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Best family board games?


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http://www.gipf.com/project_gipf/index.html

 

We have Gipf, Zertz, and Dvonn. My 14yo likes Dvonn best, probably because she wins 9 times out of 10. I like Zertz best. My 11yo likes Gipf best. We don't have the others, but probably should get them, because they're all fun.

 

Quick games:

Connect 4

Ziggity

Sleeping Queens

 

games that take more than 10 minutes, but less than 30:

Yahtzee

Bananagrams - too much of a stretch for your 6yo though

Muggins

 

long game:

Mexican train

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A friend was RAVING about Apples to Apples.

 

I think 6 might be a little young, but her 7 year old loved it.

 

And my friend isn't the "rave" type.

 

Alley

 

Apples to Apples has a "junior" version. This really works better for us even though my ds is twelve. While there is nothing that I recall that is inappropriate in the regular version of Apples to Apples, there is a lot of pop culture with which my ds isn't familiar with.

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We have quite a collection, some of which we've only played a few times. We gravitate toward our favorites, especially Yahtzee, Apples to Apples. We're partial to dice games and card games that use special decks. Oh, and the kids (ages 14 & 19) still like Connect 4! When ER comes home from college, he loves to play it! If he brings a friend home with him for the weekend, they usually wind up playing it at least a few times.

Edited by ereks mom
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Apples to Apples has a "junior" version. This really works better for us even though my ds is twelve. While there is nothing that I recall that is inappropriate in the regular version of Apples to Apples, there is a lot of pop culture with which my ds isn't familiar with.

 

Even the Jr. version has a lot of pop culture references - I just took them out - doesn't hurt the game at all. (For those who don't know the game - that's not to shelter them, it's just the game is based on references, and if you don't know the reference, the game is no fun, or at least frustrating. Do I want to stop the game to explain who Mary Kate and Ashley are? no.)

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We love this game, too. I can see it working for your teen and your ten year old (if the ten year old is savvy), Lisa. I don't see it working for your six year old.

 

Reg, do you include your younger children when playing this game? If so, how?

 

Regards,

Kareni

Yes, we include everyone. All of our children are reading and all can write well except for DS5. Currently, only DS10 and above are allowed to read the clue for the round, but everyone can guess an ending and therefore can participate. We often write the "public" part of the phrase for those below 10 who would like us to do so. For DS5, the person who reads the clue for the round goes off to another room and has DS5 tell them an ending to write down for their submission.

 

This arrangement is not perfect, but the kids *love* the game! It's a lot of fun for everyone! Here are some of the issues and some thoughts on how to alleviate them:

 

1) As someone who has played this game, you certainly know that the main challenge is being able to craft an ending that is simple enough for any child to remember, grammatically correct, culturally appropriate, yet is insightful to the most experienced adults. While we all struggle to do this well, the little ones sometimes do not possess the eloquence to make compelling responses. OTOH, sometimes their naivete is fully to their advantage given the obtuse *real* phrase that often occurs. We try to coach them after each round to understand how an incorrect tense or some such may have given away their response.

 

2) The little ones tend toward "childish" or other inappropriate responses. We have instituted a policy that the reader will not read just any reply and will make the submitter come up with a new one if their first reply is not acceptable. We also coach them on these issues, as well.

 

At the end of the day, the real issue is not that the little ones cannot win at this game. I have no doubt that they will quickly learn to craft clever replies. No, the real problem is with Mom and Dad. DS19 and DD17 have already surpassed our ability to win this game. Where is the hope that we can recover from this state and ever win again? :tongue_smilie:

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Reg,

 

Thanks so much for sharing your methods of including younger players. Yes, I can see how it could work under these circumstances! And I agree with your provisos as to the challenges that younger players face in terms of crafting responses that work. We've played this game enough that we've seen adults can also fall foul of the same traps.

 

You asked, "DS19 and DD17 have already surpassed our ability to win this game. Where is the hope that we can recover from this state and ever win again?" Take heart, Reg. There's an old saying of unknown origin, "Age and cunning will defeat youth and skill"!

 

Regards,

Kareni

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DS10 got Blokus 3-D for his birthday earlier this month, but we have never played before today. I love puzzle games, and this is an awesome puzzle/strategy game for 1 to 4 players. There are four "templates" which constrain the game differently, making the strategy completely different in each case. Highly recommended! :thumbup:

 

Is there anyone out there with regular Blokus or Blokus Trigon who would like to comment on those versions?

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There has to be an element of laughter, imo.

 

So Boggle (*No way*! How dod you find tha?!) Scrabble (That's no word! I challenge you!)

 

Outburst can work, so can Trivial Pursuit.

 

Pictionary, too.

 

There was a word game we played for a couple of years that was enromously fin and statisfying and we all played a lot. I cannot rememeber the name. Somehow we lost it in a move. It used a timer, and the word cards were on a little stand thing.

 

I would love to remember the name.

 

My dad also used to have singing game...it was hilarious. Again, lost to the ages.

Edited by LibraryLover
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