Χά�ων Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 DS and I are HUGE game fans! I am always on the hunt for the next awesome game. Yesterday all of his morning appointments in town were cancelled so we had a couple of hours to kill while we waited for his 1pm doctors appointment. We ran into Barnes and Nobel and I found a game called Kamisado. Video: Normally I have the upper hand in 2 player strategy games. Not this one. DS rocked it! Other family favorites:Stone Age RiskCaveman CurlingGold MineThebesFarmageddonHeavens of Olympus Carcassonne I loved Small World. DS hated it. When I have a little extra money I tend to stalk Kickstarter for all the cool games. I found Caveman curling as well as Farmageddon there. Farmageddon is probably DS's favorite game. I plan to buy more games from the creator. ETA I forgot about Forbidden Island. Not a favorite but still a fun game. I am sure I have more games but I am sitting in front of the game cabinet and I cannot remember them all.. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Another Lynn Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 We got Bang! for Christmas and are enjoying it. (It's a card game.) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbmamaz Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 You know theres a social group, right? http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/groups/31-gamers-table/ My husband is a serious gamer. He was a rated chess player when in canada, and he has (in the past 2 or 3 years) rekindled his obsession with cardboard war strategy games. He's even started doing some game testing for game makers. He has one guy about 30 minutes from here he plays with, and at least one guy he sometimes skype-plays with in England. But he also loves board games and we have too many for how much we play. We're trying to get back in the habit of playing as a family. Last couple games we played were ticket to ride and small world and Castle of Panic. Raven has been wanting to play Forbidden Island and I was wanting to play . . .uh, the one with the sheep. Carcossone? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsMommy Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 Ticket to Ride (any variation) is my favorite game. I like just about anything by Days of Wonder, though...Mystery of the Abbey is another one I really like (although I'm not very good at it!). We love Forbidden Island, and just got the new one, Forbidden Desert, for Christmas. Haven't had a chance to play it yet, though. The Thurn and Taxis series is another favorite...and The Pillars of the Earth games. Chrononauts is another fun one...and it kind of makes you think, which is an added bonus! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Χά�ων Posted January 4, 2014 Author Share Posted January 4, 2014 You know theres a social group, right? http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/groups/31-gamers-table/ My husband is a serious gamer. He was a rated chess player when in canada, and he has (in the past 2 or 3 years) rekindled his obsession with cardboard war strategy games. He's even started doing some game testing for game makers. He has one guy about 30 minutes from here he plays with, and at least one guy he sometimes skype-plays with in England. But he also loves board games and we have too many for how much we play. We're trying to get back in the habit of playing as a family. Last couple games we played were ticket to ride and small world and Castle of Panic. Raven has been wanting to play Forbidden Island and I was wanting to play . . .uh, the one with the sheep. Carcossone? I am a member, I just forgot about it. Is Castle of Panic any good? DS also has Castle Ravenloft http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/59946/dungeons-dragons-castle-ravenloft-board-game Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandylubug Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 DH and I have decided one new game a month starting next week. We play many games with adult friends but the kids are now wanting in on the fun and they are old enough to take care of the games as well. Thanks for the ideas! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbmamaz Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 Castle of Panic is a cooperative game, so its good for kids who struggle with winning/losing. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hjffkj Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 we got quarto for Christmas. Its very simple but very fun 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 We're seriously into Race for the Galaxy here. Carcassone, Catan, Pandemic, Ticket to Ride and Forbidden island have all been enjoyed here as well. We have Forbidden Desert, but it's in the post-Christmas queue along with a RftG expansion, a Munchkin expansion, a new version of Fluxx, and a Dr. Who game. We had a co-op game day a couple of semesters ago, and I realized then that DD had never played the "kid games" or kid versions of games-she just got pulled in with us, so was playing Carcassone at age 4 or so, and we adapted as needed. She tends to end up playing with the adults at group game nights. Somehow, Hi Ho Cherry-O doesn't measure up to Catan. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrincessMommy Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 we love board/card games here too. My oldest son got Dominion for his Nov. birthday and we played it a lot over Thanksgiving weekend and Christmas break while he was visiting. The kids all enjoy Settlers of Catan although I've never played. I'm definitely going to check into some of these other ones mentioned here that I've not heard of. My youngest son and DH love Ticket to Ride... me, not so much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandylubug Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 I struggle with picking some games because my girls are still not fluent readers due to their eye tracking issues. They want to play games, though. And they complain if they are babyish...I think the first game mentioned, kamisado, may be our first purchase :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandylubug Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 Dp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TracyP Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 We love games here. Ticket to Ride is a new favorite. Lately we are also playing carcassone, checkers, chess, mastermind, enchanted forest, and clue. When it comes to cards, cribbage and buck are our favorites. We also like to play 10,000 with dice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shukriyya Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 Ok I am *not* a board gamer--Carcassonne makes my eyes glaze over and TTRE is only mildly better. But dc and dh are gamers so I have researched games that might work for all if us. For Xmas we got Dixit and 7 Wonders. Both are actually pretty fun but 7 Wonders particularly is a hit here with all of us. We've played it daily through the hols. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amber in SJ Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 We got Dixit and Munchkin for the holidays and think they are great. A friend brought over Dominion and we played that one as much as possible. We also got Disney Headbandz as a brain cleanser between all the "real" games. Amber in SJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Χά�ων Posted January 4, 2014 Author Share Posted January 4, 2014 I struggle with picking some games because my girls are still not fluent readers due to their eye tracking issues. They want to play games, though. And they complain if they are babyish...I think the first game mentioned, kamisado, may be our first purchase :) DS is severly dyslexic so I only buy game with minimal or no in game reading. I pull up youtube videos to learn to play rather then reading the rules and learning to play while DS yammers on and on at me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandylubug Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 DS is severly dyslexic so I only buy game with minimal or no in game reading. I pull up youtube videos to learn to play rather then reading the rules and learning to play while DS yammers on and on at me. Ok, cool. We may end up with a dyslexic diagnosis, too. Testing in two weeks! I'm exhausted and ready for answers and ACTION. I have to watch YouTube videos, too. I just can't read it and figure it out. Unless it has great photos All the games you listed above have worked well for your dyslexic son? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Χά�ων Posted January 4, 2014 Author Share Posted January 4, 2014 Ok, cool. We may end up with a dyslexic diagnosis, too. Testing in two weeks! I'm exhausted and ready for answers and ACTION. I have to watch YouTube videos, too. I just can't read it and figure it out. Unless it has great photos All the games you listed above have worked well for your dyslexic son? Yep. The hardest at first was farmaggedon but he quickly memorized what each card was and does fine with it now. If you have a game store nearish you stop in and talk to them. The are usually able to match what you want with a game and often have house games you can play there if they have an open game time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Χά�ων Posted January 4, 2014 Author Share Posted January 4, 2014 I hope you get answers. Waiting is frustrating. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandylubug Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 We do have a game store but I was under the assumption it was more fantasy card games and comic books, etc. I'll have to go and see, though. I typically browse at Barnes and Noble. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbmamaz Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 and a Dr. Who game. which Dr Who game? There was one I told my husband to check out, but he said it was made by the same people who made a game I hated . . . 7 Wonders . .. . I was slightly tempted to get a dr who monopoly, but we dont play monopoly often enough. We got saddled with a kids version and a . . idk, build-the-game version? I used to be big on Spades. Dh and I, early in our relationship, had a 'double date' with a friend of his from work. We went to their favorite mexican restaurant (which was crap), and they introduced us to a card game we'd never seen before. We wanted to partner together, and we CREAMED them, twice in a row, in a game they had been playing regularly for years . . . Skip Bo, had to go look. But we havent played cards . . maybe since then lol which was 11 years ago Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sassenach Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 We got risk and settlers for Christmas. Settlers has been a huge hit, Risk not so much. Card games- we love canasta, though I feel like an old lady admitting that. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 This is a card game-I can't find the box right now (we have games in at least three parts of the house at any given time), but the rules seem similar to Munchkin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandylubug Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 We got risk and settlers for Christmas. Settlers has been a huge hit, Risk not so much. Card games- we love canasta, though I feel like an old lady admitting that. I adore Risk. I used to sit back while DH and his friend murdered each other and then I'd swoop in and defeat them both for the win, lol. It always took hours. Can't imagine kids being patient enough. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PinkyandtheBrains. Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 We love games! ( except monopoly, I despise monopoly!) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soror Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 I bought the kids several new games for Christmas Settlers of Catan has been the family favorite by far. The girls are loving Rat a Tat Cat as well and Ticket to Ride was pretty good but Catan is loved but all except the 4yo and baby :). We keep getting to bed late as we try to play just one quick game :) Even dd 6.5 is enjoying Catan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamijoy Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 We bought our family Seven Wonders for Christmas this year and it's a huge hit for us also. We ended up watching You Tube videos to figure out how to play it though because we didn't quite get the instructions. We bought Ticket to Ride last year for Christmas for our family and it is still played quite often. I bought the alien and dinosaur expansion pack this year for Christmas and that has added some more fun to it. Another favorite is Journeys of Paul. Those three games get played the most in our home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Χά�ων Posted January 4, 2014 Author Share Posted January 4, 2014 My DS is. I lack the patience for it though. I adore Risk. I used to sit back while DH and his friend murdered each other and then I'd swoop in and defeat them both for the win, lol.It always took hours. Can't imagine kids being patient enough. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali in OR Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 We don't play enough games, so I'm thinking that we'll try to add one cool game per year at Christmas. This year's game was Ticket to Ride and we love it. I like that it's low stress. I find Risk and Chess stressful--something about someone else trying to wipe me out kind of gets to me I guess! I think growing up with older brothers probably did the damage; I'm sure they would find a way to make Ticket to Ride all about preventing me from achieving my goals, but with my family it's been very fun--everyone working on their own goals and not purposely trying to mess each other up! I'm thinking Settlers of Catan for next year, Carcassone after that. But Ticket to Ride Europe might be fun too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shukriyya Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 Here is a treasure trove of info. It's where I found out about 7 Wonders and a few others that are hits in our home. I'd actually be interested in trying out Dominion as it's often mentioned in relation to games that are like 7 Wonders. I know that SOC is a hit with most families but it looks a lot like Carcassonne to me which I can't abide so I'm hesitant to buy it. For card games we love cribbage and 'Five Crowns' is probably our most played game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sassenach Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 I adore Risk. I used to sit back while DH and his friend murdered each other and then I'd swoop in and defeat them both for the win, lol. It always took hours. Can't imagine kids being patient enough. I think the problem is we've been playing the modified "beginners" version of the rules. Next time we play I'm going to use the full rules. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KRG Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 Not so much a board game(which we love) but we have been hooked on Suspend most of Christmas vacation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aggie96 Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 We made everyone Wahoo game boards for Christmas. We are big into games here also, all kinds. We also play bunches of card games. Wahoo is a favorite (similar, but not exactly like Sorry). DH taught kids to play Rummy (cards). My 6-year-old puts a beating on everyone in Rummy. :) I grew up playing a card game called Spite and Malice (or my grandma called it Spittin' Cats). It is similar to SkipBo. The most played over Christmas this year were Wahoo, Headbands (spelling?), and Charades. The go-to games when there are 15 minutes to spare are Wahoo and Yahtzee. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandylubug Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 Not so much a board game(which we love) but we have been hooked on Suspend most of Christmas vacation. Oooh mine would love that. They love pick up sticks. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soror Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 Here is a treasure trove of info. It's where I found out about 7 Wonders and a few others that are hits in our home. I'd actually be interested in trying out Dominion as it's often mentioned in relation to games that are like 7 Wonders. I know that SOC is a hit with most families but it looks a lot like Carcassonne to me which I can't abide so I'm hesitant to buy it. For card games we love cribbage and 'Five Crowns' is probably our most played game. We are not expert gamers here but we've found Settlers to be far more interesting than Carcassonne. We like Carcassonne but Settlers has been loved by all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shukriyya Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 We are not expert gamers here but we've found Settlers to be far more interesting than Carcassonne. We like Carcassonne but Settlers has been loved by all! Thanks. I keep thinking that Settlers would be fun for my dh and dc because of all the positive recs but there are the same kinds of recs for Carcassonne. Is SOC fairly different from Carc? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soror Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 I don't think Settlers and Carcassonne are very similar at all, I mean they look similar but the play is IMO totally different. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nomfaux Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 I highly recommend checking out the youtube show Tabletop - it's a super fun tabletop game review show that walks you through the game as some interesting people play it. It's led us to dump a bunch of money into fun games, such as Castle Panic, Settlers of Catan, Tsuro, Ticket to Ride, Fluxx, Zombie Dice, Munchkin and Elder Sign. We also play HeroQuest, Timeline, Spot It, Risk: Godstorm and Stratego pretty regularly. But never Monopoly.. *shudder* That game turns my husband into a monster. :glare: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shukriyya Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 I don't think Settlers and Carcassonne are very similar at all, I mean they look similar but the play is IMO totally different. Okay, good to know. Perhaps that's what was tripping me up, that they look so similar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjzimmer1 Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 I'm not even sure if I can remember all we have but I'll try. Carcassonne (and all the expansions except the princess and dragons and the new little packs that have been recently introduced). This was our first exposure to the European type games and got us hooked. We used to play it a lot but not it's too simplistic for us as we like the more complicated things. Settlers of Catan plus all expansions as well as the 5-6 player expansion. This is the favorite for when we have plenty of time. We just got the Explorers and Pirates for Christmas but I forgot to buy the 5-6 player expansion and so someone has to sit out (the 3 oldest kids all play). Waiting till I have the funds to put in a big enough order to get free shipping. Hansa Teutonica - this is one of my favorites, they boys will play but since they haven't played it as much as I have they don't have good strategies figured out yet and I always win so they tend to pick different games that they are better at. Agricola - my boys play this alot and I haven't figured out the stratgey, hence they love to play it (and win everytime) and I'm less enthused because I don't really know what I'm doing. Puerto Rico- another one of my favorites. Ticket to Ride - good for people who like easier games. I find it rather boring but it works well when we travel because usually we are playing with new people and it's easy to pick up the rules. Dominion and all the Expansions (I think we are only missing two of the expansions), this gets pulled out frequently because the games are short and it's never the same twice. Forbidden Island I haven't played it but my boys liked it so much they asked for and got Forbidden Desert for Christmas Forbidden Dessert we've played this at least 10 times since Christmas. With 2-3 players it really easy and we usually win, with 5 players it's really hard to keep everyone in water and we have lost every time we have played with that many players Pandemic (and expansion) another popular one just because the group strategy is a nice change of pace Thurns and Taxi (and expansion) are both fun Zooloretto most boring game ever (even my 5 and 7 year old think it's too easy) Caylus I haven't played but my boys like it 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soror Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 Okay, good to know. Perhaps that's what was tripping me up, that they look so similar. I hesitate to try and explain as I know there are others who are much bigger aficionados and we are new Catan players but I'll try a little bit. In Catan the board is laid out randomly to start, there are 5 different resources and different numbers are put on each one. You have your own cities, roads and settlements and you work on trying to establish yourself on the board on the 5 different resources, you need each for various building or development cards and as it is hard to be a major player in all there is cooperation and trading involved. There are many different strategies, the kids tend towards buying more development cards so far , whereas dh and I try to get more settlements, cities and ports. I'm excited to read all the reviews and I've added several more to my wish list. I like the fact that Dominion is shorter to play as it is hard to start w/ Catan knowing it takes so long, we are getting a bit faster, the first day we probably played a good 5 hrs and we only got in 2 games. Last night when we played we were closer to the 60-90 min mark. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SemiSweet Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 I second Agricola, that is hands down my favorite game, my 10yo can play but 8yo gets antsy. Ora et Labora is also awesome but more for adults. We do Ticket to Ride, Scrambled States, Cribbage, Zeus on the Loose, Sleeping Queens, (we just got this, haven't played yet, will probably try it out today), I'm thinking about getting 7 wonders and Catan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Χά�ων Posted January 4, 2014 Author Share Posted January 4, 2014 I just want to say that it is nice talking to people who have experience with games that extends beyond what is available on the shelves of Wal-Mart. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kinspired Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 We love board games here, as well. We usually get a couple a year as our family gift. Our current favorites are Agricola, Puerto Rico, and King of Tokyo. We also like Quarriors, which is like a deck-building game, but with dice. King of Tokyo is simple enough for young kids, as it doesn't require much reading. We've played it with my 6-yo niece. Wish you guys live closer. We've tried organizing game days but the kids we know think our games are too complicated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soror Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 Dh has lots of geeky game loving friends. I told him we really need to organize a game night but figuring out how and where to fit everyone is a challenge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PinkyandtheBrains. Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 I highly recommend checking out the youtube show Tabletop - it's a super fun tabletop game review show that walks you through the game as some interesting people play it. It's led us to dump a bunch of money into fun games, such as Castle Panic, Settlers of Catan, Tsuro, Ticket to Ride, Fluxx, Zombie Dice, Munchkin and Elder Sign. We also play HeroQuest, Timeline, Spot It, Risk: Godstorm and Stratego pretty regularly. But never Monopoly.. *shudder* That game turns my husband into a monster. :glare: Tabletop is excellent for seeing how a game really plays. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PinkyandtheBrains. Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 Our current favorites are: Pandemic (has expansion packs) Castle Panic (has expansion packs) Forbidden Island Munchkin (has expansion packs) Magic The Gathering (trading card game) Plague and Pestilence Dungeon! Timeline Carcassone (has expansion packs) Some others we have enjoyed are: Betrayal at House On The HIll (for older kids and up) Shadows Over Camelot Heroscape (has expansion options) Risk Risk 2210 Life Easy Money We have a new SOLO/SINGLE player game called Field Commander Alexander. It is a one player strategy board game. No one has had time yet to play it with the business of the holidays but it looks very interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tabinfl Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 Well, I just spent my Christmas amazon.com gift cards (and then some) thanks to this thread. :p We got a few good games as gifts, Zeus on the Loose and Frog Juice card games (both by Gamewright) have been huge hits. Our Robot Turtles game (from before Christmas) still has their interest -- and mine, with the adult rules. Although they're young, I did drag them through one heavily-coached Settlers of Catan game, which they enjoyed even if they don't yet understand the finer points of strategy. I pulled an old Battleship set out of the garage, which they have fun with but get bored before finishing (same with several other "kid" games) -- they are shaping up to be fine geeks indeed. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catz Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 We got a Munchkin expansion for Christmas, so we've been playing a ton of that. We also love many that have been mentioned here (Catan, Carcassone, etc etc etc). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlsdMama Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 Um... Little bit. A husband friend of a friend got us started. My family members were big card players as a kid. In our house we play Pepper, Cribbage, Hearts. Games though... That's a whole new can of worms. The oldest DS has an addiction I'm pretty sure. Favorites: Settlers but only with Traders & Barbarians Ticket to Ride Europe rocks - it is replacing the regular TTR at our house. Seven Wonders is our favorite. Carcassone - DH and I play this with the middles. The older three don't like it. We got Agricola for Christmas and haven't yet played it!!! (We're not at our own house and so we need three hours of uninterrupted time. Hard at Grandma and Grandpa's. Trying to convince them it's worthwhile is another ball 'o wax.) ;) DS loves tortuously long strategy games. They are hard on us. We just recently rebought SET and they love it every bit as much as they used to. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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