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

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

Roll and score!

We’re guessing that everyone’s familiar with Yahtzee.

It’s a classic dice game played with 5 dice that you can roll up to 3 times, holding the dice that you want to complete 1 of 13 categories. Some of the categories are 3 of a kind, 4 of a kind, full house, large straight and of course – Yahtzee – which is all 5 dice showing the same number. Once all 13 categories are scored, the game ends.

Yahtzee was one of those classic family games we played growing up. Simply roll the dice, make your choices and score some points. And when our family picked up a hand-held electronic copy of Yahtzee, it could suck time away like nothing else.

One of the key elements of Yahtzee is choosing when to score each category – because you can only score each category once. So if you score your 4 of a kind with 4 twos, then when you roll 4 sixes, you’re just out of luck.

Well, we’ve got a game for you where that’s no longer the case – Yamslam and Pocket Yamslam by Blue Orange Games.

The great thing about Yamslam is that you’re not limited to only scoring a category once. If the dice are giving you straights, then just go with the flow, score 4 large straights, and rack up the points.

Yamslam is easy and fun to play

Yamslam is a dice game built on the same Yahtzee mechanic of rolling 5 dice up to 3 times while holding dice that you want to use for a scoring category. But Yamslam is a lot quick and more competitive. And you won’t need to worry about recording your score on a pad of paper. Instead, when you complete a category, you take one of the chips for that category.

Collect the chips for points.

There are 8 category combinations you can achieve with a different value for each:

• 2 Pairs / 5 points
• 3 of a Kind / 10 points
• Small Straight / 20 points
• Flush / 25 points
• Full House / 30 points
• 4 of a Kind / 40 points
• Large Straight / 50 points
• Yamslam (5 of a Kind) / Pick any chip and play again

In Yamslam there are only 4 of each chip so grab the best ones before they run out. Because once the chips start running out, your time is running out as well.

But just taking the highest value chip isn’t always the best strategy either, because you can score bonus points for having different combinations of chips in the end. For example, if you collect 1 of each chip, you’ll get a 50 point bonus and collecting 6 different chips will grant you 20 extra points. So keep an eye on those bonus opportunities as well.

Perfect for traveling.

Can the whole family enjoy Yamslam?
Absolutely!
As you can see, Yamslam is a very simple dice game that people of all ages can enjoy. It’s a family game that doesn’t take long to play and involves a lot of luck simply because it’s based on dice rolls. Sure, there’s some strategy in what categories you choose to go after and when. But it still comes down to who has the lucky dice rolls. And in that sense – anyone in the family can walk away with the win.

We also love the different colors of pips on the dice – red pips for even numbers and black pips for odd numbers. It may be a small thing, but we’ll admit it does add fun to the game other than just rolling standard black and white dice.

Pocket Yamslam
And Blue Orange Games didn’t stop with Yamslam – they also came out with a version perfect for travel – Pocket Yamslam!

Pocket Yamslam comes in a compact case that closes up tightly and makes it very easy to take on the road. So as we head into the spring and summer travel time, Pocket Yamslam is a great game to add to your stack of portable games to take with you on vacation.

After all, you can pick it up on Amazon.com for under $9!

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

This post is from The Board Game Family. Pocket Yamslam – Yahtzee in your pocket The Board Game Family - Families that play together stay together

Carcassonne tops the list.

That’s hard for us to believe because we know our extended family isn’t that big.

All we can say is THANK YOU for participating with us in the fun endeavor of family game time.

Those numbers indicate that on average each video has been viewed more than 3,000 times. However, we know that’s definitely not the case. Some board game reviews clearly stand out as the most popular.

So what are our most viewed board game and card game video reviews?

Our most viewed Family Board Game and Card Game Video Reviews are:
(at the time of this posting – 2/29/12)

Carcassonne
Carcassonne is one of the games that launched our family into the fun world of family board games. It’s on our Top 10 Must Have Family Board Games list for a reason. And it’s closing in on 50,000 views!

Dominion
Dominion is truly an card game like no other. It’s the most addictive card game we have and continually tops our list of most played card game. It may take you a play or too to get a feel for it, but once you do, it’s hard not to be hooked.

Risk: Star Wars the Clone Wars
This was the first board game that we filmed a review for so the video has its issues. But it’s still a great game. Of course we love the Star Wars theme and that it’s a game of Risk that builds up good to and end-game condition rather than going on forever.

Qwirkle
Qwirkle won the Spiel des Jahres award for best board game last year for a reason – it’s a great family board game. With luck of the tile draw and strategic tile placement it’s got a great balance for family fun.

Sequence
Sequence is a staple in our game closet. It’s a simple game that works well on so many levels. And whenever we get together with extended family for a weekend, it’s on the table.

Ticket to Ride: Europe
The Ticket to Ride series is simply a great group of family board games. If you haven’t tried it yet, don’t wait any longer. And for what it’s worth, we like the Europe version best.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid Cheese Touch
We think it’s pretty funny that this game is in the Top 10 of video reviews viewed – with almost 10,000 (as of this writing). Our guess is that there’s a ton of kids that love the books and have watched the movies. So of course they want to check out what the game’s like.

Blokus
Blokus is another abstract board game that’s fantastic for families. There have been a number of derivative board games created from the success of Blokus. But it’s hard to beat the original.

Killer Bunnies and the Quest for the Magic Carrot
Killer Bunnies is full of wackiness. Don’t know what wackiness is? Then pick up a copy of Killer Bunnies. The fun must be found in the playing of the game because the winning condition at the end is completely random. So enjoy the journey, not the destination.

Bang!
Bang! is actually THE game that put us on this path of reviewing family board games. It was Caleb at age 6 being placed in the role of Sheriff and coming out with guns blazing where we knew we had something on our hands and just had to share it with others. And since then we’ve added the Dodge City expansion that adds even more fun to the game.

So that’s our Top 10 The Board Game Family Video Reviews list based on the time of this writing. There are a bunch of great family board games that haven’t quite cracked this list yet and you can see which those are by visiting our YouTube channel.

If you want to see where these games rank our our favorite games, check out our Board Game Reviews page and click on the column headings to sort it as you see fit.

This post is from The Board Game Family. Top 10 Most Viewed Board Game Video Reviews The Board Game Family - Families that play together stay together

Who knew the Mafia could be family friendly?

Like many, when we first heard the board game title “Lemming Mafia” we weren’t sure what to make of it. Sure we’re familiar with the inclination of lemmings to follow each other into dangerous situations. And when we think of Mafia, we think of things dark and sinister. So what in the world could bring the two together?

Surely that’s only something you can pull off in a board game.

So what do we think of Lemming Mafia? And is it really a game for families?
Check out Brooke’s video review to see what the game is about and hear what she thinks of it.

Can the whole family enjoy Lemming Mafia?

Who can get to the finish first?

When you see the artwork on the Lemming Mafia game box, you’ll quickly realize that this isn’t a dark and sinister game. Instead you’ll see a cartoony depiction of lemmings in fancy hats and ties jumping in the river. And when you open the game box, you’re greeted with awesome lemming playing pieces that are just as cartoony as shown on the box.

Then once you start to play, you’ll realize that it’s a great, light game that the whole family can enjoy. But it does take some thinking. So while your youngest kids may be fascinated with the look of the game and the lemmings, if they’re too young they may not grasp some of the choices they’ll make along the way.

The mechanics are very simple with a standard “roll and move – then do something based on where the piece ends the move”. But players will have to choose which moves will be most advantageous to them in scoring points in the end. So we’d recommend sticking close to the ages listed on the box of of 8+.

Of course, dad has also played Lemming Mafia with his buddies and they’ve enjoyed it as well – so it’s not just for kids. Adults can have fun maneuvering lemmings around and picking who will come in first too.

Play is just as great with 6 players

A variety of missions to accomplish.

Lemming Mafia also allows for up to 6 players to play the game. Not only does it allow for it, but it’s also great with 6 players. Adding more players doesn’t really extend the length of the game either. Since the game ends when one lemming gets to the 1st spot on the finish track, no matter how many players are playing, the lemmings will get to the end in about the same amount of turns. The only difference is with 6 players, each player will get less individual turns then with 3 players.

We love it when our family of 6 can all play and enjoy a game together.

No one is eliminated
Another key feature that we love about Lemming Mafia is that players aren’t eliminated as you play. Yes, some lemmings will be tossed in the river with cement shoes (grey pegs), but since players aren’t represented in the game by any particular color lemming, no one gets booted from playing. Everyone has a chance to affect the outcome of the game all the way up to the end.

How much luck is involved in Lemming Mafia?
There’s a lot of luck in Lemming Mafia, but you’ll also have the chance to make decisions along the way that will affect the outcome. For starters, there’s the luck of the dice rolls. The main dice determine which lemmings you can move on your turn. But you get to roll two dice and as such will most likely have the chance to choose between two lemmings to move.

There’s also luck involved with which spots may be open to move the lemmings to. But at the same time, that can be part of your strategy. You can make choices to move lemmings to spots that will reduce the options for your opponents to move the following lemmings to.

Another bit of luck comes in what mission cards you’re dealt at the beginning of the game. As the game progresses your goal is to complete as many of those missions as possible for the most points. And it’s those cards that will most likely dictate in which order you want each color lemmings to finish. So you’ll have to just make the most of what you’re dealt.

Overall, it’s very back and forth on finding ways to use the lucky elements of the game to your advantage.

But that’s also what we think makes a great family board game – a good mix of luck and choices. Having luck in the game gives everyone a chance to do well. And adding points that require key decisions, helps everyone keep their minds sharp.

Of course, in the end you may just not get the rolls you need to win. But with how light the game is (and that it doesn’t take too long to play) we’ve found that it really doesn’t matter who wins in the end. Having fun in the journey is what this game’s all about.

How does Lemming Mafia score on our “Let’s Play Again” game meter?
Lemming Mafia is a fun, light family board game that scores high on the “let’s play again” game meter. It’s near the front of our game closet so it’s easy to pull out and play when we’re up for a quick game.

We’d like to thank Meeple Mania for sending us a copy of Lemming Mafia!

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

This post is from The Board Game Family. Lemming Mafia – Let’s all jump in the river! The Board Game Family - Families that play together stay together

Do all of your board games get jumbled together too?

When we saw this Baby Blues comic in yesterday’s newspaper, we just had to share it. Our day doesn’t seem quite complete if we don’t read Baby Blues. Even the kids love the funny family comic. So when it mentioned board games, we especially got a kick out of it.

It also reminded us of a number of comments we received from friends after they saw us on TV on Studio 5 and noticed the shot of our game closet. They mentioned how organized our game closet looked with games stacked nicely on the shelves. By comparison, while they only have a handful of board games, they’re laying disorganized on a closet shelf with all the pieces scattered amongst them.

They have to go somewhere.

Organized by Default
Of course, we can’t claim that our game closet has always been organized either. In fact, we didn’t start out with a board game closet even on the list. Our current board game closet was actually built to be a storage closet. And we planned for a cabinet in the family room where we’d place our games so we could easily pull them out to play. But then the family board game bug struck and before you know it, we got carried away.

With a current board game, card game, and party game count coming in over 250 we need to be organized. It’s that simple.

Thus our storage closet became our walk-in game closet. And when we’re looking for a game, we simply head to that section. Kind of like a library. We’ve put all the party games in one area and card games in another. The large box games are stacked near the back and the kid games are on the lower shelves. And so it goes.

Stormtroopers on the beach in '44.

If we didn’t organize it some way, we’d be overwhelmed.

Creative Kids
But the thing that I love about the Baby Blues comic is how the kids make creative use of the games. Who says you have to be limited by the rules of a game? And in a like manner, who says you have to keep the games separate at all?

Why not just have fun with your games in any way you choose?

We know there's treasure here.

In fact, that’s probably just how some board games get designed. The designers take parts of games they enjoy and then find creative ways to combine them with a new theme.

And if your game pieces do get mixed around, that might bring fresh life to some of your family board games. Why not have Star Wars characters storm the beaches in Memoir ’44 or Gold Miners look for treasure on Forbidden Islands?

So this week we challenge you to add some creativity to your family board game time. Mix it up a little and see what your family can come up with during your game time.

This post is from The Board Game Family. How organized are your board games? The Board Game Family - Families that play together stay together

We’re often asked what our favorite new board games and card games are. And when the year rolls around to a new year, the question gets asked more frequently. Many people are anxious to hear what the best board games of the past year were.

While we’d love to give the definitive list of best board games to the world, it brings up a few issues.

1. With about 1,000 new board games releasing every year, there’s no way for one person to judge them all. How can one person or one family get through all those games to compare them?
2. With so many different types of games, how should we compare one against another (party game vs. a deeply themed strategy game) ?
3. When’s the best time to judge the games? Can we judge it like a movie with a singular experience or should it first stand the test of time?

So with those issues in mind, we’re happy to point you in a solid direction.

This month The Dice Tower podcast released 2 episodes focused on the Best Board Games of 2011. The great thing about this source for a “best of” listing is that contributors from around the world weigh in on what they believe the best games of 2011 were. They also break them down into various categories so it’s easier to compare one against another.

In regards to how soon a game can be declared “the best”, the final Dice Tower list will come out in the summer of 2012 – after many plays and rounds of nominations and voting from game reviewers across the globe. That’s when we’ll have a better feel for how the test of time will treat these new games.

With that in mind, here are the games that made The Dice Tower preliminary list of Best Board Games of 2011. (Of course, at the end we’ll also tell you which board games our family liked best from 2011.)

Best Board Games and Card Games of 2011 – The Dice Tower

• Super Dungeon Explore
• Star Trek Fleet Captains
• Discworld: Ankh-Morpork
• Mage Knight Board Game
• Eminent Domain
• Yomi
• Kingdom Builder
• BattleCON: War of Indines
• Quarriors
• King of Tokyo
• Castles of Burgundy
• Eclipse
• Paperclip Railways
• Risk Legacy
• Battleship Galaxies
• Core Worlds
• Node
• Sentinels of the Multiverse
• Airlines Europe

And their Runners Up are:

• Letters from Whitechapel
• Dungeon Run
• Fealty
• Dungeons & Dragons: Conquest of Nerath Board Game
• The Ares Project
• Conquest of Planet Earth
• Few Acres of Snow
• Panic Station

Best Board Games and Card Games of 2011 – The Board Game Family
Here are the 2011 games that our family liked the most:

• Knock Your Blocks Off
• City Square Off
• Say Anything Family Edition
• Dixit Odyssey
• Reverse Charades Junior Edition
• Martian Dice
• Dominion: Cornucopia
• Ninja: Legend of the Scorpion Clan
• Castle Panic: The Wizard’s Tower

(As you can tell, we’ve got a few of these game reviews still coming.)

It’s an understatement to say that there’s a ton of 2011 board games that we haven’t had a chance to play yet. Here are the 2011 board and card games that we’re most anxious to try:

• Kingdom Builder
• King of Tokyo
• Dominion: Hinterlands
• 7 Wonders Leaders
• Power Grid: The Robots
• Ticket to Ride: Alvin and Dexter
• Small World: Underground
• A Fistful of Penguins
• Secret of Monte Cristo
• Lost Temple
• Pastiche
• Rumble in the House
• The Road to Canterbury
• Dungeons & Dragons: Wrath of Ashardalon
• Dungeons & Dragons: Conquest of Nerath Board Game

It’s a long list and who knows if we’ll have a chance to try these board games or not, but it should be fun trying. After all, we’re thinking there may be another cool game or two come out in 2012 that we’ll want to play along the way.

Have a great 2012 with your family!

Do you have a Best Board Games of 2011? Tell us about it in the comments below.

This post is from The Board Game Family. Best Board Games and Card Games of 2011 The Board Game Family - Families that play together stay together