I used to love it when the whole family would get together and play board and card games when I was a kid.
Here are a few I’d like to review today:
They make excellent stocking stuffers, too.
These are great throughout the year so you can begin a family game night. I’m sure the whole family will look forward to this . . . and friends may want to join in, too. It’s a great way to spend an evening.
All right, let’s begin with Lattice Board Game (Standard Edition) by Adacio. It’s a strategy board game designed for 2 to 4 players ages 6 years and up. The rules are simple, takes about 3 minutes to explain and 20 minutes to play. The manufacture states it takes “a lifetime to master.” That’s positive because along with it you’ll see that many skills are developed: cognitive skills, spacial recognition, planning, strategy and interpersonal skills.
It reminds me a bit of dominoes, a bit of scrabble (but you’re not making words) and qwirkle. You’re matching tiles by color or image. There are some special stones that will be explained in this short video.
So, the game consists of: 84 tiles, a 14 inch board, 4 tile racks, 32 acrylic stones, a box and instructions. Everything you need — except the players.
It’s a good solid game for fun with the family and friends. It is a light game with more appeal to adults because of the strategy angle and wonderful for young children because of the matching of color or image and the development of basic skills mentioned above. The game has merit and definite re-play-ability. No game will be exactly the same. It’s an excellent family game for all ages.
Next we have JINK Family Edition Board Game by Game Development Group. JINX is a fast paced action game of luck and fun for all players. The object of the game is to line up 3 of your game pieces in a row after rolling the dice and placing your game pieces on the board. If, however, you land on your own piece, you get Jinxed and have to start all over again.
JINK is designed for 2 to 6 players ages 10 years to adult. The game includes: game pawns, dice, a large game board and instruction sheet.
I wasn’t all that thrilled with it. Although it was fast paced, I found myself wanting to get the game over with and move to another one. There really wasn’t that much challenge to it. It basically fell flat in my humble opinion.
Moving on we have a card game Wild West Round Up by Arizona Game Company. It’s a fun twist on the ever popular “Spoons” card game.
This is a family friendly card game for 3 to 8 players ages 7 years and up. The game consists of 59 Wild West themed playing cards and rules. The illustrations are fun. The game is fast-paced. Players quickly pass cards around the table until a matching set is found and someone yells “STAMPEDE!” Players race to roundup cattle cards before the last cow gets away. The one with the most cows at the end of the game is the winner. Each game averages between 7 to 14 minutes.
Kids love the game! And the furniture doesn’t get beat up as with Spoons. I think it’s a great game for family night. You could buy some little cows to use instead of the cow cards — they do seem to get a bit beat up when they are grabbed.
And last, but not least we have Hoagie, A Goofy Kitchen Adventure by Gangrene Games. It boasts of being one of the most addicting family games for kids and adults.
I like to watch the game in action to understand the game a bit better. Let’s watch:
So, as you saw, a simple game of building a sandwich just got complicated by other players messing it up. I love the card illustrations and simple rules. I can see this card game being extremely popular on family game nights.
You have fresh ingredients from which players build a hoagie masterpiece. You also have the Oogies, a gang of ingredient spoiling critters. While players are creating their hoagie, other players are putting Oogies in their opponents sandwiches.
The game was designed for 2 to 5 players ages 4 to adult. This is one of those games adults enjoy as much as their children. Hoagie is a definite winner in my humble opinion. This one is definitely going to be in several stockings, because once I bring it out to play on Christmas Eve, I’m going to be asked over and over and over again if they could take it home with them . . . Well, I won’t be losing my game . . . I’ve got that all worked out.
You have a wonderful list of family games to have for family game night or a rainy day. Or just because you want to play a fun game.
Hoagie is my absolute favorite of the ones listed. I think it’s the artwork and the concept of making a sandwich and spoiling ingredients for the other players, but what goes around comes around . . . Those Oogies!! It is a fun game with quite a bit of strategy thrown in. It also reminds me a bit of UNO which is another quite popular family game.
Just click one of the links above to be taken to where you can get more information and make a purchase. These games make great gifts for all occasions.
December and the delightful winter cold!! I love it!!
I’ve been having a great time with my websites and crafts.
I heard water running . . . checked inside the house . . . then wondered why the floor in the hallway was wet . . . No, it wasn’t the dog!!
There was a pipe leak under the house!
I guess the house wanted some attention during this Christmas season . . . so, new pipes it is . . . But first I have to get someone in to dry out the area under the house . . . fix any damage . . . and then the re-piping will begin.
I suppose no time is the right time for repairs. I just know the house is telling me the pipes are old and need attention.
That’s the thing, how often do we crawl under the house and do an inspection? Only when something has gone wrong, right? And even when something has gone wrong and you hire a plumber, unfortunately, not all plumbers take pride in their work. So, you need to call another one to fix the mess the previous one made . . . Just when everything was going so well . . .
Yesterday was cold!! We had wind gusts . . . and I got chilled . . . but a hot cuppa did the trick.
Yes, I’ve been spending way too much time online with my internet marketing group . . . I’m picking up their expressions.
I wonder if more rain is in the forecast . . . I do love the rain when I’m cozy inside. But, I do have a few errands to run this weekend . . .
When it’s cold outside, it’s best to have activities to do inside . . . family games or puzzles . . . videos . . . also reading a good book. I just think the more fun you can have as a family, the better it is for everyone.
I do enjoy family games and I do have a great one to review for you that will get everyone laughing and having a good time.
It’s Speak Out, by Hasbro!!
This is truly a hilarious family fun game. You put in a mouthpiece and try to speak. It’s truly difficult when letters begin with a “P” or “B”, etc. when you need to put your lips together. The players draw a card from the deck and read the phrase as well as they can while having a mouthpiece preventing them from forming words correctly. Such phrases as: “he’s my stealthy pet ferret name Garrett”, “slow down, you careless clown”, “pelicans love pollywog falafels.” And the other players try to figure out “what did you say?” You must correctly guess the phrase in order to earn the card. The team with the most cards at the end of the game wins.
The game includes 200 double-sided cards, 5 mouthpieces and a timer.
The game is recommended for ages 16 years and up. Younger children can play with adult supervision. The mouth guard could be a choking hazard and should be supervised for adults, too.
You can always make variations by writing out Christmas carol lyrics or lyrics from popular songs or book titles or tongue twisters . . . or movie titles or catch phrases . . . It doesn’t hurt to add your own cards to the deck.
You can always buy more of these mouth guards, which I recommend.
Since you’re playing in teams, you may be able to have more players. And, the game is fun even if you don’t keep score!
You may be interested in these items for your shopping pleasure:
Does Black Friday kick off the Christmas Season . . . or when the Thanksgiving leftovers are gone?
Or is it when you bring in your Christmas tree?
It seems many of us prepare for Christmas throughout the year. There’s that popular Christmas in July thing in which many people participate. And there are always those of us who need to “feel like Christmas” in order to get into the spirit of it.
I know some love to do things at the last minute. It’s their thing.
And there are those of us who are always surprised, “It’s Christmas already?”
Well, Christmas is coming if we’re ready or not!!!
So, I guess we might as well jump on board.
We do, however, have a little while before December. That seems to be the turning point for me to get geared into the Christmas thing. I know there are many getting in on the Black Friday deals and decorating their homes. Some Christmas lights are going up in my neighborhood. They’re quite eager to get Christmas coming.
I do wonder about all of this.
I may be a bit of a Scrooge . . . but I don’t mean to be. It seems the older I get, the slower I am to jump into the next season, holiday or otherwise. Yet, with a blog, it is important to be on-top of all of these festivities . . . They do seem to be coming at a fast pace . . .
I really am excited about Christmas, just as I was about Thanksgiving . . . and Halloween before that . . . Wow! Then there’s the New Year!!! Goodness!!! Time does go by quickly . . .
I’m sitting on my front porch, drinking a cup of coffee with my precious Yorkshire terrier on my lap watching the neighbors putting up their Christmas decorations . . . It amuses me, rather than motivates me to do the same . . .
Some are motivated by their family being here to give a hand . . .
It’s all good . . . even the neighbor down the street who left theirs up since last year . . . or was it the year before? They’re all set to just plug it in.
It’s always exciting to see what others are doing and to go out at night and see how the town has caught the spirit of Christmas as well. Some people do some elaborate displays.
I’m glad my neighborhood doesn’t do the competition thing as I’m sure you’ve seen in the movies. That seems to take all the fun out of decorating for Christmas . . . but that is merely my humble opinion.
However and whenever the Christmas bug bites you into shopping or decorating . . . Enjoy!!
Thanksgiving Day finally arrived and here in Southern California I can hopefully say so has fall!!!
I was out and about yesterday wearing my sweatshirt with a hood — it was supposed to be windy, and I like to cover my ears on windy days.
I did some shopping . . . parking was a bit of a nightmare . . . but I was able to get some exercise . . .
I usually don’t like being in crowds, but there is an energy in the air when preparing for a holiday dinner with family and friends.
I’ve heard so many times how important it is to “live in the moment.” This isn’t easy to do . . . we think of the past and are bombarded with thoughts about a future event . . .
I was thinking of papercrafts . . . all those projects I started and didn’t finish . . . But, then thinking ahead to spring . . . and this great Bungalow Sizzix Die i have . . .
But it could be for Christmas . . . everything is adaptable for any season . . .
It is a cozy little place I would like to visit for Thanksgiving, too.
And then my thoughts shift to the Sizzix Surf Shack . . . There’s something quite relaxing and mellow about that, too . . .
I have a friend who has a beach house in South Carolina . . . the hurricane did quite a bit of damage, but she’s fixing it up . . . and took a picture of a couple of alligators soaking up some rays in her yard . . . I can appreciate this Surf Shack on stilts . . . don’t want to get cozy with the wildlife . . .
There is so very much to do . . . and so little time . . . Amazing how difficult it is to stay in the moment.
On this Thanksgiving Day it is worthwhile to take a moment and reflect upon the goodness we have in our life . . . good friends . . . a loving family . . . being able to play a musical instrument, draw or paint a picture . . . do papercrafts . . . or whatever you find enjoyable and relaxing . . . I have a neighbor who enjoys putting together jigsaw puzzles . . . Some people enjoy reading or watching movies . . . Others like to shop . . . There are those who love walking and taking pictures . . . It’s all quite wonderful . . . We do have much for which to be thankful . . .
Today is beautiful . . . no matter the weather . . . there is beauty to see . . . And a feast to share with family and friends . . .
This is a wonderful day to celebrate . . . maybe not for traditional reasons, but reasons of your own . . . It is your Thanksgiving after all.
Many of you may be anticipating Black Friday . . . or Cyber Monday . . . or both . . . or just take a deep breath . . . relax . . . and live in the moment.
It goes back to Nancy Drew for me . . . and the Clue game . . . and then the TV Columbo and Murder She Wrote . . . and then there are movies and older books . . . as well as popular writers today . . .
The thing is, the concept of finding a body floating in a pool is a theme that has been used in literature and movies for years . . . There are hundreds of thousands of twists that have been suggested and we may still be interested in learning more . . . But, it may not be how the person died, but who the person was and all the friends and neighbors, coworkers and acquaintances who knew the victim that interests us and makes up the story.
Sometimes the story is opened ended and leaves you hanging . . . but you may feel confident you know “whodunit” . . . or it’s something you discuss with friends or family . . . comparing notes and thoughts . . . It can be quite haunting, finding you’re thinking about it from time to time.
I suppose a good mystery does that.
I’ve always wanted to write a good mystery, but, as yet, haven’t gotten the characters and the plot together to make an interesting story . . .
It does seem my mind is chewing on it . . .
I remember a book that came out 2 to 3 decades ago inviting people to solve the mystery. I remember it being a complicated plot and getting lost within the story and quite frankly losing interest in it as well. I think someone did solve it and won a cash prize. I do congratulate that individual for muddling through the story and untangling the web or red herrings that ran through it.
With winter approaching, I would like to read a good mystery . . . Here are some that may interest you:
A good mystery on a cold winter’s night is a great way to spend a quiet evening . . . or maybe you like to watch a good movie . . . Here are a few you may enjoy:
I have gotten hooked on these Hallmark mystery series. I like DVDs I can share with the whole family and then discuss it later . . .
