Board Game Reviews Archives · Just the Three of Us

April 9, 2020April 9, 2020

Heist

Heist is a cooperative game for 2-4 players. In this game, your team has been challenged to break into a safe filled with $50 million dollars in 5 minutes or less. You have to work together as a team to pass tools and push buttons to collect the money and open the safe.

Gameplay Overview

Setup

If this is your first game, install batteries (3xAA) in the safe.
Make sure the gold bars are inserted into the top of the safe.
Put the safe in easy reach of all players.
Give the money to the “Moneyman” who should separate it into stacks by value.
Spread the tools around the safe within reach of the players

How to Play

When your team is ready, turn on the game using the on/off switch on the bottom of the safe. Next, each player should push the button for their role when prompted. Then, choose your game level (level 1 is obviously the least stressful and a great place to start.)

Throughout the game, the “boss” (voice coming from the safe), will tell players what actions to take. The actions are:

Get – The announced player should get the required tool
Pass – Pass the tool to the announced player
Trade – The players who have the given tools should swap them
Use – This is when you push a button. Push the button if you have the tool which was announced
Everybody Press Your Buttons Now – means…everybody press your buttons
Grab – take the amount of money described.

As the “boss” calls out the actions, your team should listen carefully and follow the directions. If you make too many mistakes, you will first get a warning. Then, if you make another mistake, an alarm goes off and a police siren will sound.

If your team plays the game well, the safe will pop open and the gold bars fall out onto the table. If you play a perfect game, your team will collect all $50 million dollars!

The Dad Review

Pass the drill, pass the goggles, pass the laptop, pass me the grey poupon…what? Just kidding. Everyone press the button, congratulations you win!

Kids will love this game, parents will want to play it. With that combo, this game is a perfect family game. This game is fully interactive. Everyone that plays is involved. You pass plastic tools around according to what the voice tells you and then at some point you hit a button if you have that specific tool. When you have accomplished all of the tasks, you break into the vault and gold bars explode out of the top of the game to tell you you’ve won.

This game also has different levels of difficulty which make it addictive to those who want a challenge and makes the game less monotonous. This game may not hit the table every game session, but is a game adults and especially Maci’s friends will want to play a lot. I could also see this game getting taken over by a group of adults for a fun night of yelling at each other, while pretending to be real criminals on a heist.

I rank Heist 8/10, at under $20 this is a keeper, but wouldn’t pay more.

The Mom Review

Heist is super fun! This is a game you could play with people who don’t really love games. It would be fun at a party, or even to help a bunch of kids play together.

As a teacher, I absolutely love that it really works on the player’s listening and attention skills. If you are going to successfully rob a bank and get lots of money, teamwork and listening are essential, right?

The key to making this fun is to not become too worked up over other people making mistakes. If you are super high-strung and prone to yelling at a family member that makes mistakes, maybe this isn’t the right game for you.

I give Heist a 9/10 for some great family fun!

The Kid Review

I love Heist. It’s a little stressful with the beeping noise and time running out but it’s really fun. I love all of the jobs except the money man because that puts extra stress on me because the Money Man has to play like everyone and ALSO gather the money. I love passing the items and hitting the button when I have the item. By the way, the last level level 5 is really hard. I also love the setting which is trying to steal a lot of money and I like that if we complete the game little gold bricks fall out of the box.

In conclusion I will rate this game 9/10! The only reason I give this game 9/10 is the stress (otherwise it would be a 10/10).

Overall Impressions

We like the game The Heist. We don’t play it every day, but when we pull it out, we always have a great time! Overall, we give The Heist 9/10.

Pros

Not too long, not too short. Insert Boys to Men song.
Not too difficult, not too easy.
Different levels of difficulty, making it challenging for those that want a little more.
Gold bars exploding for winning adds to the fun
Interactive box with voice adds to the theme.
The price as of this review is only $13.
Adults and kids will enjoy this.
Looks like a toy, drawing in the younger kiddos and some adults.
Easy setup
Easy to learn

Cons

Not a game you’re going to play all night, could out live it’s welcome after playing too long.
Overly competitive alpha gamers could take over and be bossy, stressing people out.
Needs batteries. Not a huge deal, but most games don’t.
Younger kids (5-6 year olds) may need an adult to help facilitate the game.
Adults may enjoy this so much that the kids don’t get a chance to play.
Wish the pieces were painted different colors (to help distinguish one from another) and had a game mat to show who’s who in the game.

April 7, 2020April 6, 2020

Clank! – Board Game Review

In Clank! A Deck-Building Adventure, players build a personal deck of cards to help them make their way through the passages below Dragon Keep. Once below, each player must retrieve an artifact and make it out alive. Along the way, you make “clank” as you stumble through the deep and encounter various monsters.

Gameplay Overview

Clank! is a deck-building and board game hybrid. Each player begins the game with an identical starting hand of cards. Players take turns individually, in a clockwise rotation. During their turn, each player plays a hand of five cards from their personal deck and performs the actions associated with their cards:

Boots allow a player to move their meeple around the board.
Swords allow a player to fight monsters or avoid damage from monsters in tunnels as they move.
Skill points allow a player to acquire new cards from the dungeon row.
Card effects on each card must be followed each time the card is in hand.

Fill any empty card spots from the dungeon row at the end of each player’s turn. If any of the new cards reveal a dragon, the dragon will attack. When the dragon attacks, add all the cubes from the clank area to the bag and pull a specified number of cubes. Add any cubes that match a player’s color to their health meter. After a player’s health meter is full, they no longer get to take any turns.

The goal of the game is to go into the depths (below the green line on the board), retrieve an artifact, and get out of the dungeon before being knocked out by the dragon. Once a player retrieves an artifact and makes their way back above the green line, they can be rescued by the local villagers and still gain victory points. Players who are knocked out below the green line… sadly, no victory points for them!

Clank: the depths — Here you can see “the Depths” on the Clank board. Players need to get above that green, grassy line to count their victory points!

At the end of the game, calculate the victory points, and the player with the most emerges victorious!

The Dad Review

Man, Clank changed the deck building world in a good way, and became my daughter’s number one game ever. Which made it my favorite game for a while.

Our Clank Backstory

When Maci was born Ang and I were really beginning to get into games, which actually means I was becoming obsessed and Ang was along for the ride. After playing a lot of games we got from Marbles Brain Store which at the time was the only place I knew to check for games, I saw a game pop up called Dominion. Then, I found the holy grail called Board Game Geek and read a review on it and saw videos. I was hooked.

We purchased the Dominion base game and played while Maci slept. It was a quiet game and it was quick. I thought it was the greatest game ever and purchased far too many expansions.

Now, fast forward to the present. While Dominion is still a fun great game in my opinion, it’s all about Clank! And of course Clank’s many expansions.

Playing Clank

In Clank, you build a deck to explore the dungeon, get some treasure and get out before you’re eaten by a dragon or rescued by some very nice villagers. This is definitely a push your luck game but not crazy intense. The creators were very wise to put in a bonus for escaping all the way, but if you don’t make it you still get your points.

When we first started playing, Maci would press her luck and it led to a lot of bummed out, frustrating moments. These were often followed by the good old, “Well, maybe you should think about escaping,” comments that Maci didn’t appreciate at the time.

Now as we play, Maci has this game down and is always thinking ahead. It’s great to see, except when she takes the treasure I’ve been trying to get this whole time. Then she screws up my whole game and then I have to go deeper into the dungeon. And then Maci sees that and starts heading up to escape, all this time leaving her poor dad in the depths with no movement points. Sorry, I guess this game has affected me more than I thought.

This game is an awesome family game. It evokes emotion, makes you think about your next move, has just the right amount of luck. I have to say there will be moments where a player will be stuck down in the depths and someone else “ahem… me” may begin just buying cards from the dungeon row to get the dragon to come more quickly. That may feel frustrating to anyone not in the position to get out, creating a small ‘take that’ situation. However, it’s not a table flipping feeling. It’s more like, “Come on man, knock it off! We know that you’re buying cards just to buy them and knock me out of the game.”

In closing, this is a no-brainer 10/10 game for us, it hits the table a lot and if your family likes deck building games or exploring dungeons, this game is for you. It’s also not a bad price these days, we always find it cheap at our local Gaming Goat, but Amazon often carries it as well.

Clank collection area, dungeon row, and board — This is the top of the Clank board. You can see the dungeon row, market items, clank area and secrets tokens.

The Mom Review

I really enjoy playing Clank! It has just the right mix of deck building and board game to keep me entertained. The games last about an hour, but don’t feel overwhelmingly long. It is rare for someone to have to think long and hard about their turn which is great for those with short attention spans.

The rule book for Clank is not only easy to understand, it is entertaining. Clearly, the designers of Clank have a great sense of humor. This is evident both in the rules and the fun, flavor text on the cards.

Setup for Clank does take some time. The base cards need to be distributed. The dungeon row needs to be established . There are a variety of tokens that need to be placed around the board. The setup process goes much more quickly with help, so if you are the person who usually sets up games in your family, have everyone take a task to get it ready more quickly.

Scoring for Clank is made even easier if you download the free app by Renegade Games.

Score Entry Screen from Renegade Games Companion App — Score Entry Screen from scoring companion app by Renegade Games.

The final score after playing a round of Clank! Maci: 111, Mom: 140, Dad: 142 — Final Score for our most recent game of Clank!

Overall, I truly enjoy playing Clank and will readily play it anytime. I give Clank a 10/10

The Kid Review

Clank is my favorite game in the whole wide world! I love it for a lot of reasons. My first reason is I love deck building games and I love the cards. I also like the sayings on the bottom of the cards. When I am waiting for my mom and dad to take their turns I like reading the sayings. Next, I like going and getting an artifact, monkey idols, and secrets. Then, I like trying to escape in time and to get the most victory points.

In conclusion, I will give this game 12/10. I also think this is a little bit harder for other kids. I will give this creator so many props.

Overall Impressions

As a family, we LOVE playing Clank.

Overall Family Rating – 10/10
Ease of Understanding the Rules – Medium
Ease of Setup – Medium

April 4, 2020April 4, 2020

Downforce – Board Game Review

Downforce is a racing game for 2-6 players. The box recommends players 14+, but Maci has been playing this since she was 6 with no problems. Any person who can pull a card out of their hand and count as high as 6 has the skills needed to participate (although they might not win). There could be some more advanced strategies for older players, but don’t be intimidated by the recommended age! It generally takes 30-45 minutes to play a game.

Downforce game box and race cars — Downforce box and racers

Gameplay Overview

Downforce has three parts: an auction, racing, and betting. During the auction, players bid on the cars using the cards which have been dealt to them. Racing takes place in turn order. Each player chooses a card to play and moves the cars a certain number of spaces as listed on the card they chose. Betting takes place three times during the game. At the end of a turn where a car is the first to pass a yellow betting line, all players place a bet on the car they think will finish first. This bet can be the same or different for each yellow line on the track.

Once a player has all of the cars they won in auction cross the finish line, they stop playing cards to make the cars move. When the last player runs out of cars or all cars have crossed the finish line, game play is over and the scores are tallied. Players add together how much money they earned for each of their cars based on how the cars finished. They then add up any money won through betting. Finally, they subtract the amount they paid for the car(s) won in auction. The player with the highest final total is the winner.

Downforce racing game score pad — Downforce Score Pad

The Dad Review

You know a game is good when you start running out of score sheets. So, you laminate them before you run out. It’s a good tip as well to laminate your score sheets, especially when you play a game a lot, but this review is not about the laminator, it’s about racing and gambling with your family.

Laminated Downforce score sheets — Laminated score sheets

Yep, you have to spend money to make money, but not too much. That leads to a cool part of this game. You spend money to bid for vehicles that you’ll race, but if you spend too much, you most likely won’t win at the end. At the end of the day, that money you invested in cars will be negative points, so if you don’t place well, you will not be making up that difference and will lose.

The other cool part is betting on the winner, which happens three times during the game. This is a way to make money, but not necessarily from your own cars. You can bet on other players’ cars too. This can bring up emotional peaks and valleys.

Highs and Lows

It’s cool to see Maci in first place and smiling when I start moving her car to help her win, even though it helps me as well because I have bet on her car. It keeps her interested in the game and winning feels good, hence the smiling. On the flip side, I can also see the sadness, anger, and depression, the trifecta of bummer emotions on her face when I don’t move her car, and blow past her in mine. Though I feel bad, I also have this awesome feeling inside that I am going to win, and it doesn’t go away even when she starts to cry and uses her cards as tissues. Ultimately, it’s a race and those of you who are competitive know I made the right call to pass her and I should probably buy some extra tissues. I don’t want the cards to get boogery.

So, if your family hates take that moments, that could be a small issue in this game because you will be moving other people’s cars and you could stick them in a poor spot or even get them stuck behind other cars, wasting that car’s movement points.

In the end, the moments of negative feelings are few and far between and this game is straight up fun. Every family we’ve played with has enjoyed it. So if you’re into racing games, like Camel Up, Flamme Rouge, The Tortoise and the Hare, or Formula D, I recommend this game.

As a family game, I give Downforce a 9/10.

The Mom Review

Downforce is a regular hit in our house. It plays quickly, so even if someone is feeling a little antsy, they are usually willing to play. We will also often play several games in a row. Maci likes being in control of a bunch of cars. So, Jake and I often only end up with one or two each. She tends to overbid, and doesn’t win because her auction total was so high. However, since she enjoys having so many cars, it doesn’t seem to bother her too much.

Kids really like that they get to move everyone’s cars on their turn. A single card can have anywhere from one car to all six listed on it. So when you play a card, you aren’t just moving your own cars on your turn, and you can block cars in. This is usually really fun for the person who is moving the cars and less fun for those who realize they just missed out on a lot of movement they could have had.

Some of the types of cards in Downforce — Some of the racing cards in Downforce.

I also like that there isn’t a lot of down time as people think seriously about their moves. It’s pretty easy for players to have an idea in mind or just choose a card that moves their own car or the car they have bet on quickly around the track. The lack of wait time really keeps the game moving and is great for those with a short attention span!

Learning the Rules

The rules are clear, fairly simple, and easy to teach. There are also some alternate ways to play listed at the back of the rulebook. If you are playing with an inexperienced or young gamer, the Beginner’s Game is a great place to start. If your gaming party has a lot of stamina, a World Tour game can be a lot of fun!

Like Jake mentioned, we were getting close to the end of the scoring pad, so we decided to laminate our score sheets. I use this laminator and these laminating pouches that I got on Amazon (affiliate links). You can write on the laminated sheets with either dry erase markers like Expo markers, or wet erase markers, like Vis-a-Vis. ( I prefer the wet erase because the laminating plastic cleans up better after using those).

Overall, I give Downforce a 10/10. I am always happy when someone suggests we play!

The Kid Review

I like Downforce. My first reason is I like racing games. I also like driving my car and it wins. Sometimes my car doesn’t cross the finish line. I’m fine with that though. Sometimes when I get cars I spend too much money on them at the auction, and that’s why I lose. But, it is fun even if I lose because I get to spend time with my family and it’s just a really great and fun game.

In conclusion, I will give this game 10/10.

Overall Impressions

Overall, our family really enjoys the game Downforce. It is a game that we have played with may of our friends, gamers, and non-gamers alike.

As a family, we rate this game 10/10.
Setup rating – easy
Understanding and teaching the rules – easy

If you already have Downforce, or try it out, you might enjoy these Downforce Expansions: Danger Circut and Wild Ride!

What is your favorite racing game?

April 1, 2020April 1, 2020

Wingspan – Board Game Review

Wingspan is a bird-collection, engine-building building game for 1-5 players. It takes the three of us about an hour to play. The box states it is for players aged 10+, but Maci has been playing it since she was 8 with no problem. (She even holds the high point record in our house!)

In Wingspan, players are bird enthusiasts adding birds to their collection. On a player’s turn, they can take one of four actions.

Play a bird card from your hand
Gain food and activate forest powers
Lay eggs and activate grassland powers
Draw bird cards and activate wetland powers

Each bird can have a variety of powers associated with it. Pink powers activate once between turns. Brown powers activate with the habitat they are in. Powers that activate when a card is played do not have a color associated with them.

Throughout the game, you will add to your collection and score points for round goals between the rounds. At the end of the game, players score victory points on a point sheet for bird cards, bonus cards, round-end bonuses, eggs, cached food, and tucked cards.

The Dad Review

I have to give a shout out to Elizabeth Hargrave, designer of this game for educating me on a topic I would’ve never researched before. Because of this game, every time we go to a zoo with an atrium, I actually want to stay and look at all the birds. Which is enjoyable for me, but drives Maci crazy. She would rather zoom through to check out the gorilla exhibit, which is fair. At the age of 9, if my dad would have wanted to stop and look at birds, I would’ve tried to sneak off or hurry through as well. Hargrave does have a new game coming up called Mariposa about butterflies. If it’s like Wingspan, I guess I’ll be into butterflies as well. Never thought I’d say that… moving on.

This game has a lot going on for it and I do believe it earns its high ranking on BGG. The components are sweet, the cards have a nice finish to them, even the rulebook is quality and I usually don’t care about the paper quality of a rulebook. The bird feeder as a dice tower is genius.

Birdfeeder Dice Tower with dice for food resources — Bird feeder dice tower in Wingspan

Gameplay

Let’s talk about gameplay. It’s fun, and this is the one engine builder I really enjoy and will play anytime. The cards make sense depending on where you play them, if it’s a water bird you’re playing it in the water. The gameplay length is actually not too bad. We even have a rule that when you place a bird, you read the fact about that bird that’s printed on the bottom. For example, I found a bird that pukes on itself to avoid danger. I now know what I’ll do if someone tries to rob me. Yeah I’ve turned into a bird nerd and I’m not afraid to share it. Though I’m sure Ang and Maci might not want to know every bird fact I come across.

This game has grown on Maci and she will play it, just not more than twice in a row, which I get. The only negative I see is that the price can sometimes skyrocket because it’s hard to find copies online. My neighborhood gaming store has trouble getting it, which is a bummer since we like to support locally when possible. I actually got this copy at Bed Bath and Beyond with a coupon. So if you want to get it, you might just need to get creative. All in all, it’s a great game and I’d love to chat more but I think I just saw a sparrow fly by my window, so I’m going to grab my binoculars and check it out.

Overall, I rank Wingspan a 10/10

The Mom Review

Wingspan is a favorite of mine. The components of the game are on-point. I love the little eggs, the quality of the paper the cards are printed on, and the detail that went into the bird journals (player mats). The organizational components are also perfect. I adore the little plastic boxes that hold the food and eggs. Not only do they hold the pieces nicely for storage, they are perfect for keeping the play area neat and organized. The birdfeeder dice roller is such a cute, whimsical touch!

Every part of this game was so clearly thought out and developed to keep the theme intact. For example, the power of each bird coincides with at least one feature of the bird in nature. Predators hunt other birds and the cards are tucked and kept for victory points at the end of the game. The food required to play a bird is realistic to what that bird will actually eat. Each bird card also shows a nest type and maximum number of eggs that nest can hold.

One component I really appreciate both as a mom and a teacher is the geograpic and factual information about each bird at the bottom of the card.

All of these extra touches really make this game something special!

Aside from all the amazing components, Wingspan is such an enjoyable game to play. It feels very low-key and chill, and I like that I can just do my thing without being attacked by Jake. Sure, there are a few cards which can let him benefit from my actions, but there is nothing in this game that lets him come in and just ruin what I have built. Although I don’t often win this game, I do feel successful because I have accomplished so much while playing.

Overall, I give Wingspan a 10/10. I am always willing to play and often, I am the one suggesting it.

The Kid Review

I like Wingspan. It is a fun game. I like the birds because they look good and they let you do certain things. For example, there are some cards that let you do things at the end of the round. Other birds let you do things when you go and get food. Some powers on a bird let you do the action right away. I also like getting food to build the birds and getting eggs to lay on the birds. I also like the end of round goals. It is fun working towards those goals.

There is one thing that I don’t like. When I have everything filled up in one row, I sometimes forget and I get mad because it’s a really good card and I have all of the eggs and food for it and I can’t place it.

Wingspan Final Round. You can see how her top row is full, so she wasn’t able to build the bird card she wanted towards the end of the game

In conclusion, I will give Wingspan 9/10. I like it, but I don’t want to play it over and over again.

Overall Impressions

Overall, this game is a hit at our house. Our average rating amongst us is a 10/10!

March 29, 2020April 4, 2020

Everdell – Board Game Review

Everdell is a game where players create a city made of whimsical woodland creatures and buildings over the course of 4 “seasons”. It is intended for 1-4 players and recommends players aged 14+, but Maci, age 9, has no problem playing this game. Average game time in our family is about an hour.

Everdell board game setup — Everdell setup complete

Everdell Basics

In Everdell, each player represents a certain creature. Players then take turns, each carrying out a single action. On your turn, you may:

Place a worker
Play a card
Prepare for the next season

When placing workers, players gather resources, acquire new cards, or take other specific actions. When playing a card, players can build a critter or construction in their city, gaining a variety of advantages from each card built. Preparing for the next season allows players to reclaim their placed workers, gain new workers from the Ever Tree, and gain the next season’s bonus.

Players work through the season at their own pace, and do not have to wait for one another to move on to the next season. The game ends after all players have completed all the seasons. At this points, players calculate their total victory points.

Everdell cards and resources closeup — Everdell closeup

The Mom Review

I really enjoy Everdell. When I play, I feel like I am building up a tiny city reminiscent of the Redwall books. Who doesn’t love the Redwall series by Brian Jaques?

The game setup is a little time consuming. The Ever Tree needs to be assembled for each game play, but I did not find this difficult. I just followed the instructions in the box. This assembly video can help if necessary. Additionally for setup, there are cards to be shuffled and placed, events to lay out, resources to place, and workers to distribute. I don’t feel it is overly complicated, but it does take a little bit of time.

Within the game, the basic actions are easy to grasp, and the cards are clear and descriptive in their meanings. I enjoy the engine building aspects of the game as well. Certain cards give resources throughout the game. There are other cards (constructions), which allow the player to build a critter for free one time. I find it to be a fun challenge to maximize these opportunities.

Maci is able to play this game, she enjoys playing, and understands the basics. However, she still gets stuck with one goal in mind (which you can see in her review), and at times will back herself into a corner as a result. I am sure this will improve with age and experience. This is likely one of the main reasons for the higher age suggestion listed on the box.

Overall, I give Everdell a 9/10 rating. It is a game I’d happily play on a regular basis!

The Dad Review

Everdell aesthetically looks great. The artwork on the cards is on point, and the tree that stands in the middle is awesome. It gives the game a cool storybook finish look. The workers are legit and look like woodland creatures. The resources aren’t cubes, the amber looks like amber, the twigs look like twigs, the snozzberries look like, sorry the regular berries look like berries. This is also fun for Maci, she enjoys games that look cool and different. Now back to the giant tree, some people don’t like the tree because it doesn’t serve a purpose other than holding some of the bonus cards but, if a family walked by and saw this game displayed, they’d want to come check it out. The thing is looks are only part of the reason we play games. The mechanics are the other.

This is where I’m on the fence. I love worker placement and deck building games, and this game integrates both. You’re placing workers to collect bonuses or materials to build your little forest city. You can build these buildings or creatures from your hand of cards you’re dealt or from a shared community main pool, which I think is a cool mechanic, and gives you more options than just what’s in your hand.

Pros and Cons

I don’t like putting down a worker, just to get one good or resource. Especially when you don’t begin with a lot of workers, so this is frustrating. Often, I don’t feel like I’m getting enough. I don’t think I should put down a worker and then get every item I need to build a card, but I do feel that the way it’s set up creates a limited, slow build. Additionally, I might have a problem with this game because I am not a huge fan of engine builders, and it has that quality. Another issue I have is this game can become a little luck based, if you don’t get the right card combos, it can become frustrating, especially if someone started with a hand of cards that work well together and you didn’t.

I will say Everdell does a decent job of negating that feeling by offering a selection of cards to choose from in the middle of the game board. However, someone could snag the card you need ,or you end up wasting a critter to perform a move that lets you select a certain amount of cards from the shared card pool or facedown deck.

For some positives, I do appreciate that there are bonuses you can aim for by building certain cards and it does balance the game and thematically, they work. There are some bonuses that team up certain characters to accomplish a goal, that I feel those characters would actually do. So the theme really works.

All in all, I think this is a good game and my family enjoys it. It’s not an everyday type game, but I don’t mind playing it. If I’m going to play a game like this, I would rather play Raiders of the North Sea, Architects of the West Kingdom, Wingspan, or Great Western Trail.

Dad’s Overall Impressions

With all of this said, Everdell has some expansions coming out that might change my mind on this game and I may rank it higher but we will see. I think Spirecrest may get me on board to rank this higher.

For my own personal and as a family ranking, I rank it a 7/10.

The Kid Review

I think Everdell is a great game. I love buying people and buildings. My favorite creatures are the wife and the husband. The farm is fun to build, plus there is a combo if you also have the wife and husband. I love buying berries so I can add more people to my city. If I build a specific building I can get a specific creature for free, and I really like that as well. In conclusion I will give Everdell 10 out of 10. Peace out!

The berries of Everdell – Maci’s favorite resource

Overall Impressions

As a family, we don’t completely agree on this game. We all like it, but clearly to varying degrees.

Overall Average Rating: 8.5/10
Ease of Instructions: 8/10
Ease of Setup: 7/10
Playing with younger players: 7/10

March 28, 2020March 28, 2020

7 Wonders – Board Game Review

7 Wonders is a card drafting game. It is intended for 2-7 players and takes about 30 minutes to play. The box claims it is for people age 10+ to play, but Maci has been playing since she was 6.

Basics of 7 Wonders Game Play

7 Wonders is played over a series of 3 rounds. In each round, players are dealt a hand of cards. Each player simultaneously chooses and reveals a card from their hand and then passes the remaining cards to the next player. The cards for each round have a little symbol to show in which direction the cards should be passed.

Chosen cards are kept in an active play area in front of each player. There are multiple types of cards that can be acquired.

7 Wonders hand of cards for round 1 — Play hand at the beginning of a 7 Wonders Round

Resources (brown and grey) give players certain resources to be able to purchase future cards.
Civilian Structures (blue) provide victory points.
Scientific Structures (green) score victory points based on the sets you accumulate.
Commercial Structures (yellow) earn coins, produce resources, provide discounts, and sometimes score victory points
Military Structures (red) help during conflict
Guilds (purple) score extra victory points.

As the game progresses, each player’s collection of cards grows, gathering more resources, military strength, scientific collections and victory points to be scored at the end of the game. In addition to building up a collection of cards, players also work to build levels of their “Wonder”, a board they have in front of them. Each level of a wonder provides different benefits.

Board Game Geek Rankings for 7 Wonders

These are the rankings for 7 Wonders on Board Game Geek at the time we wrote this Review.

Family- 4
Strategy-51
Overall-49

The Dad Review

7 Wonders is a very popular card drafting game and it deserves a high family ranking in my opinion. This game is easy to teach and takes a couple of times playing to figure out strategies. Maci is very good at this game. In our last two sessions playing, she beat us. I hate losing, but not as much as when Maci beats me. She understands this game and loves to play.

The base game took less than half an hour to play, which is great for short attention spans. The war phase is pretty easy. It’s basically playing the card game war, whoever has the strongest army wins. So if I have three war symbols and you have two, I win. The only thing I will say that may be difficult to understand is the science scoring at the end, but once you have that figured out you’re good to go.

When it comes to replay-ability, this game is solid because the cards you receive will be a different combination each time. ‘Take that’ effects are not too bad, because if you do take a card someone needs, half the time they don’t realize it or you can use that card face down to build your wonder, which means no one sees it. This game is only 9 years old right now, which doesn’t seem like a classic but for modern board games I would say that it does fill the niche.

Overall, for a family ranking, I give it a 10/10. It is good to get new gamers into card drafting games. For my own ranking I rank the base game a 8/10.

The Kid Review – Age 9

7 Wonders is one of my favorite games. One reason is, I like the fighting and the blue victory points. I also like getting the things [resources] I need to build the buildings. Here are some of the resources: brick, cloth, stone, and glass. There are other resources too.

7 Wonders Player Area — End of game layout of 7 Wonders for a single player

I also like the yellow cards because they give you victory points, money, and you can borrow resources from your opponents (like my mom and my dad) for less money.

In conclusion, I will give 7 Wonders a 10 out of 10. I just love 7 Wonders.

The Mom Review

I really enjoy playing 7 Wonders. I like that it is a quick and easy playthrough, and after mastering the rules once, I have never struggled to remember them again. When I can’t remember what an icon means, I just refer to the quick reference on the back of the rulebook, and that is super helpful.

Setting up 7 Wonders is not difficult at all. You simply sort the cards for each age by the number of players in your game, set out coins and scoring tokens, and pass out the wonder boards to each player. I like to “deal” out the cards for each age before we start and set the stacks aside. When I do that, we can move from one age to the next with minimal wait time.

Another great aspect of 7 wonders is that if you have a very young player in your group, or someone who struggles in understanding strategy in games, they can totally still play just fine. The game is based on pick a card, place it in front of you, pass the cards. You might need to keep an eye on these players to make sure they don’t break the few card choice rules, but they still get to participate and eventually will pick up on the strategies that can be used to do well.

Overall, I give 7 Wonders a 10/10.

Overall Impressions of 7 Wonders

Family Game: 10/10
Overall: 9/10
Ease of Understanding the Rules: 9/10
Ease of Setup: 9/10

Other Games to Try

Other family card drafting type games to try – Ticket To Ride, Sushi Go, and Everdell.

Wanting to increase the difficulty level in card drafting? We recommendTerraforming Mars, Architects of the West Kingdom and Raiders of The North Sea.

March 20, 2020March 29, 2020

Quacks of Quedlinburg – Board Game Review

Quacks of Quedlinburg, or ‘Quacks’ for short, is a bag building game for 2-4 players. The estimated play time is about 45 minutes. The box recommends players 10 and up, but Maci has been playing this game since she was 7. She understood the game, but did face some difficulties at that age which Jake explains in his review.

In Quacks, players mix up a pot of ingredients each round to make a potion. The goal is to gain the most victory points while trying to not let your pot explode. At the end of each round, players can purchase new ingredients to add to their bags. These new ingredients are available in all future rounds. After 9 rounds, the game ends and the player with the most victory points wins!

The Mom Review

I really enjoy playing Quacks, even though I usually don’t win. It’s fun purchasing different ingredients and seeing what comes out of the bag. Sometimes it can be frustrating when your pot explodes early in the round, simply due to the luck of the draw.

Quacks is easier to teach to people who have played games before. It is not the best game to teach to people who are new to gaming. The concepts in the game are not difficult, but since there are different abilities that come with each potion and all players play simultaneously, it can feel overwhelming to someone who is new. If you would like to play this with a younger player, it might be helpful to let them have an adult buddy the first play through until they are comfortable.

I really appreciate the replay ability of Quacks. With all the different books that come for each potion, no two games are identical.

A few of the books in Quacks. This is the first set, recommended for a beginner game.

Overall, I give Quacks a 9/10. I am glad it’s a game we own, and I will never turn a game down.

The Dad Review

This game evokes a lot of emotions. We bought this game when it first came out and we love it. It’s easy to teach and easy to learn. Here’s what’s not easy: dealing with kids that can’t handle the ‘push your luck’ elements in games.

Maci is usually calm and collected, but when we first bought this game she was like a 21 year old with $1000 in their pocket landing in Vegas, dreams of making millions, banking an unlimited amount of free buffet coupons, and eating pizza with gold-flaked pepperoni in the penthouse suite of Caesars Palace. She would let it ride on almost every turn. She went from the high of winning to the low of losing the house. It was a roller coaster of emotions.

So with that said, this is a good game for learning when to hold them and when to fold them. This is not easy for younger kids and will possibly bring the fun factor of this game to a screeching halt. Now with that said, she has learned how to deal with her emotions in this game and now approaches with a more balanced attitude. No longer are we betting the house on every turn, and she is learning some of the tricks. Don’t get me wrong there are times when it’s all or nothing, but we no longer need to bolt the table to the ground to prevent table flips.

If you or your kids have a gambling problem and can’t hold in their rage, I do not recommend this game. On the other hand, if you’re looking for a fun, go with the flow, hopefully I’ll pick out the right chip, push your luck game, then this is for you.

Herb Witches Expansion

This expansion is awesome and adds a lot to the game without a lot of rules. You now can invest in witches that will give you a one-time bonus. These bonuses will enhance your chances of doing well and navigate some of the luck factor. The expansion also comes with new powers for the ingredients from the base game. Additionally, it adds a runoff bowl so if you do reach the end of your pot, you can continue to get those sweet sweet victory points. I would definitely get this expansion.

On it’s own, I rank this game a 9/10, with the expansion I rank it a 10/10.

The Kid Review

I really like Quacks. First, I love the expansion because of the witches. They give you super helpful things when you need them. Next, I like that you get chips to play so you can get to do special things and you get to reach higher spaces in your pot. Then I really like the yellow and blue tokens because they have my favorite powers. Also, I like pulling chips out of a bag and not busting and winning.

In conclusion I will give it a rating of 9 out of 10.

March 19, 2020March 19, 2020

Flamme Rouge – Family Board Game Review

This is a review of the board game Flamme Rouge. We think it is a great game for families!

Flamme Rouge is a racing game for 2-4 players (up to 6 with the Peloton expansion). It takes about 30 minutes to play. In Flamme Rouge, players choose cards to make bicycle riders move around the game board. The object is to have your racers make it around the board and cross the finish line first. Players need to balance speed with strategy so their riders do not become exhausted too quickly.

The Mom Review

I really enjoy playing Flamme Rouge. It is very easy to teach. Players get two separate decks of cards. One for their Rouleur and one for the Sprinteur. The cards in each deck vary slightly, and the game comes with a reminder card. The contents of each deck is on one side, and the game play steps is on the other. Players draw four cards from one deck and choose one of the four to play. Next, they repeat this with the other deck. This simple play is easy for even the youngest kids to handle.

Once everyone has chosen their cards, all cards are flipped simultaneously. Next, it is time for the pieces to move along the board. Maci really likes being the one to move the pieces, and it keeps her engaged in the game. After all pieces move, slipstreaming happens and then it is time for the next round. The quick pace in the rounds also helps younger kids to stay interested.

Overall, I am impressed with the quality of the components in this game. I appreciate that they included a little case to protect the cyclists. (See photo – Jake has started painting some of the minis to have skin tone, and I love how they turned out!)

I give Flamme Rouge a 9 out of 10. I am very glad we have it in our collection now.

The Dad Review

Ok, this game has been on my radar for a couple of years now. Every time I would go into the gaming store, I’d always check it out, but would pass on it. I finally broke down and got it after we went on a family bike ride and my daughter loved going out and riding. Now, I have a work out buddy that won’t let me slack. Anyways back to the review. I got the game because she now likes bikes, so it’s relatable. At first, we screwed up the rules. We didn’t give out as many exhaustion cards as we should have. We also had a miscommunication problem about the rules when entering a hill. At that time, I really didn’t like the game and was bummed because it stinks when you buy a game and dislike it.

Fast forward to the next play. After we fixed that simple rule and clarifying the hill rules, I really liked the game. It was a lot more balanced and strategic. We figured out how to slip stream, which is so awesome in this game. I felt like I was way behind, but then I popped down a card that got me one square away from the cyclist in front of me. With slipstreaming, riders that are just one square behind the player ahead of them slide forward to fill the gap. I like how after slipstreaming, you catch up to the leader and you didn’t have to get exhausted doing it. The person up front basically did all of the work.

Also, I feel that thematically this game works. I’ve seen bike racing and this feels pretty darn close to actually racing. In closing, this quickly climbed the ranks in our family collection to a game everyone is down to play if mentioned. It is currently our family’s number one racing game.

My final ranking is a 10/10 – definitely staying in the collection.

The Kid Review

I like Flamme Rouge. First,I like it because I love riding my own bike and I love the slip stream in the game. Next, I like that the exhaust cards are given to not just the person in the front, but to any piece with an empty square in front of it. The cards help you move and I like that. The only thing I don’t like is that sometimes I can get bored of playing it over and over again.

Here are some tips:

Go slow when you start, but not too slow.
When you get half way through, go as fast as you can but be aware of the red.
When you’re in the blue if you have an exhaustion card in hand, you should play it.

In conclusion, I will give it 9 out of 10. I like to play, but not over and over again.

March 18, 2020March 29, 2020

Azul – Family Board Game Review

In this family board game review, we will be covering the game Azul.

Azul is an abstract game for 2-4 players. It usually takes about 30 minutes to play. The box recommends it for players ages 8+, but Maci started playing this when she was 6 with no problem.

In Azul, you place tiles on a mat to make either a pre-determined design or create your own, depending on the side of the player board you choose. In our family, we always use the pre-set design. You add to your score at the end of each round. The game ends when someone completes an entire row on their own board.

Azul layout after we had finished playing.

The Dad Review

Azul is a great family game and I believe it earns its number two spot on BGG’s family ranking at the time of this review. Players definitely have to plan ahead while also being diligent of what others are doing, to come out on top. As far as player interaction, you do have to pay attention every turn to see what others are doing, because you are shaping your game on what tiles are available. Players go down at some points, player interaction can stop and players can go into solitaire mode, forgetting to pay attention to their opponents moves. This something you should be aware of if you like constant interaction between players.

Maci had a great time because she beat her personal score and I can see that as she is aging up she is grasping some of the more advanced strategies. As your family grows with games, this is fun to watch from a parent perspective. I will say there will be times that you are presented with a chance to just ruin someone’s turn and I guess it comes down to how your family plays. I’m a jerk, so yes I did take a tile Angela needed and yes I’m okay with that, but only because she’s laid back most of the time. On the other hand, if your family is super competitive this could present some negative play. Then again, this game does offer a chance to plan ahead. So in closing, yes I’m super competitive, and yes Azul is a great family game, even when someone takes a tile you need.

I rank this 10/10 – definitely worth owning and having in a family collection.

The Kid Review

I think Azul is a great game. I mean I love it. It is fun because I like placing the tiles on my board. The two main things I try to do are get all of the same type of color and complete as many columns as I can. This way I can win at Azul. But one thing all kids should work on is paying attention to the other person’s board or boards. Sometimes my dad takes tiles I need or I could take his, but I forget about that. In conclusion, I really rank it 10 out of 10.

The Mom Review

Azul is one of my favorite games to play. I love abstract games, so it is right up my alley. I’m all about logical games with spatial reasoning, and this hits those points too.

One thing I do struggle with Azul is that there is a little bit of a “take that” component that some players take advantage of. (Hint: see Jake’s review). I just don’t play like that, although I know it’s good competition.

Azul is easy set up, to teach, and to grasp. Players choose one color off of the little mats, and push the other tiles into the center. After choosing a color, they then fill one row on the right of the player board as much as they can. If they overfill the row, extras go into the negatives row at the bottom. At the end of the round, each full row will move a single tile onto the design board. Then points are scored. It is nice that players have a sense of their scores throughout the game.

Overall, I give Azul a 10/10. It’s definitely worth adding to your gaming collection, and great for new gamers too!

Overall Thoughts

We all agree that we like Azul a great deal! We have also reviewed the Azul Crystal Mosaic Expansion, so be sure to check that post out too!

Overall Rating – 10/10
Ease of Setup – 10/10
Ease of Understanding the Rules – 10/10

March 17, 2020March 28, 2020

Santorini – Family Board Game Review

About the Game

Santorini is an abstract game for 2-4 players. It takes about 20 minutes to play. The box suggests it is for children ages 8+, but Maci has been able to play since she was 6 (using just the basic god powers). The mechanics of the game are simple, but it does take strategy and thought to be successful.

The Mom Review

I like Santorini. I’m always willing to play, but in my opinion, the selected god powers can make it or break it. It can be frustrating at times to keep track of everyone else’s powers and make sure you are not accidentally setting someone else to win on top of trying to win for yourself. I really like that it is short and very simple to teach to others. Also, when playing with younger children or people who are new to gaming, the game works well even without the god powers. Simply move, build. Setup is also quick and simple, which I appreciate since I usually set up most of our games. Overall, I give Santorini an 8 out of 10. I’m always willing to play, but it’s not usually one of the first games I will suggest.

The Kid Review

I think Santorini is a great game! I love the special powers to help you win. The two powers that I really like are Atlas and Pan. Atlas lets you build a dome wherever you want on the board. Atlas also helps you block other players from winning and makes it so they can’t move. Pan lets you win easier because when you get to the second level and go down, you win. But I don’t like Bia because she removes people. The funnest part of all is building, winning, and having fun with my family! I love this game and I would rank it 10 out of 10. The difficulty rating for kids age 8 and up would be easy.

The Dad Review

Santorini is definitely an abstract game, and a good one at that. I warn families that it can suffer from a ‘take that’ quality if you are using the god powers, especially the advanced powers. What I mean by that is, each person gets to select a god power that can block or sometimes even remove a player’s piece from the board. I had such a power and it did not make my daughter happy at all. Now, she could have offset this power by playing differently, but it’s not easy when the kiddos are younger. At the time of this review my daughter is 9. My wife also doesn’t love ‘take that’ types of abilities and I could tell, when the game was over. Even though she won, it wasn’t a great time had by all. In closing, I would definitely recommend this game for families, but knowing that when adding god powers it may be wise to sort out the cards that could create negative moments. As far as a family game ranking my score would be a 7 out of 10.

Overall Thoughts

8/10 as a family game
9/10 for easy setup
Easy to learn and teach to others