More family board games
Photograph: Simon Hill
There are so many family board games out there. Here are a few more we liked.
Dorfromantic: Duel for $25: Based on the video game from Dorfromspawning the co-op board game, this spin-off pits you against another player as you draw tiles to build a landscape and try to complete challenges along the way. With the same sets of red and blue colors, it's all about who can create the best environment to satisfy their residents and score the most points. Game time is less than an hour. You can play with two teams, but it's best played with two players.
Hey hey, $15 relay.: This super stupid dice game is a race between two teams where challenge cards prompt you with silly voices and physical actions before you can continue. The game is fast and chaotic, but probably best suited for younger children (the creators recommend ages 6 and up). My kids didn't really like it, but it could be a fun party game.
Ship show for $29: This cooperative game puts players in the role of warehousers and shippers and requires them to deliver orders correctly by guessing the correct tiles based on clues contained in how they were grouped. The time limit adds pressure and can be fun for the right group (you have to be on the same page), but we found that waiting for inventory to set up was tedious for shippers and scoring was labor intensive.
Flip 7 for $21.: This hybrid card game challenges you to try your luck as you tap or stick to the blackjack style while trying to get seven different cards up. Special action cards and modifiers mix things up, allowing for a tactical game to be played. Suitable for three or more players aged 8 years and older, the game only takes 20 minutes to play.
Tension: 10 Best Name Games for $43: Theme cards contain 10 items in one category and the opposing team has 60 seconds to match as many items as possible. The cards are divided into two colors (easy and hard), making it easy to play with kids or adjust the difficulty on the fly. This works well with any age and team size, but be prepared for a lot of screaming and laughter.
You must be my kitten! for 13 dollars: A simple variation of Liar's Dice that focuses on bluffing and calling bluffs; I'm of two minds about this game. On the one hand, the game is nothing special, but on the other, cute cats! My fog-obsessed daughter immediately wanted to play, and we had a few laughs while outrageously bluffing about the number of glasses, hats, and bow ties these felines were wearing.
Poetry for Neanderthals for $18: Each card has a word on it, and your seemingly simple task is to get your team to guess it correctly within the time limit, speaking in only one syllable. If you break the rules, your opponent may hit you with an inflatable “No” stick. Suitable for two to eight players ages 7 and up, it's loud, silly, and will usually make everyone laugh.
Danger $10 Danger: Fast and frantic, this simple card game for two teams is all about having high-scoring cards displayed at the end of each round. There are no moves, you can cover the other team's cards, rounds are timed but you have to guess when the round will end. Very simple and very fast paced, this game can get chaotic.
This quickly escalated for $12.: This game is fast, simple and fun for up to eight players. Scenarios such as “I invented a new sport, what is it?” are shown. players must submit proposals from least dangerous (1) to most dangerous (10) based on their assigned number for each round. The round leader should try to place them in the correct order. This works best with witty players who know each other well.
Sounds suspicious for $20: Another fun group game from Big Potato. Sounds Fishy's goal is to find fake answers. Each card contains a question, but only one of the answers given is correct. It can be played by four to ten players, and we found it more fun but more challenging with more people.
Cards Against Humanity: Family Edition for $29: This party game can be played by up to 30 players and will generate plenty of youthful giggles and laughter. Like the adult version, there isn't much strategy involved, but finding the perfect combination to make everyone laugh is fun.
Don't worry
We didn't really like these games.
Photograph: Simon Hill
Tielens: As a group of zombie apocalypse survivors on top of a skyscraper, you must choose the right flight path to obtain the resources you need, as determined by the maps. The tight time constraints make it difficult to choose the right route among the confusing clutter of the board, and can be put together in a variety of ways to add replay value. But the background seems out of place and we all agreed it wasn't much fun to play.
I'm connecting: Connect different symbols on the board using a dry erase marker based on a randomly drawn task card to represent something (like connecting the dots). Whoever guesses what it should be first wins the round (some are only vaguely similar to what they should be). Longevity suffers because replaying solved puzzles is no fun.
Cat-mouth game: This incredibly simple skill game has you launching rubber balls through a cat's mouth using magnetic paws, only to end up with them all over the place. The games tend to be very one-sided and my kids got bored almost immediately. It is also impossible to play with real cats nearby.
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