Board Games Archives - Page 7 of 66 - The Board Game Family

Santorini in New York?

Santorini has been a favorite 2-player board game in our family ever since we first played the reimplemented game by Roxley Games 4 years ago.

It’s an abstract strategy game with variable player powers where each player tries to get one of their pawns (workers) to the 3rd level of a building. The game components are absolutely fantastic and look just like the recognizable, blue-topped buildings on the Greek isle of Santorini.

So we were quite surprised when Roxley Games published Santorini: New York in 2020.

I mean, what do Santorini and New York have to do with each other?

It was a real head-scratcher.

Of course, that also didn’t stop us in the slightest from wanting to play it right away!

If you’re just as curious about how the awesome Santorini could morph into a new game set in New York City as we were, then you’ve come to the right place—read on!

October 23, 2021 Trent 4 Comments 2-player, 3-player, 4-player, 5-player, abstract, luck, Roxley Games, strategy, variable set up

Board Games Family Games Game Reviews

Land vs Sea Board Game Review

“In fourteen hundred ninety-two
Columbus sailed the ocean blue.
He had three ships and left from Spain;
He sailed through sunshine, wind and rain.”

So starts the poem used to teach about Christopher Columbus arriving in the Americas.

It’s hard not to think about sailing and searching out lands when you’re playing the clever tile-laying, puzzle game Land vs. Sea by designer Jon-Paul Jacques and publisher Good Games Publishing.

Players work to create completed land masses or completed seas depending on the roles they’ve taken. The player or team who does this the best by the time the final tile is played will be the winner!

October 11, 2021October 11, 2021 Dane Trimble 0 Comments 2-player, 3-player, 4-player, Good Games Publishing, luck, strategy, theme, tile-laying

Board Games Family Games Game Reviews

Queenz Board Game Review

I’ve never been someone who loves bees.

I still have vivid memories of being stung by a bee when I was little and swelling up like crazy. So it’s hard for me to understand the desire of some people to become beekeepers.

It’s a good thing I don’t have to like bees to enjoy Queenz by Rio Grand Games.

It’s a fun set-collection and tile-laying board game where the players are beekeepers planting orchids to attract bees and produce the tastiest honey.

And it’s a great addition to a family board game collection.

October 5, 2021October 11, 2021 Trent 0 Comments 2-player, 3-player, 4-player, luck, Rio Grande Games, strategy, tile-laying

Board Games Family Games Game Reviews Kid Games

Mondrian Blocks Brain Teaser review

Do your kids love puzzle challenges?

Or maybe it’s you that loves such challenges.

If so, then you’ll want to check out Mondrian Blocks, published by Smart Egg.

On its own, it’s essentially a solitaire puzzle. However, if you’ve got more than one copy, you can play them in head-to-head races.

September 27, 2021September 27, 2021 Trent 2 Comments 2-player, 3-player, 4-player, puzzle, Smart Egg, solo

Board Games Family Games Game Reviews

Charterstone Board Game Review

Would you love to build your own little village and watch it grow?

We’re not talking about SimCity here. Instead, we’re talking about Charterstone by Stonemaier Games.

Charterstone is a campaign, legacy game where players compete to win the graces of the Forever King by building a grand village over the course of 12 games.

Since it’s a legacy game, choices players make will permanently alter the game board — making future game options and experiences all unique!

The game was published at the end of 2017 and we finally got a copy and a chance to play this summer. And now we’re ready to share our thoughts about this unique game.

August 23, 2021 Trent 0 Comments 2-player, 3-player, 4-player, 5-player, 6-player, campaign, city building, legacy, Stonemaier Games, theme

Board Games Cooperative Games Family Games Game Reviews Kid Games

Stuffed Fables: Oh, Brother! – Even more stories to play

Last week we shared about the cooperative story game, Stuffed Fables – where players are the stuffed animals helping a little girl.

Now that little girl has a baby brother with his own 2 “stuffies” – Pokey the unicorn and muscular Manny.

So it’s time for the stuffies to dive into even more adventures in Stuffed Fables: Oh, Brother!

While the game includes a new storybook, new tokens, sleep cards, and its own discovery deck, players still need components from the Stuffed Fables base game to play.

August 15, 2021August 15, 2021 Trent 0 Comments 2-player, 3-player, 4-player, Asmodee, cooperative, family, kid, Plaid Hat Games, solo, story, theme

Board Games Cooperative Games Family Games Game Reviews Kid Games

Stuffed Fables – Bedtime stories as a cooperative game

Toy Story movies are still some of my favorite movies.

I love the idea of our toys having a purpose. And Pixar knows how to breath depth of character into them throughout their adventures.

Well, a few years ago, Plaid Hat Games brought that concept to life in a cooperative board game that’s fantastic for families called Stuffed Fables.

The game is a cooperative adventure game where the main characters are “stuffies” (stuffed animals) working together to save the child they love from a scheming, evil mastermind.

It’s also an “Adventure Book” game where the game board is actually a physical book teaming with adventures on every page.

And it works wonderfully!

August 9, 2021August 15, 2021 Trent 0 Comments 2-player, 3-player, 4-player, Asmodee, cooperative, family, kid, Plaid Hat Games, solo, theme

Articles Board Games Card Games Cooperative Games Dice Games Family Games Game Reviews Kid Games Party Games

SaltCon 2021 End of Summer Fun

“Back in the Game”

That was the bold statement on the winning t-shirt design for SaltCon End of Summer 2021. And it couldn’t have been more appropriate!

It was awesome to be back at SaltCon this past weekend playing game after game for a couple of days straight.

SaltCon is the big board game convention in Utah, USA and it’s packed with gaming goodness. The event is typically held for 4 days in March each year, so I was sad when it was announced last Fall that the March event would be canceled. But, the news a few months ago that they’d hold an “End of Summer” SaltCon for 3 days at the end of July got me excited again.

Let’s dive in!

August 3, 2021September 2, 2021 Trent 0 Comments card, convention, deck-building, dice, family board games, luck, party, strategy, Top 10 lists

Board Games Family Games Game Reviews

World’s Fair 1893 board game review

One of my favorite memories as a teenager was when our family went to Canada for Expo 86. It was a World’s Fair held in Vancouver, British Columbia, and I thought it was so cool.

The theme of Expo 86 was “Transportation and Communication: World in Motion – World in Touch” and it was a spectacle.

Perhaps it was because of my experience going to a World’s Fair that I was drawn to the board game World’s Fair 1893 when it was published a few years ago.

I first played the game at SaltCon a while back and enjoyed playing it. Then earlier this year, Renegade Game Studios announced a new version of the game. They sent us a copy and we’re excited to tell you all about it.