10 Favorite Board Games – Jaden
Moving on up the chain, today Jaden shares his list of Favorite Board Games.
While Jaden hasn’t been in front of the review camera as much as either Brooke or Caleb, he’s still done over 30 video reviews!
He has a keen eye for what he likes and dislikes in games. And like the others, his taste in games has also changed as he’s grown.
In particular, Jaden’s main interests and hobbies lie elsewhere.
As a senior in high school with a steady part time job, he doesn’t have a lot of extra time. So when he does have some extra time, he’ll more readily head off with friends.
But with some coaxing, or during a family night he’ll join in on some games.
As I compare his 2012 Top 11 Board Games list with his updated list below, I’ve seen some noticeable changes in the types of games on his list.
Can you spot his current game tendencies?
Jaden’s 10 Favorite Games:
As with our other Favorite Board Games lists, Jaden’s list is also presented in alphabetical order. You may also note that half of Jaden’s favorite board games are also on Caleb’s recent list.
Coup
Ages: 9+, Players: 2 – 6, Time: 15 min
Coup is a game full of bluffing, second-guessing, and eliminating other players, while trying to be the last one standing. Not only does Jaden love the hidden identity and bluffing elements of the game, but he also loves that it can be played in under 10 minutes.
For a short game, it can pack a bunch of fun in it. Turns go pretty quickly as players bluff and call each others’ bluffs all in an effort to knock each other out first. And because of the short play time, it’s easy to play multiple times in succession. Which you’ll definitely want to do, because there’s payback to be had…
See our full review of Coup.
Crappy Birthday
Ages: 12+, Players: 4 – 8, Time: 20 min
Crappy Birthday is one of the 5 games on Jaden’s list that also shows up on Caleb’s favorite board games list.
Unlike Coup, Crappy Birthday isn’t a game that will get a lot of back-to-back play. Instead Crappy Birthday is more about a short, enjoyable time with friends at a party. Because once you’ve seen all the cards, a second play of the game won’t bring as much humor.
However, if played with different groups, Crappy Birthday can be enjoyed numerous times. And for a guy that has a lot of friendships like Jaden, Crappy Birthday can keep on giving.
See our full review of Crappy Birthday.
Fastrack
Ages: 5+, Players: 2, Time: 5 min
Since this is Jaden’s list, he’ll gladly tell you that he’s the Fastrack champion in our family (even if Caleb tries to claim the contrary).
And Jaden doesn’t stop with being the champion in the family. He’ll confidently take on any challenger. I still recall big battles between Jaden and my buddies when they’ve come over for Guys Game Night. And sure enough, Jaden walks away the winner every time.
See Jaden’s full review of Fastrack.
Quoridor
Ages: 8+, Players: 2 – 4, Time: 15 min
Quoridor was the first board game Jaden reviewed in 2009. So seeing it on his favorites list 6 years later says a great deal about the game.
To quote him from his video review, “You don’t want to stop because it’s just so fun to see…oh, he blocked me. Ok, you’re getting trapped mister.”
Quoridor is an abstract strategy game that’s great for families. There are only 2 things players can do on their turn: Move their pawn or Place a wall. So deciding when and where to do which is a strategically, thoughtful process. It’s great for developing critical thinking skills.
While he loves the head-to-head nature of Quoridor with 2 players, he still admits it’s also fun with 4 players.
See Jaden’s full review of Quoridor.
RoboRally
Ages: 12+, Players: 2 – 8, Time: 20 – 120 min
Surprise, surprise!
Ok, maybe it’s not a surprise since I let the cat out of the bag on Caleb’s list that RoboRally shows up on the favorite games list of all the boys in our family.
We love programing our robots to mash it up on the factory floor as we race to touch the flags. But what we love more than programming our robots is causing damage to each other’s robots along the way.
We play the variant where we each start with an Option Card (special abilities) so more chaos can ensue more quickly in the game. Battle wounds right at the start may be tough to overcome, but we’re built for it.
Bring on the battles!
See our full review of RoboRally.
Snake Oil
Ages: 10+, Players: 2 – 10, Time: 30 min
Jaden and Trevor had a fun time recording their video review of Snake Oil. When watching their review, make sure to watch the second half as well.
During the first half, they explain how to play the game and what they think of it. But during the second half, they rattle through many examples and put their quick-thinking, selling skills to the test. You can be the judge who wins.
See our full review of Snake Oil.
Stipulations
Ages: 12+, Players: 4+, Time: 30 min
Stipulations is another game that made both Jaden and Caleb’s favorite games list.
They’re both very creative when it comes to putting restrictions on the other players’ newly announced superpowers, careers, lifetime supplies, and dreams.
What stipulation would you put on someone who announced they had a superpower that would let them be invisible?
See our full review Stipulations.
Telestrations
Ages: 13+, Players: 4 – 12, Time: 30 min
By now it shouldn’t come as surprise to see Telestrations on another one of our favorite games lists.
Like mom, Brooke, and Caleb, Jaden also happily includes Telestrations on his list. And because we’ve already written about it a bunch on those lists, there’s not much more to say than – we love it.
(Spoiler alert: you’ll also see it on Trevor’s and my favorites lists to come.)
See our full review of Telestrations.
Tsuro
Ages: 8+, Players: 2 – 8, Time: 30 min
Tsuro is another board game that Jaden reviewed over 5 years ago and resurfaces now on his updated favorite games list.
Tsuro is a simple tile-laying game of trying to be the last player remaining on the board. Each turn, players place a new tile on the board that extends the path they’re on. They then move their playing piece to the end of that path. As long as they don’t run off they board, they’re still in the game.
But watch out. Because any playing piece standing adjacent to a new tile being played will also need to move to the end of the newly extended path in front of them – which may lead them off the board and out of the game.
Rematches are almost a given.
See Jaden’s full review of Tsuro.
YINSH
Ages: 9+, Players: 2, Time: 30 min
Rounding out Jaden’s favorite board games list is another abstract strategy game – YINSH.
Similar to playing other 2-player abstract board games, a player’s ability to play well will improve the more they play it. Since Yinsh doesn’t have any elements that rely on luck, it’s all about how much mental effort players put into it.
There are a bunch of games where the object is to get 5 of something in a row. But it’s the unique movement and flipping of the markers in Yinsh that makes it so great.
To win, players need to get 5 in a row 3 times.
And there’s also a catch. Once a player does get a row of 5, that player has to remove those markers as well as one of their rings from the board. So as one player gets closer to winning, they also get handicapped – a fantastic way to keep the game interesting all the way to the end.
See Jaden’s full review of YINSH.
Could you detect the trend in Jaden’s 10 Favorite Board Games list?
Overall, the games Jaden currently enjoys the most are short and social. They’re games that work very well with groups of friends (playing up to 8 players or more) and/or can be played quickly with banter along the way.
If there’s a teenage boy in your family, grab a couple games from this list. They’re great.
Here are links to the rest of our 2015 Favorite Board Games lists:
- 12 Favorite Board Games – Mom
- 8 Favorite Board Games – Brooke
- 9 Favorite Board Games – Caleb
- 7 Favorite Board Games – Trevor
- 20 Favorite Board Games – Dad
