The Board Game Family >> Game Gift Guide 2011
What I am doing when I am not doing what's expected of me - a blog for family and casual gaming. I firmly believe all games are educational games in some manner. Board games create friendships, build families and teach social skills. This site is dedicated to helping families and friends find great family games and casual games to play.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Another Good Holiday Gift Guide
My colleague Trent Howell published his gift guide, which also has some great suggestions:
The Board Game Family >> Game Gift Guide 2011
The Board Game Family >> Game Gift Guide 2011
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Thanksgiving for Games! (Plus a Review of 7 Wonders)
But not so much for actually playing them. At least not this year.
Normally
games hit the table more at Thanksgiving.
We did spend Sunday with my brother and his wife, playing two games of 7 Wonders. My son and I also managed to get in our first
game of Star Trek: Fleet Captains. The jury is still out on Fleet Captains, since it took about four times as long to play as
advertised. The game does have a lot of
moving parts, but most of that was “first play delay” issues. I have since made a player aid that will help,
and we will go at it again and hopefully soon.
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| Promotional Image |
This post I
will talk about 7 Wonders. Not only did we play it this past weekend,
but it’s also in my Top 10 lists, so I thought a review was in order. The game was published last year and was
immediately a hot seller; my copy was back ordered for four months. This is due to a combination of rare
attributes that came together in this game:
a civilization building game that plays in under an hour and the wide
range of players supported.
In 7 Wonders, each player is attempting to
build the most advanced civilization, choosing from among the Seven Wonders of
the Ancient World as the centerpiece:
the Great Pyramid of Giza, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, the Statue of Zeus at Olympia, the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, the Colossus of Rhodes and the Lighthouse of Alexandria. Players lay down cards from their hand to
represent building they construct, or alternatively construct a stage of their
Wonder. The structures built provide either
victory points or more capability for construction later. Players then pass their hand to their
neighbor, and do it again. There are
three ages to build in, and six turns to build in during each age. Each successive age has more advanced
structures which are worth correspondingly more victory points. The person with the most victory points is
the winner.
 |
| A civilization on the rise (Photo by Igor Mustac) |
Games with
this theme have a reputation of being long games; over four hours in play time is
not unheard of. As boardgaming becomes
a more popular hobby, the demand to better fit games into a busy lifestyle has
grown. Games in general have shortened
in playing time, and seem to be targeting that 60-90 minute playing time range,
which seems to be a sweet spot. This is
also true of civilization games; only a handful of truly good games managed to
get this down to that time frame. 7 Wonders is one of two or three
civilization games that actually reduced it further: 30 minutes. This always gets gamers skeptical attention.
The second
promise7 Wonders made was to cover
anywhere from two to seven players.
Really? Many games of this type
cover three or four, and occasionally five.
Two is particularly complicated for a civilization game, since there is
normally some type of game mechanism, like negotiation, that needs three people
to work well. More players normally
means more time, particularly in a civilization game, since the interaction
amongst many players is so much higher.
To play seven players and keep the playing time at under an hour seemed
like an impossible combination.
Since 7 Wonders is in my Top 10, it’s pretty
easy to guess that it delivers. There
are three things that contribute to this.
The first is that it is a card game, which tends to shorten games to
begin with. Secondly, all actions are
resolved simultaneously. The third characteristic
is truly innovative. Regardless of the
number of players, each player only interacts with their immediate neighbors to
the left and right. Limiting interaction
and simultaneous resolution means that the play time of each round is
completely independent of the number of players. 7
Wonders does work incredibly well from three to seven players. Due to the lack of full interaction with two
players, there are special rules for this situation, which I haven’t
played. (Honestly, there are so many
great two player games that I probably never will play this game with only
two.)
A game that
plays in 30 minutes can’t be too involved.
Playing time and complexity tend to go hand-in-hand. However, civilization games are notoriously complicated
as players work out the societal, commercial, martial and technological growth
of their empire. Packing all of those
factors into a short game seems too good to be true. 7
Wonders does this by having different colors of cards, suits if you will,
which correspond to different aspects of the society. Brown cards are raw resources, gray cards are
manufactured goods, yellow cards correspond to commerce, blue are cultural
items, red represents military structures, green are scientific achievements
and purple cards are guilds. Seven suits
of cards, coupled with the plethora of icons on the cards, are where this game
does get somewhat complicated. One or
two plays, however will sort things out, since the colors aren’t as important
as the icons, and there is a system to the icons that quickly becomes apparent.
 |
| A couple of the cards used in 7 Wonders (Images by Julien Kirsch) |
Since my son
is now 14 and an experienced gamer, he isn’t a good gauge on how kid-friendly
this game is. My wife, who as an
educator really understands children, hasn’t played it. It certainly wouldn’t be for every child. I can’t give it a kid-friendly vote due to
the above complexity.
For older
kids and adults, 7 Wonders is a great
game that has multiple paths to victory.
Part of the fun is that “look what I built – how cool is that!” feeling
you get at the end of the game. This is
definitely a great family or casual game that can be pulled out nearly
anytime. While it would be best to have
the game taught by an experienced player, a little time with the rules and
patience in playing the first couple of games will quickly make this a family
favorite. At seven players, it almost
covers those party game situations for those who (like me) aren’t the biggest
fans of party games. It’s not quite a
must-buy, but is pretty close.
It's Your Move!
Related Posts:
Monday, November 21, 2011
Game Buying Guide 2011
We have hit
that time of the year when everyone is wondering what to gift to give. I thought I would give you my two cents on
what game to give as holiday gifts. I
have done this in the past in spoken word, and have already helped a few people
this year, but now that I am blogging I figured I would write it down – before
you spend all your gift money on Black Friday.
First, let’s
talk about where these games can be purchased.
There are a lot of websites, blogs and podcasts that will give you game
gift ideas. My approach will be a bit
unusual; I expect that you, the reader, are not a “gamer”. I am writing this as I do the rest of the
articles here, with a focus for those who are casually interested in the
boardgaming hobby. Therefore, while
these games will be available through local game stores or online, they should
also be available through some larger, mass-market outlet. These games are not only easier to learn and
play but also easier to find. Hey,
that’s why I’m here!
Links to my
reviews of these games are embedded in the text. Now back to the show!
 |
Type 1: “I loved playing games as a kid!”
This person
has fond memories of playing Risk and
Monopoly as a kid, and probably
played these games at least some as a teenager.
He or she might well play them now, if they could find the time and
opponents who don’t mind a four hour game.
This gift recipient will love the revised edition of Risk (or the deluxe version, Risk: Onyx Edition). The game plays in roughly
90 minutes according to the box, and experience shows that to be accurate. This game has all of the familiar game play
and fun of the original, with different end game conditions to close out the
game earlier. A copy of the revised version of Risk
can be found at nearly any mass media outlet.
Type 2: “I loved playing Clue!”
It would be
natural to assume that this would be a subcategory of those above, but it’s
likely this person did not like Monopoly or
Risk.
There are many people, like my sister, who do not like direct
confrontation in a game, and prefer the skullduggery of Clue. Honestly, one of the
best games for this person is to get them a new copy of Clue. Of all of the
mass-market games of old, this is actually one of the decent ones in the
mystery genre. However, I would first
look for a copy of Scotland Yard. I have not played this game, but it was
published in the early ‘80’s and is still in print. Furthermore, it won the Spiel des Jahres in
1983. I am completely comfortable
recommending this game. Scotland
Yard is currently being sold at Barnes and Noble.
Type 3: “We love/loved Scrabble.”
Interestingly,
this is one game adults continue to play, and Scrabble has never had the reputation as something “only kids
play”. This group is at once the easiest
and the hardest to buy for, since they are open to playing games but laser
focused on one. A more focused approach
is called for:
Subtype 1: Families with small children. Buy
Qwirkle. Not only is this the latest Spiel des Jahres winner, but it has been around in the United States for several years. Qwirkle can be found many places,
including stores for educators. Target
has been carrying it almost since first publication.
Subtype 2: Families older children or no
children. Find a copy of Bananagrams. This is definitely a game for wordies, but it
plays in 20 minutes. Furthermore, it
plays five and could probably play as many as six if you wanted to push it (not
that I am recommending it!). I
originally blew it off, but after playing it found that I really enjoy it. This is one of the more economical choices,
too. Furthermore, it’s actually hard to
find a store that doesn’t carry Bananagrams; it’s the easiest game to
find. All of the mass-market outlets will have Bananagrams.
Type 4: “My family plays/played cards when
at family functions.”
This is
another tough group. There are some
great card games out there, and I will recommend something that is going to
make hardcore gamers roll their eyes: Mille Bornes. This is not a highly regarded game in the
boardgaming community, but my wife and I have had a lot of fun with it and have
introduced it to friends successfully.
The only warning I have is that there is a lot of “take that” in the
game, so with little ones it can result in wailing and gnashing of teeth. This game comes in a deluxe edition that is
reasonably priced, and the basic version
is found everywhere in the card game section of the store. The basic version is very inexpensive, so it
works as a stocking stuffer or in a $10 gift exchange as well.
This starts
to get tricky, because there is the chance that you will give a gift they
already have. However, if they have a
few hobby games that they play casually, there is a decent chance they don’t
have Dominion. I realize in writing this post that I have
been remiss; I have not reviewed this game.
I will correct that very soon. In
the meantime, trust me here. This is an
excellent game. It’s a small step up in
complexity from Ticket to Ride or any
of the other games mentioned here, but anyone with a little experience will be
able to read the rules and play. This
game works pretty well for those who used to play Magic: The Gathering, Pokémon
or other collectible card games. Dominion
has recently become available at Target and Barnes and Noble.
Type 6: The Dedicated Chess Player
Handkerchiefs. Seriously, this person is not hard to buy a
game for; they are impossible. The
dedicated chess player has already ruled out any other games from their
life. Furthermore, they probably play a
particular opening, prefer certain styles of pieces, and even have a favorite
chess author. No kidding. I don’t consider myself “dedicated”, yet I
have all of those things. You are more
likely to buy them something they don’t want.
If you live in New York City, there are brick and mortar stores
specializing in chess items, so you could get a gift certificate. My guess would be that’s true in London and
Moscow (I’m talking Europe here) also.
If you live anywhere else in the world, buy handkerchiefs. If you are worried about that taking all of
the challenge out of gift buying, get 100% cotton handkerchiefs. At least where I live, they are nearly
impossible to find. And then buy
yourself a game, since clearly gift buying is a game you play already!
Type 7: The Gamer
Here’s
another tough one, since you are more likely to get it wrong than get it
right. You have a few other options,
though, that makes this person easier to buy for than the Dedicated Chess
Player. If they are looking for a
specific game, you can find a local store or order online. If you don’t know of a particular game, get a
gift certificate. If you prefer to do
business locally, and game stores aren’t convenient, buy a gift certificate to
Barnes and Noble that can be redeemed online.
Both B&N and Amazon carry games now.
This is
actually tougher than one might think, since there is so much out there that is
just garbage. I will suggest Blokus, which is not specifically a
children’s game, but is kid-friendly and is colorfully eye-catching. This game should be easy to find. It was bought from the original publisher by
Hasbro a while back, and since then Blokus
has become available in the
mass-market stores.
Type 9:
Families with no gaming experience
Subtype 1: Competition encouraged. For this group, either Blokus or Qwirkle
is a good choice. Qwirkle is a little more flexible when it comes to number of players
(we’ve pushed it to six players and it worked), but Blokus is a little less expensive. Your pick.
Type 10: Couples / Everybody Else
Seriously,
you can buy anything discussed in this post and it will be a great choice! However, I will make one more suggestion, and
that is Hive. This game is an abstract strategy game
the is incredibly popular in our Scout troop, and it is easy to learn. Furthermore, it comes with a travel bag, so
it is easy to pack and nearly indestructible. I recently found Hive at
Barnes in Noble.
It’s worth
noting that every one of these games is available at Barnes and Noble. (Just to be clear, I have no affiliation with
B&N. It’s not even my favorite
bookstore.)
I hoped this
helped! If you would like more personal
suggestions, email me at
I will be
glad to answer any questions!
It’s
Your Move!
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Top Tens
Top Ten Lists
or by selecting the tab towards the top of the page.
It's Your Move!
Friday, November 11, 2011
Publisher Profile: Hasbro Part III – Wizards of the Coast
This will be
our third installment on Hasbro, and we will take a look at Wizards of the
Coast. This is where some of my recent
posts come together, since Wizards of the Coast (WotC) is the publisher of both
Magic: The Gathering and Pokémon.
These games are arguably the
most successful of all collectible card games (CCGs), which we discussed last
week.
WotC found
its first real success with Magic: The
Gathering. This allowed the company
to expand the number of employees and office space, and allowed the financing
of additional projects including RoboRally
and The Great Dalmuti, both of which
are well known and well loved games. In
1997, WotC acquired TSR, the publishers of Dungeons
& Dragons, the granddaddy of all role-playing games. A couple years later, in 1999, the company
produce Pokémon, which sold 400,000
copies in six weeks! With such success,
WotC started showing up on Hasbro’s acquisition radar, resulting in Hasbro
purchasing the company later that year.
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| Promotional Image |
Technically,
Avalon Hill falls under WotC in the Hasbro hierarchy, so all of the Avalon Hill
games are also WotC games. Setting that
aside for the moment, WotC games have a tendency to feature fantasy and sci-fi
themes. The exceptions to this rule are
the games developed while still an independent company, such as The Great Dalmuti and Guillotine. (RoboRally
is under the Avalon Hill brand.) Having
the patent on CCGs allowed them to develop more of those games, but none were
nearly as popular or long-lived. Both Magic: The Gathering and Dungeons & Dragons are still strong
product lines. New developments tend to be
tied to those products, including the highly acclaimed Dungeons & Dragons board games, which attempt to capture the
role-playing game feel in a board game setting.
As for
myself, I have not played very many WotC games, and only currently own
one: Star
Wars: Trading Card Game. I haven’t
played it. We bought it after the second
movie trilogy came out. At that time, I
had not started playing games again, and several copies of the game were
purchased in mass market outlets as birthday gifts. One of them ended up in my collection.
Since all of
the recently developed games are receiving a huge amount of acclaim, I would
say that WotC is doing a great job publishing great games. Are they family games? Right now, I would say let the outlet be your
guide. Games such as Heroscape were found in mass market
outlets, and would work well in a family or casual setting. If the game is only found in hobby game
stores, it is probably more complex than most families would find fun.
How does all
of this fit together? Well, first of all
let me make clear that I haven’t talked to anyone at Hasbro or its
subsidiaries, so this is just speculation.
It would appear that the Hasbro brand is for those games marketed as “family”
or “children’s” games, WotC tends to publish specific product lines, with Avalon
Hill picking up the rest of the hobby game market. As a result, Avalon Hill games are probably
not family or casual games (with the glaring exception of Acquire). WotC labeled games
will be good, and may or may not be family games. Hasbro games will be family games, but may or
may not be good. Sorry I can’t be more
help!
In the end,
it’s going to require some research, including playing someone else’s copy of a
game if possible. In the end, that’s
always the best research. If you want me
to look at a specific game, I am always will to serve as your guide. Just let me know!
It’s
Your Move!
Related Posts:
- Down the Rabbit Hole
- Publisher Profile: Hasbro Part II – Avalon Hill
- Publisher Profile: Hasbro, Part I -- Mass Market Brands
- More Economic Game for Your Money: Acquire
Links:
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
I'm Not Ready Yet!
I love the "whooshing" sound that great plans make as they blow right out the window.
We bought a chess curriculum last year, and I might still be able to use it. Hopefully I can do that enough to becomes at least familiar with it. I have a little more time, since this week is just the first week, and is really about getting acquainted. As I said this morning, the kids should break down into four groups, who can be generally dealt with separately.
The first group are the kids who were coming last year. They all know the rules, and can actually play a game. Some of the older kids are decent players. We will set up a chess ladder like last year, although I need to look at some of my "lessons learned" from last year. Nonetheless, those kids can be turned loose to play for the first day if need be. This is an easy group.
Group two consists of those kids who willingly admit they have no clue how to play. These are the children who just admit up front they can't even move the pieces correctly. This is the other easy group, since we have material to teach them with, and nearly anyone can use the material. Typically, my wife takes this group and brings them along.
The last two groups are the hardest, since they need assessment. The better of the two are those kids who are mature enough to know if they can play chess or not, but don't have much experience. They may fit in great with the returning members, but also could be intimidated. Helping them level the playing field is important.
The toughest group are the kids who truly believe the know how to play, but don't. In the same group are those who are too embarrassed to admit they don't know how to play. Either way, you have to get them to the point where they know it's okay to be learning the game from the ground up. That's a particularly tough job. Last year, I had a girl in the club who could not grasp all of the rules, but insisted she did to the frustration of her opponents. She was crying at the end of the year, because she never won a game. How could she?
In the end, all of these groups will resolve into two; those who know the rules and those who don't. When we figure out where everyone is at, then we will know how to proceed. All that really matters is that the kids get a bit of a mental workout, and have fun playing!
It's Your Move!
Related Posts:
Friday, November 4, 2011
Down the Rabbit Hole
 |
| Magic: The Gathering started it all. |
What exactly
are CCGs? How do I avoid them? Can I avoid them? Do I want to avoid them? I know we have had these questions as our boy
has grown, and we seemed to hit on a solution that kept him happy an let us
keep our house. Let me clear things up a
bit.
Magic: The Gathering is the first and
most commercially successful of all of the CCGs. It was first published in 1993 and quickly
became a huge hit. When first published,
it was a completely new concept in game design.
Following right on the heels of the bad press surrounding Dungeons & Dragons, it rapidly came
under scrutiny due to the title and theme.
Parents wondered exactly what arcane things were really going on during
those late night sessions. Little did
they know that the game play isn’t the issue; the business model is the real danger.
Getting
started in a CCG is easy. Nearly all
CCGs sell “starter decks” which contain enough cards to begin play. The cards typically consist of characters,
locations and powers or weapons which all work together towards combat
prowess. Typically two players face off
with their decks of cards and play through various combinations in order to win
the game by defeating the other player.
Starter decks are built equally, so getting started is easy.
The genius
behind the business model lies in making the decks more powerful. After their starter deck, players can buy
booster packs of cards that can be exchanged with other cards in their deck. Customizing the deck this way makes it more powerful
through the cards or through the interaction of the various combinations of
cards. To play competitively, players
need to purchase better cards. There are
several levels of cards: common, uncommon, rare and “mythic rare” (number of
levels and terms may vary: these are specifically Magic terms). Cards get more
powerful as their rarity increases. The “gotcha”
is that the booster packs are random assortments, so players may need to buy
many packs to find specific cards. Cards
are always being retired from official play even while new cards enter stores,
creating an endless cycle. Now we are
fully inside the rabbit hole!
Because it
appeals to all ages, Magic maintains its
success nearly 20 years later, largely through tournaments held from local to
national levels. These tournaments are key
to the success of any CCG, since they drive the competitive spirit of the
game. Even in tournaments with
prescribed decks provided by the tournament, players want to be aware of the
combinations that might be possible. This leads them to buy their own
cards. Magic tournaments are common in any city, and there is even a
professional circuit now.
Before you
decide to just nix this whole idea for your child, I must say that there are
some benefits. Some of them are common to
many games, but one benefit in particular is unique to this style of game. Simply put, CCGs are an activity as well as a game. I have seen children sitting and discussing
the various merits of various cards (providing social interaction) and trading
each other for needed cards (developing negotiation skills) while customizing
their individual decks. Furthermore,
customizing and re-customizing decks can occupy a child for a fair amount of
time, which is sometimes critical as a parent!
In that
case, how does a parent handle this while keeping their child from spending too
much? I can give two approaches that
have worked for us as well as others, and I am sure there are other approaches
that will keep the expenses down.
 |
| Some games just never catch on |
Another
alternative, which works particularly well for Magic and Pokémon, is to
buy outdated cards in large lots on eBay or in a local game store. The tournament model also means that there
are a lot of cards, particularly for Magic,
that have either fallen out of favor or are specifically excluded from
tournament play. Failed games can also be
found this way as well as at thrift stores.
I have two games found this way: Star Wars CCG and Star Wars: The Trading Card Game.
(A trading card game is the same concept, but the term is often used to
produce another game with the same theme.)
The former has a good reputation, but I have found that customizing
decks is something I don’t have time to do, so neither game has ever been
played.
 |
| Wings of War may do me in! |
Carrot,
anyone?
It’s
Your Move!
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Publisher Profile: Hasbro Part II – Avalon Hill
There are
several memorable games from the Avalon Hill line that many remember seeing as
teenagers. Tactics is the first published game, written by Roberts
himself. Many of these games still have
a following: Squad Leader (and Advanced Squad Leader), Panzer Leader, Kingmaker, Dune, Civilization and Wooden Ships & Iron Men.
(None of which have I ever played, though I own a few!) The purchase of 3M’s gaming line brought
several non-wargame titles to the company including Facts in Five, Twixt and Sleuth.
 |
| An earlier version of Diplomacy (Bradley Eng-Kohn) |
Some of
these games are still in print, and are almost legendary. Diplomacy,
one the earliest titles, is still in print after over fifty years. Acquire,
one of my all-time favorite games, will be fifty years old next year. Several are being printed by other companies
who have acquired the license, including Hannibal:
Rome vs. Carthage, Britannia and The Republic of Rome. Fantasy Flight is putting together a
reprint of Dune, though under a
slightly theme due to licensing issues.
Several companies have simultaneously announced a reprint of Merchant of Venus, and while it’s not a
wargame, it appears to be setting up quite a legal battle.
 |
| The current version of A&A (Promotional Image) |
In the last
ten years, Avalon Hill has still represented a line of games that are geared
toward the hobbyist. In addition to Diplomacy and Acquire, best selling games include Battle Cry, Betrayal at House
on the Hill and Nexus Ops. The largest publication efforts have been in
marketing the Axis and Allies brand
of lighter wargames. The original Axis and Allies was a Milton Bradley
game published in 1983, however revised editions were released as Avalon Hill
titles. The Axis and Allies rule set was then adapted to other WWII games,
including Axis & Allies: Pacific,
Axis & Allies: D-Day, Axis &
Allies: Battle of the Bulge and Axis
& Allies: Guadalcanal. Naval and
land miniature systems were also created.
One of
Hasbro’s latest offerings, Battleship
Galaxies: The Saturn Offensive, was released under the Hasbro line despite
the fact that it really is a hobby game.
Given the fact that Hasbro has another game line, Wizards of the Coast
(which actually operates the Avalon Hill line), it could be the Avalon Hill
brand will not see new titles, but only continue to publish the titles it
already has.
Are Avalon
Hill games family games? Generally, I
don’t believe so. Acquire could certainly be played and enjoyed by a family with
older children, but often an Avalon Hill game is either too complex or simply too
long for casual gaming. Many of the
older wargames are strictly two-player affairs.
If you are looking for family games, this brand is one where a little
extra research on the game is necessary.
It’s
Your Move
Previous Posts:
- More Economic Game for Your Money: Acquire
- Don't Just Take My Word - Acquire and Hey! That's My Fish
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