(05.05.2022) Board games we play

Over the past six months, we have somewhat reduced the intensity of our trips to cities and towns. This is partly due to the fact that the next academic year has begun and the son, both in the Australian school and in the Russian language school, has more workload and homework. Another reason is that most of the places that are 1-2 hours away from Melbourne have already been explored by us inside and out, and traveling somewhere far away is not always combined with changeable winter weather. So we either go somewhere close and not for long, or, if it’s especially rainy, but we don’t feel like going to the museum/gallery, we stay at home with the whole family.

If, when reading the expression “stay at home”, only TV and / or computer games come to mind, then I have to upset. What a TV, what computers for games, we turn on quite rarely. During work and study hours, there is enough load on the eyes for everyone, so on weekends we try not to load them with electronic devices. We read a lot (all three of us, local libraries are a treasure trove of interesting books!), we do our hobbies as ideas for implementation arise, and also recently we play board games more and more with the whole family and / or with friends. Actually about them, about games and what we have in our “reserve”, and will be discussed in today's article.

We have a lot of board games. In the home “library” there are not only standard checkers / chess / go and other games for two. On the contrary, since my son is now over 10 years old and he is quite quickly getting used to the rules, we are actively looking for, playing, testing, and, as a result, replenishing our “reserve” with the most, as it seems to us, interesting things for family pastime.

I'll tell you about what we have now, and what we played at a party / with friends. The photo below is just a part of what is currently on the shelf.

I took most of the descriptions of games and pictures for them from igroved.ru – one of the best sites of this type in Runet. If you are interested in something, follow the links to them, about each game, in addition to the description and rules, there is also a video on the site. This is not an advertisement for the site 🙂 (it's a pity :))

One of our favorite games that we have been playing for over 10 years, scary to say.

So, the board game Munchkin is a role-playing game in form, a parody in content. Munchkin players walk through the dungeon, pull out the monstrous inhabitants there and either repent of it or get new levels and treasures for the victory.The outcome of each such adventure (battle) depends on who came out with what to fight. The player has a level and bonuses/fines from the clothes, class, race and curses. At the monster, this is a level of plus cards-amplifiers and one-time clothes. Where does the clothes near the monster come from? In your battle, envious rivals can also take part in your battle: they can help the monster and weaken you.

In general, the board game Manchec – for fun companies with the right sense of humor – after all, all these nightmares are a pink! She is very exciting, forcing to come up with cunning multi-way operations: “And I am with him, and then, and then” and agree with other players about mutual assistance-after all, it is often beyond the power to defeat the monster alone.

Although in Manticine and you can play together, most of all will receive everything if the players will be 4-5: there will be more curses, amplifiers and potions on their hands, which are so easy to change the balance of power in the battle in any direction, and vigilant envious people will not give None of you go into the sole leaders of the race to 10m victorious level.

The base set is setting a set of cards-films. Before arriving in Australia, we bought all the additions to which we could reach, but now we believe that the best option is the basic set of cards + extended version 2.

The game is very funny and, in places, noisy, especially when you are familiar with more or less with all the cards and are ready to act as an “connoisseur” of the rules. We play Manchec for a long time, rarely when the game ends in 2-3 hours, so you need to stock up on patience and entertainment for children under 5-6 years old. The son began to play with us from about 8 years of age, after he began to understand everything written on the maps well. Now he famously beats both of us, very beautifully (and insidious!) Cutting us in the most interesting place, which, of course, is very pleasing to us as parents.

Great family game. The three of us to play is good, four are even more interesting.

Players collect cards of various types of wagons, which they can use to use railway tracks on the map of modern Europe. The longer the route, the more points they will receive. Additional glasses are obtained by those who carry out the instructions of the destination tickets – tasks requiring the cards of certain cities, as well as to the player who will build the longest continuous route.

The game requires attentiveness, concentration, tactics and strategic thinking. There are several of its variations, specifically we have Train ticket: Europe”, Although we played the version of the“ train ticket for northern countries ”.

Carcasson is an ancient fortress in the south of France, which inspired Claus-Jurgen to the creation of the game of the same name. You are the feudal ruler of one of the provinces of medieval France. You have to expand your possessions, build cities and monasteries, lay roads and not forget to wisely manage your subjects, because it is they who bring you success in rivalry with your neighbors.

During the board game, you gradually make a map of a medieval country with cities, fields, roads and monasteries from the squares of the Earth, while the principle a little reminiscent of dominoes (or puzzle). A player can place his subject for each square of the Earth. Depending on where it will be exhibited, served either a knight in the city, or a peasant in the field, or a robber on the road, or a monk in a monastery. For each completed city surrounded by the lands of the monastery or the finished road, the player in the croacon receives glasses. At the end of the game, glasses are also charged for unfinished objects. Then it comes and it is time to harvest the crops exhibited for the game – the more cities they supplied with provisions, the more points they will bring to their cartridge. Because of this feature, the balance of power can change great at the end of the game, and the participants are forced to carefully use the limited number of submitted-because the knight can have time to participate in the construction of several cities, and the peasants will bring income only at the end of the game (but, perhaps, much as more) .

The board game has several levels of complexity for players with any requests. Officially, this game is intended for adults and children from 8 years old, but the smallest ones play it with pleasure – for them the game turns simply into laying out of squares of a beautiful medieval country, a kind of puzzle. The game is also perfect for a fun company that is happy to build objects and arranges its knights, robbers, monks. Those who consider themselves a great strategist will not remain aside;) with the apparent simplicity, the table game of Karcasson can be truly deep. After all, you can put your submitted in such a way as to exclude the opportunity for the opponent to finish his buildings. Or so that as a result, your cities or fields will unite with the fields of rivals, thereby forcing him to share points or completely give them to you … It is not without reason that this game is so popular in adults and children.

The nature of the game Karcasson also largely depends on the players themselves-in the family circle, mom-dads willingly complete the city of the child, the child helps his grandmother surround the monastery with lands, etc. 🙂 In a friendly company, a serious struggle can break through – who can build more cities, more roads and make the field of their peasant most vast?

We played it several times with friends, and since January 2017 she appeared in our home library.

One of the very first board games purchased when the son was 5 years old. Children's karcasson is primarily children's fun, with elements of a tactical game. It is necessary to observe attentiveness and learn to make a decision where to place the new tile, so as not to allow the rivals to put their little ones earlier and achieve victory.On the site they write that for four-year-olds it’s the most, but we also played it with more “adult” friends.

The game Evolution is based on the evolutionary theory of our Charles Darwin, but you can also be the Creator in it: create any creature in pairs, make them change, hunt and survive … The game can – apart from jokes – be considered as an unusual biology lesson for schoolchildren, but in it with enthusiasm, adults play for hours. It appeals to both fans of simple board games (to understand the rules, half an hour is more than enough), and those who like to build intricate, multi-way winning strategies.

In the game Evolution players are invited to combine various properties of animals themselves and develop their own population in the face of a constantly changing amount of resources – food. By regulating animal populations, gaining new, useful properties, and counteracting rivals, the player's population must survive and, by the end of the game, take a dominant position in the ecosystem.

The first time we printed cards for her on ordinary A4 sheets and played just like that. Recently, our dear Sydney friend gave us a basic set with all the chips and dice (thank you very, very much for that!), so now we are playing “as expected”.

By experience, we found out that it is necessary to play Evolution together with some deviations from the rules, but with three or, moreover, four, each time it turns out differently and very unpredictably.

The board game Blokus looks like a good old Tetris – multi-colored elements of different configurations are very recognizable! But the similarity is purely external and the essence of the game is completely different. During the game, participants place elements of their color on the playing field according to certain rules. These rules are very short and simple (no wonder the author is a mathematician!): you need to place the elements of your color so that they touch only the corners, not the sides. Sides can only touch elements of different colors. The remaining elements not laid out bring players penalty points. Players must start the board game Blokus from the corners of the playing field. Actually, these are all the rules – isn't it nice?

At first glance, it may seem that everything is very simple … But this is not entirely true. Indeed, you do not need to read the rules for a long time and you can start playing right away. However, the process of the game will make you think – the lack of living space very quickly begins to be felt on the field. You will need logic, spatial thinking and a good memory to be able to correctly place your elements, and, if possible, prevent other players from doing so. Useful tips on the tactics of playing Blokus (Blokus) are much longer than the actual rules of this board game;)

A very beautiful (I'm not kidding!) board game that can be played with two, three or four people.A Blokus game doesn't last long at all (usually 15-25 minutes), but then you always want to play another one 🙂

Forbidden Island is a unique game in many ways. First, it's a cooperative game (in fact, we bought it as the one that can be played “together”, and not “against each other”).

Secondly, she is very beautiful. The graphics of the game are beyond praise and immediately immerse players in the atmosphere of a mysterious island. The quality of workmanship and components of the game are pleasing to the eye: this is an embossed tin box, and unique artifact figures, and high-quality cards and tokens.

Thirdly, this is an interesting and exciting game that involves players in the process from the very beginning and keeps their attention until the last minute. After all, with each move, the Forbidden Island under the feet of adventurers plunges into the abyss of the sea, and in order to get artifacts and leave the Island safe and sound, they need to think through every step and make the best use of the unique features of the characters.

The main thing that parents need to remember is to give the children the opportunity to decide what they will do and how, ceasing to be “in charge” for the duration of the game. Forbidden Island develops strategic thinking well, but to increase the “degree” of experience so that children understand better, you can set a more complex level of initial “flooding” in advance.

Collect cats, avoid rats. Every player in Cat-for-Tail has a Tsap! there are four cards on the table face down, the meanings of which even the owner himself does not know. As the game progresses, the participants will replace the available cards, trying to collect the set of cards with the fewest points. The main thing here is not to forget where which card is!

A simple fast card game that trains your memory and the ability to keep your emotions to yourself. Suitable for both adults and children.

UNO is a world famous card board game. It is easy to learn, dynamic and goes with a bang in any company.

UNO is a simple game. It's true – you just gather a company, take out the UNO, read the rules and play in 10 minutes.

UNO is an exciting game. There is excitement in UNO! The speed and continuous interaction with the players will not let you get bored. Thanks to additions to the rules of UNO, you can try a variety of game options. UNO is not a one-shot game.

UNO is a universal game. UNO is suitable both for a family evening and for a noisy company – from 2 to 10 people aged from 7 to 100 years old can play UNO. And most importantly: playing UNO is fun!

UNO is a handy game. You can play UNO anywhere – all you need is UNO cards. You can simply put them in your pocket and take them with you on a visit or on a trip.

If you haven't played UNO yet, then….. you're missing out on a lot 🙂 highly recommend, you won't be disappointed!

The board game Rummikub is one of the five most popular games in the world.For more than 70 years of its existence, the game has not at all lost relevance and only increases the army of its fans. Rummikub has repeatedly won prestigious awards, international championships are held in this game. However, this game is not at all sports, but very family – it is not without reason its motto: Rummikub unites people.
Like other long-lived games, the game has become popular thanks to the combination of simple rules with the fascinating and diversity of the gameplay. There is no fantasy surroundings in Rummikub, there are no popular television characters – just numbers that need to be combined in different ways. Does it sound boring? No matter how! The authors of these lines themselves spent many exciting watches, fighting the ability to make the best combinations, and have never heard complaints about boredom.

Rummikub consists of chips of four colors, in each color – numbers from 1 to 13, each two. Plus in the game there are two chuckle chips capable of replacing any other chip. Players make up general combinations on the game field, trying to get the first to get rid of their chips. You can make rows of chips of the same color (for example: 3 4 5 6 6 or 4 5 6 7 8) and groups of chips of different colors, but with the same number (for example, 8 8 8 or 2 2 2). Here, in fact, is all the rules of the rummikub!

The game begins calmly – while there are no chips on the field, it can be difficult to make even one combination. But he does not have time to go through 10 minutes, the number of options of action increases by an order of magnitude! And at the end, the number of options is simply unlimited – you will need attentiveness and the ability to hold in your head the entire “complicated” combination, waiting for your move. However, one of the pleasant features of the game is that it can be played very seriously, carefully pondering your moves and building complex combinations, without straining. Because of this feature, as well as due to the simple and understandable rules, Rummikub has become an ideal family game-adults and children from 8 years old can play it.

For the first time we played the game visiting friends, and we liked it so much that we bought it for ourselves. Guess who won the first two family games? Son, and so elegant that we have nothing left to choose the fallen jaws and congratulate him on the victory.

The carrier's carrier market is seething: the best seller is about to be announced. Each player seeks to ensure that at the end of the game the maximum number of his carpets is visible, and at the same time tries to get the greatest profit. At the end of the game, the most wealthy player wins (this is determined by the summation of the visible carpets of the player and his accumulated money).

Marrakech (Marrakech) is a beautiful and simple game, more tactical than strategic, which, we think, is perfect for family games. Here, such as, for example, in the karkasson, there are a lot of tactical decisions that players make directly during their move,encouraged by the “kind” advice of other players: “Hey, dear, you don’t put the carpet there, you put it here!” 🙂 The situation in the bazaar is just changing before our eyes: just your carpets occupied a significant market area and you received many, many dirhams from all the players who stop at them, as your magnificent carpets are mostly hidden by carpets of carbonate competitors. Not just trading in the eastern market!

The quality of the game is excellent. In general, the usual square cardboard field is complemented by wonderful bright carpets (indeed, woven and with patterns), the figure of Assan – the owner of the market, a large wooden cube with painted slippers and pleasant wooden dirhams. The rules are simple, you can play with children from 5-6 years old.

We played several times with friends, the only thing that upsets when playing a large company is a restriction on the number of players (no more than 4).

A fun game for a large company (the more, the better). After a couple of rounds, there is an understanding of what is better to do, but often the one who is lucky to start/finish the circle often wins.

Playing hungry is not recommended 🙂 We have no (so far), but we played several times visiting and at meetings.

Yetta is a mighty game in a tiny box! This is a simple logical game for everyone. Her rules are extremely understandable. Players need to keep three signs of cards in their heads at the same time, as well as see the whole picture as a whole in order not to miss the place for their card, so that the line is obtained, and better the chain.

The game is compact, pretty, develops logical thinking and somewhat resembles a rummikub that I wrote about above. Thanks to friends for opening her for us 🙂

Magic: The Gathering is a strategic board game for two players. Become a great wizard and defeat your rivals in a magical match! Use your entire arsenal of spells, artifacts and magical creatures to win a duel.

Game elements of the MTG universe are illustrated cards. Each player collects and improves his own card deck, strengthening his strength and choosing new victory strategies. The decks can be combined by buying new issues of cards.

Magic: The Gathering – the ancestor of a whole type of board games called collectible card games (KKI).

We have a basic deck without any additions and collection maps, but it’s quite interesting to play without them.

The small world is a magical place where a variety of creatures live: gnomes and trolls, sorcerers and wizards, ghouls and ordinary people. But, as it turned out, the small world is too crowded for all these creatures, and now they have to fight for their place in the sun!

In the board game, the Little World (Small World) will have to lead several races who want to get a quiet and calm life in the lands of the small world, without annoying neighbors. Moreover, the players themselves decide which race to choose: 6 races are always available for the choice (and there are 13 of them), each with their own characteristics, and in addition, together with the race they choose one of 20 special abilities.Thus, each player receives a unique combination of race and ability, which determines the player's strategy. He will place his detachments on the map and drive away other creatures from there, build fortifications, make peace with opponents, intimidate their neighbors with his hand dragon or lure other people's detachments to their side, receiving each move for their successes a certain number of victorious coins, which will determine the winners in The end of the game. However, after some time, the player will have to abandon his powerful civilization, which has already occupied a half-ofcontinent, and start playing another race, with other features, and build his strategy differently, taking into account previous achievements.

The board game Little World (Small World) constantly puts the choice for the players: which race to choose and with what abilities, which regions to occupy and how to distribute their units, how to act on the map and at what point to abandon your empire and start playing a new race.

The Little World (Small World) is a very balanced game. For a different number of players, their gaming cards are provided; If you choose a not too successful combination of race and abilities, then get a cash bonus; And various combinations of race and special abilities will make each batch completely unlike the previous ones!

A perfectly balanced game for 2-5 players. I especially like the fact that for a different number of players – different cards, so you will not relax 🙂

Tokaydo – a legendary road connecting the cities of Kyoto and Edo (today's Tokyo) – stretches about five hundred kilometers along the southern coast of Honsey Island. Players become travelers who wander around Japan in ancient times. Their task is to make their journey as more diverse as possible. Literally, every turn of travelers expect an unforgettable impression: delightful landscapes and exquisite dishes of traditional cuisine, healing hot springs and majestic temples, original souvenirs and memorable meetings with local residents …

Tokaydo is such a game in which you do not need to rush anywhere, fight against someone, on the contrary – the more stops you make in your path, the more you get points. Very meditative and very Japanese.

A separate line will highlight those games in which we were able to play thanks to the talent of my husband, which programs for them cards and the game field (and saving a lot of $ dollar for the family budget)

In luxury, you are invited to take on the role of a rich merchant of the Renaissance. Your task will be to establish the prey and cut of precious stones. And who knows, perhaps you will succeed in this matter so much that one of the nobles will become your patron. Available for buying a map of mines, caravans and jewelers are located on the gaming table, and five random cards of nobles are laid out next to them. That's all the preparation.

The gameplay is reduced to buying development cards that will bring you resources to buy new, more valuable cards. And having developed your production, you can expect a visit to a nobleman who will bring you victorious glasses. Sounds simple? Perhaps. But do not forget about the opponents. The number of available development maps is limited, and among them are quickly those that are most beneficial for the purchase at the moment. Of course, such cards are needed not only for you. After a couple of moves, the game turns into an irreconcilable race, and only an accurate calculation and anticipation of the actions of rivals will be able to make victory.

We played this game with another topic (more colorful and interesting, in my opinion), but the essence of another topic does not change. The three are more interesting to play than together, four, I think, even better.

Epic Spell Wars of the Battle Wizards.

Epic fights of magicians are a fun game for 2-6 participants. Due to the specifics of the topic and especially because of a very specific design, it is not recommended for children under 16 years of age. Well, and older players who decided to converge on the magic battlefield, they will choose the tablets of magicians, take the cards in the hand and begin to make spells, laying out chains of 2 or 3 cards per table.

In most cases, the player’s course will be accompanied by a throw of one or more cubes that will determine the power of magical effects. Also, the power of the magician can grow stronger due to artifacts that can be obtained during the game.

The purpose of the game is to destroy smoons magicians for several parties. For players who are the first to leave the fight, a special deck of dead magicians is provided, which will give some advantages in the next battle.

Despite specific pictures, we played the three of us. A rather curious idea and, it seems to me, the more people, the more unpredictable the game itself is. We will not buy it at the home collection, but if the cards are a little redrawn, it may well be.

A great game from Russian authors, immersing us in the atmosphere of spells, magical potions, fairy -tale creatures and rare magical ingredients (someone may remember the lessons of the potions of the notorious young English wizard;) The task of each player is to make as many magical elixirs and powders, moreover, it is advisable to be desirable stronger action than other players. At the end of the game, the results will be summed up – who is the most skilled sorcerer.

Each potion card is both a recipe and a magical element. According to the recipe, you can collect this or that infusion or elixir, but you must take the ingredients for it from a special “cabinet of elements”. In each move you have the opportunity to replenish the cabinet of elements with some exotic ingredient: the root of the mandragor, the energy of thought, moonlight. Or assemble a recipe yourself, taking a card with a recipe in your hand and using the ingredients from the cabinet you and other players.It could be a telepathic potion or an infusion of divination, or it could be a polyglot potion or a plant lord's elixir, or maybe. However, play – and find out for yourself. So, gradually, starting with simple elements and recipes, you can move on to compiling more complex ones: say, the powder of fate or the great elixir of eternal love, and even to the creation of magical creatures – a unicorn, a fiery salamander.

There are several expansions for the game, we are thinking of getting hold of a paper copy of both the base set and two add-ons. By the way, I advise parents with small children to look in the direction of such a game “Varenye” from the same author.

Every NOM knows that it is better to sit proudly on a Frog than to be in a rainbow bubble. If it’s not a sin to attack other Nomes, then you want to save your tribe until the final scoring. To escape the intrigues of rivals, players will have to plant mushrooms, go around frogs, tame velvety moths, remember the secrets of an ancient medicine, and even learn how to play the flute. And of course the most powerful cards, Moon Magic and Salvation Shell, will prove to be extremely useful in a critical situation. In a word, you will not get bored with the Noma board game!

Fast, very beautiful and fun card game for kids and adults. We are seriously thinking about getting it in our home collection 🙂

In addition to the above, we played a lot of different things: Dixit, Sleeping Queens, Epidemic, Exploding Kittens, Fluxx and many others, so as our “library” is replenished and free time, I will supplement this post with reviews.

If you can recommend something interesting – share it in the comments, we will be happy to try something new!

About the author: In almost 10 years of living upside down Katerina and her restless family have visited almost all must visit (and not only!) Australian places.

The accumulated travel experience allows us not only to successfully plan trips for ourselves, but also for everyone. You can order an individual travel itinerary for Australia on the LetsGoToAU.com website, and you can purchase / download one of the ready-made itineraries in the format of a mobile phone application on Google Play.

Travel notes are written after the fact, so if you want to keep abreast of all our news in a format convenient for you, subscribe to updates: Instagram / Facebook /RSS / EMail