Episode 379 – 5 Board Game Arena Favorites

Let’s talk about playing board games online!

379 Fact

The Peterbilt 379, in production from 1992-2007, is still popular. And it was the model used for Optimus Prime in the Transformers movies.

https://blog.ritchiebros.com/the-classic-peterbilt-379-a-semi-truck-that-carries-its-value

Sponsor Message

Go to FirstMoveFinancial.com/FamilyGamers. There, you can set up a quick, free phone call to see if First Move is a good fit for you.

What We’ve Been Playing

Star Trek: Chrono-Trek – Every time we set it up, we play it a bunch of times in a row.
Super Kawaii Pets
Mojo (try it on Board Game Arena)
Cosmoctopus

All of the games above are ones we are preparing to review.

We also learned Sky Team and played it together on Board Game Arena!
We recommend this video from Monique at Before You Play

August Monthly Report

Anitra: 42 plays of 25 games. H-index: 3. Most played: Chrono-Trek, Trio, Grove, Jinxx, and Donuts.

Andrew: 21 plays of 15 games. H-index: 2. Most played: Chrono-Trek, Trio. (also Secret Identity and Roll to the Top)

Welcome Community Members

Just a few this week. Stop in and say hi!

P.S. We will officially be at PAX Unplugged – with FOUR writers (and family members)! We will be running a Learn-and-Play on Sunday of that weekend.

Backtalk

Listeners tell us their favorite date-game stories.

See responses on Discord and Facebook.

SNAP Review – Secret Identity

Give clues and guess each other’s identities in this feel-good guessing game. There’s only shared success, which makes it a great family game, with a little bit of silliness. Just watch out for very small text and symbols!

Watch the video or read the transcript for our Secret Identity review.

Board Game Arena

So this week we’re going to talk about Board Game Arena. It’s not the only way to play board games online, but for us, it’s probably the most valuable. Why?

• Play with anyone (friends or strangers) all around the world.
• Asynchronous play
  • We can play against each other without trying to leave a game set up (which our cats would destroy)
  • Take five minutes to “solve the puzzle” of a single turn, in the middle of your day.
• Bookkeeping – allows play of fiddly or complex games that we might not otherwise play. (example: Seasons)
• You can try a game (or expansion) for free before you buy it.
• Tutorials – yet another way to learn a new game. Or you can try playing here before you play it with your family.
• Hundreds of games available.

Our Five Favorite Games to Play on Board Game Arena

7 Wonders Duel – we like this in person, but having BGA handle the bookkeeping is amazing.
7 Wonders – Bookkeeping again, plus this game is a table hog in person.
Happy City – we love this simple tableau-building game (our review) – but the cards can get a little fiddly.
Roll to the Top – because each turn is so simple; a great way to take a minute to drop in and take a quick break from your day. Love this one in person, too (our review)!
Space Base – huge numbers of cards. Gets really messy in person. And BGA lets you set up options to speed the game when it’s not your turn.

Some more games we play because they’re hard to get to the table at home:

For Sale – a double bidding game. Anitra prefers it in real-time.
Tzolk’in – a complex game, that Andrew loves and Anitra does not want to play.
6 Nimmt! (AKA Take 5) – a quick numbers-on-cards games of predicting what others will play.
Lucky Numbers – we enjoy this game (our review) but no longer have this game at home. Another one that’s great to drop in and make one simple decision.

Some games are NOT as good on Board Game Arena! For example, Turing Machine or any game that requires “judging” (like Similo).

Other Apps

Through the Ages and Railroad Ink are both available on BGA, but are much better in their custom mobile apps.

Codenames app is in beta – Andrew says it’s awesome.

New Backtalk Question

Do you play board games online? What’s your favorite on Board Game Arena – or anywhere else? Tell us about your online board gaming experience!

And you should join our Board Game Arena group – let’s see if we can get some more games going there.

Find Us Online:

Facebook: @familygamersaa and thefamilygamers.com/community
Twitter (X): @familygamersaa
Threads: @familygamersaa
Instagram: @familygamersaa
TikTok: @familygamersaa
Youtube: TheFamilyGamers

or join the Family Tabletop Community on Discord! thefamilygamers.com/discord

Or, for the most direct method, email us! andrew@thefamilygamers.com and anitra@thefamilygamers.com.

Check out our new Family Gamers and Play Games with Your Kids merchandise – T-shirts, hoodies, and mugs – at thefamilygamers.com/merch.

PLEASE don’t forget to subscribe to the show, tell your friends about the show, and leave us a review at Apple Podcast or whatever your podcast subscription source is. We’re also on Amazon Music, TuneIn, and Spotify.

The Family Gamers is sponsored by First Move Financial. Go to FirstMoveFinancial.com/familygamers to learn how the team at First Move Financial can help you pile up the victory points.

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