The Family Gamers

224 – A Deluge of Versatile Dice – The Family Gamers Podcast

December 14, 2020 Anitra Smith Podcast Episodes, The Family Gamers Podcast

This week, we are drowning in a deluge of dice games. It has been a really long time since we talked specifically about dice games (all the way back in episode 66!) and we thought that instead of doing a top 5, we’d talk about all the different ways dice get used in games.

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Andrew, Anitra, dice, Dice Manipulation, Dice Rolling

SNAP Review – Shifting Stones

December 11, 2020 Updated: September 19th, 2022 Anitra Smith Hall of Fame Reviews, SNAP Reviews

Shifting Stones is a tile-moving puzzle game for 1-5 players. With no reading required, it’s perfect for the whole family, but also plays well solo.

Yacht Rock – More Like Musak

December 7, 2020 Andrew Smith Reviews

It’s hard to understand the right target demographic for Yacht Rock. The game tries to do a lot of different things, but it doesn’t do any of them well enough to stand out.

223 – Top Five Games of 2020 – The Family Gamers Podcast

December 7, 2020 Anitra Smith Podcast Episodes, The Family Gamers Podcast

Episode 223 - Top 5 Games of 2020 with One Board Family & Gaming with Sidekicks

It’s been quite a year, hasn’t it? We’re joined by Isaac Villa and Ryan Gutowski to share our top five games of the year – and one that was a big disappointment.

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Andrew, Anitra, Best of 2020, Gaming With Sidekicks, One Board Family

SNAP Review – The Bears and The Bees

December 4, 2020 Anitra Smith SNAP Reviews

Build the hive and empty your hand in The Bears and the Bees, a 2-5 player game from Grandpa Beck’s Games.

222 – 2020 Holiday Game Gift Guide – The Family Gamers Podcast

November 30, 2020 Updated: December 11th, 2020 Anitra Smith Podcast Episodes, The Family Gamers Podcast

On this week’s podcast, we walk you through our holiday gift guide. Not sure what games fit the people on your list? We can help!

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Andrew, Anitra, Best of 2020, Holiday

Harry Potter: House Cup Competition – Twenty Points to The OP!

November 30, 2020 Andrew Smith Reviews

Play as one of the four houses at Hogwarts. Be the best house at lessons and challenges to win the Hogwarts House Cup Competition! An introductory worker placement game in the Harry Potter universe.

SNAP Review – EXIT: The Enchanted Forest

November 27, 2020 Updated: June 25th, 2022 Anitra Smith SNAP Reviews

Cross the river and escape the Enchanted Forest! A spoiler-free review of this family friendly, fairy tale inspired, EXIT adventure.

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Andrew, animals, Anitra, Asher, Elliot, escape room, EXIT, fairy tale, Inka Brand, KOSMOS, Markus Brand

Codenames Harry Potter

November 23, 2020 Anitra Smith Reviews

Can you find the hidden Order of the Phoenix members? Or will you be stopped by Ministry officials and run out of time? Codenames Harry Potter combines the classic clue-giving experience with the magical wizarding world. Cooperate with your partner(s) to find all the Order of the Phoenix members without running out of time-turners or picking a Death Eater.

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2 players, Andrew, cooperative games, guessing, Harry Potter, teams, The OP

221 – Games, Art, and Design with David Diaz – The Family Gamers Podcast

November 23, 2020 Andrew Smith Podcast Episodes, The Family Gamers Podcast

This week, we have David Diaz, creator of Fossilis and head of Mesa Game Lab.

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Andrew, Anitra, David Diaz, game design, Kids Table Board Gaming, Mesa Game Lab

Tang Garden : Meditative and Artistic

November 16, 2020 Andrew Smith Reviews

2020 has been tough, and there hasn’t been a lot of beauty to behold. Stop and smell the peonies in this gorgeous garden building game from Lucky Duck Games and ThunderGryph.

220 – 5 More Games for 5 Players – The Family Gamers Podcast

November 16, 2020 Anitra Smith Podcast Episodes, The Family Gamers Podcast

One hundred episodes ago, we created our most popular podcast ever – our top 5 games for five players. We’ve got five more games that we’d highly recommend for this player count. These are games we really like with a fifth player, not just games that are “okay” at five.

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5 players, Andrew, Anitra

Holiday Gift Guide 2020

November 11, 2020 Updated: September 30th, 2021 Anitra Smith Resources for Parents

It’s been a long year. Maybe you have a better idea of what your family likes in board games? Or maybe you need some different, more accessible games. We’ve got your back, with board game gift suggestions for any age, player count, and experience level.

219 – Funny Board Game Moments with Grant Lyon – The Family Gamers Podcast

November 9, 2020 Anitra Smith Podcast Episodes, The Family Gamers Podcast

Our guest this week is Grant Lyon, comedian and board game designer! His game Curmudgeon is coming out soon.

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25th Century Games, Andrew, Anitra, Grant Lyon, party games, silly games

218 – Room to Grow: Tile Laying Games – The Family Gamers Podcast

November 2, 2020 Anitra Smith Podcast Episodes, The Family Gamers Podcast

A continuation of our Room to Grow series. If you’re interested in tile laying games but you’re not really sure how to bring kids in and then grow them into more complex games, we’ve got suggestions for you.

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Andrew, Anitra, room to grow, tile laying

217 – Kids Table Board Gaming! – The Family Gamers Podcast

October 26, 2020 Andrew Smith Podcast Episodes, The Family Gamers Podcast

We sit down with Helaina and Josh from Kids Table Board Gaming and Burnt Island Games. What makes their games special?

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Andrew, Anitra, Kids Table Board Gaming

216 – Halloween Traditions, Old & New – The Family Gamers Podcast

October 19, 2020 Anitra Smith Podcast Episodes, The Family Gamers Podcast

This week is spooky games and Halloween traditions, especially since Halloween is changing for a lot of people this year.

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Andrew, Anitra, family, halloween, spooky

The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine

October 12, 2020 Updated: April 19th, 2021 Anitra Smith Reviews

There seems to be a planet at the edge of our solar system. Can you and your fellow astronauts complete the missions ahead of you to unlock the mystery of planet nine? The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine blends loose story-telling with truly inventive cooperative trick-taking while limiting players’ ability to communicate. The result is a tense collaborative experience,