Boardgames for kids, not dead yet!
Just saw this telegraph article linked from the GeekGirlCon twitter feed: Card Games and Board Games are Dying out, and it's no Great Loss. As you might expect, a bunch of the comments add up to "You are an idiot and have no idea what you are talking about regarding board games." But he's almost making a point, when he shows that a smaller percentage of kids today play board games than their parents remember doing as children. Most of the rest of this is about children's or family games. If you aren't interested, skip to the bold text at the bottom.
It could be the case that a lot of parents today are looking at the rich variety of computer and tablet games today, and are comparing those with the interminable suffering of Candyland, Monopoly with that bizzare "money on free parking" rule. If I were looking at that, I'd be happily shuffling my kids off to Minecraft and be done with it.
A lot of gamers here are probably thinking "but what about the awesome German games that have been developed in the last 20 years," and they are close to right- a whole lot of design innovation has happened since (approximately) the release of Settlers of Catan in 1995, and there are richly complex and interesting tabletop games being sold every day.
A couple of things are wrong with this, though:
Regarding Children's games: I think the innovation is there, and there are children's games that compare favorably with what's available for video games, etc. I think that the games are harder to come by, partially because major retailers (Target) are far more spooked by these than by things like Catan (if you haven't checked out the board game department at Target lately, you might be really surprised...), and the reluctance of a lot of FLGS to stock their shelves with something that isn't $40 or can be taught in 10 minutes.
With that, here's my latest list of kick-ass games for famlies to play together:
NOTE: When I talk about playing this with my kids, I'm talking about a 7 year old and 9 year old.
Some great kids games happen to be seasonal, but don't worry about it, and just enjoy:
Okay, now onto buying stuff. In Seattle, I've found Blue Highway Games to be quite accessible, with none of the "too cool for school" problems you may get at a more "hardcore" store. Plus, they've got open demo copies of most things. If you are in points North, the Fairhaven Toy Garden (Bellingham, WA in the Fairhaven district) has a shockingly rich selection of HABA games (I had to get my copy of Rhino Hero there, although I could demo it at Blue Highway).
One final thought here. I've learned something interesting about children's games, and that is that the best of them make excellent pub games. Think about it. The pieces are durable, frequently at least somewhat spill-resistant. There is little-to-no reading here, so you can play this in low light (imagine trying to play Puerto Rico without being able to read those building cards). Also, you can teach this to someone with a short attention span (either 8 years old or drunk) in about five minutes. So even if you aren't a kid or family gamer, give the games on this list a look, and I'll meet you at the pub for Rhino Hero.
It could be the case that a lot of parents today are looking at the rich variety of computer and tablet games today, and are comparing those with the interminable suffering of Candyland, Monopoly with that bizzare "money on free parking" rule. If I were looking at that, I'd be happily shuffling my kids off to Minecraft and be done with it.
A lot of gamers here are probably thinking "but what about the awesome German games that have been developed in the last 20 years," and they are close to right- a whole lot of design innovation has happened since (approximately) the release of Settlers of Catan in 1995, and there are richly complex and interesting tabletop games being sold every day.
A couple of things are wrong with this, though:
- If you are reading this, you probably live in a major metropolitan city with multiple specialty games stores, a whole lot of the world doesn't live in a place like this.
- If you are a games hobbyist, you probably had someone sit with you and show you how to play those really deep games, instead of suffering through 20 or 30 pages of rules.
- I'm thinking specifically of children's games, which are harder to find (even at your FLGS)
Regarding Children's games: I think the innovation is there, and there are children's games that compare favorably with what's available for video games, etc. I think that the games are harder to come by, partially because major retailers (Target) are far more spooked by these than by things like Catan (if you haven't checked out the board game department at Target lately, you might be really surprised...), and the reluctance of a lot of FLGS to stock their shelves with something that isn't $40 or can be taught in 10 minutes.
With that, here's my latest list of kick-ass games for famlies to play together:
NOTE: When I talk about playing this with my kids, I'm talking about a 7 year old and 9 year old.
- Sushi Go!(BGG link). I was introduced to this by a friend yesterday, and my kids picked it up pretty quick (the little one rolled us)! Each player gets seven cards representing different sushi items, and they all score differently. Some pieces just score a flat number of points (1, 2, 3), some score only in sets (2 tempura = 5 points), and some score based on _relative_ counts (if I have the most maki rolls, I get six points, if you have the second most, I get 3). Play a card, and pass your whole hand. Easy, fun, and just a hint of math. This one should be available at almost any FLGS at this point.
- Mummy's Treasure (BGG link). Remember how I mentioned a lot of stores not carrying kids games? This one can be hard to find. If you get it, though, you are in luck. A little bit of Yahtzee, a little bit of Tetris, just a dash of "push your luck." Imagine stacks of Tetris pieces with different symbols on them. Roll your dice, and see if you match any exposed tiles. If you do, you can take that tile into your treasure chamber (where you play Tetris with it), but if you reroll some of your dice, you _might_ match a bigger piece... lots of light fun. For a little more "risky" game (where your decisions are more meaningful), Renier Knizia's Age of War is a good approximation (and my kids like that one too).
- Drachenstark (aka Firey Dragons) (BGG link). Jeez, I love HABA games. The pieces are solid and pretty, and the gameplay is usually a treat. This is a memory game that, with one minor rule change, becomes excellent. Players try to move their dragon around the circular board. On each space is a symbol (spider, egg, red dragon, bat). In the middle of the circle are several upside-down tiles. If a player is able to successfully turn over a tile with the right symbol, they advance (two bats = two spaces, etc). The minor rule change is that each tile can be flipped only once per turn. So if you turn over two bats, and land on another bat space, can you remember where the one or three bat tile was? With that in place, this is a fine memory game.
- Rhino Hero (BGG link). I may never tire of HABA. This is a dexterity game that can end as a cooperative game if it goes well. You build towers of cards, and occasionally move the wooden rhino piece up. I know I'm not describing this well, so I'll defer to a video:
Click to viewSome great kids games happen to be seasonal, but don't worry about it, and just enjoy:
- Midnight Party (BGG link). Did I allude to some of these being hard to find? I had to order this from amazon.de because American amazon.com couldn't get it for me. Think of this game as a really clever implementation of musical chairs. Scatter dancers around a circular catwalk, and start rolling dice. Most of the time, you'll pick a dancer and advance them the specified number of spaces. Once in a while, though, you'll roll the ghost, who begins marching up the staircase at the center of the board. When he reaches the top, you start trying to put your pieces in safe rooms, and hoping that you can roll the ghost to capture other people's players. Tons of fun, and again, beautiful bits here.
- Santa's Bag (BGG link). You are elves in Santa's shop, making presents for kids. Different materials become available, which you draft into your hand, and you spend them to build toys. Kids range from 1-3 points of niceness, and toys from 1-3 points in quality, so you try to maximize the return on your effort. Half of the fun here is recognizing all the kids names and playing accordingly (oh, Gavin? There's a Gavin in my class, and he's nice, so I'll make the hula hoop). A really nice light game by a small publisher.
Okay, now onto buying stuff. In Seattle, I've found Blue Highway Games to be quite accessible, with none of the "too cool for school" problems you may get at a more "hardcore" store. Plus, they've got open demo copies of most things. If you are in points North, the Fairhaven Toy Garden (Bellingham, WA in the Fairhaven district) has a shockingly rich selection of HABA games (I had to get my copy of Rhino Hero there, although I could demo it at Blue Highway).
One final thought here. I've learned something interesting about children's games, and that is that the best of them make excellent pub games. Think about it. The pieces are durable, frequently at least somewhat spill-resistant. There is little-to-no reading here, so you can play this in low light (imagine trying to play Puerto Rico without being able to read those building cards). Also, you can teach this to someone with a short attention span (either 8 years old or drunk) in about five minutes. So even if you aren't a kid or family gamer, give the games on this list a look, and I'll meet you at the pub for Rhino Hero.