little humans, BIG GAMES

The GenCon website has kindly informed me that The Best Four Days in Gaming™ begins in seven days.  Here we go.... This will be the kids' first major convention of any sort, and they are REALLY excited for it.  Our plan is to drive from North Alabama to Indiana next Thursday afternoon.  We'll be staying about 30 minutes outside of Indy, as I prefer to save money on hotels in order to spend more on experiences.  The 6+ hour car ride should go by rather quickly, as I've got several books on tape and podcasts that I need to listen to, and the kids are basically professional roadtrippers now.  Genevieve tends to snack, nap, and watch movies, in that order.  The boys have handheld gaming devices, activity books, travel games, and each other to pass the time.  I've been to a few large gaming conventions, and this will be my second trip to GenCon.  As such, I've learned a few things that should make the trip a bit easier.  1. Bring snack...

We're back!  In truth, we never left, and we never stopped playing games.  The past month has been full of activity.  Between gymnastics, soccer, a surprise birthday party on the other side of the country, and a long bout with illnesses, it has proven difficult to keep up with blogging.  This post is long overdue, as we played this game for the first time over a month ago. Isaiah, ever the eager scorekeeper Qwirkle is many things.  It involves matching, strategy, color and shape recognition, and a whole lot of fun.  It is suggested for ages 6 and up, but Genevieve (3 1/2) had no trouble learning the basics.  She knows colors and shapes, so it didn't take long before she was able to play without assistance.  I must admit, however, that I didn't read the rules as well as I should have.  During our first playthrough we setup the game wrong, and ended up having to start over after realizing my mistake.  Its not...

Although I haven't posted anything for a week, it's not for lack of gaming at our house.  In fact, we've played so much that it has become difficult to keep up with blogging. The kids, tired from a week of school and play, insisted that we play Kingdomino again before bedtime. Kingdomino  is an award-winning game that has been popular with reviewers and consumers alike.  At the time of this writing, it is listed as one of the top 200 games on BoardGameGeek , and inside the top 25 in the family games category.  Although it is quite easy to play, I have hard time explaining the rules with clarity.  I've typed them out and deleted them several times.  Instead, I offer this excellent video from Watch It Played .  Rodney Smith has become one of my best virtual friends when introducing games to the kids. I've had my eye on Kingdomino for a while, and finally purchased it while shopping for Benjamin's birthday presents.  It is r...

We're a little early with this post, but... HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR!!!   This morning we chose to play Hanzi , a game originally released by EmperorS4, and re-released in English by Deep Water Games .  Hanzi is a matching game in which players must find Chinese characters, or hanzi.  Each player is initially given three 'task cards' which show the hanzi that they must try to find.  On their turn, the player chooses one of their three task card, and tries to locate that character by finding two matching hanzi among the tiles.  If they do not find a match, the player receives a 'creation token' and their turn is over. A player can choose to use one creation token at the start of their turn to reveal three tiles, instead of two.  They may also use two creation tokens to swap task cards; I chose to omit this rule so that the kiddos would have to use the tasks they were given. If a match is found, the player takes the tiles, draws a new task card, and ...

We're overdue for a post, so here's a quickie on one of our favorites. No Stress Chess is the perfect way to introduce your young ones to one of the world's oldest board games.  We received ours as a Christmas present from my parents in 2017, and we play it quite often.  Genevieve (3) beat me twice in a row during this session. The game board is two-sided: one has the positions and names of the various pieces, while the other is a standard chessboard.  For beginners, there is a deck of cards that shows each piece's name and its movement rules.  Each player draws a card on their turn and MUST move that piece.  If the piece on the card has been removed from the game, or if its movement is blocked, the player loses their turn.  Gameplay continues until checkmate.  Genevieve knows all of the pieces' names, except the bishop, which she calls the monster. The kids came to work with me on a weekend last month, and Isaiah challenged our program di...

I've got another game review to post, but have decided to start a thread to share some general tips on how to grow better gamers.  Please feel free to comment with your suggestions, and I'll add them to the list.   Isaiah was obviously having a great time. Play for fun, not to win!  If there is a cooperative option for your game, play it often.  This helps younger players learn game mechanics and strategies.  If you're playing a competitive game, be a gracious winner and a grateful loser.  Be humble! Take turns.  One of the most important things playing games can teach is how to wait for your turn.  Let your gaming group (especially children) take turns when choosing which game to play.  Try to express the importance of everyone getting to play the game they want to play, and be sure to get excited when its their turn to choose. Help kids make decisions.  Sometimes children don't see all of the options that are availa...