Bunnies. They’re cute. They’re fluffy. Everyone loves them…that is…until they begin knocking each other off to pursue the ultimate prize: the Magic Carrot.
Board Games
All posts tagged Board Games
I’m not sure why, but every time I think of this game’s name, I picture Mel Gibson spouting promises of freedom whilst gliding across the battlefield on a Fell Beast. It certainly would have motivated the “Sons of Scotland” to fight sooner, and I probably wouldn’t have had to see what was really under those kilts during the Battle of Stirling Bridge.
My eleven year old son Vinnie was passing by my desk at home and saw “Hive Carbon”. Normally he’d pause to take a look and eventually ask me what my newest arrival was all about, but in seeing the insects on the front of the box, he expressed an interest in playing it immediately. It was a Sunday afternoon and the rain was still running rampant in our area, so why not?
Vampires are often misunderstood. A lot of people think that they are mythological beings that go around sucking the blood out of people…but see, people have gotten it wrong for all of these years. You see, real vampires sparkle. They also get a kick out of stalking and romancing seventeen year old girls, despite being well over a hundred themselves. I guess pedophile laws in the state of Washington don’t cover vampires…*shrug*…someone may want to write a letter to their local congressman.
As a kid, I played a lot of video games that simulated warfare. I’m not sure why, but I always enjoyed setting up scenarios and the units on both sides of the map, just to see how it would turn out in the end. It’s either that, or I’ve watched Matthew Broderick break into WOPR (no, not the sandwich…watch your WarGames, kids) one too many times.
Ah…Camelot. How I respect thee. I’m not sure why, but I’ve always been a fan of knights, archers, catapults, and everything else related to stories involving King Arthur, the Round Table, and anything else medieval themed. Perhaps it is because these stories revolve around simpler times, or maybe because some of them involve magic. Whatever the case, the combination of “Camelot” and “Days of Wonder” on the box helped me to take the plunge…though I was unprepared by just how different this game turned out to be compared to everything else in my collection.
My son Vinnie can have a very short attention span at times (as most kids often do), however if there is one thing that I can count on in keeping his attention, it’s television shows about nature. He will sit there for hours, letting his little mind soak in everything it can in regards to animals, reptiles, insects…you name it. He’s often commented that he likes watching Billy the Exterminator because they relocate intruders rather than kill them, not to mention that the show is highly educational. Thus, I was excited when the offer came in to review the game that I’m about to cover.
If I’ve been told once, I’ve been told a thousand times…”Stay out of my kitchen!” I make a mean homemade Hamburger Helper and can heat up Chef Boyardee like no one’s business, yet Jennifer is intent in cooking everything on her own. I’ve honored her wishes mainly so that I don’t show her up…give me a moment while I lock the door…and so that the kids don’t get spoiled by my cooking. I don’t want to toot my own horn or anything, but Gordon Ramsay once asked for my autograph. True story.
A while back, I posted a review on the board game, Pandemic. Pandemic is a cooperative board game that tasks players with saving the world from deadly diseases. The boys and I have played it on a few occasions and enjoyed our experience overall.
I never understood why schools insisted on going over trivial things that we’d end up forgetting as adults anyway…after all, isn’t that what research is for? What’s the expression…”teach a man to fish…?” I don’t remember what the Scarlet Letter was about, just that the Custom House introductory was painful and could be considered cruel and unusual punishment. I don’t remember a thing about the Aztecs or who the twenty-second President of the United States was. Though, I do remember a thing or two about math and English, mainly because I use both more than any other school subject I was taught. It’s for this reason that I encourage kids everywhere to play educational games that improve both basic math, reading, and writing skills.
Back when I was in college, the Internet and social media were just starting to take off. I am not sure how popular it is today, but I played a Yahoo game called Word Racer a lot. Word Racer featured a Boggle-esque grid in which you had to spell words faster than the other people in your game room. You’d have to form words by using adjacent letters, while scoring bonuses if you used the special letters that randomly showed up each round.
I recently reviewed Wits & Wagers Family and promised a separate review of this edition, mainly because the components and bidding mechanics were slightly different. Both have the same general premise but as you’ll soon see, this version is a bit more complicated.
When I was purchasing Say Anything and Say Anything Family, I saw both Wits & Wagers and Wits & Wagers Family and thought I’d give them a try as well. I normally don’t buy games without doing research first, but they looked like a lot of fun.
Due to my busy schedule as of late, I’ve been opting to review some of the cheaper family games that I’ve run across a few times in the store. It turned out that most of them were pretty good games…Monopoly Deal and Scrabble Slam!, just to name a few. Yahtzee and I have never been the best of friends, quite the contrary in fact. If you’ve been following along in my reviews, you’ll know that dice and I don’t always speak the same language. I am pretty sure that dice are prejudiced against Italians named “Vince”, I just haven’t been able to prove it yet.
For years, kids (at least ours) have always acted as if they know everything. We, as adults, don’t know a thing, even though we’ve lived longer than they have. I do admit to forgetting a lot of the things that the kids are currently learning in school, but I’ll put my life experiences and know-how against knowing all the different species of shark known to exist any day of the week. *Shrug* Well kids, here’s your chance to get one up on your elders…
I was never a fan of dice games, especially Yahtzee. I think I must have left dice in my pocket one too many times as a kid…to the point where the little buggers got tired of the spin cycle. Maybe they came up with their version of the twilight bark and alerted their brethren to screw me over any time I happened to need them.