The Family Gamers Podcast

We played a LOT of games over Labor Day weekend, and then we went to Boston FIG! We have so much to talk about from BFIG that we decided to cover only the digital games in this episode. Games we played leading up to Boston FIG: New York 1901 Kingdom Builder Castle Panic (Wizard’s Tower expansion) Women in Science (here’s our full review) Sushi Go (now on iOS for $5!) Build A Robot Zooloretto Walk the Plank 10 Days in the USA World’s Fair 1893 (still one of our favorites) Catan Wind Up War (review coming soon) Boston FIG digital games: Amazing Loot Grind – exactly what it sounds like. (free for iOS and Android) Bryte – a Zelda-style 2D puzzle game (here’s the demo. Vote here for Steam Greenlight) Dragon Dad – microgames doing chores for your dad The Flame in the Flood – survival game Heartread – a horror audio “text” adventure. Interesting concept, definitely not appropriate for most kids! Inari – beautiful puzzle platformer for touch devices Monkey Garbage Truck – what we didn’t mention that the goal of this game is to teach a few dozen words in a new language! Neat concept. Para (iOS touch game in development, reminiscent of Glider PRO) Pollywog Pond – themed game environment for preschoolers Stage Fright – rhythm horror game Wizdy Diner – an allergy-awareness diner game (free for iOS, Android, and Amazon devices) We also want to mention this organization which had a table but was not competing in the digital showcase: People’s Republic of Interactive Fiction

The games that keep on giving! We’re talking about expansions, collectibles, toys-to-life, and other game add-ons. What we played this week: Anomia (Speaking of expansions, we played with multiple decks) Codenames (this is an AWESOME game) Bring Your Own Book Windup War, coming soon to Kickstarter. Review coming soon to The Family Gamers! Mall Madness Castellan Checkers Best Treehouse Ever Galaxy Trucker (for iOS or Android. There’s also a board game. Created by Vlaada Chvátil, who also made Codenames.) Let’s talk expansions and add-ons! Toys-to-life games: Skylanders Disney Infinity Lego Dimensions Nintendo Amiibos We often give Amiibos or Infinity figurines as gifts. It’s an easy way for relatives to buy a small-ish present and know it will be liked. Miniature-based board games with a collectible element: Krosmaster (Krosmaster Arena, Krosmaster Jr., or Krosmaster Quest – adds RPG elements) Star Wars Imperial Assault Star Wars X-Wing Here’s the question Anitra asked on BoardGameGeek. Expansion-able toys: LEGO Imaginext Playmobil Barbie My Little Pony American Girl, which is crazy expensive. We discuss the insanity of the American Girl store. Collectible Card/Dice Games: Dicemasters Quarriors Pokemon CCG Magic: The Gathering Living Card Games. You have a little bit more control with these types of games. No blind packs, instead pre-crafted expansions/decks with specific themes. Examples: Summoner Wars Netrunner Ascension SmashUp Role Playing Games are easy to expand by adding content. Either through pre-made campaigns / plot settings, or create your own! Our favorite is Hero Kids. Games with expansions or where multiple versions playable together: Anomia Munchkin Dominion Pandemic Machi Koro Ticket to Ride We cannot recommend the 1910 expansion enough for this game. Catan Colt Express Mice & Mystics (Correction to the audio: there are only 2 expansions: Heart of Glorm and Downwood Tales) “If you want plastic, buy LEGOs. Otherwise, stick with board games.” We are getting ready for Boston Festival of Indie Games, coming up quickly on September 10. Family friendly and only focused on games! If you will be there, let us know, and we will meet up. You could be on the show!

Playing board games solo is a great way to improve your skills, using strategy and critical thinking. There are unofficial solo variations available for nearly every game, mostly on BoardGameGeek.com, and there are even groups (ironically) dedicated to solo play, such as the 1-player guild. What we’ve been playing recently: Ticket to Ride World’s Fair 1893 – the retail copy! We reviewed the pre-Kickstarter prototype last year, and we like the finished version even more. Monopoly Deal Checkers Dominoes Hiss Build a Robot (“like Cootie, but better in every way”) We did a 1000 piece puzzle. We love Presto Puzzle Saver to preserve a finished puzzle for framing. Ratchet & Clank Mario Kart 8 Wario Ware: Smooth Moves Nintendo recently announced the “NES Classic”, a miniature, self-contained system with dozens of classic 80s NES games. We are interested and think it could be a great gift for kids whose parents grew up with NES. We briefly mentioned toys-to-life and other expansion-heavy games. Stay tuned for more next week, and let us know what you think of these types of games for your kids. On to the solo games! Twilight Struggle can be played solo digitally! From the same publisher is a game called Labyrinth, which can be solo or 2 player. Codenames has a one-player variation in the official rules. We like Logic Dots, a one-player-only series of logic puzzles. Andrew really wants to try Zpocalypse as a solo play, to really master the mechanics. Most co-operative games can be played solo without too many changes: Shadows over Camelot (here’s our favorite guidelines for playing it solo) Pandemic Forbidden Island Mice and Mystics, or really any pre-built role-playing campaign that doesn’t require a game master. Games designed to be single-player: Labyrinth the marble-race game “Solitaire” with cards, dominoes, mah-jong tiles Jigsaw puzzles! logic puzzles math puzzles crossword puzzles Scrabble? Try to beat your own high score (or try the Words Alone app to really hone your skills) Games that can be turned into single-player against one or more artificial intelligence players: Tokaido (either

This week, we discuss a few micro/tiny games. These are games that generally fit easily in your pocket or purse. A few cards, a few tokens, a few dice. They’re usually 15 minutes or less to play and easy to pick up. What we played this week: The Princess and the Goblin – now with updated rules! The Kickstarter ends in just over a week. We’ve also been reading the book. Monopoly Deal Ori and the Blind Forest – platformer for PC & Xbox The Order 1886 We visited the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Amherst, MA. Here’s a few of the micro games we discussed: The Princess & The Goblin Monopoly Deal Iota Tiny Epic Kingdoms, and the rest from Gamelyn Games Coin Age Dice games, like Zombie Dice and Tenzi, could possibly be considered micro games, depending on how many dice you need; but they are still quite portable and fast to play. Set, which is a great card game teaching pattern-matching for non-readers, while complex enough for older children to enjoy.

We played a few games this week, and we discuss a billboard we saw… for Minecraft. Wait, what? This week: POLLEN The Order 1886 Ratchet and Clank Letter Tycoon with gaming adjustments; can be made surprisingly fair for adults vs. children. The Princess and the Goblin We saw a billboard that said: “Play MINECRAFT on the big screen”, and we were intrigued. This is Super League, a sort of minor league or little league for eSports. Open to all ages, but best for 10-18. Compete with a team, alongside dozens of other players in the theater. Would you enroll your kid?

This week, we talk about two new board games, announce the giveaway winner, and delve into Star Wars for a while. First, we play games! Mario Kart 8 WarioWare Smooth Moves Best Treehouse Ever Letter Tycoon Boomtown Bandits Andrew is a curator for Boston FIG 2016. If you are in New England, you should come out and see it. We announced the winner of the custom-made dice bag – was it you? Listen to the show to find out! We loved Boomtown Bandits. You have 3 bandits (2 “shooters” and a “coward”), and you’re trying to amass the most money. Lots of strategy, fast-moving. We liked Letter Tycoon. Build words, earn money, buy “patents” so that you can earn money on other people’s words, too. For a lower-elementary kid who may not be so great with long words, why not agree on a different dictionary? We’re going to try using the Pokedex (Pokemon index) as our official dictionary to play with the kids – that will give them a distinct advantage. Expect full reviews of those games soon, along with another giveaway. As an aside, our kids finally watched Star Wars Episode III (Revenge of the Sith) and they LOVED it. Meanwhile, we had forgotten how awful the acting was. Back to gaming… There is a Star Wars Rebellion board game, which is based on the 90s-era video game. Unfortunately, it’s pricey and has a long playing time. We hear it’s fun, though. Andrew also mentions an action/adventure game in development – it’s by Visceral Games and Respawn Entertainment, due out in 2018.

What we played this week: Ascension Bring Your Own Book Pie Rats of the Carob Bean Farm Kickstarters we’re excited about: Pie Rats is fully funded and in production! Campaign Trail Tesla vs. Edison expansion SeaFall, which is not a Kickstarter, but available for preorder (get fancy coins) (or pre-order it cheaper here) Video games this week: Rocket League Ratchet and Clank WarioWare Smooth Moves was a breakout hit with our kids (we recommend buying it from GameStop or eBay) Also… some spoiler-free discussion of Captain America: Civil War. Are you #teamCap or #teamIronMan? Still 1 day left to enter the giveaway!

Wow, Andrew saw a lot of games at PAX East! And our first thoughts on a few games we received recently, plus a giveaway.Games we played this week: The Best Treehouse Ever JurassAttack! Pie Rats of the Carob Bean Farm – Kickstarter ends Monday, May 2. Go back it now! Speaking of mice and rats… Mouse Guard RPG, based on the Mouse Guard graphic novels Giveaway! Accalia Designs custom dice bag. See Rafflecopter widget at the end of this blog post. On to the games from PAX East: Bring Your Own Book card game Story Warriors Haimrik Gamester – currently on Kickstarter Lumo GNOG Crazy Machines 3 – slated for October 2016 Ayo the Clown Hexarden Stories: The Path of Destinies – available now (reminded Anitra of Monster Loves You) Hob – Like Dark Cloud? No, more like Bastion. Pollen Tacoma We Happy Few – from Compulsion Games, who published Contrast. Definitely not for kids. Back to the board games! Letter Tycoon Boomtown Bandits Ninja Camp One last video game… I Expect You to Die – room escape game especially for the Oculus Rift. That’s it! Don’t forget to enter our giveaway… a Rafflecopter giveaway

We’re baaaaack! We’re finally back from our longer-than-desired hiatus and we’re super excited. We talk about what we’ve been up to and what we’re looking forward to at PAX East and in 2016! A few games we played in the hiatus: Pandemic: Legacy (Season 1) Campaign Trail , which will relaunch on May 3 on Kickstarter. Find us at PAX East to get a closer look! Tokaido JunKing – here’s our review Out There: Omega Edition – Anitra has been playing on iOS, but it’s available for everything! iOS and Android (Google / Amazon stores) for about $5. Available on Steam & Humble stores for Windows/Mac/Linux for $10. Board Games re-imagined for iOS: Puerto Rico Splendor Baseball Highlights 2045 Be on the lookout for these upcoming reviews: JurassAttack Best Treehouse Ever Our kids have been playing more games, too! Games like: Robot Turtles Ratchet and Clank (rated Everyone 10+, but we haven’t seen anything inappropriate) Fallout Shelter – the kids love working on their own vaults Lego Star Wars / Lego Marvel Superheroes Mario Super Sluggers Mario Kart 8 – which has taught our kids about being graceful winners and losers… speaking of which… Suspend by Melissa & Doug A few things that we’re looking forward to in 2016: SeaFall – will be co-published by Ironwall Games and Plaid Hat Games Pie Rats of Carob Bean Farm – currently on Kickstarter! Boston FIG. If you like games (if you don’t, why are you listening?) and can be near Boston in September, we highly recommend it! Andrew may be a judge for the Board Games division this year.

We talk with Len Peralta this week, artist behind “Geekimals” and Geek a Week. But first! The games we played: * Patchwork * Tesla vs. Edison * Hanabi * Guillotine * giant Nintendo at the Strong Museum of Play See Len’s art here: lenperalta.com and lenperaltastore.com Len mentioned the games Spaceteam, Flick ’em up, Codenames, Mysterium, and Camel Up. Andrew recommended Jungle Speed. Len will be re-doing the art for a special edition of Star Munchkin! Keep your eyes peeled for that one. We shared our love for many Steve Jackson games, including Castellan, Illuminati, Munchkin, and Chez Geek. Congratulations to Brandon Pickett, who won the giveaway for Little Hands card holders!

Games received for Christmas: * Patchwork * Pandemic: Legacy * Kindle (not a game, but hearkens back to our screen time episodes) * Captain Toad’s Treasure Tracker Favorite new games of 2015? * Santa’s Little Helpers & the Ice Cube Jam * 5 Minute Delivery * Project Rocket Golfing * Rocket League * Maze Racers * Fallout 4 * Fallout Shelter * SolForge * World’s Fair 1893 * Campaign Trail (honorable mention – coming back in 2016!) In 2016, we’re looking forward to: * playing Patchwork * eventually playing Tesla vs. Edison * Lost Woods * Pandemic: Legacy * Star Wars Rebellion board game * Amplitude remake Don’t forget to enter the giveaway for a pair of Little Hands card holders! Go to our facebook page, or enter on our website.

We really love LEGOs. A lot. So, imagine our excitement when a friend of the show released a new app for Windows that allows you to gather all of your LEGO set building instructions together! We were so excited we invited him on the show to guest host this week. Join us as we talk with Matthias Shapiro about his new (free!) app in the Windows Store, Brick Instructions. We’ll talk about this, share some great LEGO stories, and also talk about an issue looming large in front of all of us – The Post-Christmas lull. * How do we handle the massive influx of presents? * What kinds of rules do we put in place to help manage the toy volume and meter out the excitement of the new toys for a longer period of time? Listen and find out! Here’s a link to that Fallout 4 AT-AT Andrew mentioned! As always, please subscribe on iTunes and leave us a review! You can also find us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/familygamersaa and twitter at http://www.twitter.com/familygamersaa. Send us e-mail! andrew@thefamilygamers.com and anitra@thefamilygamers.com We look forward to hearing from you!

Did you play video games with your family when you were a kid? Anitra didn’t… the closest was “Star Trek: The Next Generation Interactive VCR Board Game”. With her friends, a lot of Mario and Zelda. Andrew played a lot of Goldeneye (N64) and Mario Kart. His mom introduced him to Infocom games like Zork. Anitra mentions a game set on a train – that’s “Border Zone”. By the way, you can now find many Infocom games playable online. What we played recently: * Earthbound * Super Smash Bros. * Flashlights & Fireflies * Dweebies – a card game * Go Nuts! – a dice game * Fallout 4 * SolForge * Caylus We introduced our children to Star Wars (episode 4: A New Hope, of course.) We have a new giveaway! Win some “Little Hands” card holders. Simply comment on our website or on our facebook page, answering the question: What’s your favorite card game to play with kids, and why? Families play video games together! Couch co-op has really been on the rise over the last few years. The Wii really brought console gaming to multiple generations; previous to that, a lot of multi-player games were PC-based, so LAN parties were a big way to play together, but the barrier to entry was a lot higher. Games that make good “family” games that cross generational boundaries tend to have a short learning curve, often with physical movement instead of simply using controllers: this includes many Wii and Kinect games, but even Rock Band or Guitar Hero (stick your least coordinated relative on singing). Speaking of singing, there are several singing games (Lips, Karoke Revolution, Rock Band). How about dancing games? Just Dance, Dance Central, and several others. How about micro-games like WarioWare? Kids also really like the games that have a familiar tactile element, like Skylanders, Disney Infinity, WiiU amiibos, or the LEGO Dimensions game. Families with teenagers may play first person shooters together, like Call of Duty or Halo. We talked a lot about LEGO and their intellectual property. The Traveller’s Tales LEGO games are great couch co-op for 2 players (examples: LEGO Star Wars and LEGO Harry Potter). Even some handheld games now can be played multiplayer. There are several for the DS/3DS. Nintendoland (for the WiiU) is also a series of minigames designed to be multiplayer. How about iOS games that are multiplayer? Words with Friends, Cards & Castles Lastly, a few more console co-operative games: Rocket League! Lovers in a Dangerous Space-time! Never Alone! There is portable/tablet gaming that is head-to-head or pass-and-play: Fruit Ninja.

Thanksgiving weekend allowed a lot of time for gaming! We talk about what makes a good game to play with “non-gamers”, or at least to family members who think they only like traditional big-name games. * Santa’s Little Helpers and the Ice Cube Jam * Portal game * Machi Koro * the kids played a bunch of classic card games with their grandma: Old Maid, Go Fish, Crazy 8s. * They also played around with a special controller with their aunt and learned how to play Tetris: it’s called Makey Makey * Ash started playing with the Owlegories app. More to come on this soon! * Power Grid * Bonbons * Dweebies * Fallout 4, of course… Things to look for in a gateway game for your family: Shorter Simple rules – But not necessarily simple strategy Some familiarity (theme game) – Appeal to their interests! Games that don’t require consistent commitment (party games) Cooperative games

What we played this week: * Dragonwood * Agricola: All Creatures Big & Small * Fallout 4 * Cards & Castles (iOS) * Santa’s Little Helpers and the Ice Cube Jam! See the review on our website. Deal going on right now, the creator (Matt Worden) has a few copies that are packaged in a drawstring bag (no box) for $10, but supplies are limited! We announced the winner of our Maze Racers giveaway. Who was it? Listen and find out! On to the deals… Kiwi Crate still has their awesome deal going on; 60% off your first month’s subscription, or 50% off everything in their shop. See our website for details. Kindle deals: Kindle for Kids Bundle (with choice of cover): $69.99 (normally $99.99) (through Nov 30) Kindle Fire Kids: $84.99 (normally $99.99) Target Buy two get one free on board games RIGHT NOW over 900 games –>> We bought Battleship, Mastermind, Pass the Pigs Most video games are on sale for 10% off too. NOW 20% off Toys through Wednesday, November 25th with code “TOYS”. Black Friday – Disney Infinity 3.0 starter pack 34.99 Ten bucks for some games on black friday Shark Mania Say Anything Heads Up Cheapest XBox One – $299 w/$60 gift card. WalMart Lots of board games under $5 Sorry Connect 4 Minions Trouble Clue Under $10 Operation Game of Life Hungry Hungry Hippos Monopoly Empire Big Lots All Games and Puzzles are buy 1 get one 50% off. K-Mart Misc games at 8 and 12 dollar threshold Monopoly, Scrabble, etc. Kohls Misc games, 14.99 Apples to Apples, Rock-Em Sock-Em Robots Card Games for 5 bucks Family Feud Uno Toys R Us Melissa and Doug – BOGO 50% off Games for $5 Chutes and Ladders Despicable Me Memory Monopoly Jr. Sofia the First Cootie Doc McStuffins branded Operation Games for $7 Jenga Clue Trouble Sorry Connect4 Games for $10 Apples to Apples Jr Rock em Sock em Twister Games for $12 Pie Face Games for $15 Simon AmiiBos are BOGO 40% off Awesome looking outdoor playset with two slides, a two level clubhouse, and swings – $800 w/ delivery if in store That’s our show! Enjoy the holiday weekend and don’t forget to play games with your kids!