What board game are you playing - chat thread

ChoccyJules, I think that my DS(soon 12) would still enjoy Labyrinth, he received it when he was about 5. DD9, however, has never liked it, so I think the level of interest would depend on the individual player's inclination towards spatial planning.

I am also looking for a family board game that all four of us can enjoy. Dixit is the only game we have that occupies that space at the moment. We tend to either play 2-3 player games of Machi Koro, Carcassonne, Battle Line, Memoir 44, TTR Europe (myself, DH and DS11), or else simpler Gamewright games (Sleeping Queens, Dragonwood, Duck Duck Bruce), Uno, Jaipur or Port Royal with DD9. I think that she would be ready for slightly more involved games, she just can't summon the interest to learn new rules if the theme doesn't grab her (she has no interest in playing TTR, for example, although I'm sure she could handle it). I think she might enjoy the theme and be able to handle the complexity of something like Stone Age, but it seems to play for a bit longer than we normally have time for. Any ideas of something reasonably light, plays under an hour, is thematic and has nice artwork and a board would be welcome!

Otherwise, I look forward to the following games being added to the collection for Christmas (and DS's upcoming birthday):

Dominion
7 Wonders Duel
Little Prince Make Me a Planet
Ticket to Ride Europe: 1912 expansion
Parade
Deep Sea Adventure
Too Many Cinderellas

I am also considering Exploding Kittens but am not sure if it would be a waste of money or great fun...! Any experience of this?

We all love labyrinth here. It's one of those games where the rules are so simple, but you can gradually build up more strategy, block others etc. Certainly my adult DSCs and even more adult DH still get very competitive over it :o

You could have a look at Indigo as well, similar need for spatial awareness and planning etc but a more grown up look/feel

We would like to find a game which DD5 can try to join in with and wondered about Labyrinth. If DD9 plays things like Dominion and Agricola, would this one be too simple (ie 'that's boring') for her or can it work as a family game?

Have just been playing Pandemic Legacy Season Two. It is fantastic. If you like Pandemic, you’ll love it

Has anyone played:
Dice Forge
Torres
Seikatsu
?
They were the three I was looking at most at our FLGS yesterday. They all look lovely

I've got into the habit of finding PDFs of the rules online to read. The Dungeon one I think may be ok for DS. I think.

DH usually chooses the game for Christmas (I buy them all year round so no skin off my nose) and I have helpfully suggested Potion Explosion :o DD struggles with complex games but this looks simple and engaging enough for her.

I looked up too many cinderellas but don't like the illustrations and I'm an utter snob about that sort of thing 😳😳😳

Actually, Too Many Cinderellas gets quite mixed reviews too...just checked!

Cagliostro, I was considering Welcome to the Dungeon as well but was put off by mixed reviews... I have got DD9 Too Many Cinderellas which looks quite good (she loves Love Letter), and DS11 will get Deep Sea Adventure (tiny box, not cards though).

Anyone have Welcome to the Dungeon? I am looking for a small card game for my 8yo DD. 10yo DD is much happier with trivia type stuff and I found a cheap copy of BrainBites Tudors for her, she loves history.

Played Go Nuts for Donuts the other day - nice and simple. Fun mechanic where if more than one person goes for the same card, nobody gets it! Scoring wise it's sort of like Sushi Go (big favourite here) in that sometimes one donut on its own is worthless, or it depends on other cards etc.

Thanks we've played labyrinth and he really enjoyed it. Not heard of zeus on the loose but I'll have a look. His countings ok but not perfect!

desperately DS was 4 when he started playing Labyrinth. Zeus on the Loose too maybe depending on counting to 100

Thank you fellow gamers :o

I'm pleased to say I have now played my first game since she was born. DS - definitely his mother's son - has asked to play quite a lot, and he asked to play Callisto with me so I was pleased to be able to say yes while DD1 entertained her little sister. Nice to have a bit of normality among the chaos!

7 wonders Duel is good apparently, for two players I think?

We were just trying to remember why we haven't bought 7 Wonders over the years, then I went to Boardgamegeek and remembered it's because it isn't playable with two players. Always a factor for us.
Is this Lords of Waterdeep as popular, ie a good substitute?

Codenames is great. Easy to pick up the rules but difficult to win. I've just treated myself to pandemic legacy can't wait to play.

Any recommendations for a 4 year old game addict?! He loves dobble, uno, rhino hero, supertooth and sleeping queens. Just bought baobab. Reading skills minimal atm but picks up basic strategies pretty well.

Congrats Caglistro!

We've played Stone Age, Lords of Waterdeep and Small World.

Ds likes Small World best - there's a strong element of defeating and conquering your fellow players since the map is deliberately a bit small for the number of players (you use different maps depending on the number of players). Because that's the point, we don't get upset by that, but more sensitive children might not like it.

I quite like Stone Age, I like the simple theme, but maybe gathering resources to make huts etc might be a bit bland for some? Ds enjoys it as well, but wouldn't play it twice in a row.

And weirdly, altho the D&D theme seems to be really integrated into Lords of Waterdeep I don't find that it is actually when you play. You can get the resources to complete a mission and get the points without paying much attention to what the mission actually is, if that makes sense? I've never played D&D so praps I'm missing something. We both enjoy this game despite that though.

Congratulations to your new little Meeple Cagliostro :-)!

Codenames is great. My dc always request it. We have the words version and looking to get the picture one for Christmas.
DC ages 11 up and varied interests games-wise.

Watching

No time to play at the moment as we have welcomed our little Meeple home, she's 5 days old :)

Most recent purchases - Kodama and Go Nuts for Donuts. Yes my last minute "holy crap I'm being induced" panic-driven Amazon spending spree included games! 😳

Oh and we got World Monuments and Parfum from Amazon US a while ago, as it was much cheaper even with shipping, and they are both fantastic.

ChoccyJules, thanks to you I have now ordered Dominion for DS's upcoming 12th birthday! I am also getting him 7 Wonders Duel, but that will probably be for Christmas.

Not sure what to recommend, we don't play anything as heavy as Agricola. I have been thinking about Isle of Skye or perhaps Istanbul in the light-medium category though, both look quite fun. Lots of people who play more complex games than we do seem to love Castles of Burgundy.

A question: I am a bit tempted by the many recommendations for Lords of Waterdeep further up in the thread, but also a bit put off by the D&D theme... Still, many people seem to prefer this to Stone Age? Also wondering if anyone could compare their experiences of Lords of Waterdeep and Small World?

Another question, does anyone have Mysterium and/or Codenames? I am considering getting one or both of these for Christmas as I think they would bridge all gaming interests in our family (DD9 loves Dixit but tends not to like games with more than very light rules/strategy). Not sure which to get though, and also not sure whether the original Codenames or Pictures would be best...

Am also wondering what to buy next. We love Dominion, Agricola, Ticket to Ride. What do people recommend?

Vikjul, your DS will probably like Dominion. It's one of our favourites and we took it to a friend's house over the summer and they bought it too cos they and their kids also loved it.

Draughts, my all time favorite. I know its a but old fashioned but I really like it.Apart from that, I play snake and ladders, monopoly with my daughter

It's been a while since I posted on this thread, but this is the time of year when I start thinking about possible games for upcoming birthdays and Christmas... Thought I might sneak in here and ask for recommendations.

At the moment, we are mostly playing Port Royal (DH and I) or Carcassonne (usually just DS and I). I have ordered Ghost Fighting Treasure Hunters for Halloween, have high hopes that it will be one of the rare games that works with both DS and DD.

Has anyone played Ice Cool? Or Adventure Land (a Haba game for older children)? Tokaido? I am considering one of these for DD who will be 9 soon. She tends not to like games with complex rules/planning/too much abstract/spatial thinking, and prefers thematic and more tactical games (she loves Love Letter, Sleeping Queens, Dragonwood, Nobody but us Chickens and Dixit). Any thoughts or other suggestions?

Also, I am considering Dominion for DS who will be 12, but wondering if it is difficult to get into? (He loves TTR Europe, Carcassonne, King of Tokyo, Forbidden Island, Machi Koro, Kingdomino, Qwirkle...)

Am off now to investigate Small World mentioned above, have heard good things about it before but never looked into properly...

Didn't know where to post this but Debenhams have Labyrinth for £11 in the sale here