Tag: family games

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Arboretum – Card Game Review

Arboretum is a strategy-based card game for 2-4 players. The box recommends ages 10+, Maci has been playing since she was 8 and was able at that time to understand the basics of play and scoring. It takes about 25 – 30 minutes to play.

Arboretum card game box and contents
Arboretum box, score sheet, rule book and card/tree types

Gameplay Overview

In Arboretum, players begin with a hand of 7 cards. On each turn, a player must do 3 things:

  • Draw two cards (you can draw from the deck or any player’s discard pile, including your own)
  • Add a tree to the Arboretum (after the first turn, all trees must be placed orthogonally adjacent to another tree in the Arboretum).
  • Discard one card (each player has their own separate discard pile)

The game ends after the common draw pile is exhausted. The player who draws the last card finishes his or her turn and then scoring immediately takes place. To draw the game out, players can draw from the discard piles. Likewise, to move the game on more quickly, players should draw from the common draw pile. Usually players do some mix of the two depending on the cards each player needs.

Scoring takes place after the draw pile runs out. Scoring is just slightly more complicated than the turn-taking parts of the game. To score, the dealer starts at the top of the score pad and announces the first type of tree. Players reveal cards from their hands for that tree type. The player with the highest total earns the right to score for the given tree. Players can earn this right even if they do not have that tree placed in their arboretum, thus taking the ability to score from another player.

Arboretum card game score pad
Arboretum score pad

Points are scored by having trees lined up to make paths. The rules book clearly explains how to complete the scoring and includes examples.

The Dad Review

We bought this game in 2015, and some games just fall by the wayside, especially when the new hot game comes out. I’m glad we started this blog because we have been revisiting a lot of those games, and this is one I really enjoy. Arboretum is a solid card game where you’re basically building pathways showing off your sweet tree collection.  I know you’re sarcastically saying to yourself, “Oh cool, I get to build a tree zoo, that sounds like a really riveting action packed game.” Just to let you know, tree zoos rock.  

But seriously, the artwork is cool, and it’s another game where I’m learning about something. In this case, I’m learning different trees and what they look like. I will tell you though, with kids you need to play this a few times so they understand the scoring and gameplay or it will be frustrating.

You also have to pay attention to what everyone is doing, because you can prevent people from scoring. This sucks when it’s you not being able to score, and awesome when it’s not. In this case, Maci was super psyched to score some trees but I played some cards that trumped her. She did all she could to hold in all of those angry emotions. Her face looked like I ran over her family of ducks the first time they left the nest, that is if she raised a family of ducks. I will give her credit. She hung in there for the rest of the scoring, but needed to walk away after and grab a granola bar and things were better. I guess losing and hungry never mix. Gaming tip: don’t game hungry.  

In closing, this is a great game, especially if you like medium-weight strategy card games. It’s also affordable, and if you want a fancy wooden box and foil cards, you can spring for the upgraded set, which isn’t much more. 

As a family game, I rank this an 8/10.

The Mom Review

Arboretum is a game that I really want to like, but I actually do not like at all. I must admit that it is well made. The cards are gorgeous. The concept of laying out cards to score points for sets of trees is super cool.

Arboretum hand and tree layout
Arboretum hand and play space

However, I cannot stand that other players have the ability to keep you from scoring after all your hard work. This has happened to all of us, but it’s super aggravating to me and painful to watch happen to Maci. Also, I am too much of an empath to feel good about purposely keeping cards in my hand for the purpose of preventing another player from scoring. So, I just won’t do it. I don’t play like that. I’m aware I might lose because of it, but I’d rather be able to live with myself than win.

On a more positive note, the rules of Arboretum are simple and the basic gameplay is easy to teach. The rules for scoring are slightly more complicated to understand. If you are teaching the scoring rules to a young player or someone new to gaming, it would be helpful to lay out a sample and show how the scoring would work for that Arboretum.

The setup is very easy since it primarily consists of passing out the correct number of cards to players.

Overall, I give Arboretum a 6/10. The game provides a challenge, but I would like it better if I played with someone who didn’t get their feelings hurt so badly when someone steals their ability to score.

The Kid Review

I think this game is ok. First, I like that the trees are pretty. Next, I like getting trees and placing them for victory points. Sometimes when another player has a lot of the same type of tree and they have 1 through 6 and they have to have a high card to score and I have the 8 of that type, I know that person has the 7 and then at the end of the game they won’t get victory points for the type that they have a lot of.

In conclusion, I will give this game 8/10.

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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.

Heist: One Team One Mission
Heist Game Box

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
Heist Setup
Heist Setup

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!

Heist Tools
Heist Tools

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.

The four sides of the safe in Heist.

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.
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Sushi Go

Sushi Go is a card drafting game for 2-5 players. The box states it is for players 8+, but due to the nature of the game play, even much younger kids can also participate. Sushi Go! is a quick game, taking only about 15 minutes to play.

Sushi Go! box
Sushi Go!

Gameplay Overview

Setup

Shuffle all the cards in the box. Deal cards to each player depending on the number of players. (Specifics are found both on the first page of the rule book as well as on the Quick Summary on the back cover).

How to Play

Sushi Go! takes place over 3 rounds. You start with the same amount of cards at the beginning of each round.

During the round:

  1. All players simultaneously choose a card from their hand and place it face down in front of them.
  2. Once all players have chosen their card, flip cards over and leave them face up in each person’s play area.
  3. All players simultaneously pass the remaining cards from the hand to the next player.

Continue with the above three steps until there are no cards left. After the last card has been passed, the round is scored.

Round End Scoring

Each type of sushi has a different scoring mechanism:

  • Maki Rolls – The player with the most gets 6 points. Player with the second most gets 3 points.
  • Tempura – Score 5 points for each set of two (a single tempura card does not score)
  • Sashimi – Score 10 points for each set of three (1 or 2 sashimi cards do not score)
  • Dumplings – See the chart at the bottom of the card. The top number is the total number of dumplings. The number beneath is points received. For example, 3 dumplings cards will score 6 points.
  • Nigiri – Score the points named on the card

Special Cards:

  • Wasabi – triples the value of the next nigiri taken by the player (does not score on its own)
  • Chopsticks – Use on a later turn to swap for two cards from the same hand (does not score any points)
  • Pudding – Save these until the end of the game (set aside at the end of each round). The player with the most pudding at the end of the game gains 6 points. The player with the least pudding at game end loses 6 points.
Sushi Go! Back cover of the rulebook
Back cover of Sushi Go! rulebook. Great to keep handy for reference during the game.

Game End Scoring

After the third round, complete the round end scoring as usual, then adjust the points for pudding (player with the most gains 6; player with the least loses 6).

The player with the most total victory points is the winner.

The Dad Review

We bought this game when Maci was 6 years old and she was able to pick it up and play with assistance. Now that she’s 9, this game is really easy for her to play. Sushi Go! is a great introduction to card drafting and I recommend it for families new to the hobby. The game pretty simple. You deal out 7 cards to everyone, everyone takes one card from their hand and passes the remaining cards to the person next to them and this goes on until all the cards are used. Then you score for the 1st round.  You then repeat the steps above until 3 rounds are completed. It’s quick and easy. 

I believe that you can still find this game at The Gaming Goat, Amazon, or Target, but it’s being to reimplemented to the slightly more complex Sushi Party. It is also available for purchase and uses the same mechanics. However, players have a broader menu of items to select from to put in the game. It’s not super complex but it is a small step up from the basic Sushi Go. If you can’t find the basic version, you can still play the party version with no problem.

As a family game, I give Sushi Go 8/10

The Mom Review

I like Sushi Go as a quick, easy to play pick and pass card game. It is very easy to teach to new players. Also, even if someone has no clue what is going on, they can just choose a card and keep going. They will usually figure things out after a round or two.

A layout of the Sushi Go! cards
Each of the 8 different Sushi Go! cards: tempura, nigiri, sahsimi, dumpling, chopsticks, wasabi, pudding, maki roll

With that being said, the rules are very simple to teach and understand. The rulebook also has a nice little cheat-sheet on the back to summarize the scoring and act as a reminder.

Setup is super-easy as you just shuffle and pass out the cards according to the rule book.

Sushi Go is a fun game, and the overall score can change dramatically from one round to another. So, if you ever feel behind, be patient. Things might just turn around for you!

I enjoy Sushi Go and give it an 8/10

The Kid Review

I like Sushi Go. First, I like all of the cards, especially pudding. I like that we pick a card and play it, then pass hands. Sometimes I don’t like having to pass the hand, because I love the cards I have and I want to play lots of them, and that’s a great thing. I love that I get victory points based on how many cards that I have of that type. I really like collecting sashimi for the thing that I just explained. I don’t like to eat sushi but I love this game, so I will give this game 10/10.

Overall Impressions

Our Overall Family Rating: 8.5/10

Sushi Go Game with Cards
Sushi Go! Game

Pros

  • Super easy to learn
  • Good player interaction
  • Lots of choices
  • Multiple ways to score
  • Easy to set up

Cons

  • If you’re looking for a deep, complex card drafting game this is not it. 

Other Card Drafting Games You Might Like

What is your favorite card drafting game? Do you have another game you’d like us to review? We’d love to hear from you!

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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.

Clank A Deck-Building Adventure
Clank: A Deck-Building Adventure

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
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Qwixx Deluxe

Qwixx Deluxe is a dice game for 2-8 players known as a ‘roll and write’. It is intended for ages 8+, but Maci has been able to play since she was 5, with some parent assistance. We got our copy of Qwixx Deluxe at Target. We have also seen it at our local Gaming Goat, or it can be ordered online directly from the publisher, Gamewright.

Qwixx Deluxe Box
Qwixx Deluxe

Gameplay Overview

Qwixx Setup

To set up, each player takes a score sheet and dry erase marker. As a group, choose which side of the board to play. Finally, give the dice to the first active player.

Qwixx Deluxe Components
Qwixx Deluxe Components

How to Play Qwixx

Gameplay is completed as the rolling of dice and crossing out numbers on the score sheet. Numbers must be crossed out from left to right in each of the four rows. Any numbers that are skipped CANNOT be crossed off on a later turn.

The active player rolls all 6 dice. Then, the next two actions must be done IN ORDER:

FIRST, announce the total of the two white dice out loud. ALL players MAY cross out the number that was announced in any row.

SECOND, the active player only may combine one white die with one colored die and cross out the number matching the sum and the color die they chose.

IF the active player either cannot or chooses to not cross off any number on their turn, they MUST cross off a penalty box at the bottom of their score sheet. Each penalty box crossed off at the end of the game will count as -5 points.

Once all players are ready, the dice are passed clockwise to the next player who then rolls all 6 dice. Play continues in this fashion until one of the two game end conditions are met.

Game End

The game is over as soon as one of two conditions are met:

  • Someone has crossed out his/her fourth penalty box OR
  • Two dice have been removed from the game (once the row has been locked)

Scoring

Each player scores their own game board by finding the number of xs within each row and using the score chart to give a points total for each color. Add together the total for all colored rows and subtract any penalties received. The player with the highest total is the winner.

The Dad Review

This is a great game to introduce players to roll and write games. This is a game we started with when we began realizing the board gaming world was rather large and there were different styles of games. This particular version (Qwixx Deluxe) is nice because of the dry erase boards. Also, it is two-sided, giving a more complex version but nothing crazy hard.

Qwixx Side One
Qwixx Side One – basic gameplay
Qwixx Deluxe Side Two - Variation
Qwixx Deluxe Side Two Variation

Maci has been playing this since she was 5, so we’ve definitely gotten a lot of mileage out of this game.  If you like this style of game, I’d recommend these other games: That’s Pretty Clever, Twice As Clever, Welcome To, Fleet the Dice Game (most difficult out of the games listed), Cartographers, and Railroad Ink. 

Qwixx Deluxe Pros

  • Easy to learn and teach
  • Just enough depth that it’s not your basic lucky dice chucking game.
  • Affordable
  • Mensa Select game
  • Double sided board gives more replay-ability

Qwixx Deluxe Cons

  • Serious gamers may find it too easy and could use interest
  • The boards are nice, but can stain

My ranking is a 6/10. If your kids are young and just getting into gaming, I encourage you to pick it up.

The Mom Review

Maci and I like to play games in the morning while we eat breakfast together, and Qwixx is exactly the right type of game for this. It is quick, and the rules are simple and easy to remember. There is also very minimal setup and it is easy to clean up.

As a teacher, I appreciate that players need to add quickly and analyze a variety of number combinations. To make the best decision for which dice combination to make, and how many numbers on their score sheet they are willing to skip, kids have a lot to think about. I am sure this is a big reason this game was chosen as a Mensa Select game.

Qwixx turn example
In this example roll, you can see that the white dice total 4. Since I chose to mark the yellow 4, and I am the active player, I get one more, I cannot then mark the yellow 3, since I have bypassed the 3 to mark the 4. So, I choose to mark the red 2 instead.

When Maci was really little, I would help her walk through the different dice combinations because all of the dice sitting in front of her felt overwhelming.

Overall, I give this game a 7/10. It’s a great quick game, and I’m willing to play it, but I wouldn’t want to play it for hours on end.

The Kid Review

I like Qwixx. First, I like rolling the dice and doing the white and a color plus the white dice. I like getting a lot of rows and locking the color dice up (which makes us remove that colored dice). I also like the more complicated side because it is a little harder. It is definitely easy for kids. I played this when I was a lot younger and it was easy for me.

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

Overall Impressions

We like Qwixx. It’s a great, quick roll and write game. It is also easy to teach to people who are new to gaming and plays up to 8 players.

  • Overall Rating: 8/10
  • Setup: Very Easy
  • Learning the Rules: Very Easy
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Downforce: Wild Ride – Expansion Review

Downforce Wild Ride Expansion Cover
Expansion Cover Sleeve. This expansion does not include a box – I appreciate that they don’t create undue waste!

Wild Ride is an expansion for the board game Downforce. You must have the base game to be able to play. We also have a review of Downforce without any expansions. The Wild Ride expansion adds a new, two-sided game board with totally a totally different play experience and elements on each side. Also included is one cardboard sheet with punch-outs to add to the board.

Downforce Wild Ride Punch Board Pieces
Animals and ramps included in Downforce Wild Ride Expansion

Aloha Sands

One side of the board is called Aloha Sands. Aloha Sands features ramps that cars can jump to zoom ahead of the pack. The expansion comes with actual little ramps you set on the board to simulate the jumps. Using the ramp has a few rules, but they are not cumbersome. A ramp can only be used if:

  • The number played on the speed card must be equal to or higher than the number on the ramp. AND
  • The car must have at least one movement left. AND
  • The landing space for the ramp is empty.

When a car cannot use the ramp, you simply must go around.

Downforce Wild Ride Aloha Sands Board before complete setup
Aloha Sands Board – Before Complete Setup

Savanna Stretch

Savanna Stretch is a completely different play experience than Aloha Sands. This time, wild animals are on the track and the cars must navigate around them. The wild animals are represented by cardboard tokens. Each token has a distinct shape. The rules for Savanna Stretch are also quite simple to learn.

  • Start with the animals in their spots closest to the starting line.
  • Animals block the space when they are present.
  • After the turn when the first car passes the line in front of the animal, move the animal to the next designated space on the track.
  • Empty animal spaces may be entered by cars like normal spaces.
Downforce Wild Ride Savanna Sands Board
Savanna Sands Board – Before Setup

The Dad Review

I really enjoy the base game and rank it pretty high among our racing style games. 

Aloha Sands

On the Aloha Sands side of the Wild Ride board, we are going off some ramps. While it doesn’t feel as good as my 10-year-old self launching off some sweet unsafe homemade dirt jumps as a kid, it is still fun and much safer. 

You should always be able to finish this course if you hit the jumps. I had the power card Cunning, which let me move my own car. I believe Cunning is the best power to have on this course, because there is a slight ‘take that’ mechanism at play here. If someone plays a card with your color car, they can bypass the jump and make you go the long way. However, if you have Cunning, you can take the path of your choice. Not being able to move your own cars can cause some frustrating moments. I know it did for Maci, but she didn’t pull the anger card I seem to use a lot. She kept her cool and I was proud of her for that.

Downforce Power Cards
Downforce power cards – Jake played with Cunning, which he thought was awesome (the rest of us, not so much!)

Savanna Stretch

On Savanna Stretch, we bring in some animals. Kinda like the cows in Mario Kart.  While I would have liked a standee version for the animals I understand you gotta keep prices low, which I appreciate. It’s difficult to warrant buying a $50 expansion sometimes, I’d much rather pay $15-$20 for a bunch of fun like this, so I will deal with no standees. Plus Maci can now design 3D models of the animals for school and us, win, win. This is another solid course. The animals move when triggered, so it can create blocking issues. On the other hand, when the animals move out of the way, the space they leave is a great way to zoom ahead.

I prefer Aloha Sands to Savanna Stretch, but I will say this is a great expansion and I would play anytime someone wanted to with no objection.  If you like the base game this is a solid investment and affordable.

For a family ranking, I give it a 9/10.

The Mom Review

I really enjoy the Wild Ride expansion for Downforce. It brought some fun new elements to the gameplay without the headache of way too many new rules to remember. Of the two sides, I highly prefer Aloha Sands (with the jumps). It made the game move along quickly. Additionally, every car crossed the finish line. Maci usually buys too many cars at auction and will end up with one or two stranded at the end of the race, but with the jumps in Aloha Sands, all of her cars made it.

Downforce Wild Ride Rules Sheet
Wild Ride Rules Sheet

On the flip side, Savanna Stretch side also has simple rules, but instead of speeding up the game, this side felt like it slowed the game down. I actually wish we had played the sides in reverse order. Savanna Stretch may not have been any slower than the base game, but after playing with the jumps on Aloha Sands, it felt extra long.

Downforce Aloha Sands
Downforce Aloha Sands in play – Meeple spectators not included

One thing to be aware of with Savanna Stretch is that the spaces for the animals are oddly shaped. We had a couple of moments of confusion in placing our cars in them because we weren’t used to the shape of the spaces. This wasn’t a big deal, but it is something to keep an eye on.

Overall, I give the Wild Ride Expansion a 9/10. It isn’t necessary, but I really enjoyed it, and it’s a great way to keep playing Downforce with a little variety.

The Kid Review

I like the Down Force Wild Ride Expansion. Both sides are great.  I love the jumps on the first side – Aloha Sands. Double jumping or just jumping is really cool because it gets me really far. I like the other side (Savanna Stretch) because I like that when the animals get out of the way, it’s one space. It’s also challenging that you have to avoid the animals. I like the first side (Aloha Sands) better though.

Downforce Wild Ride Car taking a jump
Having fun with the car jumps in Downforce Wild Ride

In conclusion I will give this expansion 10/10.

Overall Impressions

As a family, we are fans of the Wild Ride Expansion for Downforce.

  • Overall Rating: 9/10
  • Setup: Easy
  • Rules: Very Easy
  • Does REQUIRE original Downforce game to play

Do you have the game Downforce? Will you be getting Wild Ride? Do you already have it? Leave us a comment, we’d love to hear your feedback!

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The Crew – Card Game Review

The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine is a cooperative trick-taking game for 3-5 players (with a 2-player adaptation included in the rule book). The age on the box indicates 10+. Maci is 9, and we had to play through a few rounds for her to get the idea, especially since trick-taking card games are new to our family. The box gives a 20 minute play time. Our family has finished a mission in as little as five minutes, or taken as long as 15 for a single mission. The missions do become progressively more difficult as they progress. Your group can choose to play as few or as many missions as they wish in a single setting.

Basic Gameplay

The crew, or players, work their way through 50 different “missions” which they either win together or lose together.

All the playing cards are distributed amongst the players. Then, the crew reads the setting and rules for the given mission. Each mission has one or more goals/tasks set for it in order for the team to be successful. The tasks increase in complexity as the game progresses, slowly introducing players to the various rules and components the game has to offer.

There are four regular suits of cards: pink, blue, green, and yellow as well as rocket cards. We appreciate that the designers included a different symbol for each suit for those who may struggle with visual color discrimination.

The four suits of cards in The Crew: pink, blue, green, yellow. Plus the rocket card.
The four suits and rocket cards.

At the beginning of the mission, after all tasks have been distributed, the commander begins the first trick. Going clockwise, each player then must play a card of the same suit, if they can, and the largest number played within the suit wins the trick. If a player CANNOT play a card within the suit, they may play a card of a different suit. When the alternate card played is a color, they will not win the trick. If the card was a rocket card, the largest rocket played automatically wins the trick.

The goal in each mission is to follow the rules or complete the tasks given. This is well explained in the rule book, and although the rules do become more complicated, they are introduced slowly throughout the missions, which we appreciate.

The Dad Review

Day 1 Bad Decision

Frustrating madness, that’s how this game started out. I don’t think we’ve ever played a trick style game or a game like this, before. After a long day of quarantine and work, this is not the game we should have played. But, we continued on, and just like teaching Maci how to ride a bike, and throw and catch a ball, it was a struggle. However, after playing a few rounds, the frustration started to dwindle and we began to understand the game.

Although our understanding improved, it was still frustrating and that’s mostly because I had a plan on how to win my trick and Ang had a plan, but it was not the same plan. So, we won the trick but it didn’t feel like a win.  I don’t know if this is just how trick-taking games work. I’m assuming no, because of all the positive hype this game is getting. I don’t think people would hype up a game if they had that same feeling.  

Day 2 Much Better

Now that we all got some rest, we tried this game again and it’s addictive. I’m enjoying it. Some of the tricks are more fun than others, but I like that you have levels you can try to complete. Personally, I want to beat all 50 of them and feel I could do that multiple times. This brings a lot of replay ability to the table. We have at least 3 groups of friends that will enjoy playing this game as well, which will be great as soon as we’re off quarantine and are allowed to play with our friends in person again. 

I think this game will hit the table quite a bit as a team-building filler. Or, we may play it all night to try to see how many levels we can complete. However, just don’t play if people are tired and cranky. Really, that should always be a rule when playing a game, especially a cooperative game.

In closing, this game is affordable and well worth adding to the collection. If you’re in Vegas I do recommend the Gaming Goat, if not hopefully your gaming store is adapting to the times and able to provide you with service, otherwise it’s a decent price on Amazon. 

For a family game, I rank The Crew a  9/10.

The Mom Review

I really enjoy playing The Crew. The missions go quickly, so it is great for people with short attention spans. I also really like that the rules change from one mission to the next. Don’t get me wrong, they don’t change in a way that makes it over-complicated to learn or teach. The rules change just enough to keep things interesting. Also, they do not introduce too many new elements into any single mission, which I thoroughly appreciate!

I definitely think that when playing this game with young or inexperienced players for the first time, it would be helpful to play a couple of rounds without trying to take any kind of score. Toss out a task card or two to achieve, but just get a feel for the game and how it works without stressing about trying to beat the mission quickly. Then, once you get the hang of it, start keeping track and go from there.

During each mission, players can use communication to share a card with the other players. The token can be placed in a way that shows if the card is that player’s highest, lowest, or only card of the given suit. Rocket cards can never be “communicated”. I appreciate this ability to share a little piece of important information with the other members of the crew.

Communication tokens used in The Crew
Communication tokens help players share information.

The rulebook is easy to understand. I would also recommend that whoever the rule-master is in your house reads the main body text through once, then goes back and reads the sidebar reminders. Once you read those two things, it’s pretty easy to lead others through the game.

Setup is very easy. The dealer shuffles and distributes player cards. Then, you lay out the task cards and pass out tokens. Your Crew is then ready to play.

Overall, I give the Crew a 9/10.

The Kid Review

I love The Crew. One reason is I love cooperating with my family. Also, I love the tasks and sometimes trying to have the biggest number or the smallest number. I also love doing the tasks and trying to win the round with my family. It’s cool having a task in front of me to win. I have a tip for you: when you get to mission number 5, if you’re the captain you cannot choose to be sick because you will have the number 4 rocket ship. So you will never complete every trick if you’re sick and you’re the captain. That mission took a minute for us to figure out, but the game was not very hard to learn, and I like that too!

The four rocket and commander reminder token
The four rocket card and commander reminder token

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

Overall Impressions of The Crew

As a family, we really like playing The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine, and I am sure it will continue to be a part of our regular rotation. We like to play a short game every night before bed, and I am sure that The Crew will be a regular contender for a bedtime game!

  • Overall Family Rating: 9.5/10
  • Setup: Easy
  • Learning the Rules: Easy
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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
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
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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.

7 Wonders Overview

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.

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Quacks of Quedlinburg – Board Game Review

Quacks of Quedlinburg board game

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.

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