Game, Interrupted.

By Randy

@coffeeswiller

"Why am I not playing a game?!?"

This one is for the gamer parents out there. Sharing the love of gaming with your kids reeks of awesome. It brings me great joy to game with the kiddos. But sometimes, I just want to play games with my adult gamer friends. I imagine if you are a parent gamer, you probably feel the same, too. Over the years, I have made some observations and implemented some strategies that help me to be able to game with the adults, too. Here are some of those tips, tricks and cautionary tales that might just help you play a game without massive interruptions. 

The Seven P's

Have you heard of the Seven P's? Here they are: Prior Proper Planning Prevents Piss-Poor Performance. That means if you're going to get this right, you're going to need to plan it a little. This gets easier each time, so don't stress that you have to put some thought in ahead of time. Gaming with the kids around and minimizing interruptions of gametime requires a plan. 

Joint Playdate

"Let's get crafty!"

Start by telling yourself: you're organizing a joint playdate. No, you don't have to drink juiceboxes. Get over the term, because that's what you're doing. This is more literal when the other adults you are gaming with have kids that are coming over, but even if no other kids are involved, you need to have activities in mind for your kids as if this is an organized playdate. Which it is.So think about successful playdates that you have attended with your kid. Was there some sort of structure? What activities were involved? How much did the kids need direct supervision? You need to get this part right. As much as you want to engage in your activity, the kids need to feel like they're engaged in theirs. They should feel that they had a choice in what that activity is going to be to be invested. You probably already know what your kids like, and how to "sell" them an activity. You need to sell this one hard and ahead of time. If it is a DVD, it should be a new one that they are excited about. If it's a craft project, make it something new (preferably one that's not too messy and doesn't involve use of sharp implements helps, too!).  If it's just playing in the yard, suggest a game or provide some new challenge. Even a sheet of butcher paper taped on a table and a bucket of crayons can be fun.

Don't forget the food!

So... kids get hungry. True story. Adults do, too. And if you're going to be sitting down for long enough to play a boardgame, the likelihood of this happening is... yeah, it's going to happen. My advice is to have this scheduled and the food prepared ahead of time, something that can easily be eaten at the game table, that the kids don't object to, and that doesn't require a massive cleanup. Spaghetti? Bad choice. Pizza? Better. Add snacky finger food to the mix and you are golden. This all works especially well when a lunch/dinner time is scheduled and everyone knows there'll be crackers, apple slices and string cheese or something until then.

Be courteous!

Unsolicited deckbuilding advice...

Perhaps the most important part of this whole thing is courtesy. Be courteous to your guests (or hosts), be courteous to your kids, be courteous to their kids (if relevant), and be courteous in turn-taking. If you get this right, this smooths over just about anything that is going to come up. If you're playing a complex boardgame, don't assume that every other player's turn is an excuse to leave the table. If you have kids around, yes, you'll need to do this every now and then. But if your friends have to spend five minutes every time it's your turn telling you what happened, you may need to reconsider how you're going about things. And don't be snappy with your kiddo if they come to the table needing something! Stopping to take a minute and explain what the cards do may satisfy their curiosity so they will move on. Also, don't be afraid to ask players for a break to attend kids' needs. Everyone will be happier.



Adventures Nearby Babysitting

Do you know who kids think are absolutely amazing? Bigger kids! You know that 13 year old girl down the street who wants to babysit your kids for some extra cash, but is just too young to be responsible for the kids by herself? Why not hire her to watch your kids at your house while you game? We have done this before and it works out really well. And if other people are bringing their kids over, you can possibly arrange beforehand for the other parents to chip in. This is really an "everybody wins!" situation, but it does require a little cash.

Rotating Parental Duties

My wife Angie and I are both gamers, and when gaming is happening, we both want to be at the table. Sometimes, though, we know it's just not feasible for that to happen. Every now and then, one of us will take care of the kids while the other games. If you step this up a little, and you're planning a regularly occurring game day, one excellent way to have a satisfying game is to have one parent of however many participants to rotate being the one who hangs out with the kids. If there are three couples with kids, for example, being willing to sit out one in six games (or whole game days) gets you five others to relax and not worry too much about the parenting. That assumes everyone in the equation is a gamer; if there's a non-gamer spouse among the mix, making an arrangement with him or her ahead of time ("I'll watch the kids while you go out one night if you watch them while I game...") can really be a great setup. 

Know When To Hold 'em

"...and this is where Daddy crushes those other chumps."

Have little kids? Sometimes, they're going to need to be held. And it's okay to do that at the game table; your gamer buddies know you're a parent. So long as the kid is happy to be there, is quiet and not interfering with the game. There have been plenty of times that I've had a sleepy or curious little person in my arms at the table. But please keep in mind that this is not the same as giving your child your full attention. There will be times when your child needs your attention, and these are times when you need to excuse yourself.

Know When To Fold 'em

Ideally, you step away before this happens...

Then there will be times when you, as a parent, just need to know when to throw in the towel. Nobody likes walking away from a game, but a child's needs must come first. Identifying those times when a child needs your full attention are important. If your parenting  "spider-sense" tells you that your child is about to have a meltdown, you're probably right. I know from experience that ignoring those signs and trying to play through makes everyone miserable. So do everyone a favor and when that happens, bow out early. At the end of the day, the meeples won't mind and the people should understand.

Winding Down

After all is said and done, I recommend spending a little extra special time with the children. If you make this a habit, they will be more likely to behave during your gaming when they extra attention will follow. Snuggles, stories... whatever you do to show them you appreciate them.

I hope this helps! Adequate planning can get you back to the table and enjoying playing games once again. I don't think I even need to say that this isn't an exhaustive list. So... how do you make your game days fun for everyone? What are your best tips? I'll tell you what... leave a tip for making a game day great, and I'll tip you one GeekGold on BoardGameGeek. Be sure to leave your BGG username!

Drop Site

by Angie

About a month ago (just before our vacation!), we were lucky enough to receive a review copy of a clever little card game called Drop Site from Bellwether Games. Drop Site is a game in which thematically you are attempting to coordinate your humanitarian aid efforts, sending supplies to those who need them throuhg air drops while communicating with ground forces to ensure a successful operation. Mechanically, this game is an interesting card game in which you are trying to line up the communal pile of cards to match your own secret pile. I'm not sure the theme and mechanics blend together super well, because the game plays quite competitively, whereas I somewhat expected by the theme that we'd cooperate a bit. However, I think Drop Site is a quick fun game with a lot of strategic value.

The gameplay of Drop Site is relatively simple, but I've seen a lot of different strategic plays arise while playing. The cards each have a number value along the upper left side and a +points in the bottom middle. On your turn you may play a card into a communal pile (by playing lower than an existing number on the pile, or by starting a new pile). or you may play one of your cards into your debt (a personal face down pile). The round ends when a certain number of piles have been started, so there is always a tension about when another player might start a new pile and bring closer the end of the round. The goal is to have as many cards as possible from your debt match the top face-up cards in the communal piles when the round ends. You score points equal to the +points number on the card for each match, and lose a couple points for each card that doesn't match. Scores are kept from round to round and the goal is to reach 100 first.

Drop Site is one of those elegant games with simple rules where the depth emerges throughout play. The first few hands of the game, players are often scratching their heads and trying to figure out how to play cards to their best advantage, and when to bank cards for potenital points. As the game progresses, strategies such as blocking another players moves, predicting your opponents plays and using them to your advantage, and deciding when to gamble all become relevant. To me, this is where this game comes to life! The player interaction and strategic planning makes this simple game into a rewarding, interactive, deeper-than-it-seems gameplay experience.

Oh, one other thing I love about this game is that it is extremely protable and doesn't take much space or time to play, but gives a satisfying strategic feel. In the last few weeks, I've played this game sitting on the edge of my bed, at the park, and on a camping trip. Throw it in your bag/backpack/purse and you're set!

Let's Get the Party (Kick)Started!

by Angie

I've recently been quite fascinated with Kickstarter. If you’re not familiar with Kickstarter, you should pop over and give it a look. Kickstarter is a really cool crowd-funding platform for creative projects, and I think its great how many new game designs are getting published because of it. Kickstarter provides a valuable service to game designers, publishers, and gamers alike. Designers and publishers can get the funding they need to get their games to market; and gamers can be in on the ground floor of exciting new games, helping to decide which projects they want to see happen and often gaining cool rewards, recognition, swag, and other benefits for their support.

In addition to all of that, Kickstarter presents an interesting method for communication between the game’s creators and the players, allowing for comments and ideas to be integrated before a game prints. Some game creators offer supporters the ability to name things in the game, make choices about certain elements, and other fun interactions that really make you feel like you are part of the process. And of course as a supporter not only are you helping make a game come to life, you also are able to guarantee yourself a copy before anyone else. Many of the Kickstarer campaigns have exclusive bonuses or reduced rates on extra copies of the games for supporters, so it’s worth taking a look even If you are on a budget, every little bit helps.

I’m mentioning Kickstarter because I think it’s something every gamer should know about. I’m also bringing it up now because we had the opportunity to play a prototype copy of a game that is up on Kickstarter right now, with 13 days to go at the time of this post. The game is called White Elephant Card Game, and is designed by Brian Kelley. This card game manages to be both a fun light game that recreates the experience of a white elephant gift party AND makes a particularly cute gift FOR a white elephant gift party. Double Whammy!

The basic premise of the game is that you are a cheapskate who needs to pick up a few gifts for some friends and family for the holiday, but don’t want to spend any money… so you hatch up a plan to trade the junk in your attic for stuff the people on your list will like by attending several white elephant gift parties. Just in case you are wondering what it is all about, a white elephant gift party is a quirky gift exchange game in which everyone brings a wrapped gift (often a silly or weird item) and places it into a common pool. There are a lot of variations of the “rules”, but it usually involves people taking turns opening a gift, with each subsequent player having the ability to steal a previously opened gift or grab a new one from the pile.

This game replicates that core idea well in a card game format. You are trying to grab cards with a high score in specific colors, and you do so by bringing gifts (placing a card face down on the table), opening presents (turning a card face up), and stealing them from other players (taking a card they’ve revealed and putting it in front of you). The game flows well, and the fun retro style art and zany oddball gift photos and description really help drive home the theme.

After playing this game last night, we were discussing how funny it would be to stock up on a bunch of copies of this game and give it out at my family’s annual gift exchange party (which is similar to the white elephant exchange game described above, except we usually bring nice presents that people would like instead of junk from our attics!). Anyhow, we were discussing about how it would be interesting and amusing to give one each year and follow up with a few rounds of playing the game to extend the fun of the party. It seems like one of those perpetual gift items that could turn into quite a family tradition. Whoever ended up with the White Elephant Card Game would have a fun reminder of the event, and a neat little game to play as well… assuming they didn’t give it away at their next white elephant party. Even passing a single copy of the game around would make for a good holiday laugh.

If you just love white elephant gift parties and can’t get enough, or you really want to stock up on gifts for the next few holiday seasons, this is a dream come true! Otherwise, it’s still an interesting, light-weight, family-and-friends game that plays quickly and offers some strategic decision making that is worth checking out. Kickstarter projects are time-sensitive, so what are you waiting for?!? :)

5 Signs Your Kids Might Be Growing Up Gamers!

by Angie

Here's a few ideas we had for how you might be able to tell if your kids are getting adequate geekery in their lives and are properly developing as little gamers....

1. Your kid has a sketchbook is full of game design ideas.. complete with components breakdown!

Katie's "list" of components for prototyping her new game "Sea"

 2. Your daugther wanders away at the grocery store to find a comfy place to read a game catalog and make sure you aren't missing any upcoming releases

Apparently the beer aisle is both "cool" and relaxing

3. Your little one gives tactical advice to your wargame opponent about your weaknesses and comes up with a winning move!

Katie and Bodhi kickin' my booty at Memoir 44

4. Your kids get up before you to sneak into the gameroom and play games together without you and your silly "rules"

Jack telling Katie "this how you do it!"

5. Your daughter's dream-come-true craft projects are to paint plaster wizards and Warmachine minis with Dad

Can we paint minis today Dad, please? Please?

At ages 2 and 5 our kids have fully embraced our gaming lifestyle. They listen to gaming podcasts with me, never ever turn down an invitation to play a game, and Katie even asked if we could go on a family trip to a gaming convention this summer. What evidence do you have that your gamer training is paying off with the little ones? Are they growing up gamers too? We'd love to hear from you!

Bring on the Cheese!

by Angie



The nice folks over at Pressman Toy sent us their new game Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Cheese Touch Game to check out, and I really had no idea what to expect. I’ve looked the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books before and thought they were cute, and have even heard good things about them from my kid friends, but they aren’t something we’ve read… yet. The graphics and style of this game has all the cuteness and fun flavor of the book series, and I’m sure fans will have a lot to identify with. As an outsider to the series, we found the characters and art to be interesting and it definitely piqued our interest in the stories behind them... but you don't need to read the books to enjoy this game. After looking it over for a few minutes I was super excited to give this game a try because it looked like a simple, streamlined, and clever party-style game (Cranium-esq) that is playable by all ages. Sweet! This game did not disappoint. Bottom line is we’ve had a lot of fun playing it, and it’s one that will definitely see a lot of table time in the future.  



Quirkly style, simple rules

The basic game play consists of rolling a die, moving your piece, and drawing a card of the appropriate type based on where you land. The card varieties each offer a different type of challenge, ranging from guessing what other people will answer to acting out requested tasks in a specific way, with some random elements thrown in.  Success on the challenge usually results in moving forward on the board, while failure results in obtaining “the Cheese Touch” (which I think is supposed to be equivalent to “cooties” or something??). First one to the finish line wins, with the kicker that you can’t win if you have the Cheese Touch. The pacing seems just about right, you are usually moving forward pretty quickly, the track isn’t too long, and there are lots of ways for the Cheese Touch to be passed around. The thing I enjoyed best about this game is that it encourages you to get to know each other better through clever questions, without being too complicated, long, or “boring” for young kids.

Random hugs are part of this game! Seriously!

Our first play through included me, Randy, Katie, and a couple of adult friends that were over visiting. When friends come over Katie often wants to be included in gaming, but finding a game that offers a fun experience for a bunch of adults and one little kid isn’t the easiest thing in the world. Our lovely friends have indulged Katie and played many games of Candyland, Disney Yahtzee, and other kid favorites over the years; but I’ve never seen the adults enjoying themselves as much as we all did playing Cheese Touch. Laughter, good conversation, and full engagement from Katie AND the grownups were hallmarks of this game. Favorite questions involved trying to figure out who Katie would think was the most likely to survive in the wilderness, admitting the longest we'd each gone without a bath, guessing which pet peeve belonged to which grown-up, and trying to act out swimming and eating "incorrectly".  We had fun and enjoyed the experience, all while learning a little more about each other. We highly recommend this game for a fun family experience; it’s simple, light-hearted, and offers a solid party game experience in a cute little package.

An insta-hit, loved by Katie and the grown-ups!

Mastermind!

by Katie

Problem -solving is in this game! Yep. That’s what the game is all about to me.

 There are two players in Mastermind, the codemaster and the codebreaker. The codemaster puts out a secret code of colored big pegs. Then the codemaster needs to make sure to keep their code secret and also put out little pegs for the codebreaker so they know some information. The codebreaker tries to figure out the code by guessing the pattern. Like if my mom puts out green-white-purple-orange and she is the codebreaker, I would look at my secret code and see how many pegs she has that are the right color in the right places, and how many are the right color in the wrong place and put out little pegs for that. You have to get them exactly right, in the right place.



Breaking the code!



When you are the codemaster you have to be really smart about your code because the other person might guess it in only one turn, so it’s good to be tricky. Also when you are the code breaker you need to use your thinking brain to put together the information you got from all of your other guesses and think-think-think hard to figure out the code.  

When I’m the codemaster I like to trace a line with my finger from each color in the guess to my secret code to make sure I’m putting out the exact right little white and red pegs. I don’t want give the codebreaker the wrong information!

The strategy is to look at everything all together. My mom calls that logic. I think that means to look back at your previous moves to make sure you don’t just guess the same wrong thing. I’m learning how to use logic to solve the mystery of the code!



Jack sneaks in and moves the pegs
around for extra challenge!



I like this game one hundred and fifty nine! That means I like it like almost infinity. It might even be one of my favorite games in the whole world of games. Totally. It’s different than my other favorite game, which is of course Settlers of Catan. I learned to play Mastermind yesterday and if you put all the times I’ve played it so far together I’ve played it about 16 times already!

I want to say thank you to the nice people at Pressman Toy for sending us all those games. I hope they are having a happy day like me, because I have new games to play. I hope all you blog readers have lots of happy games to play too.  Have fun playing games!

Say Anything Family!

A little while back, the kind folks over at Northstar Games sponsored our very first contest by sending a copy of Say Anything Family to one of our lucky blog readers, and as a bonus they sent one to us too! We had high hopes for Say Anything Family because as some of you may remember we absolutely LOVED Wits and Wagers Family. Let me tell you up front that this game did not disappoint, it is one of the funnest family party games I’ve ever played.

 

It’s Really That Simple

The game is easy to learn and explain. One person draws a card and selects a question from it to read out loud. Everyone else writes down an answer that they think the reader will think is the best answer. All of the answers are played face up, and the reader secretly selects the one they like best. The other players now try to guess which one the reader picked. Players score points for writing the winning answer, voting on the winning answer, and the reader gets points for people guessing right. It kind of reminds me of a cross between Apples to Apples (the playing and picking answers), Wits and Wagers Family (the betting aspect), and any one of a number of party games that rewards you for knowing the other players well or provides an opportunity to get to know each other better. While that may sound like a bit of a mash-up, it plays very smooth and really hit the sweet spot for us.

Looking Under the Hood

This game is about the experience, but here’s a few quick thoughts about the rules/components/etc. I appreciate that this game is easy to teach, and that you really can just jump right in and play. No one seems to have any questions, it’s nice when the rules just blend into the background and the focus is on fun. I really like that each card has three possible questions and the reader gets to choose which one to pick. Aside from increasing replayability, this is an opportunity to direct the game a bit, avoid something you don’t want to talk about, or explore what the other players might think you think on a fun topic.  This is the type of game you could really play for any length of time, but the scoring system seems to have the game play out for just the right amount of time. I did miss the meeples though! We love betting with the meeples in Wits & Wagers Family, and with the art of the game showing meeple images I found myself looking through the box a couple times to try to find them. There are tokens that are used instead, but I like the meeples better and wish they had been included in this game as well.

Say What?

Wits and Wagers Family was a big hit with my extended family over the holidays, so I was really excited to give Say Anything Family a try at a recent family get together. I was able to easily convince my mom and grandma, my aunt Judy, and my uncle Rob to give it a try. This game had us laughing, groaning, telling stories, and having fun together right from the get go. We were grossed out by the idea of kissing a urinal, imagining what the best part of being a dog is, pondering how lottery winnings would be spent, discussing who would be the most fun to have dinner with (Gene Simmons in full costume?!!?), and laughing about what the weirdest family secret might be. We kept a causal pace throughout the game, with lots of conversation and smiles. It really was an amazing experience, and I’m looking forward to many more plays. It was a big hit, and we ended up with a phenomenal 12 thumbs up, everyone loved it!

Good ol' family fun!

Up Next…

We’re going to try to play this game with Katie soon. Reading is the biggest barrier here, but I think it will be possible to help her through it, or to have her team up with a grown-up reading buddy. I’m sure her ideas will amuse and delight everyone playing, kids say the most interesting things!

by Angie

Perfect Stride

by Randy

Hello! We have another review for you today. The wonderful people at Funleague Games provided a review copy of Perfect Stride, a game about horse riding. It's a very thematic game that Angie, Katie and I tried out; here's what we thought.

A Horse Game!

This is a game about horses. I wasn't sure I could get into a game about horses, but I was happily surprised. Players assume the roles of riders who are racing to complete the most jumps and stay in the lead. The theme might not appeal to some, but this game does a great job of bringing the theme to the forefront in look and feel.

Pretty Game

The first thing that you'll notice about this game is the art; it's a beautiful game. Every card has unique art, with no duplications (save for a few cards with multiple copies). The full-color paintings really bring the theme to life. A rough count tells me that there are around a hundred unique illustrations on cards alone, not counting the box and rulebook art; there aren't many games that can boast this much art of this quality. Additionally, we found oursleves taking the time to stop and read the flavortext on each card; Katie in particular enjoyed that. Katie was even inspired to draw her own idea for a card for the game, and she rarely does that.

Game play


There are two versions of play for Perfect Stride: the basic game and the full game. Angie and I played the full game first to get a feel for the rules, and then started off with the basic game with Katie. After playing through the basic game, we talked with her about the other cool cards in the game and she decided she wanted to try those out, so from that point we were playing something in between the two.

Both versions have riders competing to go through a course of jumps. Every horse will have a kind of jump they're good at, and each jump has a Difficulty. You need to have enough Effort to meet the Difficulty, and you get this from skill cards. Each horse that makes the jump gets a ribbon (this game's victory points), and moves to the next jump. Pretty straightforward and simple.

The advanced version is far more interesting and strategic. More of a racing element is present, and being in the lead will earn you more points. There are also events that happen at every jump, which can change the difficulty for better or worse. There are also power-ups for horses called Horse care cards.  What I found to be very interesting is that the advanced game has a bid mechanic  for determining who's in the lead. Everyone starts with four cards representing speeds (Walk, Trot, Canter, Gallop) and a draw value for cards that decreases the faster you go. I found that this in particular was a great element for bringing the racing element to life.

Just one more note about the game play: the minimum age on the box. I really feel that the designers have assigned too high of a minimum age by saying it is for thirteen years and older, and think they should consider altering that on later printings. I don't think any of the concepts present are that difficult. I think that about ten years old would be a good minimum age for the advanced game, and eight for the basic. The basic game does require reading and basic math, and that is why I wouldn't recommend that too much younger. Our five year old daughter Katie loved it, but needed help with the reading (and just a little with the math). I'm worried that some parents who would otherwise pick it up for their children may skip it due to that, which is unfortunate, since it is a wonderful game.


Katie's idea for a Horse Care card!

Katie shares her thoughts on the game:

What did you think of the game?
It was awesome! I like horses.

What was your least favorite part?
Nothing!

Can you tell us more?
The cards are great. They can get you past jumps. Sometimes they are jumps and can get you ribbons. I think the person that did the art made great pictures and details. I want to play again with the horse care cards and event cards. Speaking of playing again, let's play right now!

Finish Line

There you have it! We liked this game quite a bit, especially Katie. There's a fair amount of randomness in the skill cards, moreso than in most games we play, but that is actually good for a family game in that it levels the playing field a bit. Honestly, we were surprised at how much we like the game. Though I don't imagine it will be one that Angie and I necessarily clamor to grab off the shelf, we were quite happy to see Katie so engaged in the theme; I get the impression it will be a game that she will want to play again soon. And here I thought we were going to skip the "Daddy, can I have a pony? Please?" stage!

Katie's Game Goal Update

By Katie

My goal for the year is to play 100 different games and I played half of a half of my goal in a half of a half of a year... Which is a quarter on both of them. So I'm a quarter of the way done! That feels good to me because that means I've played at least a whole bunch of games from trying to get my goal. Goals are good because sometimes you get them and then you feel really really proud of yourself.





I wrote down all the games and so the circled numbers are how much I rate the game. My ratings is how much I like the games, it's just kinda random depending on my mood. Like sometimes I feel like its small or great or weird, you know, so then I give it a number to explain how I feel. It's makes sense to me.

 Thoughts about the first 25 games of the year

       1.    Mastermind Towers: I think mastermind is a really cool game and I
           liked it.

2.     Wits and Wagers Family: I think that its cool because my whole family played it and it has family in the name which is like us, my family.

3.     Connect 4: Connect 4 is a cool game because you try to match 4 in a row and that’s the name. I play this with my friends.

4.     Pictureka Matchureka: I think this is neat because it has 5 games with the same cards, and all the games use them.

5.     Quack Quack: This is kinda complicated because you have to find the right colors. I like complicated games.

6.     Formula De: What I don’t like about this game is it isn’t complicated enough. I like it anyway but ya know, not at least so much.

7.     Uno: I played Uno with my grandma and grandpa and I liked it and I like them.

8.     Frank’s Zoo: I just don’t have anything to say about this game. I don’t remember what I was going to say about it when this came up. I’m easy about forgetting things.

9.     Guess Who Extra: I play this a lot with my friends. I like the funny faces and the aliens and monster boards best, also the robots.

      10.  Polterdice: That one, well… it was… fun I guess,,, but it started getting sort of too easy and kind of boring and apparently we stopped playing it.

      11. Enchanted Forest: I like this because you try to find the right things under the trees. I have to remember things, like if there’s a star and I don’t need it but the next card might be the star so I have to remember where they are.

      12.  Forbidden Island: I really like this one. I keep playing it because its complicated and that makes it interesting. I like working together and helping people, you gotta help each other out of the island because it’s sinking.

13.  Stone Age: I played this with my dad and another time with my whole family. It is a little long, I like long games too but sometimes I really have to quit before its finished.

14.  Squint: Squint isn’t complicated, only I like other things about it. One of them is I like making pictures, and I don’t remember the rest but I know there’s other things I liked.

15.  Froggie Boogie: I like to play this and so does my brother, he likes the frogs. I think my dad likes to play this sort of but my mom yes because she loves games.

16. Crazy 8’s: Nothing to say about this.

17.  Zingo: I like Zingo because I just think its cool!

18.  Amazing Labyrinth: You try to get through the labyrinth and grab the last card out of the pile and get that before anybody else gets their last card. Funny and crazy.

19.  Go Fish: It is mediocre. I don’t know what that means, I just said it. It’s a good thing I think.

20. Castaways of Deadman’s Bay: This is a good game because there is a Jack like my little brother and Kate which my name is Katie but my real name is Kathryn but my parents sometimes call me Kate so that’s really cool.

21.  Memoir ‘44: Super! I’m secretly known as Flash, and also on my team is Super Tulip (which is a new super hero) and Batman and Ironman. We all fight to save people. Memoir 44 is cool because it has fighting in it and you have little army guys and you have to knock the whole other team out to get medals. I’m smart, and you have to be smart to play this game.

22.  Battleship: I think it’s cool and there’s nothing else to say.

      23.  Tsuro: This game is kind of miniature. I want that to mean crazy and a little frustrating in a good way.

      24.  Trans-America: That was trainy. There’s a map of the states.

      25.  Rock-Paper-Scissors: I can’t think fast enough and decide so I have to turn around of close my eyes when we’re counting. It takes me a while to choose what I want to do. I like to play it with my mom, sometimes my dad, but not Jack because he doesn’t know how!

Whew! It was like the longest conversation in the world to talk about that many games. My mom wrote down everything I said and it was kind of like writing the biggest blog post ever. I hope you enjoyed reading it and I hope you like games because that’s what our blog is all about. I love love love love games. Every kind of game that’s complicated, sign me up!

I was going to give my mom a high five for finishing this but my hands were full so I thought about using my nose, against her hand... but then I figured that would hurt so now I'm cracking up! Hahahahaha! Silly me. Bye-bye everybody!