The 2011 Game of the Year nominees were posted this week. If you’re not familiar with the Spiel des Jahres awards, they’re the most talked-about worldwide gaming awards.

We love that the whole purpose behind the Spiel des Jahres is to “promote games as a cultural asset to encourage gaming amongst family and friends”. That’s what playing board games is all about.

I'd love to see Kingdom Builder win.

The nominees for the 2012 Spiel des Jahres award are:

• Eselsbrücke
• Kingdom Builder
• Vegas

The nominees for the 2012 Kennerspiel des Jahres (more complex games) are:

• K2
• Targi
• Village

The winners won’t be announced until July 9 – so you’ve got time to try a few of them out. You may just have to travel a bit because the Spiel des Jahres is awarded in Germany.

Of the games nominated, the only one we’ve played is Kingdom Builder. And I guess I should really say “the only one I’ve” played because the rest of the family hasn’t had the chance to play it yet. But I loved it and think it will be a hit with them too. I just have to keep it at the top of my Father’s Day wish list.

So of course, my hope is that Kingdom Builder walks away with the prize this year.

Good luck!

This post is from The Board Game Family. Kingdom Builder up for Spiel des Jahres The Board Game Family - Families that play together stay together

That looks like more than a ship.

I don’t know about you, but when I heard they were making a Battleship movie based off of the famous board game I rolled my eyes big time. I was very skeptical.

On one hand I love the idea of taking fun family board games to the big screen. What a great way to promote a fun family pastime. Make a great movie and get people interested in playing fun games with their families again.

On the other hand however, I thought it might be just a ploy to take advantage of a familiar brand to make a lot of money. And if that’s the point in making something, it typically doesn’t turn out very good. Instead it may turn out to be just a very expensive ad campaign.

With those ideas in mind, I was anxious to see the movie trailer and get a feel for what the movie might be about. The first teaser trailer seemed ok and I thought they might be able to make something of the movie. But after seeing alien ships appear in the next trailer, I almost burst out laughing. Kind of like I did when I first saw the trailer and name for the movie “Cowboys & Aliens”. I guess movie makers think all they have to do to drum up interest is throw in aliens. Bad move.

So the skepticism took center stage and I didn’t make any plans to spend hard-earned cash on going to see “Battleship” the movie. Sure I love to see movies with great special effects that carry me away for a couple hours in a darkened theater with a huge screen and loud sound. But I also like movies to have good characters and plots to be swept away with.

Going down in flames.

So I wasn’t surprised at all when I saw the review headline in the paper Friday, “’Battleship’ will be the dumbest movie of the summer”. According to this reviewer, the movie Battleship is what I’d worried about all along. A movie tall on effects but short on substance.

Guess if I had put Battleship on my list of movies to go see, I could cross it off. But since it never solidified itself on that list, I can save myself the time.

Instead I’ll do what I had hoped the movie would engender with families around the world in the first place and just pull our copy of Battleship off the self, dust it off, and play a few games with the kids. That will be a much better use of my time anyway.

This post is from The Board Game Family. Battleship the Movie – Will it sink? The Board Game Family - Families that play together stay together

Pizza at the dinner table.

We love making homemade pizza.
Decorating a pizza with your own toppings to satisfy your own whim is simply fun and tasty. And if we everyone creates their own personal-sized pizza then there isn’t any fighting over any of the toppings.

However, that’s not the case with Pizza Theory.
In Pizza Theory it’s all about fighting for topping supremacy!

And what a fun fight it is.

But don’t take my word for it, see for yourself in this joint board game video review by Brooke and Caleb.

Can the whole family enjoy Pizza Theory?
Yes, they can!

Who's got the most in each slice?

Pizza Theory is simple to learn, easy to play, and fun for the whole family. It’s a board game with three simple steps:

1. Place a topping
2. Slice the pizza
3. Switch out the toppings

So if your little tikes can place a topping on the pizza, select where to make their cut, and figure out which toppings are in the majority on each slice, then they can play and enjoy Pizza Theory.

Gryphon Games publishes great board games and card games for families, and Pizza Theory is no different. It has elements of both strategy and luck and doesn’t take too long to play. Once a player has all their toppings on the pizza, they win.

How much luck is involved in Pizza Theory?
Family board games are great when there’s enough luck to give all players a chance of doing well in the game. But what we like most in a family game is when that luck is balanced by good decisions. And Pizza Theory has a good balance between luck and strategy.

There's always a twist.

Planning ahead to how you’re going to slice the pizza impacts where you’ll want to place your topping. So good decisions will definitely help you progress. But you also need to anticipate where the other players will make their cut. If you can predict that correctly, then you’ll do great. However, as you know when playing with children – you can’t always predict their moves.

Well, we’ve found that the same applies when playing with just adults. Not knowing where the other players will make their cuts is what keeps the game interesting and fun. In most of the games we play, there are moments during play that swing the balance of power between players. And those moments are always great. So even if you’re struggling early in the game, make your best moves and hope that luck will swing your way before the end.

Three is not a crowd
There aren’t many board games that are specifically designed for three players, but Pizza Theory fits that niche well. While there are rules for how to play a 2-player game of Pizza Theory, 3-players is where it’s at. So if you’re looking for a good 3-player family board game, place your delivery order now.

How does Pizza Theory score on the “Let’s Play Again” game meter?
As you could guess, Pizza Theory scores high on our “let’s play again” game meter. I don’t think we’ve ever stopped after just one play of Pizza Theory. It has simple mechanics, thoughtful decisions, good player interaction, a mix of luck, and plays quickly – all things that make a game fun and easy to play over and over.

Thanks Gryphon Games for another great family board game!

The Board Game Family Game Ratings
	Caleb
	Brooke
	Jaden
	Trevor
	Mom
	Dad
	Average

This post is from The Board Game Family. Pizza Theory – a tasty game treat The Board Game Family - Families that play together stay together

Wonderful women in my life!

Happy Mothers Day!

Today’s the day set aside in the US to celebrate the wonderful role of mothers. And what a wonderful thing to do. It gives us a reason to pause and think of all the amazing things mothers do for us.

So often we take the role of mothers for granted. Having a day to reflect on the mothers is fantastic.

Since my father died when I was just 3, my mom had a tremendous task placed on her at an early age as she set out to raise 3 kids on her own. It wasn’t easy and she worked tirelessly to provide the best she could for us. Her life revolved around us. And even though we’re each grown with families of our own, we’re still her number 1 priority. A mother’s love and concern for her children never ends. It just expands as the years go by.

Yet, while I was aware of her sacrifices for us, like most kids I don’t think I truly appreciated her efforts at the time.

But I’ve found that I can appreciate the role of mothers a little more every year. As my family has grown and I work hand-in-hand with my wife to raise our children, I feel like I’m getting a behind-the-scenes view into the role of mothers.

Now I’m getting a front row view into what mothers go through for their families. Working together to raise our family, I see and feel the emotion that goes into this ever important work.

And while celebrating Mother’s Day with the mothers in my life, I also now reflect on preparing my daughter for this important role in her future as well. As part of that, I want to share a wonderful video posted this week that depicts the best thing we fathers can do for our daughters.

Today’s the day to celebrate all the women in your life. Let them know how much you care.

Happy Mothers day to all you wonderful women in the world!

This post is from The Board Game Family. Mothers are the best! The Board Game Family - Families that play together stay together

Ready to build your civilization?

Have you ever wondered what it would have been like building the amazing wonders of the world? What if you lived in those ancient civilizations? Do you imagine slaving away at their construction or commanding those that did?

What if you could play a game that took you back in time, put you in that setting, and let you build those wonders and civilizations in less than 45 minutes?

7 Wonders set out to do just that.

But does it deliver?

Check out this video review by Caleb (9 yrs old) to see. And because 7 Wonders looks intimidating at first glance, this review goes a little deeper. Rather than just scratching the surface, Caleb goes over more than what our reviews typically cover. He covers How to Play, the Cards, and the Scoring with enough info to get you started.

What’s so great about 7 Wonders?
There was a lot of buzz when 7 Wonders was released near the end of 2010. The hype machine seemed to be in overdrive. And many people were wondering if the game could really be as good as the hype indicated. And I was one of those skeptics.

Can definitely fill a table.

I’d see pictures of the game and think it looked complicated – cards with all sorts of different symbols stacked and laid out in many different piles covering the table. You can see what I mean from this picture here – which is only a 3 player game. Pictures of a finished 7 player game seemed overwhelming.

So I thought I’d wait this card game out. I’d wait until the hype had died down and see if people were still talking about it a year later with the same excitement and enjoyment. As such, it was a year later when I finally sat down to try a game myself. And sure enough, that first play took a little time to get rolling. But once we’d played through and were familiar with the cards and symbols we were anxious to play again. And before you know it, 7 Wonders was on my Christmas wish list.

And I’m glad it made it under the Christmas tree!

Here’s 4 reasons why we think 7 Wonders is a great card game:

1. Simultaneous Play
What we like most about 7 Wonder is the simultaneous decision making and play. In most games, when it’s a player’s turn, the rest of the players sit and wait for them to make a decision. But in 7 Wonders, everyone is making decisions at the same time. You’re all deciding which card to select from your hand and play at the same time. Then the hand of remaining cards passes to your neighbor and you make another decision. So there isn’t any down time during the game. You’re spending the whole game playing rather than waiting. Awesome!

2. Play Time
And because of the simultaneous play, the game goes by rather quickly. In 30-45 minutes you’ve built up your civilization and you’re ready to compare it to your opponents. But because you’re actively making decisions the whole time, the game doesn’t seem to last long at all. In other 30 minute board games or card games you may spend half the time sitting and waiting. Not with 7 Wonders. It’s full play time.

3. Number of Players
The first two reasons actually pave the way for this 3rd reason. Since everyone is deciding and playing at the same time, you can add more players and it won’t add more time to the game. And when you need to buy resources from others or compare military strength, you only need to look at the players to your immediate right and left (your neighboring civilizations). So a game with 7 players doesn’t extend the game. And with a family of 6, this also means that everyone can play together!

4. Theme
While I never really get the sense of living in and building up ancient civilizations and slaving away at the wonders, the theme is a fun one to center this type of game around. The theme gives reason for getting your resources in place, interacting with your neighbors, and the different paths to victory. Sometimes hearing “civilization building game” can sound boring. But the pace of the game play in 7 Wonders isn’t boring at all. It makes it fun to build a civilization.

Can the whole family enjoy 7 Wonders?

The winning civilization!

Almost. On the game box, the recommended age for 7 Wonders is 13+. But many sites online (including BoardGameGeek) indicate 10+. We think 10+ is pretty accurate. Because of all that’s going on in the game, youngsters will have a hard time with it. However, based on the experience of the kids in your family, you may try including those a little younger than 10.

As you can see in Caleb’s video review, because of his experience playing games with many things going on to keep track of, he doesn’t feel overwhelmed with the game at all. And in the game we played while doing the review, he pulled out the victory.

So if you’re trying to decide if your little tikes can handle it, watch the video review to get a more detailed view then play it once yourself. You’ll be the best judge for your crew.

What about mom?
If you’ve watched or read many of our reviews, you’ll know that mom likes games that have more luck involved. She favors games where the playing field is leveled by elements of luck. She’s not as interested in a number of strategic board games or card games that others in our family really enjoy like Small World, Thunderstone, Lord of the Rings the Confrontation, or Hive (which she actually just doesn’t like the “creepy spider”).

Many points from the sciences.

So having her give 7 Wonders a try was a gamble. But telling her that I thought she’d actually like this card game and catching her in a weak moment, she agreed to give it a try. As I explained the different types of cards and symbols to her, her eyes started glazing over. And as she stared at her first hand of cards, the look of confusion was very apparent. But since I was familiar with that feeling (typical of the first play), I knew to just forge ahead.

Sure enough, after getting a few cards out in play, the confusion started to dissipate. And by the end of the 2nd Age, she was really into the game and enjoying it. A big thumbs up!

There are elements of luck in the game because you’re dealing with cards. But it’s that variability of what cards will come your way that keeps the game interesting throughout and changes every time you play. Combine that with the constant decisions to make and you’ve got a great game even for mom.

Great for game groups too

A well fought civilization.

7 Wonders has been a hit with my game group as well. We have a group of guys that get together one night a month to play games and since getting 7 Wonders to the table, it’s been played every time.

Again, it’s great because it works as well with 3 players as it does with 7. And the more familiar everyone becomes with the game, the smoother it flows. Add to that the competitive nature you get with a group of guys and you’ve got a fun game experience.

How does 7 Wonders score on the “Let’s Play Again” game meter?
7 Wonders scores very high on our “Let’s Play Again” game meter. Even with all the cards, it doesn’t take long to set up. And once you’re familiar with the types of cards and the symbols, playing a game goes by quickly as well. We’ve placed 7 Wonders in an easy to reach location on our game shelves because it’s getting a lot of repeated play. It’s a safe bet that 7 Wonders will be in our top 5 of games played most this year.

The Board Game Family Game Ratings
	Caleb
Has not played	Brooke
	Jaden
	Trevor
	Mom
	Dad
	Average

This post is from The Board Game Family. 7 Wonders = Wonderful The Board Game Family - Families that play together stay together

Mesmerized by screens.

Our Screen-Free has come to an end.

Let the rejoicing begin!

That’s right – there’s plenty of rejoicing in our house now that Screen-Free Week is over. And not just from the kids.

I’m ready to catch up on Amazing Race, BoardGameGeek, surf the web, and watch a movie. Although I’ve enjoyed a bit more sleep, some good reading time, working in the yard, and playing outside and at the park, I’ve also missed taking some down time watching a show or two.

This isn’t to say that we didn’t have a great week. But we’ll admit that going without for a week definitely had its drawbacks.

So how did it all go?

If you’re going to try going a week without screen time in your family, our first suggestion is that you give your kids adequate warning. Dropping the bomb on them the first day of the week you’re going without doesn’t go over so well. Trust us, we know.

We started the week out nice enough telling the kids about it being Screen-Free Week and how we were going to give it a try. That was quickly met with furrowed brows and moans. But after a few clarifying questions were answered, we were hesitantly ready to roll.

How Jaden felt chopping down the tree.

The weather was great for a lot of playing outside and yard work. Jaden and his friend loved chopping down and digging out a dead tree. And Caleb and friend became Green Machine expert stunt men. They also loved going to the park in the dark Friday night with flashlights. And books were in big supply. As far as board games go, we got in a few plays this week, but not a lot.

It turns out that life still moves at a busy pace regardless of screens – full of soccer practices, games, scout meetings and running errands. And with school still in session, getting the kids to bed on time doesn’t leave much time for screens anyway.

We did notice the reduction in mobile games being played that usually happen throughout the day. So in that sense, it was great. Instead of picking up an iPod, they reached for a book to pass a few minutes.

I will admit that when Friday night rolled around, it was tough fighting the urge to plug in a good movie. But a late trip to the park with flashlights helped suppress that urge.

The Outlier

But not everyone in the family took up the challenge. Trevor, our oldest, didn’t join in the experiment. Although his younger siblings got on his case about it, he forged ahead working on some songs he was composing on the computer. He wasn’t ready to make the commitment and let us know. The great thing though is that it still gave us a chance to have a discussion about the purpose behind it all. There weren’t any heated arguments or anything, but we let them each make their own decision. And he was the only outlier.

Or was he…?

Were mom and I screen free after the kids went to bed?
Nope.

It’s not to set a double standard, but it was quickly apparent that we needed screens to keep our responsibilities rolling. While we didn’t watch any TV, we did get on computers for paying bills, managing finances, coordinating scouts and primary, creating flyers, and finding hotels for an upcoming trip.

And for all of that, we’re very grateful for technology and our screens. Running a household and other responsibilities can be greatly aided by screens.

Conclusion

As you can tell from our website, we’re strong advocates for spending more quality, face-to-face time with your family and limiting screen time. But we’re also big proponents of moderation. Anything taken to the extreme can put you out of whack.

We recognize that there are a ton of fantastic opportunities to us in the world through screens. Through screens, we have opportunities to learn and expand our minds by being exposed to many enlightening things around the world. There’s also a lot of mind-numbing drivel.

Trying to stay balanced.

The answer isn’t to eliminate all screen time. Instead, the answer is to teach the appropriate use of it all and how to choose the good, better, and best use of our time.

So when it comes to screen time, it looks like we’ll just keep chipping away at it. We’ll continue teaching our kids (and learning ourselves) how to better regulate our time with screens and finding an appropriate balance.

And we wish you the best in doing likewise!

This post is from The Board Game Family. Results from our Screen-Free Week The Board Game Family - Families that play together stay together

Unplug and unwind

It’s time to turn off the screens!

That’s right, Screen-Free Week starts on April 30. It’s a time for people everywhere to step away from the screens.

It used to be called TV-Turnoff week. But because of the immense rise in screens of all kinds in the world today, it’s aptly been changed to Screen-Free Week. If you haven’t heard of it before, here’s a the main message from the website:

Screen-Free Week is an annual celebration where children, families, schools, and communities turn off screens and turn on life. Instead of relying on screen for entertainment, participants read, daydream, explore, enjoy nature, and enjoy spending time with family and friends.

And we’ll add – “And Play Board Games!”

It’s estimated that children spend an average of 32 hours a week with screens!

And that’s just preschoolers!

It’s a lot higher than that for older children.

If we were just talking about TV screens, the number wouldn’t be so high. But with all the hand-held screens we carry around that give us instant access to entertainment, the numbers skyrocket. Sure iPads and mobile “phones” are used for many productive purposes. But they can also be a huge time waster.

It seems that if we have any “downtime” nowadays, we turn to our devices. Waiting in line – pull it out and check email. Waiting at the doctor’s office (because they love to make you wait) – pull it out to check sports scores or the news. Riding (not driving) in the car – pull it out for some games. And even our books are on a screen now.

How will the world ever have another notable philosopher like Plato, Socrates, and Aristotle when we never take time any more for pondering?

It seems hard to just do nothing. To sit and think. To enjoy a sunset.

Go hiking!

No – we have to whip out our device and take a picture of the sunset, then post it on a social site, then get distracted with updates from our friends, then check out the videos they linked to, then flick some Angry Birds, then look up to see the sunset’s gone…

So this week it’s time to put the screens away.

• Talk to a friend
• Walk next door to visit a neighbor
• Take a hike
• Play in the park
• Talk to our kids.
• Play some board games and card games
• Build something
• Paint something
• Read a book (not on a screen)
• Write a short story
• In the end – just DO something.

And don’t worry about posting it anywhere. Just enjoy it with those around you and leave it at that. They’re the ones that matter most.

Is it possible? Can we do it?

Wow. Good question. I don’t know if we really can do it either. But we’re going to give it a try.

To do it right, we know it will take some planning. Since our kids have homework assignments that now require screens – for their reports, online quizzes, and such – we’re going to need an exception for that. But we may limit it to “homework must be done by 4pm and then all screens off” or something like that.

But a bigger question is – can I do it? Can I go a week without screens?

Of course, I have a job that requires I use screens (computer screens) to perform my work. So during work hours, this won’t be possible. But once I leave the office, can I keep the screens off?

Can I fight the urge to check email on my mobile? Can I stop myself from playing another game of Dominion on my device? Can I go without kicking back with a family movie on Saturday night? Can we skip watching Amazing Race? Can I fight the urge to check BoardGameGeek each day? Can I resist writing about family board games and not posting anything on our site, Facebook, or Twitter for a week? That’s a tough challenge.

Just let go!

But I’m going to give it a try as well!

And while on one hand it sounds tough to do, it also sounds very refreshing. Almost like some shackles are being removed and we’re free from the trappings of screens everywhere.

So even though we have a few reviews filmed and almost ready to post, and a few articles running around in my head, we’re going to take a week break. We’re taking up the challenge and we’ll catch up after the week’s over (and tell you how our week turned out). Of course, then again, it may be something so nice that we end up doing it more. I guess we’ll see.

Here’s to hoping you have a great time during Screen-Free Week spending more face time with your family and friends in a lot of great pursuits!

(And if you can’t do it this week, we challenge you to pick another week to turn off the screens. For our part, we won’t be tempting you with posts to read for the week. So have some fun!)

This post is from The Board Game Family. Screen-Free Week: April 30 – May 6, 2012
Can we do it? The Board Game Family - Families that play together stay together

You could win this party game!

How would you like to win a new party game?

Well, the folks at Stratus Games are ready to give away a copy of their upcoming party game – Off Your Rocker!

You may recognize the name Stratus Games because we’ve reviewed a number of their family board games.

The first game they published was Gold Mine- which we reviewed in Oct 2010. It’s a fun tile laying game where you’re building out the mine and looking for gold. The cool twist is that you can also thwart the progress of the other players and challenge them for their gold as well. Gold Mine averaged a 4 out of 5 meeples with our crew.

Eruption is a family board game that Stratus Games published last year that’s also a tile laying game. But unlike Gold Mine where players are constructing something, in Eruption players send the lava flowing at their opponents villages on a path of destruction.

One of the great features of both of these games that we love is that they allow for up to 6 players. And for a family of 6, that’s terrific!

Full of crazy conditions to diagnose.

Well, now Stratus Games has developed a party game which we’re sure will work great with 6 players and many more – Off Your Rocker.

Off Your Rocker puts players in the role of patients suffering from a quirky problem and a psychiatrist who must ask general questions to try to diagnose it. If you’ve got a group of people wanting to act out and try to guess a lot of crazy conditions, then you’ll want to check out Off Your Rocker.

And while you’re at it – get in for a chance to win a copy of Off Your Rocker from Stratus Games!

But hurry – there’s only a couple days left!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This post is from The Board Game Family. New Game Giveaway! The Board Game Family - Families that play together stay together