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.

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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.

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The new Skull King!

Three years ago we played a family card game that immediately became a family favorite. We played it over and over and quickly reviewed it to share why we enjoyed playing it so much.

The game was Skull King, by Grandpa Beck’s Games, and the enjoyment we get out of playing hasn’t subsided at all since then!

If anything, we’ve enjoyed it more and more over the years.

And now, there’s a new version of Skull King to love!

We were very excited when we found out Grandpa Beck’s Games was updating Skull King with a few new twists. And now that we’ve had time to play it over and over, we’re excited to tell you all about it.

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Qwinto Dice Game Review

We have no idea what “Qwinto” means or where on earth that name came from, but we do know it’s a fun dice game!

Over the last few years, “roll-and-write” games have been pouring out from almost every game publisher. These are games where players either roll dice or flip cards and then write the results on their personal sheets. A few such games we’ve reviewed include That’s Pretty Clever, Kingdomino Duel, and Metro X.

Qwinto, by Pandasaurus Games, is the latest we’ve played and we’ve been hooked!

We got a copy in the game trade at SaltCon 2021 and have played over 20 times this past month. And when we play a game that much, you bet we’re going to tell you all about it.

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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.

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Happy, but Sad – A New Chapter

Why do our children think they can just grow up and become independent?

I mean, just because we teach them skills to be able leave the nest and fly, does that mean they really have to?

Well, that’s the situation we (mom & dad) are finding ourselves in right now.

Our youngest child just moved off to college!

While it’s a very exciting time for both him and us, it’s also a time of sadness.

We’re sad to close this chapter of our lives — the chapter filled with little tikes running around, young kids adventures, youth sports, late at night homework, late nights with friends, and many fun games.

But we’re also happy in looking forward to Caleb’s adventures ahead!

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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.

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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!

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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!

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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.

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