Thought it might be wise to start a thread about our recent acquisitions or experiences with physical board or card games. I just received a Kickstarter game I’d nearly forgotten about but am super excited to play. SUPER HOT.
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I am on vacation with the extended family. I bought/brought Dead Man’s Draw and Welcome to the Dungeon. Both have gone over well and I enjoy both for what they are. Welcome to the Dungeon cam lead to quite a few laughs, at least with my family. Dead Man’s Draw was simple to teach and fun enough, but there is almost no player interaction so the social element of the game is lacking.
Headed to my game store when I get home to purchase a “real” game.
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This is a great thread!
I’m sort of on a moratorium for buying new stuff until later this year, but I did just back the latest Flash Point: Fire Rescue expansion and will definitely back the expansion for The Networks which is launching September 5
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Played a game called “betrayal on the house on the hill” with wife + 2 friends. That game was superb, the scenario we had anyways. Game very quickly escalated and the remaining people were struggling to find something they could use. All of a sudden they did and the entire game flipped on its head, going down to the wire.
Fun stuff and very well recommended.
Next game I want to dust back off is “chaos in the old world”
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Has anyone played Cry Havoc? The game looks very intriguing but I have questions about faction balance. Looking for opinions.
So, for my birthday, my wife bought me “Five Tribes”.
Think I might give that a shot tonight and see how it plays. Lots of tokens and meeples!
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Disney Princess, Chutes and Ladders, and Frozen, Don’t Break the Ice are the big games in this house. Of course that is because I have an almost 5 year old.
Looking on BGG for ideas of a game that might actually be even remotely interesting to me, I just ordered Outfoxed. It will be here in a couple days.
Anyone else have good suggestions for games for a 5yo?
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Last week I got my copy of Fleet Commander:Genesis, which is a upgraded & expanded version of Fleet Commander: Ignition.
Its a really fun game, not a real miniature game buut an abstract space combat game. The draw is the really simple ruleset as well as the highly customizable fleet composition and strategy. Also considerable quick playtime in comparison to setup time.
I try games with my 4-year-old sometimes. Most of my success has come from Haba games. Honestly, I don’t despise Candy Land or Uno because I think they do teach certain skills, but for actual decision-making, Monza has been a big winner.
I am going to try Carcassonne soon. I also saw a demo of a game called Castles of Caladale that looks promising - it is tile laying like Carcassonne with the objective being to build a castle.
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I remove all the wilds, skips, and reverses. It is very simple, but I keep reinforcing that he has to play the same color, same number, or draw.
Sorry for hijacking this thread but I’m stranded at an airport with my family…18 hour delay and counting.
@kennfusion, I brought a couple games/activities on this vacation that have also gone over well: Spot It was a hit with my son and his cousins, Tantrix was a great little solo puzzle for him to play at restaurants, and while more an activity than a game, Rory’s Story Cubes has proven to be a winner with my son, but fell flat with he cousins. I personally think it is awesome for stimulating imagination and verbal skills.
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We have story cubes, cutest thing in the world is watching my three year old twins trying to “out-story” each other. They also basically recycle everything the five year old says too.
We have a few of the orchard matching games too
Go Away, Monster! is the greatest first game I’ve ever seen. It teaches shape identification by blind touch and eye, eases fears about monsters, and we play with the rule that when choose an object you don’t need, you give it to someone else who needs it. So it’s not cooperative, but still fairly collegial. Also playable as young as maybe two–by five, you might be a little past the sweet spot.
Dino Hunt Dice and Love Letter have been our go-to quick, portable games, and both come in a variety of themes.
But the best surprise for me was that my son got very interested in Splendor at that age. There’s really nothing about it which gates off younger players. He played sort of terribly, mostly just hoarding coins, but it was the first game he didn’t mind losing.
Giro Galoppo is a horse-racing game with some planning ahead and yomi elements. My kids got sort of caught up in playing with the pieces almost more than playing the game, but it’s great for playing with kids.
Unfortunately, one of our biggest hits was an out-of-print thrift store find, the old Powerpuff Girls: Saving the World Before Bedtime. A surprisingly approachable way to introduce variable turn order and characters who don’t represent players, but over whom players have limited control. Cone to think of it, it’s probably the perfect way to get your kids ready for Imperial. 
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The only physical games I’ve played in the last few years have been played with my children (and sometimes the wife).
Dice games have been a big hit. Zombie Dice, Martian Dice, and Roll for It, in particular. I even bought a dice tower; my boys love all the extra sound and fury they get from dropping a handful of dice through the top.
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The dice tower does fire up the kids’ imagination for some reason. My daughter often used to ask, not to play, but to roll the die for us when my son and I played Takenoko. They’re not hard to make, either, if you enjoy crafting or light woodworking.
My 4 1/2 year old actually likes Qwirkle a lot - she doesn’t grasp the overall strategy and fuckery that can be involved with adults, but likes matching the colors and shapes and inevitably devolving into tower building or houses. Big chunky pieces are great for little hands too…
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I managed to get a game of ‘the princes of machu pichu’ in last night. Its by the same designer as Imperial, and is rather more wholesome than a game about virgins and cocaine chewing shepherds should be.
The more experienced player figured out what scoring cards I had, but no one moved to block me. Everyone had fun which is the important thing, and the game wasnt nearly as complicated as it appears at first glance.
So we got Outfoxed last week and have been playing it a bunch. My almost 5 year old loves it. It’s kind of like co-op clue in a race against the thief.