Pizza at the dinner table.

We love making homemade pizza.
Decorating a pizza with your own toppings to satisfy your own whim is simply fun and tasty. And if we everyone creates their own personal-sized pizza then there isn’t any fighting over any of the toppings.

However, that’s not the case with Pizza Theory.
In Pizza Theory it’s all about fighting for topping supremacy!

And what a fun fight it is.

But don’t take my word for it, see for yourself in this joint board game video review by Brooke and Caleb.

Can the whole family enjoy Pizza Theory?
Yes, they can!

Who's got the most in each slice?

Pizza Theory is simple to learn, easy to play, and fun for the whole family. It’s a board game with three simple steps:

1. Place a topping
2. Slice the pizza
3. Switch out the toppings

So if your little tikes can place a topping on the pizza, select where to make their cut, and figure out which toppings are in the majority on each slice, then they can play and enjoy Pizza Theory.

Gryphon Games publishes great board games and card games for families, and Pizza Theory is no different. It has elements of both strategy and luck and doesn’t take too long to play. Once a player has all their toppings on the pizza, they win.

How much luck is involved in Pizza Theory?
Family board games are great when there’s enough luck to give all players a chance of doing well in the game. But what we like most in a family game is when that luck is balanced by good decisions. And Pizza Theory has a good balance between luck and strategy.

There's always a twist.

Planning ahead to how you’re going to slice the pizza impacts where you’ll want to place your topping. So good decisions will definitely help you progress. But you also need to anticipate where the other players will make their cut. If you can predict that correctly, then you’ll do great. However, as you know when playing with children – you can’t always predict their moves.

Well, we’ve found that the same applies when playing with just adults. Not knowing where the other players will make their cuts is what keeps the game interesting and fun. In most of the games we play, there are moments during play that swing the balance of power between players. And those moments are always great. So even if you’re struggling early in the game, make your best moves and hope that luck will swing your way before the end.

Three is not a crowd
There aren’t many board games that are specifically designed for three players, but Pizza Theory fits that niche well. While there are rules for how to play a 2-player game of Pizza Theory, 3-players is where it’s at. So if you’re looking for a good 3-player family board game, place your delivery order now.

How does Pizza Theory score on the “Let’s Play Again” game meter?
As you could guess, Pizza Theory scores high on our “let’s play again” game meter. I don’t think we’ve ever stopped after just one play of Pizza Theory. It has simple mechanics, thoughtful decisions, good player interaction, a mix of luck, and plays quickly – all things that make a game fun and easy to play over and over.

Thanks Gryphon Games for another great family board game!

The Board Game Family Game Ratings
	Caleb
	Brooke
	Jaden
	Trevor
	Mom
	Dad
	Average

This post is from The Board Game Family. Pizza Theory – a tasty game treat The Board Game Family - Families that play together stay together

Ready to build your civilization?

Have you ever wondered what it would have been like building the amazing wonders of the world? What if you lived in those ancient civilizations? Do you imagine slaving away at their construction or commanding those that did?

What if you could play a game that took you back in time, put you in that setting, and let you build those wonders and civilizations in less than 45 minutes?

7 Wonders set out to do just that.

But does it deliver?

Check out this video review by Caleb (9 yrs old) to see. And because 7 Wonders looks intimidating at first glance, this review goes a little deeper. Rather than just scratching the surface, Caleb goes over more than what our reviews typically cover. He covers How to Play, the Cards, and the Scoring with enough info to get you started.

What’s so great about 7 Wonders?
There was a lot of buzz when 7 Wonders was released near the end of 2010. The hype machine seemed to be in overdrive. And many people were wondering if the game could really be as good as the hype indicated. And I was one of those skeptics.

Can definitely fill a table.

I’d see pictures of the game and think it looked complicated – cards with all sorts of different symbols stacked and laid out in many different piles covering the table. You can see what I mean from this picture here – which is only a 3 player game. Pictures of a finished 7 player game seemed overwhelming.

So I thought I’d wait this card game out. I’d wait until the hype had died down and see if people were still talking about it a year later with the same excitement and enjoyment. As such, it was a year later when I finally sat down to try a game myself. And sure enough, that first play took a little time to get rolling. But once we’d played through and were familiar with the cards and symbols we were anxious to play again. And before you know it, 7 Wonders was on my Christmas wish list.

And I’m glad it made it under the Christmas tree!

Here’s 4 reasons why we think 7 Wonders is a great card game:

1. Simultaneous Play
What we like most about 7 Wonder is the simultaneous decision making and play. In most games, when it’s a player’s turn, the rest of the players sit and wait for them to make a decision. But in 7 Wonders, everyone is making decisions at the same time. You’re all deciding which card to select from your hand and play at the same time. Then the hand of remaining cards passes to your neighbor and you make another decision. So there isn’t any down time during the game. You’re spending the whole game playing rather than waiting. Awesome!

2. Play Time
And because of the simultaneous play, the game goes by rather quickly. In 30-45 minutes you’ve built up your civilization and you’re ready to compare it to your opponents. But because you’re actively making decisions the whole time, the game doesn’t seem to last long at all. In other 30 minute board games or card games you may spend half the time sitting and waiting. Not with 7 Wonders. It’s full play time.

3. Number of Players
The first two reasons actually pave the way for this 3rd reason. Since everyone is deciding and playing at the same time, you can add more players and it won’t add more time to the game. And when you need to buy resources from others or compare military strength, you only need to look at the players to your immediate right and left (your neighboring civilizations). So a game with 7 players doesn’t extend the game. And with a family of 6, this also means that everyone can play together!

4. Theme
While I never really get the sense of living in and building up ancient civilizations and slaving away at the wonders, the theme is a fun one to center this type of game around. The theme gives reason for getting your resources in place, interacting with your neighbors, and the different paths to victory. Sometimes hearing “civilization building game” can sound boring. But the pace of the game play in 7 Wonders isn’t boring at all. It makes it fun to build a civilization.

Can the whole family enjoy 7 Wonders?

The winning civilization!

Almost. On the game box, the recommended age for 7 Wonders is 13+. But many sites online (including BoardGameGeek) indicate 10+. We think 10+ is pretty accurate. Because of all that’s going on in the game, youngsters will have a hard time with it. However, based on the experience of the kids in your family, you may try including those a little younger than 10.

As you can see in Caleb’s video review, because of his experience playing games with many things going on to keep track of, he doesn’t feel overwhelmed with the game at all. And in the game we played while doing the review, he pulled out the victory.

So if you’re trying to decide if your little tikes can handle it, watch the video review to get a more detailed view then play it once yourself. You’ll be the best judge for your crew.

What about mom?
If you’ve watched or read many of our reviews, you’ll know that mom likes games that have more luck involved. She favors games where the playing field is leveled by elements of luck. She’s not as interested in a number of strategic board games or card games that others in our family really enjoy like Small World, Thunderstone, Lord of the Rings the Confrontation, or Hive (which she actually just doesn’t like the “creepy spider”).

Many points from the sciences.

So having her give 7 Wonders a try was a gamble. But telling her that I thought she’d actually like this card game and catching her in a weak moment, she agreed to give it a try. As I explained the different types of cards and symbols to her, her eyes started glazing over. And as she stared at her first hand of cards, the look of confusion was very apparent. But since I was familiar with that feeling (typical of the first play), I knew to just forge ahead.

Sure enough, after getting a few cards out in play, the confusion started to dissipate. And by the end of the 2nd Age, she was really into the game and enjoying it. A big thumbs up!

There are elements of luck in the game because you’re dealing with cards. But it’s that variability of what cards will come your way that keeps the game interesting throughout and changes every time you play. Combine that with the constant decisions to make and you’ve got a great game even for mom.

Great for game groups too

A well fought civilization.

7 Wonders has been a hit with my game group as well. We have a group of guys that get together one night a month to play games and since getting 7 Wonders to the table, it’s been played every time.

Again, it’s great because it works as well with 3 players as it does with 7. And the more familiar everyone becomes with the game, the smoother it flows. Add to that the competitive nature you get with a group of guys and you’ve got a fun game experience.

How does 7 Wonders score on the “Let’s Play Again” game meter?
7 Wonders scores very high on our “Let’s Play Again” game meter. Even with all the cards, it doesn’t take long to set up. And once you’re familiar with the types of cards and the symbols, playing a game goes by quickly as well. We’ve placed 7 Wonders in an easy to reach location on our game shelves because it’s getting a lot of repeated play. It’s a safe bet that 7 Wonders will be in our top 5 of games played most this year.

The Board Game Family Game Ratings
	Caleb
Has not played	Brooke
	Jaden
	Trevor
	Mom
	Dad
	Average

This post is from The Board Game Family. 7 Wonders = Wonderful The Board Game Family - Families that play together stay together

You could win this party game!

How would you like to win a new party game?

Well, the folks at Stratus Games are ready to give away a copy of their upcoming party game – Off Your Rocker!

You may recognize the name Stratus Games because we’ve reviewed a number of their family board games.

The first game they published was Gold Mine- which we reviewed in Oct 2010. It’s a fun tile laying game where you’re building out the mine and looking for gold. The cool twist is that you can also thwart the progress of the other players and challenge them for their gold as well. Gold Mine averaged a 4 out of 5 meeples with our crew.

Eruption is a family board game that Stratus Games published last year that’s also a tile laying game. But unlike Gold Mine where players are constructing something, in Eruption players send the lava flowing at their opponents villages on a path of destruction.

One of the great features of both of these games that we love is that they allow for up to 6 players. And for a family of 6, that’s terrific!

Full of crazy conditions to diagnose.

Well, now Stratus Games has developed a party game which we’re sure will work great with 6 players and many more – Off Your Rocker.

Off Your Rocker puts players in the role of patients suffering from a quirky problem and a psychiatrist who must ask general questions to try to diagnose it. If you’ve got a group of people wanting to act out and try to guess a lot of crazy conditions, then you’ll want to check out Off Your Rocker.

And while you’re at it – get in for a chance to win a copy of Off Your Rocker from Stratus Games!

But hurry – there’s only a couple days left!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This post is from The Board Game Family. New Game Giveaway! The Board Game Family - Families that play together stay together

Could this be the winner?

It’s that time of year again – time for the annual Dice Tower Awards!
Well, actually it’s time for the game nominations to be announced.

This week, The Dice Tower Network announced the nominations for the Dice Tower Gaming Awards for 2011. A committee made up of over 40 prominent board game podcasters and bloggers has come up with the lists of the best games released in the year 2011.

This year, it was decided to increase the nomination slate for Game of the Year to 10 games rather than five. They’ve also added two new categories: Best Digital Board Games – for board games translated to iOS devices or computers, and a Best Game Theme category – in which games are recognized for having unique, refreshing themes or portraying their theme well.

The winners will be announced the first week of July – after more game playing and comparisons can be made from repeated plays to judge which are really the Best of the Best.

Here’s this year’s list of nominations in the 13 categories, along with designer and English publisher.

We’ve found it interesting how these nominees compare to the Best Board Game and Best Card Game of 2011 list that we posted about just after 2011 came to a close. That preliminary list included 27 games. What’s interesting is that only 13 of those became nominees in The Dice Tower Awards 2011.

Now I better get back to playing some games – so I can be better prepared to worthily contribute along with the others around the world judging this year’s nominees and ultimate winners!

If you’re interested in seeing The Dice Tower Awards lists from years past, head to the Dice Tower website.
2010 – Best Game of the Year Winner: 7 Wonders
2009 – Best Game of the Year Winner: Smallworld
2008 – Best Game of the Year Winner: Dominion
2007 – Best Game of the Year Winner: Race for the Galaxy

This post is from The Board Game Family. Best Board Games of 2011 – Nominees announced! The Board Game Family - Families that play together stay together

Great game of strategy!

Yinsh is a 2-player abstract strategy board game that I’ve had on my “to play” list for a very long time. It’s part of a series of 6 abstract strategy games called Project GIPF that all have unique play mechanics that all look great to try. And of all the games in the series, Yinsh has held the most interest to me for a few years.

However, it’s also been a very tough game to find in game stores and even online. So when I saw it available online at Amazon.com for a great price in February, I had to jump at the chance to buy it.

And I haven’t been disappointed at all.

You can also see from Jaden’s video review of Yinsh that he hasn’t been disappointed either.

Can the whole family enjoy Yinsh?

The game could go either way.

If people in your family enjoy abstract strategy games, then we think they’ll enjoy playing Yinsh. It’s a game that requires some mental effort to figure out how to play well. But that also means Yinsh is a game that you can get better at playing.

Similar to playing other 2-player abstract board games, your ability to play well will improve the more you play it. Since Yinsh doesn’t have any elements that rely on luck, it’s all about how much mental effort you put into it.

With that in mind, we still think it’s a great board game to introduce to your children. The published recommended ages for the game are 8+, but we think you’re fine to introduce it to kids younger than that. Of course, don’t expect them to become expert at it overnight.

We also know that not all adults will enjoy it either. Not everyone enjoys 2-player abstract strategy board games. We’ve found that mom falls into this category. Sure she’ll play this type of game once in a while, but more out of pressure than enjoyment. She definitely prefers board games that have luck involved to even the odds.

Aren’t there a lot of games where you have to get 5 in a row?

A happy Yinsh game board.

Yes, there are a bunch of games where the object is to get 5 of something in a row. But the way you do so in Yinsh is what makes it so fantastic. As Jaden demonstrated in his video review, it’s all about flipping the markers so you get 5 in a row with your color face up. Do this 3 times and you win the game. The challenge is in how you can flip the markers to get them to show your color face up.

But the catch is that once you get 5 in a row, you have to remove those markers as well as one of your rings from the board. So as you get closer to winning, you also get handicapped – a fantastic way to keep the game interesting all the way to the end.

Be ready to change your plans
Yinsh is a game where every move can change the outcome of the game. Inevitably, just when you think you’ve got your plan of attack set, your opponent will make a completely unexpected move and cause you to rethink everything. And that’s what we love about the game.

How does Yinsh score on the “Let’s Play Again” game meter?
Yinsh scores high on our “Let’s play again” game meter for a few of us. Like we mentioned before, it’s not for everyone. But for those of us that enjoy some thinking games, Yinsh is definitely a board game that we’ll play multiple times in a row. It’s also so easy to set up and get playing that it has earned an easy access spot in our game closet.

The Board Game Family Game Ratings
	Caleb
Has not played	Brooke
	Jaden
	Trevor
Has not played	Mom
	Dad
	Average

This post is from The Board Game Family. Yinsh – a 2-player strategy game with a flip The Board Game Family - Families that play together stay together

Let's go team!

We’ve said it many times before – We love cooperative board games. We love them because they encourage teamwork to win the game. And when we can’t win, we all feel the pain of defeat together.

They’re also a great way to get younger kids to enjoy board games because you’re not competing against them. You don’t have to ‘take it easy’ on them because you’re after the same goal.

So when we first heard about Flash Point: Fire Rescue our interest was piqued. The big question would be “is it a good board game?”

And with the cool picture of a firefighter rushing ahead with an ax, Caleb was anxious to open and play the game the moment he saw it. So here’s Caleb to show you Flash Point: Fire Rescue and tell you what he thinks about the game.

Can the whole family enjoy Flash Point: Fire Rescue?

Time to save the cat.

Yes, cooperative board games can work well for families. But just because it’s cooperative, doesn’t guarantee it will be fun or engaging. And that’s where we’re happy to say that Flash Point is fun and engaging.

One of the things that we really like about Flash Point is the randomness of where the fire heats up. During every player’s turn they roll 2 dice to see where the next smoke token is placed using a cool grid system. So you never know what you’re going to get. Everything may be going along just great and then all of a sudden, explosions start happening and knocking out walls.

The walls are starting to crumble.

The other random element is where the people and pets (points of interest) pop up during the game for you to go rescue. In one game we played, Trevor rescued 4 of the 7 people from the same room. He’d step in a couple spaces, rescue a person, and get out of the building. Then the lucky dice roll happened to place the next person to rescue in that same room – so back in he’d go.

Sure a firefighting game sounds like a serious topic, but we laughed a ton as we hailed Trevor for being the master fireman saving everyone as they’d keep appearing out from under the bed (or so we joked since it happened to be a bedroom).

And even though the recommended ages on the game box say 10+, since it’s a cooperative game don’t hold back introducing it to younger players. Sure younger players may not be able to pick it up and play it on their own from the start. But once they’ve been introduced to how to play, they may even be fine to tackle it without your help.

How many people can play Flash Point: Fire Rescue?

Great game components as well.

Another reason we think Flash Point is great for families is because up to 6 people can play it together. And since we’re a family of 6, that sits very well with us. But Flash Point is also great to play with only 2 – which means that we don’t have to pull out a competitive head-to-head 2-player game every time that we only have 2 people that want to play a game.

You may think it would be easier to win with more players, since more rescuing could happen. But that’s not the case because the fire also spreads a lot quicker when everyone’s rolling for fire each turn. Overall, we’ve found it fun no matter the number of players.

How does Flash Point compare to other cooperative board games?
People often ask us to compare games for a variety of reasons. It may be because they like a certain style of game play and would like similar games. Or on the flip-side don’t want games that are too similar. Whatever the reason, we know we’ll be asked how Flash Point compares to other cooperative board games.

Advanced game play notches up the difficulty.

While this will likely be a future topic where we can go into more depth between cooperative games, we’ll quickly say that Flash Point has a unique feel to us and stands very well on its own. In fact, each of the cooperative games we’ve reviewed have their own unique feel. In each game, there’s a crisis of some sort that must be overcome. And the way that those crisis’s escalate is different in each.

In Flash Point, we enjoy the theme of being a team of rescuers. And the compactness of the game board and the way the threat spreads all work together so well. In the family play rules the game is very straightforward and streamlined making it very easy to understand and remember. There isn’t too much going on and that’s a great thing.

But there’s also another level at which you can play Flash Point. The game also includes other elements and rules that will add more complexity and challenge to the game if you’re looking for something deeper.

How does Flash Point score on the “Let’s Play Again” game meter?
As you could guess from our review, Flash Point scores high on our “let’s play again” game meter. Flash Point plays in a relatively short amount of time for the type of game that it is and as such is easy to set up and play again. And when you lose, that’s exactly what you’ll want to do – play it again. It’s also going to be a game that stays within reach on the game shelf for frequent play.

Thanks to Indie Board & Cards for a great family cooperative board game!

The Board Game Family Game Ratings
	Caleb
	Brooke
	Jaden
	Trevor
	Mom
	Dad
	Average

This post is from The Board Game Family. Time for a team rescue – Flash Point: Fire Rescue The Board Game Family - Families that play together stay together

It's time to head out on an adventure.

Minions are quickly spreading across the land and the evil Generals are relentlessly advancing on Monarch City from the outer regions. Can you and your little band of adventures rid the land of these dark forces before it’s too late?

In Defenders of the Realm, that’s exactly what you’ll have to do.

Cooperative board games are great for families because it gets you all working together toward a common goal. And you’ll win or lose the game together as a team. So when Defenders of the Realm was first published in 2010, I thought it looked promising. After all, it’s set in a fantasy world with wizards, elves, dwarves, rangers, and evil foes to vanquish. Wouldn’t it be fun to have this great adventure with my 3 sons?

The land is swarming with evil - time to fight it back!

So when I finally picked up a copy from Eagle Games last month, I was excited to get the boys together and play Defenders of the Realm.

But lo and behold, the one that loved it right from the start was Brooke – our 11 year old daughter!

Brooke has never been interested in anything fantasy themed in the past. Fantasy themed games hold no interest for her and the same has been true for any other dice rolling combat type games. So my assumption from the very beginning was that she’d have no interest in Defenders of the Realm. Thus, my only thoughts were centered on playing it with my boys.

Fun characters to adventure with.

But when I set up the game for the first time, Brooke walked in to see what I was up to. Then she noticed that there were a couple female character roles and asked me what the game was about. Next thing I know, she’d picked a character card and pulled up a chair.

So we went through what she could do on her turn, what her special skills were and we were off and rolling – literally. And of course right from the start she was knocking down minions left and right and worrying about not rolling high enough numbers. And as the generals started advancing she was totally into the game – concerned that we wouldn’t get to them in time.

You can hear it straight from Brooke herself in her video review of Defenders of the Realm. The video may be a little longer than average, but there’s a lot going on in the game and she wanted to talk about it all.

Can the whole family enjoy Defenders of the Realm?
While I thought Defenders of the Realm might appeal just to boys and more specifically to teenage boys, I was pleasantly surprised that it can appeal to girls as well. To have Brooke asking when we’re going to play Defenders of the Realm again is a pleasant surprise.

There is a lot to keep track off with all the special abilities of each character, the unique challenges of each evil faction, and the multiple things you can do on your turn. So the recommended ages of 13+ and the game length of 90-120 minutes will tell you that it’s not for the youngsters.

But since it’s a cooperative board game, don’t worry about letting your kids younger than 13 joining on the adventure. When they see all the awesome pieces on the board and the colored dice, they’ll want to check it out and join in the fun.

Watching Brooke’s video review will give your a great feel for what’s involved with the game so you can see if it’s something your family would enjoy too.

The Minions are waiting in the wings ready to infest the land!

Are there downsides to Defenders of the Realm?
Defenders of the Realm is a great cooperative game, but it does have a couple things we were disappointed about. The most noticeable one we’ve encountered are the generals miniatures that won’t stand up straight. Don’t get us wrong – the miniature pieces in the game are fantastic and very well themed. However, the biggest and most imposing of the generals, Sapphire, keeps falling over.

That big blue dragon is fantastic, but also loves to nap during the game. Any little tap on the table, and down it goes. After standing it back up multiple times, we give up and just let it rest on its side for the remainder of the game.

The character cards are a great element of the game.

The other element that we’ve had to work around are the hero cards. The hero cards came in two decks – standard and special. They all get put into one hero deck during play, but when we put them together we noticed that the special cards are cut ever so slightly larger – which makes shuffling difficult. They can still be shuffled, but not cleanly. Instead, while shuffling the cards go in clumps and thus don’t get a thorough mix. So we’ve had to change our way of mixing the deck instead of shuffling so we don’t get batches of one color of card coming up repeatedly to the scarcity of another color (inevitably the one we’ll need).

But those two production issues aside, the game is a lot of fun and difficult to win. We haven’t had to ramp up the difficulty level at all and we’re still trying to get our first win! We’ve come extremely close only to have it slip away just before the winning play. But rather than frustration, the difficulty of winning has added to the fun.

There’s nothing quite like aching to play the game again because you didn’t win. If you win too easily, it may get boring after a while. And Defenders of the Realm isn’t boring. The time flies by because we’re so involved in the game.

How does Defenders of the Realm score on the “Let’s Play Again” meter?
Defenders of the Realm scores very high on our “let’s play again” game meter. Even though the game takes a while to play, it’s one that we’ve really enjoyed and will pull out again and again. Maybe it’s because we’re still trying to get that elusive win!

Thanks Eagle Games for a fun family cooperative board game!

The Board Game Family Game Ratings
	Caleb
	Brooke
	Jaden
	Trevor
Has not played	Mom
	Dad
	Average

This post is from The Board Game Family. Time to Defend our Realm! The Board Game Family - Families that play together stay together

Fabulous in digital form too!

Two months ago we wrote about some of the fantastic family board games that have been made available in digital form for mobile devices like iPads, iPhones, and Androids. And one of our favorites to make the jump is Ticket to Ride by Days of Wonder.

One of the issues we talked about at the end of the article is whether digital board games would make their physical board game version obsolete. Our thoughts were that they wouldn’t replace the physical versions at all.

We don’t think that digital incarnations of great board games will kill the physical board game version at all. The big draw for physical board games and card games is the socialization. Getting together with friends and family is what it’s about. Grab a game off the shelf, sit down at the table and have a great time together pushing bits, shuffling cards, and rolling dice.

Well, now we’ve heard direct from the source what the digital version of board games have done for sales of the physical version. Eric Hautemont, the founder and CEO of Days of Wonder recently revealed the results for an article in The Penny Arcade Report.

Take your games with you.

We’ve loved reading about his perspective on why certain board games endure – like Monopoly. The simple reason is that people are familiar with it. They’ve been taught the rules by others and so it’s easy to pull out and play. And we’ve seen that a lot in our family and with others we play games with. The games they enjoy playing are ones that their either already familiar with or are taught how to play them by their friends. (Of course, it also has to be a great game.)

When the iPad first game out, Days of Wonder was the first game publisher ready with a digital version of their board game – SmallWorld. And it launched at the same time as the iPad did. And the results show a huge success. Not only was it extremely well received, but sales of the physical version of SmallWorld also increased 40%!

And with Ticket to Ride, the success has come again. When Ticket to Ride released on the iPad, sales of the physical version of the board game jumped 30%. Then when it released for the iPhone, sales of the iPad version shot up 400% and led to a 70% increase in sales of the physical version.

Expansions are now a must.

So what’s the trick? It was so affordable and convenient for people to purchase and play, that it was hard to pass up. And once people became familiar with the rules from playing on their device they were anxious to get the physical version to play with their family and friends.

Publishers have found that when people buy a game they love, they’ll buy it multiple times. And that seems to be true because we’ve done the same thing. We don’t have multiple versions of Monopoly like many families do (in fact we don’t have a single copy), but we do have expansions for many board games that we love – like Ticket to Ride and Smallworld.

And we know we’re not alone. When we wrote our article a couple months ago, we asked people if they also play digital versions of board games and an overwhelming 85% said Yes.

If you haven’t yet tried Ticket to Ride (in any incarnation), we’d highly suggest you don’t wait any longer – it’s one of the best family board games!

This post is from The Board Game Family. Digital Board Games boost Sales of Physical Games The Board Game Family - Families that play together stay together