board game 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 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.