re also on Amazon Music, TuneIn, and Spotify.
You can also now find us on YouTube Music! So pull it up and give us a listen while you’re toiling away at work :)
The Family Gamers is sponsored by First Move Financial. Go to FirstMoveFinancial.com/familygamers to learn how the team at First Move Financial can help you pile up the victory points.
The post Episode 402 – Room to Grow: Deck Building appeared first on The Family Gamers.
Family evergreen games? Evergreen family games? Let’s discuss.
00:00 Fact for 401The term “401(k)” comes from the section of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code that established this retirement savings plan.
Sponsor MessageDid you know, that if your child is working they can be saving money into a Roth IRA?
If you need help finding some unique ways to look at income and saving, visit firstmovefinancial.com/familygamers to schedule a time to talk to First Move – for free!
05:10 What We’ve Been PlayingSanta’s Workshop (our review)
Trio (our review)
Smug Owls (our review)
Canvas Critters (check out the Kickstarter)
Sabobatage
The Crew: Mission Deep Sea
Caution Signs (our review)
Donald Duck in Happy Camper (next written review)
Unmatched: Battle of Legends vol 3 (review coming soon)
Marvel X-Men Dice Throne
Fight for Olympus (old school! our review)
Quarto (our review) – great when you’ve only got a few minutes
Suspend – just fun.
For Sale
Doomlings (our review)
Floristry (our review)
Food Chain Island – great to play with just one hand
22:35 June Monthly Report!We both have ALREADY (as of July 12) played more games in July than we did in June.
Andrew: 11 plays, 10 unique games, H-index: 1. Most played: Ultimatch (2x)
Anitra: 20 plays, 16 unique games. H-index: 2 (Dice Throne, Micro Macro Kids, Ultimatch, Grove)
24:24 The Family Gamers Communityhttps://www.facebook.com/groups/familygamersaa/posts/4090537511235708
BacktalkWe asked for your feedback on the podcast in general. You answered, with a lot of encouraging comments on the #backtalk channel on our Discord, and in this Backtalk post in the Facebook community.
We discuss Happy Camper’s next release: Jungo (here’s the trailer video)
29:35 Evergreen Games… for FamiliesWhat’s an evergreen game? Just like an evergreen plant that doesn’t die, this is a game that stays popular in stores year after year. The games that get pulled out and played over and over again. (Games like Wingspan that have staying power.)
We thought it would be easy to find a list on BGG of “evergreen” games… but it’s a lot harder to determine than we thought! Much thanks to BGG user Daniel_M, who compiled a list using data analysis to find the top 100 games that have stayed popular over time, back in 2023.
Here are the top ten from his list:
10 Race for the Galaxy
09 Agricola
08 Power Grid
07 Puerto Rico
06 Ticket to Ride
05 Pandemic
04 Dominion
03 7 Wonders
02 CATAN
01 Carcassonne
Maybe three of these we’d consider “family” games: Carcassonne, Ticket to Ride, and Catan (although you could argue for others).
“Family Evergreen” Games?A “family” evergreen game might be a little different – something that works at all – or most – stages for your family. By definition these are going to be simpler games, because
1 – Not everyone in the family is a board game nerd!
2 – The game has to support multiple age ranges: not too many rules, not a lot of reading required.
So without further ado, here are our 10 games, in no particular order.
Ticket to Ride
CATAN
Carcassonne
Can’t Stop
Just One
Kingdomino
Drop It!
Azul
Strike (also available as Impact: Battle of Elements)
Trio (also available outside the US as nana)`
50:30 New Backtalk QuestionWhat’s the game that, these days, your family is going back to over and over again? This doesn’t have to be your favorite game – but what’s spending the most time on your table?
Tell us on the #backtalk channel on our Discord, or in this Backtalk post in the Facebook community.
Find Us Online:Facebook: @familygamersaa and thefamilygamers.com/community
Twitter (X): @familygamersaa
Instagram: @familygamersaa
TikTok: @familygamersaa
Bluesky: @familygamersaa
Threads: @familygamersaa
Youtube: TheFamilyGamers
or join the Family Tabletop Community on Discord! thefamilygamers.com/discord
Or, for the most direct method, email us! andrew@thefamilygamers.com and anitra@thefamilygamers.com.
PLEASE don’t forget to subscribe to the show, tell your friends about the show, and leave us a review at Apple Podcast or whatever your podcast subscription source is. We’re also on Amazon Music, TuneIn, and Spotify.
You can also now find us on YouTube Music! So pull it up and give us a listen while you’re toiling away at work :)
The Family Gamers is sponsored by First Move Financial. Go to FirstMoveFinancial.com/familygamers to learn how the team at First Move Financial can help you pile up the victory points.
The post Episode 401 – Ten Top Evergreen Family Games appeared first on The Family Gamers.
Isn’t The Family Gamers Podcast always about families? Yes, but we’re doing a special focus on different ages this week, as a sort of retrospective over the last ten years.
00:00 Fact for 400Factopia! Follow the Trail of 400 Facts
https://shop.merriam-webster.com/products/factopia
Sponsor MessageFirst Move has been our sponsor since episode 175! We really appreciate their partnering with us.
If you need help finding some “bonus points” and seeing which areas of your personal finance you should be focusing on, visit firstmovefinancial.com/familygamers to schedule a time to talk to First Move – for free!
03:45 What We’ve Been PlayingCanvas Critters (coming to crowdfunding soon – from 3WS and Katia Howatson)
Unmatched: Battle of Legends volume 3 (Blackbeard vs. Loki)
Micro Macro Kids: Crazy City Park (review linked below)
Royal Visit – making it work in a small space, as we imagined all the way back in episode 278.
Toriki: The Castaway Island
Floristry (our review) “the perfect date game”
Hutan: Life in the Rainforest – played solo. But now also available on Board Game Arena!
18:10 The Family Gamers CommunityWe just passed 1000 members in the community. Thanks for sticking with us!
Giveaway Winners: Seth (Avant Carde) and Candice (Avatar the Last Airbender: Aang’s Destiny)
Backtalk: Room to GrowWe asked what you’d like to see in a future Room to Grow series. Thanks for the responses on Discord!
24:00 SNAP Review – Micro Macro Kids: Crazy City ParkWe review the newest entry in the Micro Macro series. This one is 100% appropriate for kids, and adds some tools that will help ANYONE who wants to play this seek-and-find game.
Watch the video or read the transcript of our review.
30:20 FOR SCIENCEWe drink a pickle juice electrolyte drink: JUCE from TruPickles.
Why? Because they’re also a partner with friend-of-the-show Andy Geremia for a pickleball dice game.
34:00 The Family Gamers and FamiliesIn August, The Family Gamers Podcast turns ten years old! 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.
Babies & ToddlersDo you have to just wait to play games? Kind of, but not exactly. Toddlers want to be a part of what you’re doing: so let them sit with you and play with some of the (larger/non-chewable) pieces. We also recommend playing with them with big chunky foam dice or “My Very First” games.
This is when kids begin to learn about taking turns or causality (“if I do this, then this happens”).
More: Ep 236 – Babies & Boardgames (bringing kids in at any age)
PreschoolersAt this age, kids want play the same very short games over and over and over… as frustrating as this can be, it’s really important. Playing repetitively works on building rule-following, turn-taking, and pattern-matching. This is the right time to start teaching about being a graceful winner or loser and also to start building emotional intelligence. Yes, even with CandyLand.
Grade SchoolThe most important thing at this age is to know your kids’ skill level. Too hard and they’ll be discouraged. That doesn’t mean letting them win! But you could set up a handicap so the adult is playing at a disadvantage. And you can talk through your strategy (and theirs) out loud to help them learn.
To avoid the stigma of playing a “baby” game or a “kids” game, be ready to pull out some VERY easy games that anyone can play like Roll for It or Zombie Dice.
At this age, use games to build skills gradually for reading (including skills that don’t look like reading!), math, science, and more.
Middle & High SchoolShift your focus from skills to your kids’ interests and preferences. Play the games they want to play!
This is also when you, as the parent, decide if you want games to be a priority for your family. That means setting aside time for family games (also episode 292 of the podcast).
AdultsIf you’ve already built a culture of family gaming, it can continue even when kids leave home! At this point, it should be pretty much the same as playing games with your friends.
Don’t forget, you don’t always have to be in person to play games together. We hope to use Board Game Arena and other online gaming tools to keep the gaming going at a distance.
More ResourcesWhy Play Games with Your Kids (Chrissy W.)
The Power of Learning – through Play (Chrissy W.)
Why I Hate CandyLand (and What to Play Instead) (Anitra)
Talk, Read, Sing, Write, Play (about ELL learning at any age, from Annabelle B.)
48:20 New Backtalk QuestionTell us what you like about the show, what you don’t like about the show, what segments you’d like us to do more, or less. Should we free Anitra from Andrew’s weird food eating obsession? Should we do more Room to Grow? Board Game Terms? Lists? Guests?
We want to make sure the topics we cover and the goofy things we do are interesting to you.
Tell us on the #backtalk channel on our Discord, or in this Backtalk post in the Facebook community.
Find Us Online:Facebook: @familygamersaa and thefamilygamers.com/community
Twitter (X): @familygamersaa
Instagram: @familygamersaa
TikTok: @familygamersaa
Bluesky: @familygamersaa
Threads: @familygamersaa
Youtube: TheFamilyGamers
or join the Family Tabletop Community on Discord! thefamilygamers.com/discord
Or, for the most direct method, email us! andrew@thefamilygamers.com and anitra@thefamilygamers.com.
PLEASE don’t forget to subscribe to the show, tell your friends about the show, and leave us a review at Apple Podcast or whatever your podcast subscription source is. We’re also on Amazon Music, TuneIn, and Spotify.
You can also now find us on YouTube Music! So pull it up and give us a listen while you’re toiling away at work :)
The Family Gamers is sponsored by First Move Financial. Go to FirstMoveFinancial.com/familygamers to learn how the team at First Move Financial can help you pile up the victory points.
The post Episode 400 – It’s All About Families appeared first on The Family Gamers.
We talked about older games last week like checkers and chess. This week we’re moving on to modern abstract games (within the last 20 years). We recommend three that grow in complexity – and add a few of our other favorites.
0:00:00 Fact for 399www.399film.com
Sponsor MessageFirst Move Financial is not a credit counseling company, but they’d be happy to spend a few minutes talking to you to help you find a reputable credit counselor. Go to firstmovefinancial.com/familygamers to set up a quick chat and start taking steps to dig out of debt.
0:04:30 What We’ve Been PlayingThe Castles of Burgundy
Marvel Dice Throne: X-Men (Rogue and Gambit this time)
Jekyll vs. Hyde – one of our favorites (our review)
Compile – we also love this one (our review)
Ultimatch – hardest at two players! (our review)
Cabanga
Belratti (review below)
Grove (our preview/review from its Kickstarter) – we’re working on a review for Hutan which feels similar but more involved.
Mojo (our review)
0:13:45 CommunityWelcome to our newest Facebook community members!
BacktalkLast time, we asked about your favorite classic abstract games. People answered on Facebook and on Discord.
GiveawayWe’re almost at episode 400! Enter the giveaway for Avant Carde & Avatar The Last Airbender: Aang’s Destiny.
0:17:55 SNAP Review – BelrattiCan you pick cards that will fit one of two themes? Can you figure out the cards that your teammates picked, and avoid the “forgeries” (random cards) put in by Belratti?
Watch the video or read the transcript of our Belratti review.
0:25:30 FOR SCIENCE!Reese’s PB&J Big Cup
We try both the Grape and Strawberry versions (pictured).
If you like fruity candy and also like Reeses, you might like this combination.
0:30:20 Room to Grow: Modern Abstract GamesOur goal with Room to Grow is to bring your kids – or your family – through a series of games that grow in complexity. Normally, we take a beginner game, an intermediate game, and an advanced game (and some honorable mentions). They offer a plan for growth for players to get comfortable with this style, and all are family-friendly.
This is part two – in part one we talked about classic abstract strategy games (Tic Tac Toe, Checkers, and Chess). This time, we’re recommending modern games, which are less well-known.
We discuss again what makes an “abstract strategy game” and decide that some luck is fine but “player choices matter more than luck”.
Beginner: Drop ItThis has been a favorite since we first saw it in 2018 (our review then).
There is definitely NO theme – just shapes and colors. It’s a sort of dexterity game, but not exactly.
We like this because the idea of how it works is really simple: you only get points if your shape, when it lands, is not touching the same shape and not touching the same color. Even if they struggle with adding the scores, most 4 & 5 year olds can understand the binary of “did I get points this turn, or not?”
There’s not a deep strategy here and no story or other baggage. Pick a shape from your pile, drop it, and hope it lands where you want it to. But that’s what makes it fun for anyone to play!
Intermediate: AzulIs there a story here? Maybe. If you want one.
Azul is bright and colorful, based on the Portuguese tiling called “azulejo” (Andrew was right).
The strategy CAN get complex as players get used to the game.
Draft tiles from a central area, and put them on your board. Different parts of your board require different numbers of identical tiles to “fill them up” and move a single tile to your scoring area.
The choices are simple: pick your tile group, and decide where to put them on your board.
This game introduces several modern elements: set collection, open drafting, and sacrificing to become first player.
And the beauty of the game will draw more people to want to play it.
AzulAdvanced: ShobuWe think this game is gorgeous: four wooden boards and polished stones in two colors.
Every turn, you move a piece on one of your two “home” boards. And then you have to move one of your pieces the same way on an opposite-color board. Try to knock off all your opponent’s pieces from any one of the four boards.
This is a nakedly aggressive game and the large decision space (looking at up to 16 different pieces and setting up the second half of your move) leads to brain-burning tactics, like you sometimes see in Go or Chess. This game has no luck at all, and the only hidden information is what’s in your opponent’s head.
And as beautiful as this game is, the simplicity of presentation is like the classic abstract games we talked about – you could put this together yourself with any pieces you have on hand. (But we recommend buying this lovely game from Smirk & Dagger!)
We gave Shobu a nearly-perfect score when we reviewed it.
0:46:30 Other Highly Recommended AbstractsCinco Linko (which we reviewed as OK Play)
boop
Onitama
Deblockle
Quoridor (now in a Pac-Man theme)
0:51:45 New Backtalk QuestionIs there a Room to Grow series you’d like us to tackle? What kinds of games are you looking to grow through?
And… anything special about episode 400?
Tell us on Facebook or on Discord!
Find Us Online:Facebook: @familygamersaa and thefamilygamers.com/community
Twitter (X): @familygamersaa
Instagram: @familygamersaa
TikTok: @familygamersaa
Bluesky: @familygamersaa
Threads: @familygamersaa
Youtube: TheFamilyGamers
or join the Family Tabletop Community on Discord! thefamilygamers.com/discord
Or, for the most direct method, email us! andrew@thefamilygamers.com and anitra@thefamilygamers.com.
PLEASE don’t forget to subscribe to the show, tell your friends about the show, and leave us a review at Apple Podcast or whatever your podcast subscription source is. We’re also on Amazon Music, TuneIn, and Spotify.
You can also now find us on YouTube Music! So pull it up and give us a listen while you’re toiling away at work :)
The Family Gamers is sponsored by First Move Financial. Go to FirstMoveFinancial.com/familygamers to learn how the team at First Move Financial can help you pile up the victory points.
The post Episode 399 – Room to Grow: Modern Abstract Games appeared first on The Family Gamers.
I bet you played checkers or chess with your relatives when you were a kid. We talk about newer games all the time on this podcast, but we think old games are great and you should play those, too! We recommend three that facilitate learning strategies.
0:00:00 Fact for 398In the Dewey Decimal filing system, 398 is the category for folklore (and 398.2 is fairy tales!)
Sponsor MessageHave you heard of the fun ratio? This idea comes from The Opposite of Spoiled by Ron Lieber.
If you want to talk about other ways to equip your children for their future, go to firstmovefinancial.com/familygamers to schedule a time to talk to First Move today for free.
0:05:30 What We’ve Been PlayingAzul
Trio (our review)
Flip 7 (review out this week! Keep listening)
Disney Lorcana (Gateway review this week)
Food Chain Island
Toriki (review coming soon) – great for playing with kids
Gruzzle: The City – very hard! But take a look: gruzzle.com
5er Finden (our review)
HUTAN: Life in the Rainforest (review coming soon). So many trees!
Adventure Party (our review)
0:25:00 May Monthly Report!Anitra: 26 unique games, 51 plays. H-index: 3 – most played: Combo (7 times), Lorcana Gateway (6 times), Flip 7 (4 times), plus Patchwork and Food Chain Island.
37% of plays for the month were during the two days at PAX East.
Andrew: 13 unique games, 26 plays. H-index: 3 – most played: Lorcana, Toriki, Flip 7.
42% at 4 players!
0:27:00 CommunityWelcome to our newest Facebook community members!
BacktalkLast time, we asked about your favorite convention memory. We got a couple of answers on Discord.
0:29:55 SNAP Review – Flip 7A tiny card game that works with up to 18 people and you can learn in under a minute? Flip 7 does exactly what it sets out to do: provide fast moving fun for families or groups of any size.
Watch the video or read the transcript of our review.
0:37:15 Room to Grow: Classic Abstract GamesWe enjoy abstract strategy games, but often find ourselves only talking about ones that are NEW (even if we compare them to older games). So this week is devoted to older, classic 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.
Our goal with Room to Grow is to bring your kids – or your family – through a series of games that grow in complexity. Normally, we take a beginner game, an intermediate game, and an advanced game (and some honorable mentions). They offer a plan for growth for players to get comfortable with that mechanic, and all are family-friendly.
What’s an abstract (or abstract strategy) game?No theme, or a theme that only exists in the player’s heads. They don’t require any kind of fancy art to pull you in.
Perfect information – no hidden cards or secret advantages.
Little or no luck – you’re not going to depend on dice or shuffled cards. (Can’t Stop and Backgammon are fantastic games, but don’t quite fit here.)
Why play old games?Lots of people know them.
Rules tend to be simple, even if the strategy is not.
Old abstract games can be played with the equipment you have at hand. You don’t need to go out and buy a fancy board or pieces (although those are nice!)
Beginner: Tic-Tac-ToeAlso known as “naughts and crosses”, this is a very basic abstract game with easy rules and a simple goal: get three of your pieces in a row.
Tic-Tac-Toe is basically a “solved” game, and with just 8-9 moves, most adults know whether they can win by their second turn. Because of this, parents get tired of it quickly. But it is an excellent introduction! Since it’s so simple and games are so short (usually over in just 8 moves), kids can really master it with just a little bit of practice.
(And move on to variations like Hollywood Squares, Ultimate Tic Tac Toe, 3D Tic Tac Toe, larger boards, or Connect 4)
Intermediate: CheckersThis one is also known as Draughts.
Checkers is still a simple ruleset, but games are longer and present more options.
Double-check that you know the true rules before you start! Handicapping and house rules are OK, but do them intentionally and clearly.
Since there are still relatively few options, Checkers encourages kids to start looking ahead to future moves, without presenting so many options that it’s overwhelming.
Getting bored of the regular rules? There are dozens of games you can play with a standard American checkerboard and some or all of the pieces.
Advanced: ChessChess requires a significant jump in skill. It’s a harder game to learn, because there are lots of kinds of pieces and they move in lots of ways. You end up with a lot to keep track of, especially when you’re learning.
But it’s been popular for over a thousand years – and for good reason! It’s rewarding to learn and to see the different ways you can outmaneuver your opponent.
Ways to dial back the difficulty, especially for learning:
No Stress Chess
Chess.com has both lessons and puzzles
Play with fewer pieces and fewer kinds of pieces!
Other Highly Recommended Classic AbstractsGo (the quintessential “easy to learn, hard to master” game)
Othello
Backgammon isn’t quite an abstract strategy game, because there’s too much luck involved, and there are a lot of edge cases in the rules.
Nine Men’s Morris is another one that’s very easy to learn, and you could probably play it on a checkerboard.
We just highly recommend the Klutz Book of Classic Board Games (edited by Sid Sackson) if you can find it. And maybe also the Games of Art book from Sid Sackson and Eagle-Gryphon Games (which is admittedly much more modern).
0:59:15 New Backtalk QuestionWhat’s your favorite classic abstract game?
(Anitra’s favorite: Mancala, Andrew’s favorite: Chess or Chinese Checkers)
Tell us on Facebook or on Discord!
1:02:30 GiveawaysWe almost forgot – we are giving away two games for our 400th episode: Avant Carde & Avatar The Last Airbender: Aang’s Destiny. Enter the giveaway here!
Find Us Online:Facebook: @familygamersaa and thefamilygamers.com/community
Twitter (X): @familygamersaa
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Threads: @familygamersaa
Youtube: TheFamilyGamers
or join the Family Tabletop Community on Discord! thefamilygamers.com/discord
Or, for the most direct method, email us! andrew@thefamilygamers.com and anitra@thefamilygamers.com.
PLEASE don’t forget to subscribe to the show, tell your friends about the show, and leave us a review at Apple Podcast or whatever your podcast subscription source is. We’re also on Amazon Music, TuneIn, and Spotify.
You can also now find us on YouTube Music! So pull it up and give us a listen while you’re toiling away at work :)
The Family Gamers is sponsored by First Move Financial. Go to FirstMoveFinancial.com/familygamers to learn how the team at First Move Financial can help you pile up the victory points.
The post Episode 398 – Room to Grow: Classic Abstract Games appeared first on The Family Gamers.
It's convention time again! We found braille dice, an augmented-reality drawing tool, and lots of fun board game stuff at PAX East.
The post Episode 397 – PAX East Recap appeared first on The Family Gamers.
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.
The post Episode 396 – 5 Games that Surprise! appeared first on The Family Gamers.
Do you know what a "eurogame" is? Could you explain it to someone who hasn't played a lot of boardgames? What are some other jargon terms we use that are unfriendly to new players?
The post Episode 395 – Euro, Ameritrash, and Other Boardgamer Jargon appeared first on The Family Gamers.
We're out of town this weekend, but talking about our favorite party games.
The post Episode 394 – 7 Party Game Favorites appeared first on The Family Gamers.
It's been a long time since we defined some board game terms. Let's do a deep dive into asymmetric games and auction games.
The post Episode 393 – Board Game Terms: Asymmetric, Auction, Bidding appeared first on The Family Gamers.
After a cold dreary winter, we are ready for green, growing things. Let's talk about games with flowers and plants that make us think spring.
The post Episode 392 – Springtime Games appeared first on The Family Gamers.
Cooperative games encourage players to work together. Here are three to bring your family from beginner to advanced.
The post Episode 391 – Room to Grow: Cooperative Games appeared first on The Family Gamers.
This week, we're talking about cooperative games - what they are, what makes them a good fit for families, and we explore the breadth of games that can be considered "cooperative".
The post Episode 390 – Cooperative Games appeared first on The Family Gamers.
Sometimes intentionally, sometimes by accident, we find games that disconnect us from the stresses and worries of every day life. Andrew and Anitra discover that they have different ideas of what helps them step away from the real world – but there’s some overlap, too. 0:00 Fact for 389 When diving (“stooping”), the peregrine falcon can reach speeds of 389kph.
The post Episode 389 – Games to Disconnect appeared first on The Family Gamers.
It's the first podcast of 2025, so we're going to go back over our favorite games from 2024.
The post Episode 388 – Top Ten Games of 2024 appeared first on The Family Gamers.
We're back from PAX Unplugged, and full of excitement for the games we saw there!
The post Episode 387 – PAX Unplugged 2024 appeared first on The Family Gamers.
Grace and Mike run a board game themed bed and breakfast in North Carolina. It's perfect for a weekend getaway.
The post Episode 386 – The Tabletop Inn! appeared first on The Family Gamers.
This week we've invited video game hype man Stephen Duetzmann (from Engaged Family Gaming) to go over his video game holiday gift guide.
The post Episode 385 – Video Game Holiday Gift List appeared first on The Family Gamers.
What board games are you giving as gifts this year?
The post Episode 384 – Board Game Holiday Gift List appeared first on The Family Gamers.
Our holiday list is not ready, so we will be doing another podcast NEXT WEEK! Today's podcast is just a smorgasbord of stuff.
The post Episode 383 – Smorgasbord and Holiday Contests appeared first on The Family Gamers.
It's the end of October, which means it's time for a Halloween episode! We discuss our top five games for this season.
The post Episode 382 – Top 5 Spooky Games for Halloween appeared first on The Family Gamers.
0:00 Hello and welcome! This week, we’re talking about beautiful games – ones you would leave out on a coffee table – that are great for families to play. Fact for 381 We’re back to the Guinness Book of World Records, friends. The largest hand-held video game console party was on 12 October 2007, at the Parramatta mall in Sydney
The post Episode 381 – Top 5(ish) Beautiful Family Games appeared first on The Family Gamers.
0:00:00 Intro – We usually talk about kids on this show. But our children aren’t little children anymore – so what about games for teenagers?
380 FactThe Ukraine country code for international calling is: 380.
Sponsor MessageTo set up either a 15 minute phone call or a 90 minute meeting, go to FirstMoveFinancial.com/FamilyGamers.
0:04:45 What We’ve Been PlayingClash of Magic Schools (review coming soon)
Trio (our review)
Skull King (review from One Board Family)
Little Alchemists
Floating Floors (review coming soon)
0:18:30 Welcome Community MembersJoin in and welcome!
Don’t forget, you can also join our Board Game Arena community!
0:19:30 BacktalkSpeaking of our community, let’s talk about our backtalk. We got a lot this week! Lots of people playing games online I guess.
See responses on Discord and Facebook.
0:29:00 We explain H-index to answer a listener’s question.
0:32:30 SNAP Review – CharcuterieThis delicious game is great for mixed-age groups, or as a short appetizer before a longer game.
Watch the video and see how yummy this game is!
0:37:00 Top 10 Games for TeenagersA follow on to our Games for Every Age series. Find the full list at TheFamilyGamers.com/top-10-games-teens/
0:56:00 New Backtalk QuestionIs there a game from your past that you wish you could bring back, because you’re in a different season of life and you think it would fit better now?
For Andrew, it’s the videogame Rock Band. We used to play it in college and as young professionals with our friends, but it went away as we had kids and our video game consoles got older. Now that our kids are old enough to play with us, he misses it, and wishes he could bring it back to play with them!
Find Us Online:Facebook: @familygamersaa and thefamilygamers.com/community
Twitter (X): @familygamersaa
Threads: @familygamersaa
Instagram: @familygamersaa
TikTok: @familygamersaa
Youtube: TheFamilyGamers
or join the Family Tabletop Community on Discord! thefamilygamers.com/discord
Or, for the most direct method, email us! andrew@thefamilygamers.com and anitra@thefamilygamers.com.
Check out our new Family Gamers and Play Games with Your Kids merchandise – T-shirts, hoodies, and mugs – at thefamilygamers.com/merch.
PLEASE don’t forget to subscribe to the show, tell your friends about the show, and leave us a review at Apple Podcast or whatever your podcast subscription source is. We’re also on Amazon Music, TuneIn, and Spotify.
You can also now find us on YouTube Music! So pull it up and give us a listen while you’re toiling away at work :)
The Family Gamers is sponsored by First Move Financial. Go to FirstMoveFinancial.com/familygamers to learn how the team at First Move Financial can help you pile up the victory points.
The post Episode 380 – Top Ten Games for Teens appeared first on The Family Gamers.
Let’s talk about playing board games online!
379 FactThe Peterbilt 379, in production from 1992-2007, is still popular. And it was the model used for Optimus Prime in the Transformers movies.
https://blog.ritchiebros.com/the-classic-peterbilt-379-a-semi-truck-that-carries-its-value
Sponsor MessageGo to FirstMoveFinancial.com/FamilyGamers. There, you can set up a quick, free phone call to see if First Move is a good fit for you.
What We’ve Been PlayingStar Trek: Chrono-Trek – Every time we set it up, we play it a bunch of times in a row.
Super Kawaii Pets
Mojo (try it on Board Game Arena)
Cosmoctopus
All of the games above are ones we are preparing to review.
We also learned Sky Team and played it together on Board Game Arena!
We recommend this video from Monique at Before You Play
August Monthly ReportAnitra: 42 plays of 25 games. H-index: 3. Most played: Chrono-Trek, Trio, Grove, Jinxx, and Donuts.
Andrew: 21 plays of 15 games. H-index: 2. Most played: Chrono-Trek, Trio. (also Secret Identity and Roll to the Top)
Welcome Community MembersJust a few this week. Stop in and say hi!
P.S. We will officially be at PAX Unplugged – with FOUR writers (and family members)! We will be running a Learn-and-Play on Sunday of that weekend.
BacktalkListeners tell us their favorite date-game stories.
See responses on Discord and Facebook.
SNAP Review – Secret IdentityGive clues and guess each other’s identities in this feel-good guessing game. There’s only shared success, which makes it a great family game, with a little bit of silliness. Just watch out for very small text and symbols!
Watch the video or read the transcript for our Secret Identity review.
Board Game ArenaSo this week we’re going to talk about Board Game Arena. It’s not the only way to play board games online, but for us, it’s probably the most valuable. Why?
- Play with anyone (friends or strangers) all around the world.
- Asynchronous play
- We can play against each other without trying to leave a game set up (which our cats would destroy)
- Take five minutes to “solve the puzzle” of a single turn, in the middle of your day.
- Bookkeeping – allows play of fiddly or complex games that we might not otherwise play. (example: Seasons)
- You can try a game (or expansion) for free before you buy it.
- Tutorials – yet another way to learn a new game. Or you can try playing here before you play it with your family.
- Hundreds of games available.
Our Five Favorite Games to Play on Board Game Arena7 Wonders Duel – we like this in person, but having BGA handle the bookkeeping is amazing.
7 Wonders – Bookkeeping again, plus this game is a table hog in person.
Happy City – we love this simple tableau-building game (our review) – but the cards can get a little fiddly.
Roll to the Top – because each turn is so simple; a great way to take a minute to drop in and take a quick break from your day. Love this one in person, too (our review)!
Space Base – huge numbers of cards. Gets really messy in person. And BGA lets you set up options to speed the game when it’s not your turn.
Some more games we play because they’re hard to get to the table at home:
For Sale – a double bidding game. Anitra prefers it in real-time.
Tzolk’in – a complex game, that Andrew loves and Anitra does not want to play.
6 Nimmt! (AKA Take 5) – a quick numbers-on-cards games of predicting what others will play.
Lucky Numbers – we enjoy this game (our review) but no longer have this game at home. Another one that’s great to drop in and make one simple decision.
Some games are NOT as good on Board Game Arena! For example, Turing Machine or any game that requires “judging” (like Similo).
Other AppsThrough the Ages and Railroad Ink are both available on BGA, but are much better in their custom mobile apps.
Codenames app is in beta – Andrew says it’s awesome.
New Backtalk QuestionDo you play board games online? What’s your favorite on Board Game Arena – or anywhere else? Tell us about your online board gaming experience!
And you should join our Board Game Arena group – let’s see if we can get some more games going there.
Find Us Online:Facebook: @familygamersaa and thefamilygamers.com/community
Twitter (X): @familygamersaa
Threads: @familygamersaa
Instagram: @familygamersaa
TikTok: @familygamersaa
Youtube: TheFamilyGamers
or join the Family Tabletop Community on Discord! thefamilygamers.com/discord
Or, for the most direct method, email us! andrew@thefamilygamers.com and anitra@thefamilygamers.com.
Check out our new Family Gamers and Play Games with Your Kids merchandise – T-shirts, hoodies, and mugs – at thefamilygamers.com/merch.
PLEASE don’t forget to subscribe to the show, tell your friends about the show, and leave us a review at Apple Podcast or whatever your podcast subscription source is. We’re also on Amazon Music, TuneIn, and Spotify.
You can also now find us on YouTube Music! So pull it up and give us a listen while you’re toiling away at work :)
The Family Gamers is sponsored by First Move Financial. Go to FirstMoveFinancial.com/familygamers to learn how the team at First Move Financial can help you pile up the victory points.
The post Episode 379 – 5 Board Game Arena Favorites appeared first on The Family Gamers.
This week the kids go back to school. You know what that means? The return of Date Breakfast and “date night” games!
378 FactDid you know about the London Overground? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Rail_Class_378
Sponsor MessageIf you’ve got questions about home ownership, investment, or any other financial question, go to FirstMoveFinancial.com/FamilyGamers. There, you can set up a quick (free) phone call to see if First Move is a good fit for you.
What We’ve Been PlayingHero Kids (we interviewed the creator way back in episode 5!)
Nekojima
Dragonkeepers – review coming soon
Unmatched
Tír na nÓg – you should check out the Kickstarter for the reprint!
Railroad Ink Challenge (with new Archipelago boards)
Project L
Streamer Standoff
Chrono Trek – fun for Star Trek fans. Review coming soon.
July Monthly ReportAnitra: 37 plays of 18 games. H-index 3. Most played: Tether, Autumn, Merchants of Magick, Unboxed, Unmatched.
Andrew: 29 plays of 15 games. H-index 3. Most played: Merchants of Magick, Clash of Magic Schools, Unboxed, Tether, Charcuterie.
Welcome Community MembersSay hi to all the new Facebook group members! Welcome!
BacktalkListeners tell us about games they’ve played based on locations.
See responses on Discord and Facebook!
SNAP Review – Flip CircusWe flipped for Flip Circus – a challenging memory duel in a small pouch.
Check out the transcript or watch the video for Flip Circus.
Date Night GamesSo, Flip Circus is NOT a good date game. But what is?
We talked about this way back in episode 180. We go through the old list we made (four years ago!) and say whether we’d still pick these for a date.
What would we pick now? Listen to us narrow down a list in real time, until we can get to a top six.
Our Top 6 Games for a Date Night (in 2024)Jekyll vs. Hyde (our review) – 2 player competitive trick-taking.
Compile (our review) – card dueling.
boop (our review) – be mean kittens and boop each other off the bed.
Catch the Moon – a beautiful dexterity game, in a small space, and you can be as mean or as kind as you want to be.
Tussie Mussie – I-split-you-choose for 2+ players. Secret messages in flower bouquets.
Unmatched – Skirmishing game with lots of mix-and-match themes.
The runners-up:Royal Visit
Lanaikea
Tether (needs a large table)
Jaipur
Onitama
Shobu
Sherlock Solitaire – or Ultimatch – cooperative games are great!
New Backtalk Question – Date Night GamesWhat is your favorite game to play with your partner?
Do you ever bring games on a date?
Do you have any great stories about playing a game on a date?
Send us more weird food FOR SCIENCE! :
The Family Gamers
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Auburn, MA 01501
Find Us Online:Facebook: @familygamersaa and thefamilygamers.com/community
Twitter (X): @familygamersaa
Threads: @familygamersaa
Instagram: @familygamersaa
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Youtube: TheFamilyGamers
or join the Family Tabletop Community on Discord! thefamilygamers.com/discord
Or, for the most direct method, email us! andrew@thefamilygamers.com and anitra@thefamilygamers.com.
Check out our new Family Gamers and Play Games with Your Kids merchandise – T-shirts, hoodies, and mugs – at thefamilygamers.com/merch.
PLEASE don’t forget to subscribe to the show, tell your friends about the show, and leave us a review at Apple Podcast or whatever your podcast subscription source is. We’re also on Amazon Music, TuneIn, and Spotify.
You can also now find us on YouTube Music! So pull it up and give us a listen while you’re toiling away at work :)
The Family Gamers is sponsored by First Move Financial. Go to FirstMoveFinancial.com/familygamers to learn how the team at First Move Financial can help you pile up the victory points.
The post Episode 378 – Top 6 Date Games appeared first on The Family Gamers.
We waited an extra week for this podcast so we could bring you all the Gen Con goodies with Nick.
377 FactThe most people wearing aviator sunglasses is 377, achieved by ProofPilot (USA) in Orlando, Florida, USA, on 7 February 2023.
https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/727771-most-people-wearing-aviator-sunglasses
Sponsor MessageIf you’ve got questions about home ownership, debt, or any other financial question, go to FirstMoveFinancial.com/FamilyGamers. There, you can set up a quick (free) phone call to see if First Move is a good fit for you.
What We’ve Been PlayingSausage Sizzle
Renature
Gnome Hollow
Xylotar
Sagrada
Floating Floors
Secret Identity
Welcome Community MembersWhoa! A whole bunch of people have come to spend time in The Family Gamers Community over the last few weeks! Let’s gather ’round and say hi! Welcome!
BacktalkNot many kid-friendly board game clubs among our listeners. Maybe you could help start one?
Gen Con AdventuresNick tells us about his adventures at Gen Con. Picking up cheap older games at the used game consignment market and the auction, demoing others, escape rooms, meeting designers, and of course, being our roving reporter!
Nick highly recommends Snatch It! from HeidelBAR Games.
SNAP Review – Paper App DungeonLooking for a portable game your kid can play all by themselves? Our boys highly recommend Paper App Dungeon.
Watch the video or read the transcript of our review. But seriously, watch the video!
Gen Con 2024 InterviewsCalliope Games with Chris LederBrand new: Patrician: Towers of Influence
Coming: Day of the Brambles – “a card-flicking throwdown”
Coming: Legends of the Monster Academy
Doing well: Four Corners and Hive Mind
and a few we’ve reviewed in the past: Enchanted Plumes and Mass Transit
Find more at CalliopeGames.com
Amigo with CoreyCloudShip
Pick-a-pen games
Cabanga!
30th anniversary of Take 5 / 6 nimmt!
20th anniversary of Saboteur
2?th anniversary of Bonanza (and check out Bonanza Dahlias !)
26th anniversary of No Thanks!
coming soon: 3 Chapters
Find more at Amigo.games
Perplext with Chris HandySet 3 of Pack-O-Games, with
WIN – distilled version of Long Shot the Dice Game
BOG – 2 player card programming / hand-management
MAD – trick-taking
Long Shot: The Dice Game
Find them at PackOGame.com or Perplext.com
Grandpa Beck’s Games with BrentComing soon: 3-2-1 Countdown
Out now: Toil & Troublez
Another Man’s Treasure
Classics: Cover Your A$$ets
Skull King
GrandpaBecksGames.com or check the bottom of any of their boxes and find Brent’s phone number
For a discount, use GET15 on their website for 15% off.
Grand Gamers Guild with MarcTir na Nog (sold out! There’s now a reprint campaign on Kickstarter)
Endeavor: Deep Sea (with Burnt Island Games)
La Familia Hort (review coming soon)
Words of a Feather (our preview)
Holiday Hijinks games (we love these! and more are coming soon)
Endangered – Red Wolves expansion, and Endangered: Australia (coming 2025 – with koalas, toads, Great Barrier Reef)
For more, check out GrandGamersGuild.com.
Happy Camper Games with JasonTrio (we love it! – our review)
coming soon: Combo
Find more at HappyCamper.Games
Envy Born Games with MathueTiny Games series
Confusing Lands – expansions are in the works
coming soon: Dragon Roost
Kalahari (coming 2025 – not a tiny box)
Find more at EnvyBornGames.com, or on social media. Mathue says “I spend a lot of time on TikTok”.
New Backtalk Question!Anitra mentioned playing Sagrada after being at the Sagrada Familia. Have you ever played a game at a location it’s based on? Or has a trip ever motivated you to play a certain game?
We know that we have to go visit the Greek town of Santorini because of how much Asher likes the game.
Find Us Online:Facebook: @familygamersaa and thefamilygamers.com/community
Twitter (X): @familygamersaa
Threads: @familygamersaa
Instagram: @familygamersaa
TikTok: @familygamersaa
Youtube: TheFamilyGamers
or join the Family Tabletop Community on Discord! thefamilygamers.com/discord
Or, for the most direct method, email us! andrew@thefamilygamers.com and anitra@thefamilygamers.com.
Check out our new Family Gamers and Play Games with Your Kids merchandise – T-shirts, hoodies, and mugs – at thefamilygamers.com/merch.
PLEASE don’t forget to subscribe to the show, tell your friends about the show, and leave us a review at Apple Podcast or whatever your podcast subscription source is. We’re also on Amazon Music, TuneIn, and Spotify.
You can also now find us on YouTube Music! So pull it up and give us a listen while you’re toiling away at work :)
The Family Gamers is sponsored by First Move Financial. Go to FirstMoveFinancial.com/familygamers to learn how the team at First Move Financial can help you pile up the victory points.
The post Episode 377 – Gen Con 2024 with Nick appeared first on The Family Gamers.
Wow. We’re… Back? It’s been a very busy two weeks, and we’re already halfway through the summer. Let’s look forward to the start of school and talk about board game clubs!
376 FactSpace facts are always cool. Let’s talk about the HS-376 – a popular type of satellite, and the first launched by the Space Shuttle!
Sponsor MessageIf you have (student) loans forgiven, the US counts that as taxable income.
This has been specifically changed to not include student loans that are forgiven until the end of 2025, but if a client is in a forgiveness program and won’t be meeting their number of payments requirement in that time then they’ll want to have money saved up to pay the taxes on the forgiveness. A good thing to remember that is easily missed!
If you’ve got questions about how to manage your student loans, or any other financial question, go to FirstMoveFinancial.com/FamilyGamers. There, you can set up a quick (free) phone call to see if First Move is a good fit for you.
What We’ve Been PlayingClash of Magic Schools
Merchants of Magick (our review)
Paper App Dungeon (review coming soon)
Charcuterie
Canvas Critters (we think that’s the name? It’s in development)
Autumn (bought from Gameria in Barcelona)
Colt Express
Welcome Community MembersWhoa! A whole bunch of people have come to spend time in The Family Gamers Community over the last few weeks! Let’s gather ’round and say hi! Welcome!
BacktalkWe talk about hobbies in the Discord community and games we’d like to see based on those. Organs? Eurovision? Camping?
For more on organs, check out episode 253 with our organist friend.
For more on camping, read our review of Camp Pinetop.
SNAP Review – Captain FlipAye! We build our pirate crews in this bag-pulling, tile-flipping game.
Captain Flip was nominated for the Spiel des Jahres, and it’s easy to see why.
Watch the video or read the transcript of this review.
For Science!We try a special Polar seltzer flavor – Jalapeno Citrus Margarita.
Very different from other Polar seltzers we are familiar with.
5 Board Game Club Tips – For ParentsWe reached out to our friend Liz (a teacher who runs a board game club) for some help with these tips.
- Is there a board game club at all? Help start one!Reach out to your children’s principal. Is there a board game club? Is there a similar club (like chess club) that could be expanded to include board games?
You can also reach out to the Parent-Teacher organization to suggest a board game club as a new after school activity.
- Help with ProgrammingIf there is a club, or if you’re helping to start it, help the club advisor with planning what to do each week! Be prepared to teach games, too.
Teachers have full time jobs and do this extra. But if you’re listening to this podcast, you might know more about hobby board games than they do.
- Figure out how to purchase games FOR the clubYou’ll be tempted to loan your own games, but you don’t want to do that. Kids will lose pieces and not treat the games with the same care you would. You’ll probably want multiple copies of some games too.
So, approach the PTO with financing the purchase of those games. Your word will carry more than a teacher’s in this case.
- Suggest and help organize a PARENT NIGHTThe school can host an event where parents and kids play games together (hopefully with help from the PTO).
Gamewright used to have a fundraiser program called the Gamewright Game Night. We don’t know if they do that any more, but that was a great community event. You can combine it with a bake sale or another school community event – and then also show that there would be support for an after-school club.
- BE ON TIMEThe number one complaint from teachers who run clubs is that people don’t respect their time. They don’t show up on time to pick up their kids (or don’t show up on time as volunteers). Teachers are people too, often with their own kids they need to pick up from other places!
What if My Kid Doesn’t Go to a Traditional School?Most of these tips still apply for a homeschool co-op, library, or community club. Ask what’s available, make suggestions of what YOU can do to help make this happen. Be willing to volunteer, and you don’t have to fund this all yourself!
New Backtalk Question!We are talking about school board game groups. So tell us about yours!
Do you have a board game group at your school? A D&D group? What’s it like? Share your best story from your school game group!
Find Us Online:Facebook: @familygamersaa and thefamilygamers.com/community
Twitter (X): @familygamersaa
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or join the Family Tabletop Community on Discord! thefamilygamers.com/discord
Or, for the most direct method, email us! andrew@thefamilygamers.com and anitra@thefamilygamers.com.
Check out our new Family Gamers and Play Games with Your Kids merchandise – T-shirts, hoodies, and mugs – at thefamilygamers.com/merch.
PLEASE don’t forget to subscribe to the show, tell your friends about the show, and leave us a review at Apple Podcast or whatever your podcast subscription source is. We’re also on Amazon Music, TuneIn, and Spotify.
The Family Gamers is sponsored by First Move Financial. Go to FirstMoveFinancial.com/familygamers to learn how the team at First Move Financial can help you pile up the victory points.
The post Episode 376 – 5 Ways to Help Your School’s Board Game Club appeared first on The Family Gamers.
Welcome Stephanie Nye this week, to talk about the games we’ve been playing lately and the Origins Game Fair.
375 FactA fact about gold
Sponsor MessageFirst Move Financial gives us tips about repayment plans and student loan debt.
Go to FirstMoveFinancial.com/FamilyGamers to set up a free call.
What We’ve Been PlayingIn the Footsteps of Darwin – Spiel des Jahres nominee!
Captain Flip – another nominee!
Lords of Waterdeep – a classic worker placement game. Should we try Champions of Midgard?
Sequoia – this doesn’t need to be as big on the table as the instructions say.
Jinxx (and Hijinks) from Looney Labs
Flip Circus
June Monthly ReportAnitra: 40 plays of 22 games (H-index:3, mostly Jinxx, Captain Flip and A Gentle Rain)
Stephanie: 31 plays of 18 games. Most played: Deduckto. (H-index: 3, with Deduckto, Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza, Sequoia, and High Risk)
Andrew: 21 plays of 17 games. (H-index: 3 with Compile, Captain Flip, Kiri-ai The Duel, Ogre Under, and Unboxed.)
Welcome New MembersStop in and say hi!
BacktalkWhat game would make a good movie or TV show?
Check out the Facebook discussion or the Discord.
SNAP Review – A Gentle RainAnitra shares the details about this new version of A Gentle Rain – a great, simple solo game.
Watch the video to see the new art, or read the full transcript.
Topic: Origins!Origins Game Fair is a medium-sized convention (“the smallest of the big conventions” says Anitra). It’s great for both seeing new games and for playing games. Stephanie and her husband always set aside time to play games from the Origins library.
Exciting games from the convention:
Café Baras – a must-buy
Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza
Super Kawaii Pets (look for a review of this one in the future)
boop. (Andrew & Anitra love this one!)
Captain Flip
Nimalia
Skyteam (the other Spiel des Jahres nominee!)
Romi Rami
Santa’s Workshop
Columbus Ohio is a great, family-friendly city to visit – and accommodations/food are a lot easier than some of the bigger conventions.
The board gaming community is usually very welcoming, and Origins is a great example of that.
New Backtalk Question!You may remember in the past Andrew talking about his hobby of bowling, and once he even mentioned a bowling board game that he played called Dragon Bowl. If you could pick a hobby YOU have that you would want a board game about, what would it be, and what would the game be called?
Find Us Online:Facebook: @familygamersaa and thefamilygamers.com/community
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or join the Family Tabletop Community on Discord! thefamilygamers.com/discord
Or, for the most direct method, email us! andrew@thefamilygamers.com and anitra@thefamilygamers.com.
Check out our new Family Gamers and Play Games with Your Kids merchandise – T-shirts, hoodies, and mugs – at thefamilygamers.com/merch.
PLEASE don’t forget to subscribe to the show, tell your friends about the show, and leave us a review at Apple Podcast or whatever your podcast subscription source is. We’re also on Amazon Music, TuneIn, and Spotify.
The Family Gamers is sponsored by First Move Financial. Go to FirstMoveFinancial.com/familygamers to learn how the team at First Move Financial can help you pile up the victory points.
The post Episode 375 – Origins with Stephanie! appeared first on The Family Gamers.
What are some games we can play to keep our kids’ skills fresh over the summer?
374 Fact374 years ago on June 9, 1650, the Harvard Corporation is established as the first legal corporation in the American colonies.
Sponsor MessageTo get help moving towards your financial goals, go to FirstMoveFinancial.com/familygamers and set up a free call with First Move today.
What We’ve Been PlayingSuper Snipers
Donuts
Compile (our review)
Tournament of Towers (our review)
Pyramidice
Captain Flip – a nominee for Spiel des Jahres!
Jinxx
Welcome New MembersStop in and say hi!
BacktalkLast episode, we asked about conventions. What’s your favorite convention? Do you bring your family?
Derek Bruff loves Tennessee Game Days and lets his kids pick new games to try.
JP has only been to small local cons with his kids (Gen Con and Fan Expo Toronto without them) and prefers the small local ones. They’re cheaper and you can drive home each night!
SNAP Review – MyceliaWhether you think mushrooms are delicious or gross, you’ll love the cute mushrooms in Mycelia, a intro-level deck-builder with plenty of variation for more experienced players.
Watch the video or read the transcript (with pictures) of our review.
Beat the Summer Slide – with Board GamesIf you have kids in school, you’ve probably heard of the “summer slide” or summer learning loss. The best way to keep your kids from losing math and reading skills is to use them! So let’s talk about five games that will give some practice.
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Math Rush “The most fun I have ever had with math flash cards!” Math Rush is truly all about reinforcing your math facts, but it does it in a fun way. Buy the version that makes the most sense for your kids: Addition/Subtraction, Multiplication/Exponents, or Fractions/Decimals/Percentages. And check out our review.
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KingdominoYou are going to practice addition and multiplication over and over in this game.
We really like the original game, but any of the variations and sequels will work well too.
- 10 Days in the USAKeep your USA geography knowledge. Plan routes through the states. You don’t need to know already where each state is, but you’ll be referencing them on the map and relating them to each other as your build your route.
And check out Gameschooler Podcast episode 175 about the newest version of the game from The Op.
– Honorable mention: The Scrambled States of America Game
- UnmatchedThis is our top recommendation for reading – especially for ages 10 and up. Not only will you have plenty to read on the cards, but they’ll also give insight into the stories, which might pique your kid’s interest to read more about these characters!
Whether it’s ancient mythology, Marvel characters, or Jurassic Park, you’re sure to find something your kid will enjoy.
- HerStoryThis is a great opportunity to get some more history into your summer – but even if none of these historical women grab your interest, you can force a little bit of reading here with the one-page biographies on each card. See our review for more.
Runners UpMath: Anything with score keeping, especially if it involves multiplication (Mind Up!, Next Station, Splito, Metro X, etc.)
Reading: Any game with a theme that hooks your kid and keeps them reading. (Horrified, Marvel anything, The Hunt for WWII naval history)
Vocabulary and Spelling: Illiterati – since it’s cooperative, there’s lots of room for Mom & Dad to help.
How about “Board Game Summer Camp”? The Tabletop Family came up with a new set of challenges for 2024: https://thetabletopfamily.com/board-game-summer-camp-merit-badges/
New Backtalk Question!There was a Battleship movie and a CLUE movie. Terraforming Mars is getting its chance for a TV series. If there was any board game you wanted to see a movie or TV series about, what would it be?
Andrew’s would be Hero Quest. Anitra’s would be Tesseract.
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or join the Family Tabletop Community on Discord! thefamilygamers.com/discord
Or, for the most direct method, email us! andrew@thefamilygamers.com and anitra@thefamilygamers.com.
Check out our new Family Gamers and Play Games with Your Kids merchandise – T-shirts, hoodies, and mugs – at thefamilygamers.com/merch.
PLEASE don’t forget to subscribe to the show, tell your friends about the show, and leave us a review at Apple Podcast or whatever your podcast subscription source is. We’re also on Amazon Music, TuneIn, and Spotify.
The Family Gamers is sponsored by First Move Financial. Go to FirstMoveFinancial.com/familygamers to learn how the team at First Move Financial can help you pile up the victory points.
The post Episode 374 – Top 5 Games to Beat the Summer Slide appeared first on The Family Gamers.
Episode 373Top Convention Tipsfor FamiliesIt’s June, kicking off “convention season” for a lot of people. So, we’re sharing our best tips for navigating conventions with your family.
373 FactApparently, 373 is a “sexy prime“. (It’s 6 away from another prime number.)
Sponsor MessageIf you want to see an estimate of what your fee would be to work with First Move Financial, you can go to FirstMoveFinancial.com/FamilyGamers: there’s a fee calculator on that page, as well as a way to set up a quick (free) phone call to see if they’re a good fit for you.
What We’ve Been PlayingOgre Under – off the shelf of opportunity!
Cape May – also off the shelf of opportunity! It’s a nice game, but none of us loved it.
Unboxed – solve mysteries involving “ancient” games. How on earth are we going to review this?
Fleet: The Dice Game – an old favorite.
May Monthly ReportAnitra: 45 plays of 26 games. H-index: 3 with Ultimatch, Unmatched, King of Monster Island (enjoyed this MORE solo), and Mycelia.
Andrew: 21 plays of 15 games (but probably missing a few, since Anitra sees 23 plays with Andrew but he only sees 19 with her). H-index: 2 with Unmatched, Roll through the Ages, Sheep in Disguise, Ultimatch, Kirai: The Duel,
Welcome FB Community Members!Say hi to our newest friends!
BacktalkLast time: What is a thing you do (or an item you use) to simplify or streamline your game time?
Anwers on Facebook and Discord included:
Good inserts. Chat GPT?!? How-to videos. Game topper (neoprene mat) – signifies “it’s game time”. Having all the special bits & organizers. Having convenient storage for the most-played games. Learning a game with a second player.
SNAP Review – CompileNormally we stick with games that are already available, but Compile will be out in August. It’s gorgeous and amazingly replayable, with over a thousand different deck combinations.
This might become one of our favorite two player games. Check it out!
Top Convention Tips for Familiestippy tip tip
https://www.thefamilygamers.com/episode-70-cons-with-kids/
Choose the right kind of convention for your family. There are all different kinds: large, small, consumer-focused, game-playing-focused, and conventions where board games are only a small part. Even choosing how far away you’re ready to go and where you’re going to stay.
Follow your kids’ interests. If they have social anxiety, stick with smaller conventions (if any). If they’re not big board gamers, find a convention that follows THEIR interests. (Our boys really enjoy smaller conventions that focus on playing games. But Claire wants to go to big pop-culture type conventions where she gets to show off her cosplay.)
Make a plan so everyone gets to do at least one thing they really want to do (cosplay, role-playing games, meeting up with friends, meeting a celebrity, playing a specific game, etc.)
This means… do research! We talked about this a lot way back in episode 148 about FOMO. If you research ahead of time, you’ll have a better idea of where you want to spend your time.
Be prepared! Snacks, water, first aid kit, face masks if you’re inclined, hand sanitizer, vitamin C. etc. Notice places to sit, bathrooms, places to eat.
Take breaks! Especially important with big overwhelming conventions. Could be as simple as getting outside for some fresh air and sunshine (maybe get food and eat it outside). But it could be going to see other sights in your destination city, or going back to the hotel and splashing around in the pool. Sleep and quiet time are also important.
Backtalk Question:What’s your favorite convention? Do you bring your family? What’s your best convention win or best convention story? Tell us all about what YOU think or remember when you think about going to conventions!
Find Us Online:Facebook: @familygamersaa and thefamilygamers.com/community
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or join the Family Tabletop Community on Discord! thefamilygamers.com/discord
Or, for the most direct method, email us! andrew@thefamilygamers.com and anitra@thefamilygamers.com.
Check out our new Family Gamers and Play Games with Your Kids merchandise – T-shirts, hoodies, and mugs – at thefamilygamers.com/merch.
PLEASE don’t forget to subscribe to the show, tell your friends about the show, and leave us a review at Apple Podcast or whatever your podcast subscription source is. We’re also on Amazon Music, TuneIn, and Spotify.
The Family Gamers is sponsored by First Move Financial. Go to FirstMoveFinancial.com/familygamers to learn how the team at First Move Financial can help you pile up the victory points.
The post Episode 373 – Top Convention Tips for Families! appeared first on The Family Gamers.
We chose five games from 2023 (and the first half of 2024) that come in small boxes but pack a big punch!
372 Facthttps://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/372/schotten-totten
Sponsor MessageDid you know that you can talk to our sponsor First Move Financial for free?
If you’re curious what it would cost to get help, visit firstmovefinancial.com/familygamers and scroll down, there’s a calculator there where you enter your income and net worth and it will tell you your estimated monthly fee.
What We’ve Been PlayingOnitama
Unmatched: Slings & Arrows
Mycelia
Tangram City
King of Monster Island
Thurn and Taxis
Welcome FB Community membersStop in and say hi!
BacktalkLast time: If you could play ANY game, what game would you play with your family and why?
This time: What is a thing you do (or an item you USE) to simplify or streamline your game time?
SNAP Review – Time’s Up! Family EditionThis party game is perfect for families of any size, as long as everyone can read.
Check out our video review, or read the transcript.
5 Games in a Small Box that Pack a Lot of FunWe decided to limit it to only games that came out in 2023/2024. All of these games are super easy to throw in a pocket or a bag, but contain a lot of fun.
Paper App DungeonThis is a solo dungeon crawl, but we’ve all been loving it (sharing the book and taking turns completing a dungeon). There are 44 dungeon levels in the notebook, and a special “P6” – a pencil with each side labeled with a number, so you can use it instead of a die!
UltimatchA cooperative (or solo) game that feels a bit like pyramid solitaire. Easy to learn, but with lots of layers of tactics and strategy. Everyone has cards in their hand that only they can know & play, so no single person can take charge. Check out our review – a rare perfect score!
CompileA card game coming soon from Greater Than Games. A lane-dueling game (like Riftforce), in which you race to play enough value to a lane to “compile” it. Each player creates a deck from three “protocols” (card suits), and each protocol (out of 12) has a different play style. If you like this style of game, you can combine the decks in a ton of different ways.
(We discuss how we use “roles” in BG Stats to help us track which “protocols” we’ve tried.)
TrioIf you’re not tired of us talking about Trio yet, you’re in luck! This small card game feels very classic, with a combination of memory and deduction. It’s the type of game we’ll play two or three times in a row, since it’s quick and setup is easy. You will need at least three players, though.
Check out our review for Trio.
Smug OwlsA party game that lets you either feel clever, or appreciate other people being clever. There are so few games that are competitive but have you encourage and affirm other people’s cleverness! (Poetry Slam is another.) We love that vibe.
It’s pretty close to an all-ages game, and it helps us appreciate our kids’ imagination.
Check out our review for Smug Owls.
More Small Box Games? Look for these PublishersOink Games, which publishes Deep Sea Adventure, Scout, and plenty of others. They fit a ton of gameplay into tiny boxes.
Button Shy only does 18-card games. They try a lot of things with these games, and you can find just about any theme or mechanic. We recommend Wildtails, their legacy/campaign game, as well as Tussie Mussie, Sprawlopolis, and more.
Perplext is well known for their “Pack-O Games”, which are the size of a pack of gum. We reviewed BOO, years ago.
Backtalk, part 2What is a thing you do (or an item you USE) to simplify or streamline your game time?
1 – Player packs! If people get the same “starting equipment” every time you play the game, set that up ahead of time!
2 – Some kind of container for small pieces that get used by multiple players (coins, tokens, whatever). Silicone muffin cups are a cheap choice, and so are dollar-store lidded containers.
Find Us Online:Facebook: @familygamersaa and thefamilygamers.com/community
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or join the Family Tabletop Community on Discord! thefamilygamers.com/discord
Or, for the most direct method, email us! andrew@thefamilygamers.com and anitra@thefamilygamers.com.
Check out our new Family Gamers and Play Games with Your Kids merchandise – T-shirts, hoodies, and mugs – at thefamilygamers.com/merch.
PLEASE don’t forget to subscribe to the show, tell your friends about the show, and leave us a review at Apple Podcast or whatever your podcast subscription source is. We’re also on Amazon Music, TuneIn, and Spotify.
The Family Gamers is sponsored by First Move Financial. Go to FirstMoveFinancial.com/familygamers to learn how the team at First Move Financial can help you pile up the victory points.
The post Episode 372 – Top 5 New Small Box Games appeared first on The Family Gamers.
It’s been six years since we devoted a podcast to this topic. So let’s revisit: Why should you play games with your kids?
Why do we (still) play games with our kids?
371 factFrank Rubio – 371 consecutive days in space!
Sponsor MessageIf you want to talk about ways to teach your children to manage their personal finances, set up a time to talk by going to firstmovefinancial.com / familygamers.
What We’ve Been PlayingUnmatched: Slings and Arrows – Hamlet doesn’t feel great.
Ultimatch
Jinxx
Amun-Re
Paper App Dungeon
Roll Through the Ages: The Bronze Age
April Monthly ReportAndrew: 41 plays, 22 unique games. H-index: 3 (Trio: 10 times! and Flashback: Lucy, Compile, Tapple 10)
Over 50% of games played in April were in the first week, on our work-related trip. “74 players” (although some were double-counted). Lots of games at 4 or 5 players this month!
Anitra: 69 plays, 33 unique games. H-index: 4 (Sherlock Solitaire, Trio, Tapple 10, Anomia, Flashback: Lucy, Palm Island).
32% of all games played in April were on that first weekend.
SNAP Review – Tapple 10This “little brother” to Tapple is just as fun, and a lot more portable. Just a small box of double-sided cards and a 15-second timer. Saying there are ten games in the box is a bit of a stretch; but there are multiple fun ways to play.
Watch the video or read the transcript of our review.
Facebook CommunityWelcome new members to the community! Stop in and say hi.
Why Do We Play Games?We last talked about this specifically all the way back in episode 104. (Also the first podcast that included a SNAP review!)
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Because it’s fun!This reason hasn’t changed. Why wouldn’t you want to do something fun with your family?
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Board games are a safe place to experiment.Board games allow kids to fail in a safe environment. They can create antagonism or challenges that don’t exist after the game is put away.
You can even flip roles and let kids be in charge in the game, or allow them a chance to be better than their parents. Maybe even “beat up” Mom or Dad!
- A board game is an activity everyone can enjoy together, any time of year.We have a six year age gap between our oldest and youngest kid, and a lot of different interests. Playing a well-chosen board game levels the playing field and allows everyone to have fun.
Sports and outdoor activities are great, but it’s hard to adjust them so that family members at different physical abilities can all enjoy them. And they’re usually weather-dependent; hard to allow for that in New England where it’s sunny one day and freezing the next.
- Games are active, not passive.Watching a movie can make for family bonding, but you have to work at it. But board games require you to interact with the game and (usually) with each other.
Board games let you learn by doing. Skills like being a gracious loser (see Four Ways to Help a Sore Loser) get better with practice. Anitra observes that online video games encourage poor sportsmanship around winning and losing unless you actively work against it.
- Games offer a window into other players’ thoughts.Board games are about connecting with people. We have been more intentional about playing games one-on-one with our kids in the past few years. Especially with preteens and teenagers, it makes it easier for them to open up about things they think are important.
“Sometimes the board game is the least important thing happening while you’re playing a board game.”
It’s incredibly rare to have inter-generational experiences that come naturally. Board games do that for us.
If you have teens or young adults, we recommend playing board games with their close friends or prospective boyfriends/girlfriends, too. It provides so much insight into how these friends treat other people – like parents and siblings.
But this only works if playing board games is already normal for your family!
- Board games are a great way to explore YOUR kid’s interests.They love to explore nature? There are lots of games for that.
We’ve got a kid who loves Greek mythology, so we play a lot of Santorini, Fight for Olympus, and Horrified: Greek Monsters.
Another kid loves Star Wars? Yeah, we’ll play Star Wars games if that will get them to the table.
We’ve already talked about how our daughter loves anything with dragons.
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Board games are educational. Even games that aren’t “educational”.We recommend The Game Schooler Podcast to learn more about the kinds of skills that games can teach and reinforce.
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Combat social anxiety! Encourage kids to interact with adults in a safe, non-threatening way!One of our favorite things about going to small conventions is seeing our kids interact with other adults and play games together.
Backtalk!If you could sit down and play anything, what game would YOUR family play?
Answer in the Facebook community or on Discord.
Anitra’s answer: Quacks of Quedlinburg (it’s a game that all five family members enjoy and will agree to!)
Andrew’s answer: Anomia Tongue Twisters (Go get it for free!)
Find Us Online:Facebook: @familygamersaa and thefamilygamers.com/community
Twitter (X): @familygamersaa
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or join the Family Tabletop Community on Discord! thefamilygamers.com/discord
Or, for the most direct method, email us! andrew@thefamilygamers.com and anitra@thefamilygamers.com.
Check out our new Family Gamers and Play Games with Your Kids merchandise – T-shirts, hoodies, and mugs – at thefamilygamers.com/merch.
PLEASE don’t forget to subscribe to the show, tell your friends about the show, and leave us a review at Apple Podcast or whatever your podcast subscription source is. We’re also on Amazon Music, TuneIn, and Spotify.
The Family Gamers is sponsored by First Move Financial. Go to FirstMoveFinancial.com/familygamers to learn how the team at First Move Financial can help you pile up the victory points.
The post Episode 371 – Why Play Games? appeared first on The Family Gamers.
We’re excited to welcome back our friend Marc Specter! We’ll talk about his current Kickstarter and lots of other games coming soon.
370 fact – Abell 370See images here: https://hubblesite.org/contents/media/images/2017/20/4024-Image.html
Sponsor messageDid you know there’s a U.S. Law that allows every American to check their credit reports with each of the three major credit bureaus each year, for free? You don’t have to sign up for a service or pay a monthly fee, just go to annualcreditreport.com.
It’s important to check your credit reports so you know if someone has opened accounts in your name, if a creditor is mis-reporting an old debt, and to see which accounts you forgot to close that may be hurting your credit score.
First Move has a blog post about how to read your credit reports. If you’re overwhelmed by debt, hiring a financial advisor may not be right for you, but First Move is still happy to have a 15 minute phone call to get you going in the right direction and point you toward free resources. Go to firstmovefinancial.com/familygamers to set up a time to chat today.
What We’ve Been PlayingFaraway – “a mind bending melange of simple mechanics”
Sherlock Solitaire (review coming soon)
Flashback: Lucy (our review)
Dead Man’s Draw AKA Captain Carcass
What the Heck? (our review)
Roll for It! (our review)
Drop It (our review)
Compile (coming this summer)
Genotype (review coming soon)
Gorinto
Stroop
SNAP Review – DoomlingsDoomlings is super cute, and easy to get started. It’s good for light family play without boring heavier gamers.
Watch the video or read the transcript of our Doomlings review.
Grand Gamers Guild with Marc SpecterWe first had Marc on the show all the way back in episode 53! Now we are good friends.
What is Bouba/Kiki?The newest game from Grand Gamers Guild – on Kickstarter until May 3.
This is a party/communication game, based on the Bouba/Kiki effect. We mentally associate certain sounds with certain kinds of shapes. Could you match up with the rest of the table to pick the same one?
Marc always wants you to get a benefit from backing on Kickstarter – so you’ll get a slight discount, and either nicer components or extra packs of cards.
Marc’s not a big fan of stretch goals, but there are a few small ones here.
There’s a campaign (actually, six campaigns) with scenarios that bend the concept!
What is Stroop?(We talked about Stroop back in episode 53! We’ve been a fan of it ever since.)
There’s a special add-on to this Kickstarter – can you tell us about that? The Marriage Mix-up – another 18-card Holiday Hijinks. Also from the mind of Jonathan Chaffer!
Back the Kickstarter!
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/grandgamersguild/bouba-kiki-stroop-reprint
What else is coming from Grand Gamers Guild?more 18-card escape rooms: The Marriage Mix-up and Endangered Rescue: Galapagos Penguins
La Familia Hort (Nick will be reviewing this)
Words of a Feather (our preview)
The Fog: Escape from Paradise
Deck-building game – Pasaraya: Supermarket Manager
Holiday Hijinks set with 3 more games (10, 11, 12) around the end of the year
more Endangered! A full box set with an Australia theme.
Find Marc online:GrandGamersGuild.com
Facebook: @GrandGamersGuild
Email: grandgamersguild@gmail.com
Find Us Online:Facebook: @familygamersaa and thefamilygamers.com/community
Twitter (X): @familygamersaa
Threads: @familygamersaa
Instagram: @familygamersaa
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Youtube: TheFamilyGamers
or join the Family Tabletop Community on Discord! thefamilygamers.com/discord
Or, for the most direct method, email us! andrew@thefamilygamers.com and anitra@thefamilygamers.com.
Check out our new Family Gamers and Play Games with Your Kids merchandise – T-shirts, hoodies, and mugs – at thefamilygamers.com/merch.
PLEASE don’t forget to subscribe to the show, tell your friends about the show, and leave us a review at Apple Podcast or whatever your podcast subscription source is. We’re also on Amazon Music, TuneIn, and Spotify.
The Family Gamers is sponsored by First Move Financial. Go to FirstMoveFinancial.com/familygamers to learn how the team at First Move Financial can help you pile up the victory points.
The post Episode 370 – Bouba/Kiki with Marc Specter appeared first on The Family Gamers.
This week, we’re talking “slider games”. These are bite-sized, ultra-fast games that you can play in 10 minutes or less!
369 FactNikolai Tesla’s obsession with the numbers 3,6,9!
Did you know that all multiples of 3 add to 3, 6, or 9 if you add the digits together?
Sponsor MessageIf 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 We’ve Been PlayingKiri-ai: The Duel
Sherlock Solitaire
Time’s Up! Family Edition – this is like Celebrity, which we talked about in episode 35.
La Familia Hort
Monthly Report MarchAndrew: 25 plays, 16 unique games H-index:3. Most played: Doomlings, prototypes, and Tin Spin – 40% of plays were at GAMA Expo!
Anitra: 29 plays, 16 unique games H-index: 2. Most played: Skyrockets, Explosion in the Laboratory
Welcome New MembersStop in and say hi!
SNAP Review – Rush HourElliot and Andrew review this classic puzzle game. We think it’s a great activity for traveling!
Watch the video or read the transcript.
Sliders – Ultra-Fast GamesThe topic for this podcast came from… not having time to play games lately. The few games we’ve been playing tend to be 10 minutes or less.
These are so fast we wouldn’t even call them filler games! Normally we would play these several time in a row, but you can play them just once.
So when even a filler game is too long, let’s go for a slider game!
- Skyrockets – so short that if we lose, we usually play again and it’s still less than 15 minutes. More forgiving than most timer-based games. Cooperative.
- Panic Island – also cooperative, and plays in ONE minute.
- Get the MacGuffin – up to 12 players! Silly and still very fast.
- Pocket Paragons – super fast dueling game with lots of options.
- Kiri-ai: The Duel – another super fast dueling game.
- Trio – we’ve been playing a lot of this. Even with teaching it, it’s under 10 minutes.
- Tin Spin – surprisingly fun, incredibly simple.
Find Us Online:Facebook: @familygamersaa and thefamilygamers.com/community
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or join the Family Tabletop Community on Discord! thefamilygamers.com/discord
Or, for the most direct method, email us! andrew@thefamilygamers.com and anitra@thefamilygamers.com.
Check out our new Family Gamers and Play Games with Your Kids merchandise – T-shirts, hoodies, and mugs – at thefamilygamers.com/merch.
PLEASE don’t forget to subscribe to the show, tell your friends about the show, and leave us a review at Apple Podcast or whatever your podcast subscription source is. We’re also on Amazon Music, TuneIn, and Spotify.
The Family Gamers is sponsored by First Move Financial. Go to FirstMoveFinancial.com/familygamers to learn how the team at First Move Financial can help you pile up the victory points.
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We are no longer restricting our interviews to just odd-numbered episodes. We couldn’t wait any longer to have Ken Franklin on the show again!
368 FactWe learn about Studio 368, doing very cool stuff for creators and media (like Greta Gerwig, Lena Dunham, and the Safdie brothers).
Sponsor MessageAre you doing your taxes? Some states offer a tax break for residents who invest in their state’s 529 college savings plan. If you want help planning for your kid’s college education you can go to firstmovefinancial.com/familygamers. There’s a link there to set up a 15-minute call to see if First Move can help you.
What We’ve Been PlayingDaybreak – A cooperative game where you try to reverse global warming. Ken also calls it “Terraforming Earth”
First in Flight – review coming soon from Anitra
Explosion in the Laboratory – 27-card game about mixing “vials” in progressively more dangerous environment. An interesting take on push-your-luck with no dice and limited card draws.
Tir na Nog – You’re sending storytellers into fairyland to get experiences to turn into a saga. (Claim cards and try to arrange them.) Scoop: Ken is designing an 18-card escape game based on this one! There will also be mini-escape rooms based on Roll Camera and The Artemis Odyssey.
Mind Map
Tin Spin
Monthly Report – FebruaryAnitra: 30 unique games 48 times. H-index 3, with ArcheOlogic, Redwood, Unmatched, At the Helm, Skyrockets, and Pocket Paragons having at least 3 plays.
Andrew: 14 unique games 20 times. ArcheOlogic 4 times! Unmatched 3 times, Picky Pixie twice. H-index 2
Welcome New Members Stop in and say hi!
SNAP Review – Get Bit!Outrace your buddies so they get bitten by the shark and you don’t! This new version of Get Bit! works with 2-7 players, but is still best at 4 or more.
Watch the video or read the transcript for Get Bit!
Ken FranklinKen is back in clinical practice as a medical doctor three days a week, which makes him pretty busy.
He’s looking forward to facilitating giant Mansky Caper again at GrandCon.
But that’s not the main reason we asked him on the podcast…
Flash Point: Legacy of FlameKen designed this legacy game with Chris Leder and Kevin Rodgers.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ibcgames/flash-point-legacy-of-flame
What kicked off the design for a Flash Point legacy game?Indie Boards & Cards had talking about it for a long time, but pushed to the back burner.
But in 2021, Ken found this out, and asked Chris and Kevin – “do you want to make a legacy version of Flash Point?” “YES, of course!”
Figured out the outline of the first third within a week, then pitched it to Indie Boards & Cards and signed a contract.
Then spent three years meeting virtually every week “and we played the snot out of it”.
Each designer brings their own strengths.Kevin has a gift for narrative design. He wrote the “screenplay” of the campaign.
Chris is an incredible rulebook editor, and a gift for spotting what brings fun and what drains fun.
Ken put his prototyping skills to work and was spreadsheet master, mapping out the different paths the campaign could take.
The game was pretty much done after 14 months of solid work.
There’s a ton of expansions already for Flash Point. How does that work with the legacy game?There are already so many expansions, you can’t play with all of them together. It just doesn’t work.
They looked at what elements in the expansions make sense for a story where cadet firefighters are going through their careers. So some expansion elements carried over to the legacy game, and some pieces are new. For example, they pulled the “Fire deck / event deck” from the Tragic Events expansion, replacing hot spots.
More about Flash Point: Legacy of FlameYou’ll be working through a sort of ensemble story, with many character arcs and events.
When you’re done with the campaign, you’ll have 12 new maps to play with any Flash Point module or expansion, and every character you’ve created can be used again.
Instead of making different terrain-styled boards, this game uses two spiral-bound books for the 12 maps.
Announcement: there will be a recharge pack, if you want to replay the campaign fresh.
When characters are knocked down, you are incentivized to sit them out and end up using all the characters.
Instead of using tons of envelopes, they’re using scratch-off elements in many places.
You don’t need anything extra, and you don’t even need to have played Flash Point before!
Check out the Kickstarter campaign!
Find Ken online:Instagram: @kenplays2grin
X: @kenplays2grin
Facebook: drkenfp and Franklin Farms Game Nights
Email him at drkenfp @ mac.com
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or join the Family Tabletop Community on Discord! thefamilygamers.com/discord
Or, for the most direct method, email us! andrew@thefamilygamers.com and anitra@thefamilygamers.com.
Check out our new Family Gamers and Play Games with Your Kids merchandise – T-shirts, hoodies, and mugs – at thefamilygamers.com/merch.
PLEASE don’t forget to subscribe to the show, tell your friends about the show, and leave us a review at Apple Podcast or whatever your podcast subscription source is. We’re also on Amazon Music, TuneIn, and Spotify.
The Family Gamers is sponsored by First Move Financial. Go to FirstMoveFinancial.com/familygamers to learn how the team at First Move Financial can help you pile up the victory points.
The post Episode 368 – Ken Franklin and Flash Point: Legacy Of Flame appeared first on The Family Gamers.
Andrew is back home from GAMA Expo! GAMA was kind enough to select The Family Gamers as Hosted Media for this year’s Expo, and we thank them for their support! GAMA is a growing and changing organization and we commend them for their hard work!
367 FactWe learn about the Model 367 Bipod hybrid flying car. https://newatlas.com/bipod-hybrid-flying-car/19258/
Sponsor MessageTo schedule a time to talk to First Move about other ways to take control of your finances, head over to firstmovefinancial.com/familygamers to set up an initial 15 minute call.
What We’ve Been PlayingCompile – “like a cross between Smash Up and Hanamikoji“. Draft decks of cards, then
Nidavellir – we found out it’s on Board Game Arena (for paid users)!
SNAP Review – Picky PixieThis compact deduction game will have you guessing about the pixie’s complicated palette. We think it’s best for kids and adults who already like deduction.
Watch the video or read the transcript on our website.
For Science! – On the Road – Claudia Sanders Dinner House“A whole that is greater than the sum of its parts.”
“The epitome of KFC-southern cooking.”
There was more food than they could eat, but everything was delicious!
GAMA Interviews0:26:00 Friendly Skeleton with AzkedeliaTrash Talk – a party game about the language barrier between raccoons and possums, using trash items to communicate!
Coming April 5, distributed by Asmodee.
0:30:30 Hawberry Games with JulieCake Auf! – make international recipes in a race before your opponents!
Emotional Intelligence – answer this-or-that questions based on an assigned (secret) personality type.
Check them out at the Hawberry Games website.
0:37:30 Pandasaurus with RainaMind Up – Draft cards and play them into your sets. But you’ll have to play cards from your hand to “bid” and win the cards you want.
Knarr – Recruit Vikings into your band, activating groups by color.
Courtisans – Play cards to different places around the Queen’s table. Win points depending on each families’ status at the end of the game. A lot of take-that in a fast game.
Faraway – Have a great journey! Cards are scored in the reverse order from which they are played.
Boxtop Pinball – Flick dice down the board. Oops! We didn’t get a picture of this one.
0:42:45 Fireside Games with JustinUltimatch – Cooperate to make matches to clear cards out of a pyramid, but use addition or subtraction to make mathematical or color matches as well. Or use two cards to make an exact match – color and number! That lets you draw two cards – one for your hand and one towards a common pool for all players.
Zoomies – dog-walkers with domino tiles. Stay tuned!
0:48:00 Lucky Duck Games with DevonKiri-ai: The Duel – a 16-card dueling game. Hit your opponent twice (but always from the front, to be honorable) to win. Available now at LuckyDuckGames.com.
Toriki: the Castaway Island – Survive the island and leave on your own terms! Explore, gather knowledge, and complete your mission.
0:55:15 Skybound Tabletop with MattInvincible: Escape from Mars – Social deduction game based on the Amazon show / comic series. But the roles change every round!
Sheep in Disguise – You want to collect flocks of cute sheep (three of a kind).
ContraBanter – A word-smuggling party game. Answer the other team’s question with a story, inserting your secret words. But if you sneak your words well enough, you’ll have to sneak them into the next round’s story as well!
1:02:00 Thunderworks with JessStonespine Architects – a pick-and-pass card drafting game in the Roll Player universe. Available end of April.
Citizens of the Spark – Use unique animal citizens with their own powers in each game. Mostly simultaneous play.
Metrorunner – a sci-fi game with a rondel representing the metro you’re riding around the board. Collect resources, hack the network, and/or finish job assignments.
1:11:30 Pink Hawk Games with EmilyPirates of the High Teas – Make sets of dishes to serve your captain! Coming to Kickstarter in September.
Good Kitties – Cooperative game of plotting world domination, while avoiding the dog. Probably next year.
Find out more at PinkHawkGames.com
March Madness!We are putting out extra reviews all month long!
But also check out our Best Family Game brackets. We just finished the round of 32. Go vote in the Sweet Sixteen!
Find Us Online:Facebook: @familygamersaa and thefamilygamers.com/community
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or join the Family Tabletop Community on Discord! thefamilygamers.com/discord
Or, for the most direct method, email us! andrew@thefamilygamers.com and anitra@thefamilygamers.com.
Check out our new Family Gamers and Play Games with Your Kids merchandise – T-shirts, hoodies, and mugs – at thefamilygamers.com/merch.
PLEASE don’t forget to subscribe to the show, tell your friends about the show, and leave us a review at Apple Podcast or whatever your podcast subscription source is. We’re also on Amazon Music, TuneIn, and Spotify.
The Family Gamers is sponsored by First Move Financial. Go to FirstMoveFinancial.com/familygamers to learn how the team at First Move Financial can help you pile up the victory points.
The post Episode 367 – Mr. Smith Goes to GAMA Expo appeared first on The Family Gamers.
Lunar New Year was not to long ago, and now we are in the year of the dragon! Sounds like a perfect excuse to give you our top 5 dragon-themed games.
366 FactThere were 366 Episodes of the anime BLEACH (not counting the “Thousand-Year Blood War” arc which came after the main series).
366 is also the world record for most lemmings saved in a single playthrough of the arcade game Lemmings.
Sponsor MessageFor expert help applying some of the same principles that help you take down your friends in Agricola, head over to firstmovefinancial.com/familygamers today to schedule a call.
What We’ve Been PlayingDragon Bowl – more info at Scarb Enterprises
Avant Carde (our preview)
Deblockle (our review)
For Northwood!
ArcheOlogic (review coming soon) – the app is nice, but not as much as Andrew was wishing for.
Santorini
Kabuto Sumo (our review) – best when you take risks and don’t take it too seriously.
Picky Pixie (review coming soon)
Pocket Paragons (our review)
Welcome New Community MembersCome on in and say hi on our Facebook group!
GIVEAWAY WINNER!We picked the winner for a copy of National Geographic Secret Clue: Animals.
SNAP Review – Unmatched: Sun’s OriginWe review the latest addition to the Unmatched series.
This one is based on real people from Japanese history, and we think they’re fascinating. Watch the video or read the transcript on our website.
FOR SCIENCE!We try Oreo Space Dunk – an Oreo with brilliant pink and blue “marshmallow flavor” filling… and pop rocks?
Send us more weird food FOR SCIENCE! :
The Family Gamers
60 Auburn St. #528
Auburn, MA 01501
Top Five Dragon GamesWe talked about dragon games all the way back in episode 169 with Claire. But that’s not what we’re doing this time! This is our top five dragon games for families… in no particular order.
DragonkeepersBy Michael Menzel, published by KOSMOS; brand new in 2024. You’re drawing cards from a “book”, and then playing dragon cards when you can play the exact quantity and kind specified by the book. There are ways to adjust the book, but there are also more constraints for which types you can play. We’ll be reviewing this one soon.
Dragon’s BreathA wonderful kids’ game from HABA by Gunter and Lena Burkhart. Remove rings from the “ice tower” to drop gems – and “bet” on which color gems will drop the most.
We reviewed Dragon’s Breath in 2019.
TsuroA lovely family game from Calliope of creating a maze and trying NOT to get to the end of your path. It looks very “adult” but is approachable for kids with a bit of patience.
~~Block Ness~~We love Block Ness, but Anitra argues this doesn’t fit. They’re not dragons!
Dragonwood (and Dragonrealm)Dragonwood by Darren Kisgen is a fantasy-themed game for kids. Turn in sets of cards (matching numbers, matching colors, or runs in order) to roll dice and beat monsters. Different monsters are vulnerable to different kinds of attacks (sets of cards)! This game reinforces a lot of important math skills for kids in a fun way! Dragonwood from Gamewright was one of the first games we ever reviewed.
We also enjoy the sequel, Dragonrealm but it tends a little older. (10+)
FlamecraftThe most complex game in our list due to reading and lots of choices. But still very approachable for older kids (10+). This is our teenage daughter’s favorite. We reviewed it last year.
Anitra loves these dragons the most – cute dragons with jobs! There’s nothing combative or violent in the theme here.
Flamecraft is published by Cardboard Alchemy and Lucky Duck Games.
And since we mentioned it… enjoy this video of Mandy Patinkin and his family learning Wingspan.
Find Us Online:Facebook: @familygamersaa and thefamilygamers.com/community
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or join the Family Tabletop Community on Discord! thefamilygamers.com/discord
Or, for the most direct method, email us! andrew@thefamilygamers.com and anitra@thefamilygamers.com.
Check out our new Family Gamers and Play Games with Your Kids merchandise – T-shirts, hoodies, and mugs – at thefamilygamers.com/merch.
PLEASE don’t forget to subscribe to the show, tell your friends about the show, and leave us a review at Apple Podcast or whatever your podcast subscription source is. We’re also on Amazon Music, TuneIn, and Spotify.
The Family Gamers is sponsored by First Move Financial. Go to FirstMoveFinancial.com/familygamers to learn how the team at First Move Financial can help you pile up the victory points.
The post Episode 366 – Year of the Dragon! Top 5 Dragon Games appeared first on The Family Gamers.
Welcome to Jeremy Pike, staff writer! We’ll talk about how he joined our team, and what he did at Tantrum Con 2024.
365 factWhy is a year 365 days? Because that’s how many times the Earth spins on its axis while making a complete trip around the sun. And, of course, it’s not exactly 365 either. It’s closer to 365.25, which is why we have an extra day every four years. But it’s a smidgeon less than 365.25, so we skip the leap year every century, except we have one every multiple of 400 years as another slight correction.
Sponsor messageWhether you’re worried about what’s happening or you are lucky to find yourself in a strong financial position and want some help in making the right tactical move, First Move Financial can help. If you want some help finding solid footing underneath you, or help finding the right step to leap to the next level, head to firstmovefinancial.com/familygamers to schedule a quick phone call and see how First Move can help.
What We’ve Been PlayingEchidna Shuffle
Get Bit! – The new bath-toy theme is cute. Andrew suggests we play this using gingerbread men for the swimmers.
ArcheOlogic
Ecosystem: Savanna (our review)
First in Flight
Mycelia (don’t mistake this for any other mushroom-themed games! It’s pink and adorable. Listen to the interview from PAX Unplugged.)
Chicken!
Redwood – “if Tang Garden and Photosynthesis had a baby, and gave it a photography theme”
Picky Pixie – a competitive clue-giving game from Elizabeth Hargrave & Button Shy. Reminds us a little of Visitor in Blackwood Grove.
D&D Dungeon Scrawlers: Heroes of Waterdeep (review coming soon!)
Holiday Hijinks: The Turkey Trial – the most approachable Holiday Hijinks yet, in our opinion. (The Birthday Burglary is also very good with kids.)
Unmatched: Sun’s Origins
Monthly Report – JanuaryAndrew: 20 plays of 11 unique games. H-index 2 – Pocket Paragons (5 plays), Trio (4 plays)
Anitra: 49 plays of 20 unique games. H-index 4 – Pocket Paragons (10 plays), Calypso (9 times), At the Helm, Trio
SNAP Review – Pocket ParagonsElliot and Anitra talk about this very quick two player duel. We think it’s a great choice for a portable and fast game.
See the video or read the transcript for our Pocket Paragons review.
Jeremy Pike and Tantrum ConHow did Jeremy get involved with The Family Gamers?Jeremy found TFG because of his son, Zach, Family Gamers super-fan. From helping Zach write an email to receiving a T-shirt to Tantrum Con 2023, to writer!
What about Tantrum Con?Tantrum Con is the yearly convention thrown by Tantrum House. And it’s the most kid-friendly convention we’ve ever seen. With a larger location, they stepped up everything this year, including the kids section! They hired a group called “Living Rooms and Lizards” to run D&D style storytelling games for kids.
Everything was bigger – Exhibitor hall, Demo area for pre-release games, etc.
New game highlights at Tantrum ConRun Run Run! – and the rest of the “2024 Import collection” from 25th Century. (look at that Kickstarter!)
Corps of Discovery: A Game Set in the World of Manifest Destiny – “Lewis & Clark and monsters”
Gems of Iridescia
What else is special about Tantrum Con?Table-flipping face-offs
Tournameals – learn a game while having a meal together (plus giveaways)
VIP gaming area – for content creators and/or designers to teach games
Play to Win – a lot of cons have this, but it’s always great. There’s a huge variety of games in Play to Win at Tantrum Con.
And the people who are there playing games are just very kind and nice.
You get a goodie bag when you arrive – and kids get kid games in their bag! We love how much respect is shown towards kids, that they can be gamers too.
Find Jeremy Online:thefamilygamers.com/tag/jeremy
Instagram @jeremypikebackyardbbq
Find Us Online:Facebook: @familygamersaa and thefamilygamers.com/community
Twitter (X): @familygamersaa
Threads: @familygamersaa
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or join the Family Tabletop Community on Discord! thefamilygamers.com/discord
Or, for the most direct method, email us! andrew@thefamilygamers.com and anitra@thefamilygamers.com.
Check out our new Family Gamers and Play Games with Your Kids merchandise – T-shirts, hoodies, and mugs – at thefamilygamers.com/merch.
PLEASE don’t forget to subscribe to the show, tell your friends about the show, and leave us a review at Apple Podcast or whatever your podcast subscription source is. We’re also on Amazon Music, TuneIn, and Spotify.
The Family Gamers is sponsored by First Move Financial. Go to FirstMoveFinancial.com/familygamers to learn how the team at First Move Financial can help you pile up the victory points.
The post Episode 365 – Tantrum Con with Jeremy Pike appeared first on The Family Gamers.
We often talk about new games. But let’s look back a little bit. We were excited for a lot of new games at the beginning of 2023 – how did they fare? Were all of them as great as we hoped?
364 factGuinness World Record: 364 people simultaneously playing Rock-Paper-Scissors online.
Sponsor messageHave you heard of the fun ratio? This idea comes from The Opposite of Spoiled by Ron Lieber, if you want to talk about other ways to equip your children for their future, go to firstmovefinancial.com/familygamers to schedule a time to talk to First Move today.
What We’ve Been PlayingCalypso – because it’s so fast, Andrew accuses Anitra of using it to boost her game playing stats.
Villainous – Anitra compares this to Disney: Animated because of the way it siloes each movie universe.
Royal Visit
Dice Cards
Maul Peak
Suspend – a dexterity game we recommend. (Get the Jr version for kids under 10.)
10 Days in the USA
Monopoly Deal
FOR SCIENCE!Is this cheating? There’s no possibility that this is gross: our options are “delicious” or “really delicious”.
Send us more weird food FOR SCIENCE! :
The Family Gamers
60 Auburn St. #528
Auburn, MA 01501
SNAP Review – Smug OwlsStretch your brain by answering riddles. The catch? These riddles are generated by decks of cards.
Read the transcript or watch the video.
Facebook Community WelcomeWe have a lot of new members! Stop on in and say hi.
Revisiting the 2023 HotnessWe were really excited for a lot of games at the beginning of 2023, and we talked about them in episode 327.
Flashback: Zombie Kidz – Mildly disappointing. Pretty good, but not quite what we were hoping for. Our review. (Turbo Kidz was a surprise in the other direction – so much better than we expected!)
Fit to Print – Still haven’t played. Anitra has warmed to it, hopefully we’ll play it sometime this year.
Thunder Road: Vendetta – We haven’t played it, but Nick (who put it on the list) has been very happy with it. “The game is exactly what it said it was going to be.”
Qawale – Gorgeous abstract game from Gigamic. We reviewed this one too. Anitra: likes it a lot, but not as much as she thought she would.
Steam Up – Haven’t played it in 2023, but we’re excited to see it on store shelves.
Sauscharf – In the US, it was renamed Pick-a-Pepper. We got a chance to play this in February and really liked it. We will look for it again!
Miller Zoo – A very nice cooperative game. Not a hit with our kids, because it had less depth than we expected. But it’s a great entry-level cooperative game, without much tension and nothing scary.
Stampfarm – Exactly what it wants to be. A roll-and-write for very young children that uses stamps instead of writing. See more in our review.
Marvel Unmatched sets – We played (and reviewed) Unmatched: Teen Spirit, and loved it. We did not get to try Unmatched: For King and Country.
Bonsai – This game was in high demand, and we totally understand why. Anitra was surprised by this one, and how it kept a strategic tension (there are more things you want to do) while staying pretty calm. See more in our review.
What surprised us in 2023?Junk Drawer! “Blindsided me in the best possible way.” Anitra was not interested in this game and found out she loves it! See our review.
Seikatsu: A Pet’s Life – exciting to FIND this re-theme of Seikatsu that has been out of print for a few years. (We are also excited for the re-print / new version that will be coming from Grand Gamers Guild.)
GiveawayAnitra created a how-to-play video for Underdog Games’ National Geographic Secret Clue: Animals and we have an extra copy to share with one of you.
Enter the giveaway!
Find Us Online:Facebook: @familygamersaa and thefamilygamers.com/community
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or join the Family Tabletop Community on Discord! thefamilygamers.com/discord
Or, for the most direct method, email us! andrew@thefamilygamers.com and anitra@thefamilygamers.com.
Check out our new Family Gamers and Play Games with Your Kids merchandise – T-shirts, hoodies, and mugs – at thefamilygamers.com/merch.
PLEASE don’t forget to subscribe to the show, tell your friends about the show, and leave us a review at Apple Podcast or whatever your podcast subscription source is. We’re also on Amazon Music, TuneIn, and Spotify.
The Family Gamers is sponsored by First Move Financial. Go to FirstMoveFinancial.com/familygamers to learn how the team at First Move Financial can help you pile up the victory points.
The post Episode 364 – Look Back: How Did 2023 Predictions Fare? appeared first on The Family Gamers.
Episode 363Happy Camper Gameswith Jason SchneiderThis week, we are joined by the “Head Camper” at Happy Camper Games – Jason Schneider!
363 FactDo you like Wingspan? The largest wingspan for a bird species is 3.63 meters, measured on a Wandering Albatross.
Sponsor messageHow do you know if you’re ready to retire?
If you want help reviewing the financial part of preparing for retirement set up a time to talk to First Move by going to firstmovefinancial.com/familygamers today.
What We’ve Been PlayingGreen Team Wins (a Family Gamers favorite)
Mah-jong
Trio
Pocket Paragons
Camel Up
Skyrockets
Smug Owls (our review)
SNAP Review – Sherlock 13Can you ask clever questions and deduce the identity of the hidden Criminal?
Sherlock 13 is a deduction game with just 13 cards and paper sheets to record information.
Watch the video of our review or read the transcript.
Jason Schneider, Happy Camper GamesJason has been working in the board game industry for a long time. Trio is the debut game for his new company, Happy Camper.
Trio’s US debut was at PAX Unplugged, and Jason almost ran out of the game!
Why “Happy Camper”?Summer camp played a critical role in Jason’s life, and the idea kept coming back over and over.
Jason wants to publish games FOR FAMILIES, should make you think back to summer camp experiences. Trio exemplifies this – it’s easy to learn and plays fast. “Let’s play again!” and reminds us of the kinds of traditional card games we played as kids.
Jason feels strongly about the role camp can have in a kid’s life: some of the proceeds from Happy Camper games will go to fund summer camp scholarships.
We reminisce about summer camp and camping in general. “All you need to do is put up a hammock…” “… and you’ve got to have s’mores.” So what IS doing the real work in a s’more? Andrew and Jason agree it’s the marshmallow. No gatekeeping on what makes a s’more though!
Back to Happy Camper – Jason decided to stick with the name, but keep the branding very simple, no campfire or tent or specific camping item. “Camping is a very personal thing.”
We are thrilled with Happy Camper’s success so far with Trio and hope they’ll keep doing just as well. They’ll be at PAX East, so you will be able to check them out there!
What’s the next game from Happy Camper? “Like Trio, it will have a certain familiarity to it… and it’s a great group game.” And it has a “frenemy” nature to it. That’s all he can tell us, except it will be out before the end of 2024.
Trio is back in stock as of this episode’s date.
Find Happy Camper Games Online:HappyCamper.games – also a great place to find a local retailer where you could buy Trio!
In person, find them at PAX Unplugged, PAX East, and Gen Con.
Find Us Online:Facebook: @familygamersaa and thefamilygamers.com/community
Twitter (X): @familygamersaa
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or join the Family Tabletop Community on Discord! thefamilygamers.com/discord
Or, for the most direct method, email us! andrew@thefamilygamers.com and anitra@thefamilygamers.com.
Check out our new Family Gamers and Play Games with Your Kids merchandise – T-shirts, hoodies, and mugs – at thefamilygamers.com/merch.
PLEASE don’t forget to subscribe to the show, tell your friends about the show, and leave us a review at Apple Podcast or whatever your podcast subscription source is. We’re also on Amazon Music, TuneIn, and Spotify.
The Family Gamers is sponsored by First Move Financial. Go to FirstMoveFinancial.com/familygamers to learn how the team at First Move Financial can help you pile up the victory points.
The post Episode 363 – Happy Camper Games with Jason Schneider appeared first on The Family Gamers.
362 FactAccording to WikiFanona, there are currently 362 episodes of the incredibly popular television show NCIS. (But it’s still in production, so there will be more.)
Sponsor MessageLearn about the sunk cost fallacy with our sponsor, First Move Financial. If you need a sounding board for your life’s financial decisions, go to firstmovefinancial.com/familygamers and set up a time to talk to First Move Financial.
What We’ve Been PlayingSeven Bridges – a roll-and-write that feels different from any other.
Tesseract (our review)
Smug Owls (review coming soon)
Unmatched: Sun’s Origin (Tomoe Gozen & Oda Nobunaga)
Oh What Fun! (last year’s review)
Motley (review coming)
Trio (review coming – we recommend!)
Monthly Report and Year in Review!Anitra’s December: 45 plays of 27 unique games. Learned Camel Up on New Year’s Eve! H-index 3: Trio, Skyrockets, Tesseract, Smug Owls.
Andrew’s December: 28 of 17 unique games. H-index 3: Tesseract, Trio, Smug Owls.
Andrew’s 2023: 288 plays of 148 unique games. H-index: 4. Most played: “Unpublished Prototype”, Unmatched, Jekyll vs. Hyde, FORK. 64% of plays at home.
Anitra’s 2023: 564 plays of 210 unique games. H-index: 9 – Calypso, Unmatched, Numbsters, GROVE, Roll to the Top, River Wild, Forage, Wildtails, Turbo Kidz. 2 players is most often: 37% of the time. Next most common is 3 players and solo, which each get 18%. 67% of plays were at home.
Want to tell us about your monthly or yearly stats? Join the Facebook community or the Family Tabletop Community discord.
SNAP Review – Ecosystem: SavannaThis sequel in the Ecosystem series is more family-friendly and fun!
This card-drafting, tableau-building game is a great way to learn or review facts about animals that live in the African savanna.
Watch the video or read the transcript.
Top Ten Games of 2023Andrew came up with a way to rank our top games and allow for overlap: we each distributed 10 points among our top 6 games. It worked! We have a top ten.
At one point each, our bottom five:Unmatched (see our previous reviews)
Her Story (our review)
Tesseract
Smug Owls
Disney Animated (our review)
At two points each:Junk Drawer (our review)
Roll to the Top: Journeys (our review)
Turbo Kidz (our review)
Our #2 game, with three points:Illiterati (our review)
Our top game, at a combined FIVE points:boop. (our review)
Find Us Online:Facebook: @familygamersaa and thefamilygamers.com/community
Twitter (X): @familygamersaa
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or join the Family Tabletop Community on Discord! thefamilygamers.com/discord
Or, for the most direct method, email us! andrew@thefamilygamers.com and anitra@thefamilygamers.com.
Check out our new Family Gamers and Play Games with Your Kids merchandise – T-shirts, hoodies, and mugs – at thefamilygamers.com/merch.
PLEASE don’t forget to subscribe to the show, tell your friends about the show, and leave us a review at Apple Podcast or whatever your podcast subscription source is. We’re also on Amazon Music, TuneIn, and Spotify.
The Family Gamers is sponsored by First Move Financial. Go to FirstMoveFinancial.com/familygamers to learn how the team at First Move Financial can help you pile up the victory points.
The post Episode 362 – Our Top Ten Games of 2023 appeared first on The Family Gamers.
We’re back, with a bonus episode, featuring the rest of our PAX interviews.
361 FactChinese submarine 361, nicknamed “The Great Wall”, is infamous for killing all members on board in 2003.
Sponsor MessageHow do you help your kids understand that Christmas isn’t just a “get me more stuff” holiday? Listen to our sponsor message – and make sure you are modeling the behavior you want to be teaching your children. If you’d like to talk about other ideas to help pass on your values to your children schedule a time to talk to First Move by going to firstmovefinancial .com/familygamers today.
What We’ve Been PlayingSanta’s Workshop
Skyrockets
Tesseract
Space Explorers: Age of Ambition (our review)
Ecosystem: Savanna
National Geographic: Secret Clue – Animals
New Community Members – Welcome!Stop in to the Facebook community and say hi!
SNAP Review – Tokaido DuoThis wasn’t quite the “chill, enjoy the journey” sequel to Tokaido that we expected. But it’s a great game for two players that avoids being confrontational and directly competitive.
Watch the video or read the transcript of this review.
PAX Unplugged InterviewsWant to skip to a particular company? Check out the timestamps.
27:00 Gamey with JohnThe Tree Trimming Game
Find out more at Gamey
31:20 Catmint Studio with Brian Sequitur – a word game using balls that slide into a holder
Find out more at Catmint Games
33:00 WizKids with MitchJokkmokk
Marvel Remix
Unboxed
Find out more at WizKids
38:55 Blue Rondo with RickCrabs in a Bucket
Find out more at Blue Rondo Games
46:30 Wise Wizard Games with DanielleWise Wizard has a new imprint, Wacky Wizard Games, with games intended for kids & families. Coming in 2024:
Star Realms Academy
Caution Signs
Pack the Essentials
Find out more at Wise Wizard Games
Maize Craze49:40 One Day West with RyanMaize Craze
Find out more at One Day West Games
52:00 Ravensburger with LysaMycelia
Find out more at Ravensburger
Find Us Online:Facebook: @familygamersaa and thefamilygamers.com/community
Twitter (X): @familygamersaa
Threads: @familygamersaa
Instagram: @familygamersaa
TikTok: @familygamersaa
Youtube: TheFamilyGamers
or join the Family Tabletop Community on Discord! thefamilygamers.com/discord
Or, for the most direct method, email us! andrew@thefamilygamers.com and anitra@thefamilygamers.com.
Check out our new Family Gamers and Play Games with Your Kids merchandise – T-shirts, hoodies, and mugs – at thefamilygamers.com/merch.
PLEASE don’t forget to subscribe to the show, tell your friends about the show, and leave us a review at Apple Podcast or whatever your podcast subscription source is. We’re also on Amazon Music, TuneIn, and Spotify.
The Family Gamers is sponsored by First Move Financial. Go to FirstMoveFinancial.com/familygamers to learn how the team at First Move Financial can help you pile up the victory points.
The post Episode 361 – PAX Unplugged 2023 – Days Two & Three appeared first on The Family Gamers.
This is part one of a two-podcast series covering just a fraction of what the Family Gamers team saw at this year’s PAX Unplugged.
360 factThe American woodcock can see 360° around itself (horizontally) – https://birdprotectionquebec.org/coolest-bird-of-the-week10-facts-about-the-american-woodcock/
Sponsor messageHow do you dig out of debt? Well the honest answer is slowly and painfully. There is no quick magic solution, and anyone who says otherwise is selling something.
First Move Financial is not a credit counseling company, but they’d be happy to spend a few minutes talking to you to help you find a reputable credit counselor. Go to firstmovefinancial.com/familygamers to set up a quick chat and start taking steps to dig out of debt.
Monthly Report: NovemberAndrew: 23 plays of 13 unique games. H-index: 2 – most played: Purrfect Match, Star Wars: Unlock. Also “Maple” Andrew’s prototype game!, and Tokaido Duo, Turbo Kidz, The Hunt, The A.R.T. Project.
Anitra: 34 plays of 16 unique games. H-index: 3 – most played: Tokaido Duo, Star Wars: Unlock, Turbo Kidz, For Northwood!
What We’ve Been PlayingFor Northwood! – a solo trick-taking game
Space Explorers: Age of Ambition expansion (see our review of the base game)
Turbo Kidz
The A.R.T. Project
SNAP Review – Turbo KidzThis silly, blindfolded racing game taught us a lot about better communication, which we did not expect!
The cooperative mode shares some features with Zombie Kidz Evolution, one of our family favorites.
Read the transcript or watch the video.
PAX Unplugged Interviews – Day OneWant to skip to a particular company? Check out the timestamps.
0:30:15 Capstone Games with ClayWandering Towers
Savannah Park
Beer & Bread
New York Zoo
For the adults:
Ark Nova: Marine Worlds
Boonlake: Artifacts expansion
Rats of Wistar
Pirates of Maracaibo
Find out more at Capstone Games.
0:34:58 Arcane Wonders with BreeAge of Wonders: Planetfall (up to 6 players, 45 minutes!)
GAP
Critters at War (Air, Land, and Sea with a new theme)
Critters at War: Flies, Lies, and Supplies (expand the original or play on its own)
Find out more at Arcane Wonders.
0:43:00 Dr. Finn’s Games with Steve FinnAlpujarras
Fisheries of Gloucester
Scribble Me This – with Pipnetic (“Pictionary with Riddles”) – coming to Kickstarter in February
The Feds – coming to Kickstarter in December
“Bring Your Own Pencil” games. Print the game sheet, grab a pencil, and go.
Older games that we love: Biblios, Cosmic Run Regeneration, Cosmic Run: Rapid Fire.
Find out more at Doctor Finn’s Games.
0:46:35 Flat River Group with DanniTanuki (from Synapses Games)
Get Bit (from Greater Than Games) – with a new bathtub toy theme.
0:48:05 First Fish Games with StephanieMistwind
Ducks in Tow – and expansions!
Town Builder: Coevorden
Find out more at FirstFishGames.com
0:51:30 Vesuvius Media with KonstantinosCatapult Feud
Find out more at Vesuvius Media.
0:52:30 Origami Whale with TylerDicey Devices – coming to Kickstarter
Danger: The Game – (which we’ve reviewed!) a simple introduction to roleplaying.
Find out more at Origami Whale Games and Meeple Coffee.
0:55:10 Winsmith Games with DavidWinsmith designed Junk Drawer, one of our favorite games of 2023!
10 Gallon Tank
Check out Winsmith Games.
0:56:35 Red Raven Games with RyanSleeping Gods: Distant Skies
Megaland (our review)
Knight Fall
coming: Isle of Night
Find out more at Red Raven Games.
1:00:10 Czech Games Edition with PajaTime Division
Spicy – a bluffing game, and Sweet & Spicy, which is a little bit more forgiving.
Fish & Katz – a speed game with knit cat paws
Find out more at Czech Games.
1:06:30 Smirk & Dagger with CurtTesseract – a very active cooperative abstract game.
The Spill
boop. (and “spooky boop” AKA booOOp.)
Curt is always looking for games “that cause a real reaction at the table”. We agree!
Find out more at Smirk & Dagger.
Find Us Online:Facebook: @familygamersaa and thefamilygamers.com/community
Twitter (X): @familygamersaa
Threads: @familygamersaa
Instagram: @familygamersaa
TikTok: @familygamersaa
Youtube: TheFamilyGamers
or join the Family Tabletop Community on Discord! thefamilygamers.com/discord
Or, for the most direct method, email us! andrew@thefamilygamers.com and anitra@thefamilygamers.com.
Check out our new Family Gamers and Play Games with Your Kids merchandise – T-shirts, hoodies, and mugs – at thefamilygamers.com/merch.
PLEASE don’t forget to subscribe to the show, tell your friends about the show, and leave us a review at Apple Podcast or whatever your podcast subscription source is. We’re also on Amazon Music, TuneIn, and Spotify.
The Family Gamers is sponsored by First Move Financial. Go to FirstMoveFinancial.com/familygamers to learn how the team at First Move Financial can help you pile up the victory points.
The post Episode 360 – PAX Unplugged 2023 – Day One appeared first on The Family Gamers.
Video game time! We discuss the Engaged Family Gaming video game gift guide with Stephen Duetzmann.
The post Episode 359 – 2023 Video Game Gift Guide with Stephen Duetzman appeared first on The Family Gamers.
Welcome to the month of November! That means it's time for our holiday board game gift guide.
The post Episode 358 – Our 2023 Board Game Gift Guide appeared first on The Family Gamers.
Today, we're talking with the newest writer to join The Family Gamers, Stephanie Nye! What are some of her favorite games for the "spooky season"? And what games are awesome that not enough people talk about?
The post Episode 357 – Spooky Games and Hidden Gems with Stephanie Nye appeared first on The Family Gamers.
We took a break for a while from our age-segregated lists. But now we're back at it!
Plus: CuseCon wrap-up, contest winner, and a new community announcement.
The post Episode 356 – Top 10 Games for Kids 7-10 appeared first on The Family Gamers.
Castle Panic has been a part of our lives longer than The Family Gamers has existed, and this week we talk to its creators: Justin & Anne-Marie De Witt!
The post Episode 355 – Panic Time! With Justin and Anne-Marie De Witt appeared first on The Family Gamers.
Let’s make history! Or maybe just talk about some of our favorite history-inspired board games.
354 factThe oldest Babylonian calendar had 354 days.
Sponsor messageOne of the benefits a client gets out of working with a professional advisor is in using that person as a financial coach.
For financial accountability or financial advice, set up a free call with First Move Financial at https://FirstMoveFinancial.com/FamilyGamers.
What We’ve Been PlayingAugust Monthly ReportAnitra: 31 unique games, 62 total plays. H-index: 3. Most played is Calypso (14 times!). Less than 50% of games were at home (the 14 plays of ultra-portable Calypso doesn’t hurt here!)
Andrew: 19 unique games 24 times, H-index of 2. Qawale played 4 times, Junk Drawer 3 times.
Game HighlightsJunk Drawer (review coming soon)
Star Trek: Cryptic (our review)
Lovelace & Babbage
The Rival Networks
Qawale (review coming soon)
Unmatched: Teen Spirit (our SNAP review)
Welcome new members!Stop in and say hi in our Facebook community.
SNAP Review – Big TopBid on attractions to build your circus. Your bids will also help you “complete” attractions you already own, in an interesting twist on auction games.
It’s only playable at three or four players, but it’s great at both of those counts.
Watch our review of Big Top or read the transcript.
For Science!Kit Kat Limited Edition Churro flavor.
Not bad, just bland.
Topic: History Board GamesWe’ve previously talked about US history (episode 132) and gameschooling (episode 249). But let’s talk about games that are newer, and games that are less US-centric.
A lot of these games let you pluck out relevant details and may spark interest for you and your kids to learn more!
The Whole Sweep of HistoryTrekking through History (our review)
HerStory (our review)
Timeline – not recommended. This is a very punishing game unless you already know a lot about world history.
Order of Invention – it’s been years since we talked about it, but this was heavily featured as a sponsored ad on the podcast on episodes 132-154.
We’ve also been enjoying CDSK. While it’s a trivia game rather than focusing on history, we love how (like Order of Invention) it lets you evaluate your own level of knowledge before committing to win/lose points.
European HistoryGutenberg (our review)
Santorini (kinda)
Lacrimosa (our review)
Sola Fide
Modern History (within the last 100 years)Watergate (our review)
The Grizzled
Pan Am (our review)
We are still running a contest!Leave us a review on Apple Podcast or wherever you subscribe, then email us and tell us about it. You could win a complete set of Holiday Hijinks micro escape room games, sponsored by Grand Gamers Guild.
Find Us Online:Facebook: @familygamersaa and thefamilygamers.com/community
Twitter (X): @familygamersaa
Threads: @familygamersaa
Instagram: @familygamersaa
TikTok: @familygamersaa
Youtube: TheFamilyGamers
Or, for the most direct method, email us! andrew@thefamilygamers.com and anitra@thefamilygamers.com.
Check out our new Family Gamers and Play Games with Your Kids merchandise – T-shirts, hoodies, and mugs – at thefamilygamers.com/merch.
PLEASE don’t forget to subscribe to the show, tell your friends about the show, and leave us a review at Apple Podcast or whatever your podcast subscription source is. We’re also on Amazon Music, TuneIn, Stitcher, and Spotify.
The Family Gamers is sponsored by First Move Financial. Go to FirstMoveFinancial.com/familygamers to learn how the team at First Move Financial can help you pile up the victory points.
The post Episode 354 – History Games appeared first on The Family Gamers.
Welcome Danielle! Danielle Reynolds is a project manager, game designer, podcast host, and general tabletop games volunteer.
353 FactThe country code to call Ireland!
Sponsor MessageGo to FirstMoveFinancial.com/FamilyGamers and set up a free call to see how First Move Financial can help you with your finances.
What We’ve Been PlayingDune Imperium
Robot Quest Arena
Pan Am (our review)
Ticket to Ride: UK
Blob Party (our review)
Mission to Planet Hexx
Cape May
SNAP Review – Nerd Words: ScienceThis is pretty much the total opposite of Blob Party!
Nerd Words: Science is a challenging clue giving game that’s best for larger teams of adults and teenage science students.
Watch the video to see how to give clues, bid points, and guess answers.
All about DanielleDanielle’s new job is as a Project Manager at Wise Wizard Games, where she does game development, working with manufacturers, art direction, and more.
UnPub, for game designersShe’s also on the board for UnPub, game convention/events for Unpublished Game Network. Primarily graphic design, but she also volunteers her time at various conventions. She highly recommends the speed-pitch events.
What would you say to someone who is going to their first UnPub event with a game they designed?
Danielle describes the process of signing up and setting up your table.
Further advice? Have a sell sheet, be friendly, and have a quick pitch to invite people to play. Be OK giving up a seat and just observing others play your game. Handwriting your notes makes it clear that you’re not goofing off on your phone! Not taking notes at all is also bad.
“You don’t need to change your game to someone’s opinion. But if you hear the same thing a few times, you might need to consider some changes.”
Danielle describes her biggest mistake as a new designer – walking up to publishers at GenCon and trying to pitch her game(s) without an appointment. (The people in the booth are frazzled and not ready to step away for that!)
Danielle’s GamesDanielle loves to design games! We’ve talked a lot about HerStory already, but she also has:
No Filter
Verses
WatchMojo Top 10 Party Game
eBay Buy it Now
Cluckle
and more games coming out soon… something with animals, family friendly!
“I’m really good at making party games.” But she’s thrilled with the impact HerStory has had.
Groups for GamersDirector of Tabletop Gaymers – Danielle does graphic design, including cute pins! The mission of the group is to make a safe space for LGBTQ gamers at conventions and help them find each other.
She’s also an admin of a Facebook group for women and femme-presenting individuals: Board Game Besties on Facebook.
And don’t forget about the Young Inventor Challenge – great for kids who are designing games!
PodcastDanielle hosts Game Design Unboxed – sponsored by AllPlay and hosted by Know Direction.
Last but not least, you should also check out the Tabletop Mentorship Program… as soon as they open up again.
Find Danielle online:Twitter (X): @tokengaymer
Bluesky: @tokengaymer
Instagram: @tokengaymer
dmrcreativegroup.com
Podcast Game Design Unboxed
Find Us Online:Facebook: @familygamersaa and thefamilygamers.com/community
Twitter (X): @familygamersaa
Threads: @familygamersaa
Instagram: @familygamersaa
TikTok: @familygamersaa
Youtube: TheFamilyGamers
Or, for the most direct method, email us! andrew@thefamilygamers.com and anitra@thefamilygamers.com.
Check out our new Family Gamers and Play Games with Your Kids merchandise – T-shirts, hoodies, and mugs – at thefamilygamers.com/merch.
PLEASE don’t forget to subscribe to the show, tell your friends about the show, and leave us a review at Apple Podcast or whatever your podcast subscription source is. We’re also on Amazon Music, TuneIn, Stitcher, and Spotify.
We are still running a contest!Leave us a review on Apple Podcast or wherever you subscribe, then email us and tell us about it. You could win a complete set of Holiday Hijinks micro escape room games, sponsored by Grand Gamers Guild.
The Family Gamers is sponsored by First Move Financial. Go to FirstMoveFinancial.com/familygamers to learn how the team at First Move Financial can help you pile up the victory points.
The post Episode 353 – Danielle Reynolds Does It All! appeared first on The Family Gamers.
We are NOT at GenCon this week. Instead, let's talk about games where everyone plays at the same time!
The post Episode 352 – Top 5 Simultaneous Play Games appeared first on The Family Gamers.
Nicole and Scott have been doing family-friendly review content since 2008 with their site SAHM Reviews. But they're tied into the board game industry in many other ways...
The post Episode 351 – SAHM Reviews with the Bradys appeared first on The Family Gamers.
What does right-sizing your game collection mean in terms of size and maintenance? How do you determine what's best for you?
The post Episode 350 – Right-Sizing Your Game Collection appeared first on The Family Gamers.
Clarence has designed one of our family's favorite games. Where did Merchants of Magick come from, and what else is he working on?
The post Episode 349 – Up and Coming Games with Clarence Simpson appeared first on The Family Gamers.
Each member of the family talks about their favorite game(s) with a magical theme!
The post Episode 348 – Our 5 Favorite Magical Games! appeared first on The Family Gamers.
Welcome to Heather, the Board Gaming Mama! 347 Fact There’s evidence oil wells going back to 347 AD! Chinese drills made of bamboo got to over 200 meters deep. Sponsor One of the first concerns from prospective clients is whether they can afford to work with us. If you want to see an estimate of what your fee would be
The post Episode 347 – Board Games with BoardGamingMama! appeared first on The Family Gamers.
If you want to play word games with your kids, you're going to have to wait a LONG time for them to be ready. We suggest a few games that can help your family work their way up to "adult" word games.
The post Episode 346 – Room to Grow: Word Games Edition appeared first on The Family Gamers.
This week we talk to Emma Larkins, designer of Abandon All Artichokes, Starry Night Sky, and more.
345 factWe learn about two stars: Wolf 345 and Kepler 345.
Sponsor messageIf you’d like to have a free conversation to help you understand how to do some due diligence on a charity before making a donation go to firstmovefinancial.com/familygamers and schedule a 15 minute phone call.
What We’ve Been PlayingTranquility (our review / play on Board Game Arena)
Starry Night Sky (our review)
Space Craft
6 nimmt! (maybe also “Take 5”? – play it on Board Game Arena)
Mission to Planet Hexx
Catch the Moon
SNAP Review – Math RushCan speed arithmetic be fun? It can when you’re cooperating to complete a larger goal! That’s the idea in Math Rush. We review Volume 1: Addition and Subtraction.
Watch the video or read the transcript.
Interview with Emma LarkinsWe first became aware of Emma after playing Abandon All Artichokes. This is the easiest deck-building game to explain to a new player.
Abandon All Artichokes was “name-first design”. Emma was trying to do more game design around 2016 and came up with a list of alliterative names. “I would buy that game!” Seemed obvious that it needed to involve the trashing part of deck-building.
In Starry Night Sky, players “discover” new constellations as they move across the board. It reminds us a bit of Ticket to Ride, but no one “owns” anything on the board. Instead, you’re rewarded for making specific discoveries, but everything you add to the board helps the other players.
Not many competitive games reward cooperation – we like to see it!
Some people will try to go off on their own, and in this game, that will not be as successful as players who stay near each other. It also makes us think of Deep Sea Adventure in that way.
Emma’s philosophy of game design is to keep trying new things rather than stay in one niche. She looks for “feelings of delight” and “aha moments”. But accessibility and approachability are important – anyone should be able to learn and play.
Where did your desire to design board games come from?When she started dating her boyfriend (now husband), he was desigining a board game, and introduced her to local meetups and resources.
In 2015, she designed Heartcatchers as a Valentine’s Day present for him. “It was literally construction-paper-cutout hearts, and the cards were construction paper…” and it was fun, and good! (It has recently been re-vamped and re-released as Squabblin Goblins.)
Emma had played video games for years and a had an education in product design. After some refining & testing, a publisher who happened to be in the playtesting groups approached Emma because they were looking for a small-box game.
The Kickstarter was successful. “I’m a game designer now!” But it was harder to come up with another design. Her second game was a storytelling game that was not as successful. After having bounced around to different career options, she decided that board games were going to be her thing, and she would work at it.
What advice do you have for an aspiring board game designer?In the past, Emma would have suggested finding a design/playtest community. While it’s good to learn from other people, it can be limiting. People who have a lot of experience in this field can try to force others into their perspective.
Instead, play with people who like playing games and want to have fun! (Friends, family, etc.)
It’s okay to make a game that’s really just for your friend group.
“Make the game, and play the game with people.”
Games are mostly about making rules for people to follow.
Shout out to Jenn Sandercock, a game developer who made a whole cookbook full of food-based games.
Tell us about some fun facts about yourself.Emma loves blacksmithing! First tried in high school and recently discovered classes for adults in Seattle.
Plants! Now that she has a house with a yard, there are decorative plants, garden plants, a raised bed, etc. “I can get obsessive and kind of research-based on all these things…”
Find Emma online:EmmaLarkins.com. Sign up for her email newsletter there.
Twitter: @emmalarkins
Instagram: @emmalarkins
TikTok: @emmalarkinsgames
Starry Night Sky IS AVAILABLE! Amazon / Eureka Puzzles, more retail soon
Find Us Online:Facebook: @familygamersaa and thefamilygamers.com/community
Twitter: @familygamersaa
Instagram: @familygamersaa
TikTok: @familygamersaa
Youtube: TheFamilyGamers
Or, for the most direct method, email us! andrew@thefamilygamers.com and anitra@thefamilygamers.com.
Check out our new Family Gamers and Play Games with Your Kids merchandise – T-shirts, hoodies, and mugs – at thefamilygamers.com/merch.
PLEASE don’t forget to subscribe to the show, tell your friends about the show, and leave us a review at Apple Podcast or whatever your podcast subscription source is. We’re also on Amazon Music, TuneIn, Stitcher, and Spotify.
The Family Gamers is sponsored by First Move Financial. Go to FirstMoveFinancial.com/familygamers to learn how the team at First Move Financial can help you pile up the victory points.
The post Episode 345 – Game Design with Emma Larkins appeared first on The Family Gamers.
Episode 344Top Games for 6 Years Old344 fact344 people worked together to lift and move a barn 115 feet in Bruno Nebraska, 1988.
Sponsor messageIf you want to talk to someone about your natural money instinct – and what that means for your investments – reach out to First Move Financial by going to firstmovefinancial.com/familygamers and schedule a time to talk.
What We’ve Been PlayingMath Rush (Genius Games)
Illiterati (Gap Closer Games)
Metro X (Gamewright) – our review
Save Patient Zero (Helvetiq) – our review. We like it, but it’s a fight to enjoy the game.
Yokai Sketch (Devir) – audio review below.
Dead of Winter – Warring Colonies variant
Nerd Words: Science! (Genius Games)
Welcome new membersStop in and say hi on Facebook!
SNAP Review – Yokai SketchAndrew and Anitra are hunting for Japanese forest spirits – but only so they can make the best drawings of them. This two player game lets both players scheme and strategize to claim the best Yokai cards.
Read or watch our review of Yokai Sketch.
Top Ten Games for Six Year OldsLists! Lists! We give our top recommendations for six year old children.
This is the beginning of the “big kid” years, with a lot more variety of really great games available.
Find Us Online:Facebook: @familygamersaa and thefamilygamers.com/community
Twitter: @familygamersaa
Instagram: @familygamersaa
TikTok: @familygamersaa
Youtube: TheFamilyGamers
Or, for the most direct method, email us! andrew@thefamilygamers.com and anitra@thefamilygamers.com.
Check out our new Family Gamers and Play Games with Your Kids merchandise – T-shirts, hoodies, and mugs – at thefamilygamers.com/merch.
PLEASE don’t forget to subscribe to the show, tell your friends about the show, and leave us a review at Apple Podcast or whatever your podcast subscription source is. We’re also on Amazon Music, TuneIn, Stitcher, and Spotify.
The Family Gamers is sponsored by First Move Financial. Go to FirstMoveFinancial.com/familygamers to learn how the team at First Move Financial can help you pile up the victory points.
The post Episode 344 – Top Games for Six Years Old appeared first on The Family Gamers.
343 is practically synonymous with Halo. But where did 343 come from? 343 Guilty Spark was the Monitor that you meet in Halo 1. 343 Industries, Microsoft Game Studios‘ internal-build team tasked with managing the Halo franchise, is named in reference to 343 Guilty Spark. Also, 343 is equal to 73
Sponsored by First Move Financial: If you want help looking at your 401(k)s to make sure you’re not overpaying go to firstmovefinancial.com/familygamers to set up a time to chat.
What We’ve Been PlayingIsofarian Guard (Sky Kingdom Games – solo game or 2 player co-op)
Hickory Dickory (Plaid Hat Games) – “My first Tzolk’in”
Unmatched: Teen Spirit & Unmatched: King and Country (Restoration Games)
Federation (coming from Eagle-Gryphon)
Busy Beaks (JOEY Games) – and a side conversation about less plastic in games. Jeremy works for a manufacturer (Rawstone) and they’re seeing a push for more eco-friendly options, especially in the packaging.
Roller Coaster Rush (Pandasaurus) – review coming next month
SNAP Review – PollenPollen is a re-theme of a Reiner Knizia game, now with beautiful flowers, bug tokens, and bug “scoring meeples”. Plant flowers in the right spot to attract the pollinators to YOUR cards instead of your opponents’.
Watch the video or read the transcript for our Pollen review.
Back to Games with JeremyJeremy always has insight on the hotness, but today, we’ll focus on games that are currently (or about to be) available in retail.
Dice Manor (Arcane Wonders) – bid for blueprints with dice, expand your manor, and give tours.
Qawale (Gigamic) – a fabulous 2 player abstract game.
Earth (Inside Up Games) – doing a lot of things that other games do, but put together beautifully. And you will score LOTS of points.
Find Jeremy online:part of Man vs. Meeple on Youtube
Jambalaya Plays Games community on Facebook
Find Us Online:Facebook: @familygamersaa and thefamilygamers.com/community
Twitter: @familygamersaa
Instagram: @familygamersaa
TikTok: @familygamersaa
Youtube: TheFamilyGamers
Or, for the most direct method, email us! andrew@thefamilygamers.com and anitra@thefamilygamers.com.
Check out our new Family Gamers and Play Games with Your Kids merchandise – T-shirts, hoodies, and mugs – at thefamilygamers.com/merch.
PLEASE don’t forget to subscribe to the show, tell your friends about the show, and leave us a review at Apple Podcast or whatever your podcast subscription source is. We’re also on Amazon Music, TuneIn, Stitcher, and Spotify.
The Family Gamers is sponsored by First Move Financial. Go to FirstMoveFinancial.com/familygamers to learn how the team at First Move Financial can help you pile up the victory points.
The post Episode 343 – Talking Games with Jeremy Howard appeared first on The Family Gamers.
We’ve done three year olds and four year olds, let’s recommend some games for the five year olds in your life!
342 FactsHappy Birthday, Pennsylvania!
Charlie Chaplin’s 342 takes.
Sponsor MessageIf you want to talk to an expert about prioritizing your goals and saving for the future go to FirstMoveFinancial.com/FamilyGamers to set up a meeting.
What We’ve Been PlayingGalaxy Trucker (working on review for the expansion)
Starry Night Sky
Roll to the Top
Numbsters & GROVE
Roll through the Ages: The Bronze Age
Pollen (incomplete – learning game)
Monthly Report: AprilAnitra: 47 plays of 21 unique games. H-index a surprising FOUR (Roll to the Top, Numbsters, Anomia, Home Sweet Home or not) – RttT & Numbsters each EIGHT times. A bunch of Green Team Wins hosted.
Andrew: 21 plays of 13 games. H-Index is 3 (Anomia, Unmatched, Roll to the Top). Also hosted a bunch of Green Team Wins not counted. (We can’t wait for Green Team Wins to come to Target!)
Anitra is trying a new challenge in May – to play a unique game for every day of the month (31 total).
Welcome new membersStop in and say hi!
SNAP Review – Roll to the Top: JourneysA racing roll-and-write game in a new version from Allplay, Roll to the Top Journeys was a surprising hit for our family.
Read the transcript or watch the video of our review of Roll to the Top: Journeys.
Topic: Games for Five Year oldsTime for more lists! This week, it’s our top 10 games for 5 year olds.
We really did stick to ten games this time. But we’d also recommend:
Spot It
Sequence Kids
Sleeping Queens
Zombie Dice
Lanterns
Find Us Online:Facebook: @familygamersaa and thefamilygamers.com/community
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Or, for the most direct method, email us! andrew@thefamilygamers.com and anitra@thefamilygamers.com.
Check out our new Family Gamers and Play Games with Your Kids merchandise – T-shirts, hoodies, and mugs – at thefamilygamers.com/merch.
PLEASE don’t forget to subscribe to the show, tell your friends about the show, and leave us a review at Apple Podcast or whatever your podcast subscription source is. We’re also on Amazon Music, TuneIn, Stitcher, and Spotify.
The Family Gamers is sponsored by First Move Financial. Go to FirstMoveFinancial.com/familygamers to learn how the team at First Move Financial can help you pile up the victory points.
The post Episode 342 – Games for Five Year Olds appeared first on The Family Gamers.
Thanks so much to Matt Faulisi for coming on the podcast! We talk about what we’ve been playing and upcoming games from Skybound.
341 FactEdmund Halley is best known for charting a comet, but he also discovered 341 stars only visible in southern hemisphere!
Sponsor MessageFirst Move Financial offers financial planning for all stages of life, and they ask, “What’s Your First Move?”. You can go to firstmovefinancial.com/familygamers and set up a free 15 minute call, today.
TravelFirst, GAMA – which is a retailer & distributor conference. Then Matt traveled to the Skybound office in LA. Next, Toronto!
Andrew & Anitra were in Breckenridge, Colorado, and then Andrew traveled to North Carolina.
Games We’ve Been PlayingRevive (Aporta / Devir)
Green Team Wins – a favorite at Andrew’s company gathering. Currently out of stock but should be coming to Target soon!
Numbsters (linked below)
Anomia (see our reviews for Anomia Pop Culture and Anomia Kids)
Wild Tiled West (from Dire Wolf) – coming later this year
Freshwater Tank
Birds of a Feather: Western North America
Earth
SNAP Review – NumbstersDid you know that 7 “ate” 9? Try to keep eating every number in the deck in this fast-moving and compact solo game from Button Shy.
Anitra reviews Numbsters – watch the whole video or read the transcript.
Matt Faulisi, GAMA and SkyboundSkybound is no longer partnered with Druid City Games. They had partnered to make games like Tidal Blades, Sorcerer City, and Wonderland’s War. (See James Hudson & Druid City Games for updates on those.) So now Skybound is back to small, party-like games: Superfight, Trial by Trolley, etc.
New games coming this year!Whine Night (available now)
Boo-ty Call – “Mysterium meets Skyfall” best for 17+ (available now)
No Context (from Mr. Lovenstein) – feels a little like Similo and a little like Joking Hazard – coming in May (pre-order here)
Trial by Trolley expansion “Travel by Trolley” – coming in June
Kiss the Goblin – indicate your (randomly selected) alignment by answering a prompt – coming in July
Pirate Tails – squirrels hiding nuts with set-based scoring
Find Matt online:Twitter: @mattfaulisi
TikTok: @mattfaulisi
Find Us Online:Facebook: @familygamersaa and thefamilygamers.com/community
Twitter: @familygamersaa
Instagram: @familygamersaa
TikTok: @familygamersaa
Youtube: TheFamilyGamers
Or, for the most direct method, email us! andrew@thefamilygamers.com and anitra@thefamilygamers.com.
Check out our new Family Gamers and Play Games with Your Kids merchandise – T-shirts, hoodies, and mugs – at thefamilygamers.com/merch.
PLEASE don’t forget to subscribe to the show, tell your friends about the show, and leave us a review at Apple Podcast or whatever your podcast subscription source is. We’re also on Amazon Music, TuneIn, Stitcher, and Spotify.
The Family Gamers is sponsored by First Move Financial. Go to FirstMoveFinancial.com/familygamers to learn how the team at First Move Financial can help you pile up the victory points.
The post Episode 341 – GAMA and Skybound Update with Matt Faulisi appeared first on The Family Gamers.
Continuing our lists for specific ages with games for four year olds!
340 FactThere are only 340 right whales left in the world (estimated).
Sponsor MessageCheck the FTC’s website for information about credit counseling and debt management plans. Remember, you can always schedule a short phone call by going to FirstMoveFinancial.com/FamilyGamers – even if they aren’t the right fit to help you, they can point you in the right direction.
What We’ve Been PlayingCastle Panic (Big Box)
Home Sweet Home (or not) – review linked below
Roll to the Top: Journeys (review coming soon)
Fire Tower – enjoy the “shadow of the wood” that makes it possible for knocked-out players to win
Suspects (final case)
Mouse Cheese Cat Cucumber (review out now)
Fruition
Numbsters
Roller Coaster Rush
Galaxy Trucker (our review)
For Science!Hot Tamales Fierce Cinnamon Peeps
Surprisingly good! If you want to try them yourself, look at your local grocery store’s Easter clearance, or find them on Amazon.
SNAP Review – Home Sweet Home (or not)The concept behind this game system is cute and welcoming, but the typos and component issues left us out in the cold. Why didn’t Home Sweet Home (or not) live up to its potential?
Read the transcript or watch the video of our review.
Welcome members to the communityStop in and say hi!
Top Ten Games for Four Year OldsSee the full list on our website.
What games do your four year olds love?
Find Us Online:Facebook: @familygamersaa and thefamilygamers.com/community
Twitter: @familygamersaa
Instagram: @familygamersaa
TikTok: @familygamersaa
Youtube: TheFamilyGamers
Or, for the most direct method, email us! andrew@thefamilygamers.com and anitra@thefamilygamers.com.
Check out our new Family Gamers and Play Games with Your Kids merchandise – T-shirts, hoodies, and mugs – at thefamilygamers.com/merch.
PLEASE don’t forget to subscribe to the show, tell your friends about the show, and leave us a review at Apple Podcast or whatever your podcast subscription source is. We’re also on Amazon Music, TuneIn, Stitcher, and Spotify.
The Family Gamers is sponsored by First Move Financial. Go to FirstMoveFinancial.com/familygamers to learn how the team at First Move Financial can help you pile up the victory points.
The post Episode 340 – Top Games for Four Year Olds appeared first on The Family Gamers.
Welcome our favorite guest “on the 39s”, James Hudson! We talk with James about what makes a great game and what else is coming for Druid City Games.
339 Fact – in the most recent summer Olympics (Tokyo 2021), there were 339 medal events across 33 sports.
Sponsor Message – First Move Financial helps us understand how you can test your budget to determine if you can afford to buy a house. If you want to talk through your specific situation and how to achieve your goals, set up a time to talk at FirstMoveFinancial.com/FamilyGamers today.
What We’ve Been PlayingPatchwork
Star Wars: Destinies
Flamecraft
Marvel Zombies: A Zombicide Game
Strike
Dice Manor
Santorini
Home Sweet Home (or Not) – review coming soon
Oh My Brain – review linked below
Rolled West
Night of the Ninja
We talk about learning game rules and playing “familiar” games where we don’t have to think so hard about learning. It’s a good idea to come back to old favorites with your family and not constantly make them learn new games.
Lots of games are good, but let’s push for great games – including great, intuitive rules. Because only the truly great games will stick around.
And we remind each other that even good games are a pretty good value for your money.
SNAP Review – Oh My BrainEscape the zombie animals by playing cards from your hand and your “cemetery” so that you don’t lose your brains!
Read the transcript or watch the video of this review.
Druid City and more with James HudsonWonderland’s War expansion & Tidal Blades 2 are both in manufacturing.
Druid City is just James right now, so things sometimes move slowly.
Wonderland’s War – late pledging still available until April 28. After that, you can look for it in the Druid City Games webstore.
Tidal Blades 2 – is a campaign dungeon crawl based on a card grid w/deck building between sessions. Late pledging is still open for this one, too. Hopefully delivering by the fall of this year.
Bloodstone will come to crowd funding once those two are “on a boat”.
A Wonderland’s War expansion is in development, and there’s more content in the works for Tidal Blades 2, if it’s popular enough to make that worth it.
Unfortunately, from a publisher perspective, expansions aren’t always worth it! (Sorcerer City could have an expansion, but not enough people would buy it.)
Supply chain talk… we don’t expect to see “normal” for another year.
Find James and all his games online:DruidCityGames.com – find all in-stock games there
Sign up for newsletter on the site (4-6 emails a year)
Druid City Discord
And all the social media: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram
And of course email: james@druidcitygames.com
Find Us Online:Facebook: @familygamersaa and thefamilygamers.com/community
Twitter: @familygamersaa
Instagram: @familygamersaa
TikTok: @familygamersaa
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Or, for the most direct method, email us! andrew@thefamilygamers.com and anitra@thefamilygamers.com.
Check out our new Family Gamers and Play Games with Your Kids merchandise – T-shirts, hoodies, and mugs – at thefamilygamers.com/merch.
PLEASE don’t forget to subscribe to the show, tell your friends about the show, and leave us a review at Apple Podcast or whatever your podcast subscription source is. We’re also on Amazon Music, TuneIn, Stitcher, and Spotify.
The Family Gamers is sponsored by First Move Financial. Go to FirstMoveFinancial.com/familygamers to learn how the team at First Move Financial can help you pile up the victory points.
The post Episode 339 – with James Hudson appeared first on The Family Gamers.
Our first installment of a new series – top ten lists grouped by age. This week: our top picks for 3 year olds!
338 FactAcadia National Park is a premier bird watching location with 338 recorded species of birds.
Let’s turn off more lights at night (especially along the coastline) to be kind to the birds.
Sponsor MessageAnother listener question this week, is it always better to buy a house than rent?
The short answer is “it depends”. Owning a home isn’t for everyone, but if you want help talking through whether it makes sense for you, set up a free phone call by going to FirstMoveFinancial.com/FamilyGamers today.
What We’ve Been PlayingKaPOW! (Wise Wizard Games)
Pirate Blast! (review included below)
Unmatched: Houdini vs. The Genie (our review)
Oh My Brain (25th Century Games)
Welcome new membersWe have five new members to welcome this week. Stop in and say hi!
We also share Stefán’s personal “For Science” from the community chat – a durian fruit drink.
SNAP Review – Pirate Blast! Battle for Monkey IslandWe review a silly card game for families. We think this is best for ages 6-10, but anyone can enjoy the luck and silliness.
You really want to watch the video for this one!
Top Games for 3 Year OldsWhat, you mean our yearly gift guide wasn’t enough? ;) For this youngest age group, Anitra has talked about this before, in Why I Hate Candy Land
(What to look for. What can a 3-year-old reasonably be expected to handle in a game?) (Do we talk about this now or afterwards?) – Pattern matching, simple dexterity, NO READING but you would be surprised what children can remember!
Top Ten “Little Kid” Games We Recommend for 3 Year Olds:1. Roll & Play (several variations, but our favorite is from Thinkfun)
2. My Very First Games: Rhino Hero Junior (our review)
3. My Very First Games: Animal Upon Animal Junior (our review)
4. Spot It
5. Memory matching games. Our kid tester loved Smoosh and Seek Treehouse.
6. Don’t Break the Ice (or knockoffs like Protect the Penguin) – we think it’s worth it to put up with the noise of hammer-on-plastic and needing an adult to set up. Andrew loves how games like Hammer Time build on this concept.
7. Suspend Jr. – we’ve been playing this since our youngest child was 3 years old, and he took to it right away.
8. Dragomino – match up the tiles, get dragon eggs. Similar to Kingdomino, but with a lot of luck added to level the playing field.
9. Dragon’s Breath – ultimately this is a dexterity game, and the rules specify how to make it more luck-based with younger children. (When we first tried it, Elliot was 5, and it gets better as kids get older.)
10. Turtle Splash – this combination of memory and dexterity is another game that encourages adjusting the difficulty across ages, and gets even better as kids get older.
Honorable mentions:Go Away Monster (no longer in print)
Hisss (no longer in print)
Zitternix (no longer in print)
Family Games You Might Not Expect a 3-Year-Old to Play:Zombie Dice – it’s a very simple press your luck game. Our kids all played this at ages 2-3.
Strike – again, simple dice-rolling and press your luck.
Kingdomino – we handicap this when playing with very young children; they don’t have to follow the 5×5 restriction.
Go Nuts for Donuts – Elliot, our youngest, learned to play this at age 3½. The excellent graphic design made it so that a non-reading kid could still play in an enjoyable way.
Don’t forget: Playing games with kids is about having fun!
From the community:We keep hearing great things about these games, but we have never played them:
Richard Scarry’s Busytown Eye Found It (semi-cooperative seek-and-find game)
Hoot Owl Hoot
My First Orchard
We also took a poll in our Facebook community.
Of the 26 games that ended up in the poll, the biggest winners were My First Animal Upon Animal, Go Away Monster, Don’t Break the Ice, My First Orchard, Sneaky Snacky Squirrel, Dragon’s Breath, and Hoot Owl Hoot.
Alex wrote in to suggest 3 games that ALL of his grandchildren like to play, even playing it together at ages 3, 5, and 9: Roll & Play, Cranium Cariboo, and Loopin’ Louie.
Laura told us about rule-shifting to make Go Away Monster more interesting as an adult.
Find Us Online:Facebook: @familygamersaa and thefamilygamers.com/community
Twitter: @familygamersaa
Instagram: @familygamersaa
TikTok: @familygamersaa
Youtube: TheFamilyGamers
Or, for the most direct method, email us! andrew@thefamilygamers.com and anitra@thefamilygamers.com.
Check out our new Family Gamers and Play Games with Your Kids merchandise – T-shirts, hoodies, and mugs – at thefamilygamers.com/merch.
PLEASE don’t forget to subscribe to the show, tell your friends about the show, and leave us a review at Apple Podcast or whatever your podcast subscription source is. We’re also on Amazon Music, TuneIn, Stitcher, and Spotify.
The Family Gamers is sponsored by First Move Financial. Go to FirstMoveFinancial.com/familygamers to learn how the team at First Move Financial can help you pile up the victory points.
The post Episode 338 – Top 10 Games for 3 Year Olds appeared first on The Family Gamers.
This week, we’ve got interviews from PAX East 2023, “For Science” and our March monthly report.
337 Facts337CE is the year that Constantine died. His sons split up the Roman empire into three parts later that year.
Ten artists and three Imagineers worked full-time for 18 months to create the 337 animal carvings on The Tree of Life. Sculptors had between five to eight hours to create each finished animal image before the plaster hardened.
Sponsor MessageFirst Move doesn’t sell insurance, but they can help point you in the right direction and help you interpret the policies you currently have. To schedule a call with First Move go to firstmovefinancial.com/familygamers.
What We’ve Been PlayingAvant Carde (deck-building game from Resoynm, hopefully out within a year)
Starry Night Sky (by Emma Larkins – review coming this spring)
Next Station London
Imagine (out of print) – somewhat like Cloud Control, but the categories are harder and the cards are cooler.
Strike – just plain fun.
KaPow (Wise Wizard – review coming this spring)
Azul
HerStory (our review)
boop (review included in this episode)
The Monthly Report – MarchAnitra: 58 plays of 38 games. H-index 3 (Dice Cards, Across America Fluxx, Ecosystem Coral Reef, Strike, Heist)
Andrew: 28 plays of 24 games. H-index 2 (Across America Fluxx, boop, Ecosystem Coral Reef)
For Science!We try the “Reese’s Big Cup with Reese’s Puffs”.
We have mixed feelings: it’s better than some of the other options (the potato chip Reeses was weird), but we’d prefer most other kinds instead.
… and a discussion of eating Kit Kats like a rebel.
SNAP Review – boopKittens are adorable jerks – channel your inner kitten in this cute game by Scott Brady and published by Smirk & Laughter. Bounce each other off the bed while trying to line up your own kittens and cats.
Curious for more? Watch the video or read the transcript.
PAX East InterviewsAmigo with AlexRe-release of Take 5 & No Thanks in one (smaller) package.
Linko! (AKA “Abluxxen”)
Holli Golli Circus ? part of a new “My First Amigo” line of card games for young children.
Unsolved – solve a mystery from just pictures
Pick-a-Pepper (AKA Sauscharf) – collect hot pepper cards and make sauce!
Bohnanaza Dahlias – illustrated by Beth Sobel
Dice Hunters of Therion (we will be reviewing this one)
Gem Blenders with SteveA trading-card game where you power-up your hero characters with gem cards.
Check out the Kickstarter.
GemBlenders.com
Pocket Paragons with KroseA 5-minute dueling card game. A rock-paper-scissors mechanic plus character-specific powerups.
PocketParagons.com
Resonym with MaxGlitch Squad – a party game where you’re trying to guess words but “Glitch” gets to change one of the clues before you see them! Based on forensic science.
Resonym.com
Phase Shift Games with JasonFlutter – the Gamefound campaign was canceled, but keep your eyes out for a new campaign.
Pollinators such as butterflys, bees, dragonflies, etc. and unusually shaped tiles. Match colored flower petals and spend them to enclose the pollinators.
PhaseShiftGames.com
Find Us Online:Facebook: @familygamersaa and thefamilygamers.com/community
Twitter: @familygamersaa
Instagram: @familygamersaa
TikTok: @familygamersaa
Youtube: TheFamilyGamers
Or, for the most direct method, email us! andrew@thefamilygamers.com and anitra@thefamilygamers.com.
Check out our new Family Gamers and Play Games with Your Kids merchandise – T-shirts, hoodies, and mugs – at thefamilygamers.com/merch.
PLEASE don’t forget to subscribe to the show, tell your friends about the show, and leave us a review at Apple Podcast or whatever your podcast subscription source is. We’re also on Amazon Music, TuneIn, Stitcher, and Spotify.
The Family Gamers is sponsored by First Move Financial. Go to FirstMoveFinancial.com/familygamers to learn how the team at First Move Financial can help you pile up the victory points.
The post Episode 337 – PAX East Interviews appeared first on The Family Gamers.
Episode 336Most Played Board GamesIn our Family Gamers Community chat, we’ve been asked to make some lists for the podcast. So this week will be the board games that we play the most.
336 FactAlexander the Great became the leader of Macedonia in 336 BCE.
Sponsor MessageFirst Move Financial answers a listener question about insuring board games. If you want to ask First Move your questions, schedule a free meeting with them by going to firstmovefinancial.com/familygamers.
What We’ve Been PlayingDiced Veggies (coming soon from KTBG – we’re so excited!)
Motor City
Anomia Tongue Twisters (free print-and-play)
Across America Fluxx
Dice Cards – check out the Kickstarter!
Tussie Mussie
Jekyll vs. Hyde (our review)
SNAP Review – Across America FluxxThis family-friendly Fluxx version is all about American landmarks and travel. You might even learn something!
Watch the video or read the transcript of this short review.
Welcome to the communityStop in and say hi!
Most Played Board Games!Let’s talk about the most popular games played in the Smith household. These aren’t necessarily our favorites. They just make it to the table the most often.
Most Played Games with KidsOur top most-played games that we usually play with one or more kids.
Anitra’s Drop It, Similo, Panic Island, and Kingdomino. Santorini should probably be on there too, replacing Panic Island, which Anitra hasn’t actually played since 2020 (but she used to play it a LOT).
Andrew’s: Drop It, Similo, and Quacks of Quedlinburg.
These are games that kids can easily join, either because they allow drop-in or because they’re very fast.
Games our community plays a lot with kids:
My First Castle Panic
King of the Dice
Sushi Go
Spot It
Guess Who (we recommend Dinosaur Tea Party instead)
Sleeping Queens
Zombie Kidz Evolution
Ghost Fightin’ Treasure Hunters
Disney Princess Cupcake Game
Doggy Go
Azul
Harry Potter Codenames
UNO
Most Played without KidsReal-life, in person games most often played without any children.
Anitra’s: Tussie Mussie and then solo games like Grove, Sprawlopolis, and A Gentle Rain.
Andrew’s: Draftosaurus, Fleet: the Dice Game, So Clover!
From our community:
Marvel Champions
Gloomhaven and all its spin-offs
My Hero Academia
Fantasy Realms
Claim
Arboretum
Wingspan
Pandemic (and Pandemic Legacy) – or maybe Pan Am?
That’s Pretty Clever
Sleeping Gods
The Mind
Deep Sea Adventure
What about on Board Game Arena?Anitra’s most played on BGA: surprisingly, NOT 6 Nimmt! (AKA “Take 5” in the US). But it’s actually Abandon All Artichokes. Although both are over 100 plays.
Andrew’s most played on BGA: 7 Wonders Duel, Happy City, and Barenpark.
Who Beats Who?Andrew always beats Anitra at Unmatched. (We can’t wait to see Unmatched: Tales to Amaze – cooperative against a villain!)
Anitra usually beats Andrew at Jekyll vs. Hyde and Deblockle.
Find Us Online:Facebook: @familygamersaa and thefamilygamers.com/community
Twitter: @familygamersaa
Instagram: @familygamersaa
TikTok: @familygamersaa
Youtube: TheFamilyGamers
Or, for the most direct method, email us! andrew@thefamilygamers.com and anitra@thefamilygamers.com.
Check out our new Family Gamers and Play Games with Your Kids merchandise – T-shirts, hoodies, and mugs – at thefamilygamers.com/merch.
PLEASE don’t forget to subscribe to the show, tell your friends about the show, and leave us a review at Apple Podcast or whatever your podcast subscription source is. We’re also on Amazon Music, TuneIn, Stitcher, and Spotify.
The Family Gamers is sponsored by First Move Financial. Go to FirstMoveFinancial.com/familygamers to learn how the team at First Move Financial can help you pile up the victory points.
The post Episode 336 – Most Played Board Games appeared first on The Family Gamers.
Mark and Janelle McGee have a cool card game on Kickstarter now (Tether) and it’s almost as cool as their company name: How to Steam Broccoli.
335 FactThe STS-335 was the last stand-by mission for the Space Shuttle.
Sponsor MessageIf you need help figuring out how to get that engine started, First Move Financial might be able to help. Head over to FirstMoveFinancial.com/familygamers and see how First Move Financial can kick start your financial engine today.
What We’ve Been PlayingStationfall (by ION Games – listen to our interview with Jon Manker)
Finger Guns at High Noon
HerStory (Underdog Games – review coming very soon)
Save Patient Zero (Helvetiq)
Challengers (Z-Man)
homemade games!
Bohnanza
our kids are moving on from Ghost Fightin’ Treasure Hunters & HEIST
Bonsai (dV Games – coming this summer)
SNAP Review – Ecosystem: Coral ReefWe always love finding games that are both educational AND genuinely fun. Ecosystem is a card-drafting game in which every player is trying to build the most valuable “food web” with the animals that live in and around a coral reef.
Watch the video or read the transcript.
How To Steam BroccoliSo, how do you cook broccoli? Roast in the oven, grill it, steam it?
Steaming broccoli is something for which everyone has slightly different methods and standards. Janelle watches it as it cooks, looking for the right color. Mark uses a specific process and a timer.
But sometimes following directions exactly as written doesn’t get you the results you want…
We’re not actually here to talk about cooking, though. How does this turn into board game publishing?
Mark was trying to come up with a name for the publisher. Not an adjective-animal combo. Maybe a verb phrase! They settled on “How to Steam Broccoli” to indicate “just enough, and not too much” content development.
TetherThis is a card game that uses a mirror-deck. Every card has two two-digit numbers – which are “mirrors” of each other (eg. 09 and 90).
Connect the astronauts numerically in groups – one player (or team) is connecting vertically and one is connecting horizontally. Sometimes you can even connect groups!
The art is pretty cool, too: five different “types” of characters, but with variations.
Kickstarter until March 21 but late pledges will be available.
Anitra gushes briefly over Kintsugi, designed by Mark McGee and Daniel Solis.
Find How To Steam Broccoli Online:HowToSteamBroccoli.com
Twitter: @HowToBroccoli
Facebook group: facebook.com/groups/howtosteambroccoli
Find Us Online:Facebook: @familygamersaa and thefamilygamers.com/community
Twitter: @familygamersaa
Instagram: @familygamersaa
TikTok: @familygamersaa
Youtube: TheFamilyGamers
Or, for the most direct method, email us! andrew@thefamilygamers.com and anitra@thefamilygamers.com.
Check out our new Family Gamers and Play Games with Your Kids merchandise – T-shirts, hoodies, and mugs – at thefamilygamers.com/merch.
PLEASE don’t forget to subscribe to the show, tell your friends about the show, and leave us a review at Apple Podcast or whatever your podcast subscription source is. We’re also on Amazon Music, TuneIn, Stitcher, and Spotify.
The Family Gamers is sponsored by First Move Financial. Go to FirstMoveFinancial.com/familygamers to learn how the team at First Move Financial can help you pile up the victory points.
The post Episode 335 – How To Steam Broccoli appeared first on The Family Gamers.
Episode 334 – Noisy Games:
Extra Fun or Parents’ Nightmare?
This week’s topic is polarizing! Every parent has some LOUD game that their kids love. Do you buy into the fun factor of noisy games, or do they drive you crazy? Maybe you just barely tolerate them…
334 Facts! On February 16, 2023, Family Gamers Community member Stephanie had to tell her 7 year old to put her dirty socks in the hamper 334 times before that task actually happened.
But seriously, there are 334 million people in the United States, according to https://www.census.gov/popclock/
Sponsor message: If that primer on investments already has you overwhelmed, you may want to get help with managing your investments. First Move is here to help. Go to FirstMoveFinancial.com/familygamers to set up a time to see if they can help you make your First Move with investing.
What We’ve Been PlayingWe played a ton at Tantrum Con, and some more last week:
Key to the Kingdom (Restoration Games)
Coconuts (Underdog Games)
Similo (Horrible Guild)
Blueprints of Mad King Ludwig (Bezier Games)
Berried Treasure (Restoration Games)
Asking for Trobils (see, Mike?)
Velonimo (25th Century Games – review coming soon!)
Gasha (25th Century Games)
Control (Keymaster Games)
Splendor Duel – inspired by last week’s episode!
GROVE – on an airplane tray table
Unmatched
Wildtails
MicroMacro: Crime City
Lacrimosa, played solo – read the review
Gift of Tulips (Weird Giraffe Games)
Anomia Tongue Twisters deck (a free print-and-play!)
Maul Peak (Pencil First Games) – we’ve been looking forward to this ever since our preview.
Naked Court
Starship Captains (CGE) – a lot of setup and it feels just a little too short.
Dice Cards (CardLords) – coming to Kickstarter soon
February Monthly ReportAndrew & Anitra both have H-index of 3.
Most played: Similo, KuZOOka, Wildtails, Wonder Woods, Unmatched
Almost half of our plays for the month happened at TantrumCon!
SNAP Review – Wildtails: A Pirate LegacyWe love how clever this game is; creating replayability through multi-use cards and scenarios, and upgradability through stickers and special abilities.
If you like solo or 2-player coop, check out our review of Wildtails: A Pirate Legacy.
Welcome New Community Members!Stop in and say hi – we’re feeling FABULOUS this week.
Noisy GamesThis week’s topic was suggested by Claire, our daughter. Mall Madness: Littlest Pet Shop Edition (featured during the intro) used to be her favorite game when she was young.
We all have some kind of noisy games in our house that drive us nuts. But they’re not all bad.
Cons of Noisy Games:They can drive us nuts. Especially if you’re not playing the game – you may feel like listening to it is inflicted upon you.
You can’t play noisy games in an environment that needs quiet. (Like after your kids go to bed – whoops!)
From our community:Courtney White “sounds like games to avoid”
Stephanie Nye hates Bugs in the Kitchen. The little nano Hexbug makes a surprising amount of noise when it’s in the game box. It’s really grating. (Other community members agree.)
Really chaotic games (Hungry Hungry Hippos…) are just so loud.
Pros of Noisy Games:They can be more engaging, because the noise MAKES you pay attention to the game. It can add to the fun with aural feedback for doing the right or wrong things.
This is also true with app-assisted games like Beasts of Balance. Although at least with an app, you can adjust the volume.
Many people enjoy Perfection for this reason – Anitra is not a fan.
Operation is an even older “electronic” game that gives immediate sound feedback.
What about games that are loud even without electronics? We think of Jenga, Click Clack Lumberjack, and Hungry Hungry Hippos.
Many community members mentioned liking the Taboo buzzer – and we’ve seen the same thing when our kids play Poetry for Neanderthals. It’s fun to be the person who gets to give that immediate negative feedback.
What about large amounts of dice (Boggle) or the Pop-o-matic bubble from Trouble? (Note: other games have used the Pop-o-Matic, but all are out of print except Trouble.)
We have really enjoyed Tapple, which is loud in multiple ways: a ticking timer, clicky levers, and shouting out words!
There are different kinds of noisy games!Sometimes noise is made by physical components, sometimes by electronics, and some games encourage shouting.
There’s been a huge renaissance in sound-effect and voice-acted games. We’re thinking about Stop Thief, Familiar Tales (fully narrated!), or Return to Dark Tower. These become more of a media experience or interactive audiobook.
The Hearmees is almost the opposite. It’s a game about LISTENING, so everyone needs to be very quiet while the “supervisor” draws on a scratchy board.
And the idea of putting sounds in games is still evolving!
Games with Shouting:Poetry for Neanderthals
Spaceteam
Pit (the shoutiest game!)
Is There a Place for Noisy Games?We think so.
We quickly mention HEIST, an electronic-talking game that our family really enjoys. (And you have to stay quiet to listen to the voice!)
Lest you think all noisy games are for kids, don’t forget about Atmosfear, a video/app driven board game with a horror theme.
Find Us Online:Facebook: @familygamersaa and thefamilygamers.com/community
Twitter: @familygamersaa
Instagram: @familygamersaa
TikTok: @familygamersaa
Youtube: TheFamilyGamers
Or, for the most direct method, email us! andrew@thefamilygamers.com and anitra@thefamilygamers.com.
Check out our new Family Gamers and Play Games with Your Kids merchandise – T-shirts, hoodies, and mugs – at thefamilygamers.com/merch.
PLEASE don’t forget to subscribe to the show, tell your friends about the show, and leave us a review at Apple Podcast or whatever your podcast subscription source is. We’re also on Amazon Music, TuneIn, Stitcher, and Spotify.
Send weird foods “For Science”! to:
The Family Gamers
60 Auburn St. # 528
Auburn, MA 01501
The Family Gamers is sponsored by First Move Financial. Go to FirstMoveFinancial.com/familygamers to learn how the team at First Move Financial can help you pile up the victory points.
The post Episode 334 – Noisy Games: Extra Fun or Parents’ Nightmare? appeared first on The Family Gamers.
Board Game Cruises, Cons, and More
with Monica Rasso
333 Fact – We talk about the 3-3-3 rule for adopting a rescue dog.
Sponsor Message – If you need to talk about other ideas to get started budgeting, set up a call with First Move by going to firstmovefinancial.com/familygamers today.
What We’ve Been PlayingFurnace
Splendor Duel… and a quick digression in to reading rulebooks (or novels) vs watching videos (or listening to audiobooks)
Fruition
HEAT: Pedal to the Metal
Sauscharf – as anticipated in episode 327!
HerStory – Underdog Games has a crazy sale on it this month – $19.19!
Agueda – 3 days left on Kickstarter!
SNAP Review – KuZOOkaCooperate to get the animals out of the zoo in this unique game. Like Liars’ Dice, you need to make a guess that is plausible across everyone’s hands. Like a rogue-like videogame, you’ll need to get better over multiple rounds to beat the game.
Watch the video or read the full review.
Monica Rasso, Event ManagerMonica runs a ton of board game events (and some non-board game ones, too). Like what?
Tantrum ConMonica met Will, Ryan, and Kevin at a smaller con (Mega Moose Con in SC). They had been running a free game day with 200+ people and were starting to think about running a “real” convention.
Monica had already volunteered at other game conventions and even been the general manager for one.
So she sat down and met with the whole Tantrum House team and they decided to plan out a board game convention that used everyone’s strengths.
This year: ended up at 750 attendees, sold out and had to turn people away! This means they’ll be moving to a larger facility next year.
Cruise: Meeples at SeaMet ladies at Dice Tower Con when she was volunteering there. “We do a board game cruise!” Monica went on it, it was about 100 people and a lot of work.
So much work that the two women running CruisieCon asked Monica to become their cruise director!
Monica wanted to do more, so she started Meeples at Sea to run a board game cruise at a different time of year… and then post-COVID it merged with CruisieCon.
What is it? A game convention – on the water. Food, activities, travel is all included. And of course, lots of games. A full week at the best price they can get!
Proto ATLProtoATL is a convention dedicated to playing prototype games!
Andrew Smith (Andy) from Gold Seal Games was running a mass-prototyping event out of a breakroom at PSi (a distribution & fulfillment company). Designers would have to leave and go to a hotel overnight and come back in the morning.
“What if we could do it all in one location?” This would allow food, staying late night to keep gaming, etc.
Now ProtoATL is in the Westin Buckhead in downtown Atlanta.
What is it? “The business side of gaming.”
Publishers come, designers (and some playtesters) buy badges. All about getting feedback on game prototypes! There are also seminars, networking, and other kinds of help for upcoming game designers.
Naturally, one of the sponsors is The Game Crafter, making lots of pieces available for prototyping.
One Last Thing…Table-flipping is an awesome feature of Tantrum Con.
Monica manages one other convention: Game & Party Con in Jacksonville, FL.
Find Monica Online:www.GameConHQ.com
Find Us Online:Facebook: @familygamersaa and thefamilygamers.com/community
Twitter: @familygamersaa
Instagram: @familygamersaa
TikTok: @familygamersaa
Youtube: TheFamilyGamers
Or, for the most direct method, email us! andrew@thefamilygamers.com and anitra@thefamilygamers.com.
Check out our new Family Gamers and Play Games with Your Kids merchandise – T-shirts, hoodies, and mugs – at thefamilygamers.com/merch.
PLEASE don’t forget to subscribe to the show, tell your friends about the show, and leave us a review at Apple Podcast or whatever your podcast subscription source is. We’re also on Amazon Music, TuneIn, Stitcher, and Spotify.
The Family Gamers is sponsored by First Move Financial. Go to FirstMoveFinancial.com/familygamers to learn how the team at First Move Financial can help you pile up the victory points.
The post Episode 333 – Board Game Cruises, Cons, and More, with Monica Rasso appeared first on The Family Gamers.
This week, we tackle YOUR questions!
332 FactThe Tuskeegee Airmen were a group of primarily African American military pilots and airmen who fought in World War II. The name refers to the 332nd Fighter Group and the 477th Bombardment Group, as well as all the support personnel associated with both groups.
Sponsor MessageIf you want to talk to someone about your money personality, 15 minutes will just scratch the surface, but First Move can give you some resources to point you in the right direction, set up a time to talk with them at firstmovefinancial.com/familygamers today.
What We’ve Been PlayingWe played more games in the last 3 days than we had played for over a week before that!
Unmatched: Houdini vs. The Genie – we really need to try these characters against some of our other Unmatched sets.
Wildtails: A Pirate Legacy
Matching puzzle game and Pictionary – we crushed it!
KuZOOka
Wonder Woods – mushrooms!
Scribbly Gum
SNAP Review – Scribbly GumWe love this all-ages flip-and-write game from Phil Walker-Harding. It’s currently only available in Australia, but we hope it will go around the world soon!
We highly recommend you watch the video for this cute game.
Welcome new membersStop in to our Facebook community and say hi!
And now, on to your questions!
Backtalk… Extended! We Answer Your QuestionsNormally, we ask you for Backtalk (although we won’t take it from our kids…) This week, we wanted to answer listener questions, and you gave us plenty!
Family Gift with Widely Different InterestsAdam asks about what would make a good gift for a family with preteens. The girl likes Tiny Towns and Dream House and the boy likes D&D-styled games (Small World, Castle Panic)?
Anitra recommends: Merchants of Magick has a theme that bridges the gap! You’re creating magical items that adventurers would use in a fantasy adventure setting and the variety of dice also lean into the theme.
Andrew also recommends Adventure Mart and Flamecraft, which are both very cute. Adventure Mart has you run a cute (and complex!) shop. Flamecraft has you collecting all kinds of resources… with dragons!
Anitra also recommends Quacks of Quedlinburg which has a fantasy theme but is entirely different style. Simply building your own bag and potion(s).
Games with LongevityShaun asks for games that you can play with little kids and still continue to enjoy as they grow up.
Our community immediately recommended Drop It and Karuba.
These have to be games that have simple mechanics and little or no reading, but won’t get stale. “Single flip” games (like Karuba) let parents model what to do with little kids.
Anitra recommends some games that the family has been playing since the kids were little: Kingdomino, Onitama, and Lanterns: The Harvest Festival. All of these are a stretch for a younger kid, but which they’ll grow into more over time. All three of these have expansions you can add if they start to feel stale later.
Dexterity games are also great for this, but what kind of dexterity is good depends on your family. We love Drop It and stacking games (in particular, Beasts of Balance), but flicking games have not lasted for us.
Smart Kid, Short Attention SpanStephanie asks about games that have more involved mechanics but minimal set up and quick game play.
Andrew recommends Scout – it flows quickly and feels similar to UNO with more challenge.
Anitra recommends games that go quickly and can build strategy or add new ideas game after game: Kingdomino Origins, Zombie Kidz Evolution.
Andrew also recommends abstract games like Quarto that stay short.
What about Draftosaurus (plays fast, low setup) or Panic Island (literally 60-second play time!)?
Game for a Deserted IslandJP of the Whose Turn is it Anyway Podcast asks for a recommendation for “4 people stranded on a deserted island with no power and limited chance of rescue to try and stave of the thought of eating each other over time?”
Andrew says Cinco Linko – it won’t get damaged by sun, sand, or water… and the pieces kind of look like candy. So you’ll be tempted to eat the pieces before you eat your friends. ;)
Anitra recommends: NO food-themed games! How about 7 Wonders, which you can play over and over again and try different things every time?
Side note: we like the idea that all the Matt Leacock cooperative games are linked: Mole rats escape the sinking island (Forbidden Island), crash the helicopter into the desert (Forbidden Desert), dig up the rocket, then fly from the sky islands (Forbidden Sky) to the snake-infested space station (Space Escape, AKA Mole Rats in Space).
Story or Campaign in a Light Fantasy WorldMark tells us that his girls love Flamecraft but want to try something with more of a story, but staying away from anything too dark. He asks about Hogwarts Battle, CoraQuest, and My City specifically.
Andrew recommends kid-focused RPGs such as No Thank You Evil, Magical Kitties Save the Day. Robit Riddle is another great storytelling game that doesn’t need a dungeon master. If you want a more strongly guided adventure, you might like Stuffed Fables (although our family struggled to get into it.)
We enjoy My City, but there’s no story there, so it’s probably not the right choice for this situation.
Hogwarts Battle or Toy Story: Obstacles and Adventures carry you through a familiar story. But it can get frustrating with how much gets “reset” after each play.
CoraQuest is a great, light RPG! And so is Hero Kids (and cheap!)
Mysteries and PuzzlesStephanie asks about mystery and puzzle games for a 7 year old who is a strong reader and has already enjoyed Unlock Kids, Micro Macro Crime City, Junior Detective, etc.
First, know that there are more quests coming soon for Kids Chronicles: Quest for the Moonstones !
Andrew recommends: Zombie Kidz Flashback (the newest in the Zombie Kidz series) has a lot of mystery solving. Spy Club has a kid-friendly mystery theme, but is probably more than a 7-year-old can handle.
Anitra recommends the easier, family-friendly EXIT boxes, specifically EXIT: The Enchanted Forest and EXIT: The House of Riddles, and the Clever Kids Mysteries (which are print-and-play, so you can start right away!)
Andrew also recommends The Key series (we reviewed Theft at Cliffrock Villa and Sabotage at Lucky Llama Land), which are logical deduction with a crime-solving theme. Each game has 9 puzzles, but you can definitely replay all of them.
Anitra also recommends The Grimm Masquerade and Dinosaur Tea Party, which ask you to solve a mystery based on information that the other players reveal (like Guess Who?)
More Questions?Keep reaching out! We love helping families find games that work for them and sharing our recommendations.
Find Us Online:Facebook: @familygamersaa and thefamilygamers.com/community
Twitter: @familygamersaa
Instagram: @familygamersaa
TikTok: @familygamersaa
Youtube: TheFamilyGamers
Or, for the most direct method, email us! andrew@thefamilygamers.com and anitra@thefamilygamers.com.
Check out our new Family Gamers and Play Games with Your Kids merchandise – T-shirts, hoodies, and mugs – at thefamilygamers.com/merch.
PLEASE don’t forget to subscribe to the show, tell your friends about the show, and leave us a review at Apple Podcast or whatever your podcast subscription source is. We’re also on Amazon Music, TuneIn, Stitcher, and Spotify.
Send weird foods “For Science”! to:
The Family Gamers
60 Auburn St. # 528
Auburn, MA 01501
The Family Gamers is sponsored by First Move Financial. Go to FirstMoveFinancial.com/familygamers to learn how the team at First Move Financial can help you pile up the victory points.
The post Episode 332 – You Ask, We Answer appeared first on The Family Gamers.
Mike runs the CuseCon convention in Syracuse, is one of the co-hosts of The Full 42, and much more!
331 Fact – Speed of sound at 0C or 32F (in dry air) is about 331 m/s.
Sponsor message – If you want to talk about how to set up a budget set up a time to talk to First Move Financial by going to Firstmovefinancial.com/familygamers today.
What We’ve Been PlayingBlue Banana (sort of) which makes us think of Stroop
Ecosystem: Coral Reef
Lords of Waterdeep – Mike recommends Asking for Trobils
Treelings
Roll Player
SNAP Review – FeatherlightDo you like collecting feathers? Now you can do it without having to sanitize them first.
Ignore the silly bird on the cover, this game is GORGEOUS! Watch the video or read the transcript of our Featherlight review.
We Like Mike!We talk about languages for a while…
We met Michael because he runs the CuseCon convention. But that is far from all he does!
Mike was regularly running a board game meetup in Syracuse and expanded it into a full convention in fall 2019.
Also in 2019, Mike reconnected with a local teacher and together they created a game design curriculum for local highschoolers.
After March 2020, “Every Tuesday, we had a livestream” (to continue the work they were doing with board game meetups and the curriculum).
We absolutely love how welcoming CuseCon is, to all ages and all abilities. And they also pull in the highschoolers from the game design course to meet professional game designers! We love that in 2019 a kid asked Alan Moon about staying grounded with the great success of Ticket to Ride…
There’s also a CuseCon Game Designers’ Guild now, in addition to the weekly meetups and yearly convention.
3WS Th3rd World StudiosBest known for their graphic novels (The Stuff of Legend) but Mike fell in love with the board game spin-off, prior to COVID.
Mike says, “I just made a COMMENT” on the Kickstarter about how much he enjoyed the game, and then Mike DeVito reached out to him and asked if he would help out. “You know how you find your tribe?” They’ve now brought Mike into the team as the manager of game development.
The Full 42This came out of CuseCon meetups (Tuesdays, game design group, etc) being canceled. So Mike started inviting people within the game industry to come and talk to him on a livestream. Chris Strain (Asking for Trobils) came on the show and they had such a great time in their interview and just hit it off. “I can talk about that stuff all day… I could too. Why don’t we?”
They started the show in January 2021. Shortly after they both became friends with Katia Howatson, they both realized that the show was better when she was part of it. Now the three of them regularly co-host the show.
“The Batman Game”Mike co-designed Batman: The Animated Series – Gotham City Under Siege. It started as an Avengers-themed game for his tutoring students to practice mental math. Mike runs into Richard Launius (designer of Arkham Horror) at some conventions, makes a friendship, and asks him to look at his early prototype… “would you make this game with me?”
They pitched it around and IDW loved it… but couldn’t get Avengers licensing. But would they be interested in retheming it with Batman: The Animated Series? YES!
And being able to design this game led to everything else – CuseCon, game design highschool curriculum, The Full 42, and tons of friendships.
Find Mike Online:The best place is Discord, either for CuseCon or for 3WS. Look for “GoogsOnTap”.
Cusecon: CuseCon.com, Facebook @CuseCon
The Full 42 on Youtube
Find Us Online:Facebook: @familygamersaa and thefamilygamers.com/community
Twitter: @familygamersaa
Instagram: @familygamersaa
TikTok: @familygamersaa
Youtube: TheFamilyGamers
Or, for the most direct method, email us! andrew@thefamilygamers.com and anitra@thefamilygamers.com.
Check out our new Family Gamers and Play Games with Your Kids merchandise – T-shirts, hoodies, and mugs – at thefamilygamers.com/merch.
PLEASE don’t forget to subscribe to the show, tell your friends about the show, and leave us a review at Apple Podcast or whatever your podcast subscription source is. We’re also on Amazon Music, TuneIn, Stitcher, and Spotify.
The Family Gamers is sponsored by First Move Financial. Go to FirstMoveFinancial.com/familygamers to learn how the team at First Move Financial can help you pile up the victory points.
The post Episode 331 – Michael Guigliano appeared first on The Family Gamers.
Does it make sense to split up the family into groups on game night? It can solve arguments, but it also creates some unique challenges.
330 Fact (provided by a show listener): Rickenbacker 330 electric guitar.
Sponsored by First Move Financial. If you want help planning for your kid’s college education you can go to firstmovefinancial.com/familygamers. There’s a link there to set up a 15-minute call to see if First Move can help you.
What We’ve Been PlayingUnmatched: Houdini vs. The Genie
Featherlight
KuZOOka – it feels like Liar’s Dice, but cooperative.
Wildtails
Turing Machine
The Monthly Report – January 2023Andrew: 27 games, H-index: 2. Most played: Star Trek Super Skill Pinball (reviewed this week!) Also Chronicles of Avel, Flamecraft, Jekyll vs. Hyde, Featherlight, Fantasy Realms, Turing Machine, Scribbly Gum.
Anitra: 43 games, H-index 3. Most played: Grove. Also Featherlight, and Turing Machine.
Welcome new membersStop in and say hi in our Facebook community!
SNAP Review – Star Trek Super Skill PinballStar Trek, pinball, roll-and-write? Sounds good to us! Although Super Skill Pinball can run a little long, Trekkies will enjoy this game.
Read the transcript or watch the video for this review.
Splitting Up Family Game NightCan we split up the family for family game night? This topic was suggested by a listener, interested in the unique benefits and challenges of running two games at once.
Obviously, not every family is going to even think about this question! It assumes at least two adults and multiple kids.
Why, in this case, would you want to split into groups? Because including multiple children means you’re dealing with different ages, interests, and skill levels. “The differences between a 9-year-old and a 6-year-old are pretty substantial.”
We want “family game night” to include interaction across the whole family. Which means it is NOT adults at one table and kids at another. But it doesn’t have to be the game itself that brings the family together! It’s the experience that should bring people together – have the tables next to each other, share snacks, take breaks together.
It’s like running a game night with any other relatively small group (under ten people). You don’t want to frustrate people by forcing them to only play games they don’t like, or with wildly different skill levels. This ties into a question we often get, “How do I get my kid to like games?” Answer: you can’t MAKE them like something. You find something they enjoy and you try to keep it enjoyable.
Explicitly change up partners partway through your family game night. Like square dancing!
Stick with games that are easy to pick up and/or drop out (especially with younger kids). Ideally half an hour or less per game. Party-ish games like Root Beer Float Challenge, Tapple, or Similo work really well for this.
Two or more options will make it easier to find agreement… but you might still find an odd person out. All of the same issues will exist, but multiple games can just make it easier to deal with.
Want more about family gaming? Check out these episodes:
292 – Making Time for Board Games
284 – Five Fantastic Family Filler Favorites
90 – Top 8 Games for Multi-Generational Play
Or chat with us in the Facebook community!
Find Us Online:Facebook: @familygamersaa and thefamilygamers.com/community
Twitter: @familygamersaa
Instagram: @familygamersaa
TikTok: @familygamersaa
Youtube: TheFamilyGamers
Or, for the most direct method, email us! andrew@thefamilygamers.com and anitra@thefamilygamers.com.
Check out our new Family Gamers and Play Games with Your Kids merchandise – T-shirts, hoodies, and mugs – at thefamilygamers.com/merch.
PLEASE don’t forget to subscribe to the show, tell your friends about the show, and leave us a review at Apple Podcast or whatever your podcast subscription source is. We’re also on Amazon Music, TuneIn, Stitcher, and Spotify.
Send weird foods “For Science”! to:
The Family Gamers
60 Auburn St. # 528
Auburn, MA 01501
The Family Gamers is sponsored by First Move Financial. Go to FirstMoveFinancial.com/familygamers to learn how the team at First Move Financial can help you pile up the victory points.
The post Episode 330 – The Family Split – Multiple Games on Family Game Night appeared first on The Family Gamers.
329 Fact! Another double whammy, this time it’s naked heads and naked feet.
Sponsor – We learn about Sequence of Return risk, and how it can affect your retirement savings.
Regardless of whether you’re trying to figure out how to start saving for your future, or trying to decide if you can still afford to retire, First Move can help you. To set up either a 15 minute phone call or a 90 minute meeting go to firstmovefinancial.com/familygamers today.
What We’ve Been PlayingCrokinole
Star Trek: Super Skill Pinball (note: it’s actually species 8472 that can beat the Borg…)
Scribbly Gum (surprisingly engaging, from Joey Games!)
Hamsterrolle
Wildtails: A Pirate Legacy
Fantasy Realms
MonsDRAWsity
Tattoo Stories
Flamecraft – feels mostly the same at solo
SNAP Review – Kabuto SumoSumo wrestling beetles? We’re in! Try to push your opponent off the board – and don’t run out of pieces – in this unique dexterity game.
Watch the video or read the transcript for Kabuto Sumo.
Chad Elkins tells us about 25th Century GamesChad was working at a mobile game company (who made the Robots Love Ice Cream mobile game) around 2016, and he came up with a card game concept based on the mobile game. But then he needed a company name!
Where did 25th Century come from?Chad has always been a sci-fi & space fan. “25th century” comes up a lot (Buck Rogers, Star Trek, Looney Tunes, etc). The name just feels futuristic.
Is 25th Century Games your full-time job?Nope! He has a day job too. How does he possibly do it all? He has a lot of help: “It’s not just me, I’m like a mission control.”
What’s coming this year from 25th Century?Gasha – new to the USA. Based on Japanese toy dispenser machines.
Ghosts Love Candy Too (our review) – cute and approachable Halloween game.
Velonimo – ladder climbing game themed on a crazy animal bicycle race.
Blazon – coming to retail this month. Medieval heraldry is a very unusual theme – fill out a large shield board!
Motor City – the newest roll and write from Ben Pinchback and Matt Riddle (French Quarter will be coming to Kickstarter this year)
3 new tile-laying games will be coming to Kickstarter this year: Agueda (Portugal), Color Field, and Donut Shop.
And then even more:
Ra, Resist, Fika, expansions to Space Explorers and Prehistories
Find 25th Century Games Online:25thcenturygames.com
Plus an email newsletter and all the social media.
Find Us Online:Facebook: @familygamersaa and thefamilygamers.com/community
Twitter: @familygamersaa
Instagram: @familygamersaa
TikTok: @familygamersaa
Youtube: TheFamilyGamers
Or, for the most direct method, email us! andrew@thefamilygamers.com and anitra@thefamilygamers.com.
Check out our new Family Gamers and Play Games with Your Kids merchandise – T-shirts, hoodies, and mugs – at thefamilygamers.com/merch.
PLEASE don’t forget to subscribe to the show, tell your friends about the show, and leave us a review at Apple Podcast or whatever your podcast subscription source is. We’re also on Amazon Music, TuneIn, Stitcher, and Spotify.
The Family Gamers is sponsored by First Move Financial. Go to FirstMoveFinancial.com/familygamers to learn how the team at First Move Financial can help you pile up the victory points.
The post Episode 329 – 25th Century Games with Chad Elkins appeared first on The Family Gamers.
So you love dungeon crawl games like Gloomhaven, but aren’t sure where to start in introducing the genre? We’ve got three (or four) dungeon crawl games that are great for kids. Each one introduces a bit more complexity than the one before.
328 Fact! According to SeaWorld, there are 328 different species of parrots.
Sponsored by First Move Financial, who reminds you that you should regularly check your credit at AnnualCreditReport.com. Find more tips from First Move about how to read your credit report. And you can set up a free 15-minute phone call at FirstMoveFinancial.com/familygamers today!
What We’ve Been PlayingTuring Machine
Lacrimosa (review coming soon)
Featherlight (review coming soon)
Detecteam Family: One Egg Too Many – a mystery that’s completely family friendly! Reminds us of the Decktective series.
Unmatched: Houdini vs. The Genie – can’t wait to review this one!
Flamecraft (review soon)
Chronicles of Avel (more below)
SNAP Review – MadaMada from Helvetiq is a pretty simple press-your-luck game. Look around the table as you ladder up to high-scoring cards – but don’t press your luck too much or you’ll end up busting, and everyone else gets points instead.
Watch the video or read the transcript for Mada.
Welcome New MembersWelcome to the Family Gamers Facebook community! Stop in and say hi.
Room to Grow: Dungeon CrawlsIn the Room to Grow series, our goal is to help you bring your kids through a series of games with the same main mechanic, starting at a very basic level, then increasing in complexity and building on each other. All of these games are suitable for a family context (so… no Gloomhaven, sorry!)
What is a dungeon crawl game?Players explore a space (a “dungeon”) that is mostly hidden and gets revealed as they explore. Within that space you find treasure to keep and monsters to fight. The concept came from tabletop roleplaying games (like Dungeons & Dragons), which usually include both plot elements as well as a place to go that involved beating enemies, solving puzzles, and getting treasures. Video games and board games quickly arose that stripped out a lot of the plot and put a big boss somewhere in the “dungeon” that players would need to beat.
Dungeon crawls may have a central plot… or not.
There are also fast-moving games inspired by dungeon crawls: Dungeon Academy, Deadly Doodles.
Dungeon Crawl for Beginners: Quest KidsPlayers use the same board layout every time. Instead of “finding a path” through the dungeon, you’re either looking for specific items (in the campaign) or clearing out all the monsters. On your turn, move to a space, and flip over the card in that space.
There’s almost no reading required (except in the campaign, which can be read by a single person in the group), and limited numeracy.
There’s no die rolling or other randomness in whether or not you beat a monster – instead, you examine whether or not you have enough resources, and you can ask for help from the other players! Quest Kids is rated for ages 5+ and we think that’s exactly right. It’s best for pre-reading kids. It can be played completely cooperatively, or as “co-op-etition”: working together to beat monsters, but tracking who scored better at the end of the game.
Thinking about Quest Kids for your family? Read our review.
More Freedom, More Luck: KarakUnlike Quest Kids, Karak is a tile-placement game. Players dynamically generate the dungeon as they explore.
You must fight monsters to get/upgrade equipment; the game ends when someone defeats the dragon, which requires at least some equipment (and a lot of luck) to beat.
There is a lot of luck in Karak – you roll dice for combat, but also pull new monster tiles randomly from a bag. You never know what you’re going to get. Unfortunately, that means it can also drag (if you start the game pulling hard-to-beat monsters, or roll poorly several times in a row).
Like Quest Kids, there’s very little reading required, and we’ve played it successfully with pre-reading kids.
Karak introduces asymmetric player powers and inventory management. There’s more numeracy required – reading numbers, comparing dice, adding numbers together, and an introduction to probability.
Art-wise, the enemies are still cartoony, but scarier than in Quest Kids.
Thinking about Karak as a good fit for simple dungeon crawls? Read our review.
More Enemies, More Dungeon: Chronicles of AvelChronicles of Avel has a rich world, drawing players into the game. It feels like there’s a real reason why you’re fighting the big boss.
Chronicles of Avel introduces enemy spawn points (new monsters will keep showing up on the board), along with traps & blockers. There’s also inventory management (including the ability to swap out weapons/helms/shields as needed).
Fights are still decided by die rolls, but there are many different ways to get/upgrade equipment, leading to more choices. (Use coins to buy a weapon/armor, or gamble, or buy a trap…)
There’s a ticking timer (the round counter) that adds tension – and keeps the game from going too long. The spawn/rest round cycle also encourages players to discuss timing and sequencing.
Unlike the other dungeon crawls, fighting monsters is not really your goal (until the end of the game). Instead, it’s a tool you can use to gain more equipment and abilities to be ready for the end of the game.
Sounds good, but you’re not sure yet? Read our Chronicles of Avel review.
More Kid-Friendly Dungeon CrawlsCoraQuest is more plot-driven than Karak or Chronicles of Avel but also gives a lot of freedom in how to explore (like Karak). This might be a better choice if having a story keeps your kids more engaged in playing a game. We like it best as a simpler replacement for story-driven games like Mice & Mystics.
Find Us Online:Facebook: @familygamersaa and thefamilygamers.com/community
Twitter: @familygamersaa
Instagram: @familygamersaa
TikTok: @familygamersaa
Youtube: TheFamilyGamers
Or, for the most direct method, email us! andrew@thefamilygamers.com and anitra@thefamilygamers.com.
Check out our new Family Gamers and Play Games with Your Kids merchandise – T-shirts, hoodies, and mugs – at thefamilygamers.com/merch.
PLEASE don’t forget to subscribe to the show, tell your friends about the show, and leave us a review at Apple Podcast or whatever your podcast subscription source is. We’re also on Amazon Music, TuneIn, Stitcher, and Spotify.
Send weird foods “For Science”! to:
The Family Gamers
60 Auburn St. # 528
Auburn, MA 01501
The Family Gamers is sponsored by First Move Financial. Go to FirstMoveFinancial.com/familygamers to learn how the team at First Move Financial can help you pile up the victory points.
The post Episode 328 – Room to Grow: Dungeon Crawl Games appeared first on The Family Gamers.
We’ve been looking back at 2022, but this week we look ahead to 2023, with Family Gamer extraordinaire, Nick Martinelli!
327 factSupernatural TV Show – 327 episodes
Loopin Louie – is game 327 on Board Game Geek
Sponsor messageIt’s almost Tax Season! Did you know most people pay down debt, pay for mid-sized goals, or save their tax refunds? If you want to talk to First Move abou habits you can build to take that next step toward your goals, go to firstmovefinancial.com/familygamers to schedule a call.
What We’ve Been PlayingHorrified and Horrified: American Monsters
Jekyll vs. Hyde
Three Sisters
Turing Machine
Imhotep
Zombie Kidz Evolution
Chronicles of Avel
Star Trek: Super-Skill Pinball – Trouble with Tribbles has more player interaction
Mada – review coming this week.
Gizmos – great but too many icons
SNAP Review – Head SpinHead Spin is a fast-moving puzzle game for two players. There are ten different kinds of puzzles to solve – can you do them faster than your opponent?
Watch the video or read the transcript of our Head Spin review.
Games Coming in 2023What are we really hyped for this year?
Andrew picked three categories of games: ones we know are coming and are excited for, games we’ve been anticipating for a while, and games that we “want to want” but might not work for us.
Flashback: Zombie Kidz (Scorpion Masque / Hachette) – our kids are going to love it. Entirely different than the other Zombie Kidz games, but set in the same universe with the same characters. Available NOW!
Fit to Print (Peter McPherson & Flatout Games) – use tiles to layout a newspaper front page.
Thunder Road: Vendetta (Restoration Games) – Mad Max road carnage. Nick is looking forward to his Kickstarter arriving.
Qawale (Gigamic / Hachette) – Another gorgeous Gigamic abstract; Mancala meets Tic-Tac-Toe.
Steam Up: A Feast of Dim Sum (Hot Banana Games) – we first saw a prototype in 2020. The final version looks fantastic!
Sauscharf (Wolfgang Kramer & AMIGO) – make sets and trade them in to make hot sauce!
Miller Zoo (Randolph / Hachette) – based on a real zoo in Quebec. Cooperatively take care of the animals in the zoo! Appropriate for ages 8+ but with some depth – only 30 minutes and up to 6 players.
Stampfarm (DV Games) – a roll-and-write for little kids! Instead of “writing”, you’ll use stamps based on what you rolled.
Unmatched: Teen Spirit and Unmatched: King and Country (Restoration Games) – Andrew and Anitra want this BAD. We think the various Marvel-themed sets would be a good place to start playing Unmatched with a kid.
Bonsai (DV Games) – build out a bonsai tree with hex tiles.
We “want to want” these two games:My Island – another legacy game, sucessor to My City.
My City: Roll and Build – another successor, sounds like not a legacy game.
Honorable mention: Camel Up card game
What games are you looking forward to in 2023?Find Us Online:Facebook: @familygamersaa and thefamilygamers.com/community
Twitter: @familygamersaa
Instagram: @familygamersaa
TikTok: @familygamersaa
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Or, email us! andrew@thefamilygamers.com, anitra@thefamilygamers.com, and nick@thefamilygamers.com.
Check our our T-shirts, hoodies, and mugs at thefamilygamers.com/merch
And don’t forget to subscribe to the show and leave us a review! It helps a lot.
The Family Gamers is sponsored by First Move Financial. Go to FirstMoveFinancial.com/familygamers to learn how the team at First Move Financial can help you pile up the victory points.
The post Episode 327 – Top Anticipated Games for 2023 appeared first on The Family Gamers.
We’re celebrating Anitra’s birthday this week! What games does she really want to play?
326 FactThe fastest speed in a wingsuit (male, FAI-approved) is 326.8 km/h (203 mph), achieved by Chris Geiler (USA, b. Australia) at the 2021 USPA National Championships of Wingsuit Flying in Eloy, Arizona, USA, on 26 October 2021.
SponsorSponsor message – How do you teach your kids about finances? It’s always good to have open honest discussions with your kids, especially if there are lessons you want them to learn. But in addition to that, your kids need the opportunity to practice your lessons while it’s still safe to fail…
If you want to talk about more ways to teach your children to manage their personal finances, set up a time to talk by going to firstmovefinancial.com / familygamers.
What We’ve Been PlayingFluff (an implementation of Liar’s Dice that we reviewed)
Santorini
Flashback: Zombie Kidz (A short demo – you can try it too)
MicroMacro Crime City
Hedgehog Hop (by Seppy Yoon / Fight in a Box)
Star Trek Super Skill Pinball (Lower Decks board might be kind of broken.)
Fyfe
Giveaway Winners!The winners of our December giveaways have all received their games – some are even posting on the Facebook community about them!
SNAP Review – Anomia Pop CultureWe really enjoyed this sequel to one of our favorite party games. What’s “anomia”? Well its, uh… I knew it… it was right on the tip of my tongue!
Watch the video or read the transcript for this review.
Welcome new membersStop in and say hi!
And if you live anywhere near North Carolina, you could come see us at Tantrum Con next month!
Five Games Anitra Wants to Play Right NowImhotep – Anitra loves the tactile experience of physically building with blocks. Every player is working towards building Egyptian monuments – but you want to do the best. There’s a little bit of meanness in moving “boats” to bring your opponents’ blocks to places that are not what they planned. We reviewed Imhotep: The Duel, which is a great game, but Anitra still prefers the full game.
Jekyll vs. Hyde (our review) – Two player, adversarial trick-taking, and fast!
Three Sisters – It’s very odd that Andrew likes Fleet: The Dice Game better and Anitra prefers this one. Anitra says “I want to explore it more.”
Turing Machine – “I can’t get enough.” We’ve talked about it a lot in recent episodes.
Endangered (our review) – It’s been a minute since our review. This is the only cooperative game on Anitra’s list, with an interesting dice-worker-placement mechanic, while balancing habitat loss, animal breeding, influencing ambassadors, and making improvements. This isn’t a “hero” game, instead it’s definitely a teamwork game modeled after what people really do. We have all the expansions which leaves us with so much to try!
Find Us Online:Facebook: @familygamersaa and thefamilygamers.com/community
Twitter: @familygamersaa
Instagram: @familygamersaa
TikTok: @familygamersaa
Youtube: TheFamilyGamers
Or, for the most direct method, email us! andrew@thefamilygamers.com and anitra@thefamilygamers.com.
Check out our new Family Gamers and Play Games with Your Kids merchandise – T-shirts, hoodies, and mugs – at thefamilygamers.com/merch.
PLEASE don’t forget to subscribe to the show, tell your friends about the show, and leave us a review at Apple Podcast or whatever your podcast subscription source is. We’re also on Amazon Music, TuneIn, Stitcher, and Spotify.
Send weird foods “For Science”! to:
The Family Gamers
60 Auburn St. # 528
Auburn, MA 01501
The Family Gamers is sponsored by First Move Financial. Go to FirstMoveFinancial.com/familygamers to learn how the team at First Move Financial can help you pile up the victory points.
The post Episode 326 – Anitra Birthday Edition appeared first on The Family Gamers.
Our topic this week is board game trends – for good and bad. We’ll talk about why during the second half of the show.
So who better for this kind of conversation than Ross Thompson, who has held positions all across the board game industry.
Ross is an incredible ambassador for gaming and we’re delighted to have him on the show.
325 FactThe Fury 325 is a very tall steel roller coaster with a 6,602 foot long track. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fury_325
Sponsor MessageDid you know that you can talk to our sponsor First Move Financial for free? First Move is a fee-only firm, which means that until you sign on as a client you’re not paying to talk to them.
If you’re curious what it would cost to get help from First Move you can visit firstmovefinancial.com/familygamers and scroll down, there’s a calculator there where you enter your income and net worth and it will tell you your estimated monthly fee.
Games We’ve Been PlayingGloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion
Twilight Imperium
Warhammer 40K
Cartouche
Point Salad
The Great Split
Flamecraft
Tigris & Euphrates
Quarto
Deities
… some game about stars (sorry!)…
Labyrinth RPG
boop
Abandon All Artichokes
Epic Resort
Head Spin
SNAP Review – QuartoQuarto is an abstract game that’s been winning awards for over 30 years. Why? Because while it is simple to understand, it has several twists that make it challenging to win.
Watch the video or read the transcript of our review.
Board Game TrendsThis is a topic that has been top of mind for us lately because our boys were actually interviewed by a writer for the New York Times and they were in the paper on Christmas day, which is pretty amazing.
So Ross, we talked earlier about how you’ve been all over the gaming industry, so we’ll start with that. What’s new with you?
Ross just started working for Cephalofair Games (best known for Gloomhaven) as their marketing and crowdfunding manager.
What are some board game trends you’re currently into?“Butts in seats” – more people are getting into board games than ever before.
Marketing that is geared towards a wider audience. Example: the new Clue. Asmodee is including an insert in the box of many of their games with a “if you like this, try this” for new gamers.
Licensed games that are targeted and really intentional designs. (eg. A Goofy Movie game, Quests of Yore, Sorcerer’s Arena) Also lots of nostalgia (Clue, HeroQuest, Magic The Gathering /Warhammer crossover etc.) and in reverse – more gamer culture is getting made into movies!
“I want to see a lot of old games reprinted.”
We’d like to see more games that support more than four players! Especially in short games (under an hour) that aren’t party games. Ross mentions Snow Tails.
What is one trend you would like to see die?Gatekeeping. Stop saying “you don’t belong here, this game isn’t for you.”
Elliot said “board game covers with art that don’t represent the game inside.” Good job, Elliot!
Wife jokes (about hiding your purchases). This exists in a lot of “collecting” cultures (both male & female dominated).
Freaking out about games being in perfect condition. You can be a board game collector, but that’s different than being someone who PLAYS board games. “When you see a board game [on a person’s shelf] that is beat to crap, what’s the adjective that comes to mind? It’s a well-loved game.”
What’s a game you’re excited for in 2023?Gloomhaven RPG that will be on BackerKit in April.
Relicblade (a miniatures skirmish game) is adding a solo dungeon-crawl mode.
Find Ross Online:Tabletop Games Jobs group (Facebook)
@almostkirk on Twitter, Hive, and Instagram,
Also on Facebook, LinkedIn.
Find Cephalofair games:On Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
Find Us Online:Facebook: @familygamersaa and thefamilygamers.com/community
Twitter: @familygamersaa
Instagram: @familygamersaa
TikTok: @familygamersaa
Youtube: TheFamilyGamers
Or, for the most direct method, email us! andrew@thefamilygamers.com and anitra@thefamilygamers.com.
Check out our new Family Gamers and Play Games with Your Kids merchandise – T-shirts, hoodies, and mugs – at thefamilygamers.com/merch.
PLEASE don’t forget to subscribe to the show, tell your friends about the show, and leave us a review at Apple Podcast or whatever your podcast subscription source is. We’re also on Amazon Music, TuneIn, Stitcher, and Spotify.
Send weird foods “For Science”! to:
The Family Gamers
60 Auburn St. # 528
Auburn, MA 01501
The Family Gamers is sponsored by First Move Financial. Go to FirstMoveFinancial.com/familygamers to learn how the team at First Move Financial can help you pile up the victory points.
The post Episode 325 – Board Game Trends with Ross Thompson appeared first on The Family Gamers.
This week, we’ll talk about our top games of 2022. Ones that were new to us this year; our favorites and games that really surprised us. And we ask each of the kids for their favorite game of the year, too.
324 FactThe highest earning Super Smash Brothers competitor in the world has earned about 324 thousand dollars playing that game.
Don’t tell our kids!
Sponsored by First Move FinancialThe best time to start planning for your holiday spending is right now! To schedule a time to talk to First Move about other ways to take control of your finances head over to firstmovefinancial.com/familygamers to set up an initial 15 minute call.
What We’ve Been PlayingFramework (our review – thanks Dave!)
Skull Canyon Ski Fest – we have opinions on this one.
Mada – very casual and best at 4-5 players. Review coming soon.
Anomia: Pop Culture – hilarious with our mix of teens & adults.
Flamecraft – super cute, but there’s a lot of game there.
Fyfe
Starship Captains
Quacks of Quedlinburg
Drop It – a perennial favorite (our review)
Once Upon a Line – better than our previous play. Coming to Kickstarter soon!
Beer & Bread – a great 2 player game with multi-use cards and lots of different mechanics that all fit together well.
Turing Machine
Garden Nation – review coming soon.
On Tour: Paris and New York (our review)
Quarto
Monopoly Deal
The Monthly Report – DecemberAnitra: 42 unique games, 71 plays. H-index 4. Most played: Quarto, Turing Machine, Star Trek: Super-Skill Pinball, Splitter.
Andrew: 38 total plays. H-index 2. Most played: Anomia: Pop Culture and Turing Machine, along with Garden Nation, Drop It, Unmatched, Mada, Quarto.
The Yearly Report – 2022!We did NOT complete our family 10×10 challenge. Only four of the games got played 10 times, but every game got played at least 4 times. Next year, we’ll either do a 10×5 or possibly a 20×5. It was really hard to pick games that were easy to get to the table! But we did discover that having a goal like that motivates our kids (Zombie Kidz Evolution and Zombie Teenz Evolution both got a LOT of play for that reason.)
Anitra: 196 unique games, 544 plays. H-index 8. Most played: Santorini at 20 plays (surprising absolutely no one). Then, Unmatched, A Gentle Rain, Royal Visit, The Key: Theft at Cliffrock Villa, Under Falling Skies, Maul Peak, Railroad Ink Challenge
Andrew: 182 unique games, 337 plays. H-index 6. Most played: Royal Visit at 12 plays. Then, Jekyll vs. Hyde, So Clover, Green Team Wins, Laniakea, Drop It, Unmatched, Quacks of Quedlinburg, Barenpark.
New Community MembersStop into the community and say hi! Did you play any games to ring in the New Year?
SNAP Review – The Root Beer Float ChallengeWe highly recommend watching our video about this silly family party game.
Play fast challenges using physical components of “the root beer float” to collect ingredients. We guarantee it will get you up and moving!
The Family Gamers’ Top Games in 2022Each kid picked one.
Elliot: Castle Panic Big Box (review coming in 2023) – because of new art and including all the expansions.
Asher: Santorini (to no one’s surprise) – “a lot of replayability with all the different god powers…”
Claire: Flamecraft (review coming soon) – because of cute dragons and also that they are “working dragons”. Everyone has jobs! Of all the dragon-themed games we’ve played, this gives us the most stuff to do. Also she loves her stuffed dragon “Steak Tips” who is a meat dragon from the game.
Anitra’s top three:A Gentle Rain – published in 2021, but I first played in February.
Magic Mountain – we immediately loved this after first seeing it in March.
Jekyll vs. Hyde – SO surprised at this game. I love the way it all ties together with theme and the trick-taking mechanics.
runners up:Three Sisters
Papageno
Aldabas
Andrew’s top ~~three~~ five:5. Juicy Fruits – the sliding mechanic and “modules” make this really cool.
4. First Rat – incredibly intuitive and simple for what it is: a Euro game that’s approachable for kids!
3. Gutenberg – so smooth!
2. Suspects: Claire Harper Takes the Stage – although the mysteries were very hard to solve, it’s surprisingly great for a family!
1. Turing Machine – as computer scientists, we love this game and are really impressed by how it’s put together.
Find Us Online:Facebook: @familygamersaa and thefamilygamers.com/community
Twitter: @familygamersaa
Instagram: @familygamersaa
TikTok: @familygamersaa
Youtube: TheFamilyGamers
Or, for the most direct method, email us! andrew@thefamilygamers.com and anitra@thefamilygamers.com.
Check out our new Family Gamers and Play Games with Your Kids merchandise – T-shirts, hoodies, and mugs – at thefamilygamers.com/merch.
PLEASE don’t forget to subscribe to the show, tell your friends about the show, and leave us a review at Apple Podcast or whatever your podcast subscription source is. We’re also on Amazon Music, TuneIn, Stitcher, and Spotify.
The Family Gamers is sponsored by First Move Financial. Go to FirstMoveFinancial.com/familygamers to learn how the team at First Move Financial can help you pile up the victory points.
The post Episode 324 – Top Games of 2022 appeared first on The Family Gamers.
323 Fact! There are 323 international land boundaries in the world (in 2022).
Sponsored by First Move Financial. If you aren’t sure about retirement, you’re not alone. If you want to talk to a professional to see if you are on track to achieve your goals go to firstmovefinancial.com/familygamers to schedule a quick phone call and see if First Move is the right fit for you.
What We’ve Been PlayingSplendor Duel
Lacrimosa
Block and Key
Once Upon a Line (prototype)
Furnace
Gift of Tulips
HEAT: Pedal to the Metal
Turing Machine
SNAP Review – WinterWinter (the season) is here in the northern hemisphere. Recreate the freeze-thaw-refreeze cycle with Winter (the game) from Devir.
Read a transcript or watch the whole video of our review of Winter.
Play the Game – the child of KidsplainingWe talked about Kidsplaining, back in episode 203. But Allison and Daniel have moved to doing a lot more of the videos themselves, and also changed the name of the channel to Play the Game HQ.
The goal of everything they do is to help families play more games without feeling intimidated.
Series on the channel:
Play The Game: “Tabletop without the famous people” – entertaining playthroughs.
Kidsplaining / How to Play videos
1/3/5 reviews: thoughts after 1, 3, and 5 plays.
Unboxings
Holiday season Play Alongs! – Like having a friend teach you & your family how to play, while you play.
Wednesday 12/21 – Rail Road Ink (Blue)
Friday 12/23 – Cartographers
Monday 12/26 – Deadly Doodles
Wednesday 12/28 – On Tour
Friday 12/30 – Rail Road Ink Challenge (Green)
Find the Burrells and Play The Game HQ Online:Youtube: @PlayTheGameHQ
Instagram: @PlayTheGameHQ
TikTok: @PlayTheGameHQ
Twitter: @PlayTheGameHQ
Facebook: @PlayTheGameHQ
and Facebook Community Play the Game Community
Find Us Online:Facebook: @familygamersaa and thefamilygamers.com/community
Twitter: @familygamersaa
Instagram: @familygamersaa
TikTok: @familygamersaa
Youtube: TheFamilyGamers
Or, for the most direct method, email us! andrew@thefamilygamers.com and anitra@thefamilygamers.com.
Check out our new Family Gamers and Play Games with Your Kids merchandise – T-shirts, hoodies, and mugs – at thefamilygamers.com/merch.
PLEASE don’t forget to subscribe to the show, tell your friends about the show, and leave us a review at Apple Podcast or whatever your podcast subscription source is. We’re also on Amazon Music, TuneIn, Stitcher, and Spotify.
The Family Gamers is sponsored by First Move Financial. Go to FirstMoveFinancial.com/familygamers to learn how the team at First Move Financial can help you pile up the victory points.
The post 323 – Play the Game with Daniel and Allison Burrell appeared first on The Family Gamers.
Andrew and Anitra each pick their top five games that are nearly pocket-sized.
The post 322 – Top Ten Small Games appeared first on The Family Gamers.
Anitra went to PAX Unplugged in Philadelphia last week. What's the latest and greatest we can expect to see in the coming year?
The post 321 – PAX Unplugged 2022 appeared first on The Family Gamers.
What is a legacy board game? And where is a good place to start for a family that has never tried one?
The post 320 – Room to Grow: Legacy Games appeared first on The Family Gamers.
This week's Beyond Board Games guest is Diandra Asbaty, a professional bowler - and mom.
The post 319 – Beyond Board Games: Pro Bowling with Diandra Asbaty appeared first on The Family Gamers.
What is a "draft" and what's the difference between open and closed? What makes a dexterity game? And what on earth does "roll-and-write" mean?
The post 318 – Board Game Terms: Draft, Dexterity, Roll-and-Write appeared first on The Family Gamers.
Welcome Derek Bruff to the podcast! Derek is active in our Family Gamers Community and also hosts his own podcast, First Player Token.
The post 317 – Derek Bruff, First Player Token Podcast appeared first on The Family Gamers.
It's time for holiday gifts! We review our 2022 guide for board game gifts. Plus a fan-submitted review
The post 316 – The Board Game Holiday Gift Guide appeared first on The Family Gamers.
It's that time of year again. We are joined by the "unmitigated hype monster", Stephen Duetzmann, to learn about recommendations for (mostly) family-friendly video games this holiday season.
The post 315 – The Video Game Holiday Gift Guide with Stephen Duetzmann appeared first on The Family Gamers.
A top 10, or 12, or possibly 13 list of great games you can find for under $20.
The post 314 – Games under $20 – The Family Gamers Podcast appeared first on The Family Gamers.
It's an odd numbered show and Andrew is our guest (hah!) We're going to talk about his very first Essen Spiel experience.
The post 313 – Essen Post-Mortem! appeared first on The Family Gamers.
Andrew's going to Essen for Spiel '22! We pick 15 games that we're really excited to see.
The post 312 – ESSEN Excitement! appeared first on The Family Gamers.
Colin Young is a friend of The Family Gamers, and part of Flat River Group. What's FRG? ""
The post 311 – Flat River Group with Colin Young appeared first on The Family Gamers.
We've been reviewing games for a long time, and have rated about a dozen games as "perfect" and about twice as many as "almost perfect". Do those ratings hold up?
The post 310 – Top-Rated Games – The Family Gamers Podcast appeared first on The Family Gamers.
Welcome Suz! Restoration Games is releasing a digital version of their hit game Unmatched, and we'll talk about it today.
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This week, we're talking about adventure! What games make you feel like you're going on an adventure? There are more ways to accomplish this feeling than you might think.
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Jon is the co-founder of Ion Game Design, making board games "based on reality". Although most are quite complex (Pax Viking, Sammu-ramat), there are some family-oriented games just around the corner...
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What is dice set collection? Think Yahtzee. You're rolling dice, usually with some re-rolls allowed, trying to get a certain result spread out among many dice (a straight, two/three/four of a kind, etc.)
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305 Fact – Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 305 was hijacked by an unidentified man (AKA D. B. Cooper) in 1971. The culprit was never found, but this incident inspired a wave of copycats and led to the introduction of metal detectors and regular searches of travelers’ bags. The FBI’s case investigating the hijacking remained open until 2016. What We’ve Been
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Andrew & Anitra are programmers by training. Can we tease apart some of the skills that build a programming mindset, and hone them through games?
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Fact – Anitra used to sail with the SSS 303 Lotus, a historic motor/sail yacht (Wikipedia) now owned by the Friends of the Schooner Lotus, who are hoping to raise enough money to complete a full restoration of this 100+ year old wooden sailboat. Sponsor message – If you want help reviewing the financial part of preparing for retirement, set
The post 303 – Beyond Board Games: Open Roading appeared first on The Family Gamers.
"One of the best ways to get your kids excited about doing something is by being excited about doing something." Can you get your kids to love games the way you do?
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Welcome Ambie Valdés to the podcast! How did she get from writing song parodies to a children's board book?
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Can you believe we have done 300 podcast episodes?
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Sovranti is a digital board game app allowing friends to play board games across the world. Dani is the community manager for Sovranti, and she's going to tell us more about it!
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This week, we're looking forward to summer, with resources for playing games with kids, and a short discussion of what we're looking forward to playing with our extra time.
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Today on the podcast, we welcome Kevin and Melissa Delp, part of the team at Tantrum House. Fact – Clematis is a type of flowering plant – which currently has 297 species. What We’ve Been Playing Skyrise (Roxley)Under Falling Skies (CGE – our review)UNDO: Forbidden Knowledge (Pegasus Spiele – review coming soon)Space Station Phoenix (Rio Grande)Rear Window (Funko Games)Batman: Everybody
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How can boardgames help build reading skills? Plus facts and giveaways!
The post 296 – Boardgames and Reading – The Family Gamers Podcast appeared first on The Family Gamers.
This week we welcome JP Decosse, also known as “Big Papa Thumbs” from Little Big Thumbs. Fact(s) – We have 3 ridiculous Guinness World records this week: The longest jump on a unicycle (295 cm), the most handheld lasers lit simultaneously (295 lasers), and the most people filling in their eyebrows simultaneously (295 people, organized in the shape of two
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We've run out of time for games lately! So what better to talk about than games that only take a few minutes to play?
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This week, we welcome Phil Walker-Harding to talk about a few of his game designs and Joey Games.
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How do we figure out how to make time for gaming together as a family? It's hard when we're all so busy. But we have 4 tips that can help.
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Our special guest this week is Kirk Hamilton, host of the podcast Strong Songs. What makes a song great? Is it the "thump, pop, and sizzle" of the drum groove, power chords, lush 7ths and 9ths? Kirk uses music theory, history, and isolates patterns to break down songs you've heard before and help you understand WHY they're great.
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week we kick back and talk about what we saw at PAX East 2022! It's the first time the gaming convention is back in Boston after the pandemic cancelled the last two events and it was a ton of fun!
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This week we are joined by T. Caires, who is now working with Snowbright Studio, on games like Teatime Adventures and Birds of a Feather: Western North America.
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We get asked, "How do you get your kids to play games with you?"
First you have to get them interested, but then you have to teach them the rules and how to play!
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This week, we welcome Deon Mixon, creator of a game called Design Eye, a graphic design education board game that is all about creativity - "for people with great ideas".
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We answer a listener question about how we got started with reviewing family board games. Then we suggest a few dexterity games to spice up your building and flicking.
The post 286 – Play This, Not That, Dexterity Games! – The Family Gamers Podcast appeared first on The Family Gamers.
Andrew reports back from the GAMA Expo, with guest Marc Specter.
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We talk about five of our favorite filler games for families - games that will make you think and help your kids learn, but play under 30 minutes and are fairly portable.
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Matt Riddle (along with his co-designer Ben Pinchback) is one of our favorite game designers. He has co-designed over 20 "notable" games
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Introduce your kids to direct two-player battle games, where you try to eliminate the other player. No reading? No problem.
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We welcome Doug Kotecki and Micchael McCabe, hosts of The Game Schooler Podcast.
The post 281 – Game Schooler – The Family Gamers Podcast appeared first on The Family Gamers.
2022 is the Year of the Tiger in the Chinese zodiac. So why not talk about some board games you can play with tigers in them?
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This week on the show we have Marc Spagnuolo, the Wood Whisperer - he is definitely a nerd as well as being a wood worker. We talk about what we've been playing and how to get kids involved in your hobbies.
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What makes a game good for travel? It depends on how you're traveling! We give a few tips on what to look for, as well as a dozen of our favorites.
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We welcome Jeremy Howard this week to talk about ten games we are looking forward to in 2022.
The post 277 – Top 10 Family Games coming in 2022 – with Jeremy Howard appeared first on The Family Gamers.
Dice and cards can be hard for little hands. What can you do to make game components - especially from "grown up" games - easier for kids to handle?
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Welcome to Ryan and Erin from One Board Family. What are their favorite games to play as a couple?
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We review our top played games of 2021 and also the games we gave top ratings.
The post 274 – Best of 2021 – The Family Gamers Podcast appeared first on The Family Gamers.
This week, we are pleased to welcome Danielle, known for her Youtube channel Board Game Bakes.
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We’re joined by staff writer Corey this week. Andrew and Corey attended PAX Unplugged 2021 and they’re going to tell us about the games (and food!) they experienced there. 272 Fact! The tallest human in recorded history (according to the Guinness World Records), was Robert Wadlow, at 272cm (8ft 11.1in) tall. Thanks as always to First Move Financial for sponsoring
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Andrew just got back from PAX Unplugged, and we've got a show for you! Interviews from Pandasaurus, SlugFest Games, CGE, KOSMOS, and Gamewright.
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We're not following the regular podcast format this week, but we still have a few things to share: 4 giveaways, a FOR SCIENCE! and what to look for at PAX Unplugged.
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We pick our top six games that are easy to teach, letting you get to the fun faster!
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We welcome Mr. Videogame himself, Stephen Deutzmann, to answer all our questions about video games for this holiday season. Skip to 38:00 to get right into the recommendations!
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We recently released our holiday game guide, and we review it on this episode of the podcast.
The post 268 – 2021 Holiday Gift Guide! – The Family Gamers Podcast appeared first on The Family Gamers.
Sometimes, we talk about things other than board games! This week we start with games Anitra played at CuseCon, then continue on to find out more about geocaching.
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We always talk about playing games with your kids - but what about playing games designed BY kids?
The post 266 – Games By Kids – The Family Gamers Podcast appeared first on The Family Gamers.
Each member of our family picked a favorite game to play at Halloween. What's in your top 5?
The post 265 – Top 5 Family Games for Halloween – The Family Gamers Podcast appeared first on The Family Gamers.
What games make you think of "nature"? We discuss our top games with a nature theme.
The post 264 – Nature Games – The Family Gamers Podcast appeared first on The Family Gamers.
We had a great time on this interview and couldn't stop laughing! Listen for yourself and find out why Chris Leder is the "Director of Fun" for Calliope Games.
The post 263 – Chris Leder – The Family Gamers Podcast appeared first on The Family Gamers.
This week, we're talking about board games on screens, whether that's app-assisted, pass-and-play adaptations, online games, or virtual board games that couldn't exist without the advantages of technology.
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It's boardgame convention season. We're not actually attending GenCon or Origins this year, but we've still got some interviews with some of the creators of hot new games.
The post 261 – Convention Interviews! – The Family Gamers Podcast appeared first on The Family Gamers.
Talk Like a Pirate Day is soon. We're talking pirate-themed games this week!
The post 260 – Pirate Games – The Family Gamers Podcast appeared first on The Family Gamers.
We explore Thunderworks Games history and future with Tim Virnig. In this episode: Roll Player Adventures, Cartographers Heroes, Cape May, and a little preview of what's coming in 2022.
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Let's talk about games kids can bring to school and play at recess! Small, quick, and easily replaceable (cheap).
The post 258 – Board Games at Recess! – The Family Gamers Podcast appeared first on The Family Gamers.
This week we welcome Vince Vergonjeanne, one of our "favorite human beings in board games", and the founder/CEO of Lucky Duck Games.
The post 257 – Lucky Duck Games w/ Vince Vergonjeanne – The Family Gamers Podcast appeared first on The Family Gamers.
What is action selection? We talk about this wide family of board games and pick a few that should help you and your family learn and grow.
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A lot has changed since we last talked to Dustin from Board Gaming with Education...
The post 255 – Board Gaming with Education, revisited – The Family Gamers Podcast appeared first on The Family Gamers.
This week, we're discussing games that have been sized down, either for portability or for a faster & simpler experience. Are these smaller games worth it?
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This week on the show, we have a dear friend of ours who has been making a name for himself on TikTok in a crazy way - pipe organ videos!
The post 253 – Beyond Board Games with Wesley Hall – The Family Gamers Podcast appeared first on The Family Gamers.
Introduce your kids (or non-gamer grownups) to drafting with a series of games that grow in complexity.
What is drafting? A drafting game is one in which players pick something...
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This week on the podcast we have the Tabletop Bellhop himself, Moe Tousignant. What is The Tabletop Bellhop? How it can help you?
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This week, we talk about the games we've played the most this year (January-June). What is it we like about them & why are they played more?
The post 250 – The Quarter-K Show – The Family Gamers Podcast appeared first on The Family Gamers.
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
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Have you heard of gameschooling? We revisit what worked for us this year, incorporating games into our homeschooling.
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We're joined by Katia Howatson, who creates awesome mosaics out of board game pieces.
The post 247 – Board Game Mosaics with Katia Howatson – The Family Gamers Podcast appeared first on The Family Gamers.
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.
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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.
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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.
The post 244 – Play This, Not That! Scrabble & Monopoly – The Family Gamers Podcast appeared first on The Family Gamers.
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.
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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!
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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.
The post 241 – Beyond Board Games – Reading with Rajani LaRocca! appeared first on The Family Gamers.
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?
The post 240 – Room to Grow: Roll & Write Games – The Family Gamers Podcast appeared first on The Family Gamers.
This week, we welcome James Hudson, friend of the Family Gamers and part of Skybound Games publishing. Also, it's become tradition - James on the '39s!
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Reading is great! But this week we want to talk about board games that don't require reading (or only numbers). You might be surprised at just how many options there are.
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Rory O'Connor shares with us his recent experiments in storytelling, using the Untold system to flesh out the world of Prisma Arena and as a framework to run a solo D&D campaign.
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When did you start playing games with your kids? And how do you get started if you haven't played with them before - no matter what age they're at?
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We're not known for doing anything in only a minute, but Sarah Shah is. She created "Board Games in a Minute" videos!
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This week, we're talking about games inspired by children's books - games that actually exist, and games we'd like to see!
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On this episode, we talk with Alex Radcliffe, founder of BoardGameCo and ambassador for boardgames all over the internet. His mission is spreading the love of board games and we just love it.
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It's been a brutally long year since last February. And February is also the coldest, most miserable month. I'm so done with winter! But we will make it through. The pandemic is not done yet, but maybe we can suggest a few things we're looking forward to for this year.
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Dan Hughes tells us about CoraQuest. What started as a pandemic homeschool project with 8-year-old Cora has now become a full-fledged family dungeon crawl you can support on Kickstarter!
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Your hosts Andrew and Anitra went away for 48 hours. We filled those hours with a giant stack of games, and we'll tell you about them.
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We attended the virtual Boston FIG Fest this weekend, and have interviews with Manaworks Games, Runaway Parade Games, Hot Banana Games, and Tidbit Games.
The post 229 – Boston FIG Virtual – The Family Gamers Podcast appeared first on The Family Gamers.
It's almost Anitra's birthday! That means it's time for her to talk about a few of her favorite games. Find out her favorite "regular" game, one to play with kids, solo game, and 2-player game.
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This week's guest is Jeremy Howard, an educator and a strong voice in the board game industry. What does he have to say about playing games with kids?
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Christmas time is here... and now past. We talk about the board game gifts we gave and received, as well as traditions we have and tactics we employ to keep Christmas morning from feeling too crazy.
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It may be too late to shop for board games, but you can still get video games (downloaded) in time for Christmas! We have Stephen Duetzmann from Engaged Family Gaming on to talk about the games he would recommend for families this year.
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This week, we are drowning in a deluge of dice games. It has been a really long time since we talked specifically about dice games (all the way back in episode 66!) and we thought that instead of doing a top 5, we'd talk about all the different ways dice get used in games.
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It's been quite a year, hasn't it? We're joined by Isaac Villa and Ryan Gutowski to share our top five games of the year - and one that was a big disappointment.
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On this week's podcast, we walk you through our holiday gift guide. Not sure what games fit the people on your list? We can help!
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This week, we have David Diaz, creator of Fossilis and head of Mesa Game Lab.
The post 221 – Games, Art, and Design with David Diaz – The Family Gamers Podcast appeared first on The Family Gamers.
One hundred episodes ago, we created our most popular podcast ever - our top 5 games for five players. We've got five more games that we'd highly recommend for this player count. These are games we really like with a fifth player, not just games that are "okay" at five.
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Our guest this week is Grant Lyon, comedian and board game designer! His game Curmudgeon is coming out soon.
The post 219 – Funny Board Game Moments with Grant Lyon – The Family Gamers Podcast appeared first on The Family Gamers.
A continuation of our Room to Grow series. If you're interested in tile laying games but you're not really sure how to bring kids in and then grow them into more complex games, we've got suggestions for you.
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We sit down with Helaina and Josh from Kids Table Board Gaming and Burnt Island Games. What makes their games special?
The post 217 – Kids Table Board Gaming! – The Family Gamers Podcast appeared first on The Family Gamers.
This week is spooky games and Halloween traditions, especially since Halloween is changing for a lot of people this year.
The post 216 – Halloween Traditions, Old & New – The Family Gamers Podcast appeared first on The Family Gamers.
We talk about gameschooling and game design with kids. What about when the game is "done"? It's time to pitch!
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Since it was recently Andrew's birthday month, we decided to ask him about a few of his favorite games RIGHT NOW. What did he pick?
The post 214 – Andrew’s Favorite Games – The Family Gamers Podcast appeared first on The Family Gamers.
Welcome back to Flip Florey, friend to family gamers everywhere! We talk about what we've been playing and the upcoming episode 100 of FFSSBGS.
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This show may make you hungry! There are many food-themed boardgames. Andrew & Anitra each pick 2 favorites, and 1 they've never played.
The post 212 – Favorite Food Games – The Family Gamers Podcast appeared first on The Family Gamers.
This week, we're talking to Kathleen Mercury, a middle school teacher who teaches game design(among other things).
The post 211 – Long Distance Teaching and Game Design with Kathleen Mercury appeared first on The Family Gamers.
If you're getting together with family, what games will you play? We recommend games that are good at 4-8 players and across generations.
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This week, we welcome Bruce Voge to the show! You may have seen Bruce before from our cricket-eating videos. We have a 209 fact that is baseball-related. As of recording time (8/28), the top 5 hitters in the major leagues have combined for 209 hits. Thanks as always to our sponsor, First Move Financial – they can help you with
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How can you add variety to your family game library without breaking the bank? We've got a few unusual games for under $20.
The post 208 – Games Under $20 – The Family Gamers Podcast appeared first on The Family Gamers.
We are talking to Marc Specter from Grand Gamers Guild this week, primarily about the expansion to their game Endangered. We learn about a major league pitcher with 207 wins – but he’s famous (or infamous?) for something very different. Look up Carl Mays and find out the gruesome details. Thanks again to First Move Financial for sponsoring this episode!
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We suggest some games that improve upon Yahtzee and Apples to Apples.
The post 206 – Play This, Not THAT – Dice & Apples – The Family Gamers Podcast appeared first on The Family Gamers.
We said last week we wouldn't have any Gen Con interviews - but we have four! Listen to the compilation, plus what we've been playing this week.
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We talk about Gen Con, Gen Can't, and virtual conventions in general.
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We interview the Burrell family, hosts and creators of "Kidsplaining" - a Youtube channel of game tutorials done by kids.
The post 203 – Kidsplaining – The Family Gamers Podcast appeared first on The Family Gamers.
Wondering how to introduce your kids (or non-gamer family) to engine builder games? We've got recommendations from easy to mid-level.
The post 202 – Room to Grow: Engine Builders – The Family Gamers Podcast appeared first on The Family Gamers.
We interview Carla Kopp from Weird Giraffe Games. Carla designed the solo modes for Animal Kingdoms and Fire in the Library; and is now working on an Animal Kingdoms roll & write, and a Fire in the Library card game.
The post 201 – Carla Kopp, Weird Giraffe Games – The Family Gamers Podcast appeared first on The Family Gamers.
We're excited for episode 200, and we've packed it full of giveaways, well-wishes, and as many fun segments as possible.
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We welcome Mik and Starla from the Youtube channel Our Family Plays Games. Why are they making videos, and how do they get their teenager to play?
The post 199 – Our Families Play Games – The Family Gamers Podcast appeared first on The Family Gamers.
Our kids are out of school (or “school”), so that means (for most intents and purposes) it’s summer! We’re hoping this means a lot more gaming. First, we learn about the radioactive gold isotope AU198. Then, thanks to our sponsor, First Move Financial, for sponsoring this episode of the podcast. What We’ve Been Playing Unmatched: Cobble & Fog (Restoration Games).
The post 198 – Summertime Games – The Family Gamers Podcast appeared first on The Family Gamers.
Back the Comeback is a movement to encourage people to get back into their friendly local game (and comic) stores. We're joined by Brandt Sanderson who works at The Portal game store in Manchester, Connecticut.
The post 197 – Back the Comeback! – The Family Gamers Podcast appeared first on The Family Gamers.
As our state slowly comes out of lockdown, we want to #BackTheComeback and support our local game store. What board games will support playing remotely when we're stuck at home in the future?
The post 196 – Top Games for Remote Gaming – The Family Gamers Podcast appeared first on The Family Gamers.
Welcome back Ric from One Board Family! We talk about what games we've been playing and what it's like teaching during a pandemic.
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What do you turn to when you want a quick game to help your brain take a break? Whether it's with your spouse, or with your kids, you want something with limited setup and a quick play time.
The post 194 – Quick Games – The Family Gamers Podcast appeared first on The Family Gamers.
We're going to talk about Evolution: Education Edition with Scott Rencher. Why bring this award-winning boardgame to digital? And what makes it educational?
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Shelf of shame is a term board gamers use for games that we've bought and haven't had a chance to play. Well, now is the time! What have you been playing?
The post 192 – Shelf of Shame – The Family Gamers Podcast appeared first on The Family Gamers.
Our guest this week is John Zilch, creator of Clever Kids Mysteries. Looking for something to teach your kids and give them something to do while they're stuck at home? Check these out!
The post 191 – Clever Kids Mysteries with John Zilch – The Family Gamers Podcast appeared first on The Family Gamers.
Rather than a top 5, we talk about our favorite roll & write games for specific situations. And don't miss the giveaway!
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Our guest this week is Jenn Bartlett, AKA The Boardgame Librarian. We examine the idea of pairing up books with games.
The post 189 – Boardgames & Books – The Family Gamers Podcast appeared first on The Family Gamers.
After some technical difficulties, we're back, and talking about more games for you to play with your family. Tired of UNO and Life? We've got suggestions for some substitutes.
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Our guest on this podcast is Donnie Carpenter, who runs First Move Financial. First Move Financial is a sponsor of The Family Gamers Podcast.
The post 187 – Games and Finance with First Move Financial – The Family Gamers Podcast appeared first on The Family Gamers.
Being suddenly thrust into homeschooling is scary, and it's not made any easier by trying to juggle kids' needs with working from home. But there is hope! We're going to talk this week about things we can do to support our kids learning at home (mostly through games, of course!)
The post 186 – Education in Quarantine – The Family Gamers Podcast appeared first on The Family Gamers.
Our guest this week is Chris Goodlet. Chris runs "The Charity Boardgamer", raising money for charities while playing games.
The post 185 – The Charity Boardgamer – The Family Gamers Podcast appeared first on The Family Gamers.
We introduce a new format on this show: Play This, Not That. We examine a few popular children's games and suggest games that use the same concepts in a better way. We also try Wendy's breakfast sandwiches... FOR SCIENCE!
The post 184 – Play This, Not That – The Family Gamers Podcast appeared first on The Family Gamers.
This week, we are with Stephen Duetzmann and Linda Wrobel from Engaged Family Gaming. They attended New York Toy Fair 2020 - and brought Andrew along. What really stood out to the three of them?
The post 183 – NY Toy Fair with Engaged Family Gaming – The Family Gamers Podcast appeared first on The Family Gamers.
It's the Year of the Rat, and we offer up our top 5 games featuring mice and rats - and 5 more where rodents play a "supporting role".
The post 182 – Year of the Rat – The Family Gamers Podcast appeared first on The Family Gamers.
Our guest this week is George Kaponay. George and his family have been traveling the world for many years. They designed The Intuition Game to help families explore their superpower.
The post 181 – George Kaponay & The Intuition Game – The Family Gamers Podcast appeared first on The Family Gamers.