Andrew Smith is the executive editor of The Family Gamers, and co-host of The Family Gamers Podcast.
Explore the reviews and podcasts he has contributed to.
Andrew
SNAP Review – Shaky Manor
A unique dexterity game from Blue Orange Games. We’ll tell you about both modes of play for this speedy puzzle game
» Read moreCrosstalk: Signal to Noise Ratio
I was sitting at my desk a few weeks after a work trip when my instant messenger dinged me. It was my colleague Steve. I thought of the perfect hint for that game! “That game” was CrossTalk, a party game I had brought on the trip. It wasn’t the first time something like this had happened to someone I played
» Read moreSNAP Review – Card Caddy and Accessories
At its core, the Card Caddy is a hard-sided box to hold a deck of cards. Once open, you can re-attach the two sides to create a draw/discard tray. Useful and extremely durable. (You could probably run it over with a truck. We talked to Chris Nichols, the designer of the Card Caddy, on episode 55 of the podcast –
» Read moreSNAP Review – POW!: Comic Equality
POW! is a press-your luck game of comic book character drafting, from Reiner Knizia and Gigamic. Your goal: build a cast of characters for your comic book. Collect both superheroes and supervillians, to create a balanced comic. Listen to our SNAP review of POW! in 5 minutes, or read on below. Gameplay Setup by randomizing the superheroes (blue/teal) and supervillians
» Read moreSNAP Review – Think ‘N Sync
Think ‘N Sync, a party game from Gamewright, is a icebreaker type game for a group. Can you and your teammate think in sync?
» Read moreSuper Mario Level Up!: Climb All of the Levels!
There is not a more recognizable image of video games in America than the Mario Brothers. Today we’ll take a look at a licensed board game featuring this iconic duo: Super Mario Level Up!, a 2017 game from USAopoly.
» Read moreFunky Chicken: Dance Like No One is Watching
How do you write about a game that is all about the experience of playing? Funky Chicken isn’t much to look at, but it is amazingly silly fun. Can you make a fool of yourself to get rid of your cards first, or will you be too chicken?
» Read moreRage of the Trolls: A Gruff Look at More Fearsome Fiends
In our last review we looked at the game Gruff from Studio Woe. This week we’ll look at the recently published second expansion, Rage of the Trolls. Unlike their first expansion, Clash of the Battle Goats, (released in 2016) Rage of the Trolls includes a brand new play mode completely unlike anything before it.
» Read moreGruff: Gobbling Up some Weird Mechanics
Gruff is a two-player tactical battle game. You play as a Shepherd, shepherding a flock of mutated monster goats called Gruffs. Your goal is to kill all of your opponent’s Gruffs OR to kill your opponent’s Shepherd.
» Read moreSticky Chameleons: More Sticky or More Karma?
In episode 80, The Family Gamers explored games that are pure fun. Not necessarily the “best” or “most mechanically sound” game, but games that are just plain fun to play. This week we have a game that absolutely fits that mold. We will look at a new game designed by Théo Riviére and published by Iello, Sticky Chameleons.
» Read moreOnitama: An Elegant Exploration of Strategy
Onitama replaces complexity with elegance and layers with simplicity. With a ruleset that could literally fit on an index card, Onitama delivers a quick, compact strategy game experience that allows its players plenty of room to breathe and ruminate on their next moves.
» Read moreVoodoo: Should You Do the Voodoo Too?
What does the word “Voodoo” make you think about? Is it a doll with pins? Is it an African religion? Most likely, you don’t think about the game Voodoo, a crazy magic game from Mayday Games. This week we take a stab at this game to find out if it casts a spell on us.
» Read moreSuper Hack Override: Proxy Swap Your Way to Supreme Victory!
“There’s a war out there, old friend. A world war. And it’s not about who’s got the most bullets. It’s about who controls the information. What we see and hear, how we work, what we think… it’s all about the information!” – Sneakers, 1992 For some of us, it’s quotes like these that are about as close to hacking as
» Read moreQwingo: Rank, Roll, Rejoice!
Masters of the approachable family game, Gamewright delivers another multi-age filler game in Qwingo, a roll & write game designed by Heinz Meister. Read on to find out if we think Qwingo ranks highly, or if it makes us roll our eyes!
» Read moreBärenpark: A Koala-ity Family Experience
It’s time to bear down and start building! This week we take a look at one of the hottest games to come out of Origin this year, the tile-laying game Bärenpark from Lookout Spiele and Mayfair. We’ll tell you whether it’s a universally koality* experience, or if we think it’s a bit more polar-izing.
» Read morePurrrlock Holmes: Furriarty’s Trail
Work together to deduce which gang is helping Furriarty before he can escape in this cooperative game perfect for families.
» Read moreCAMP: The Family Pastime
We went camping this past weekend, and what better way to celebrate camping than to play camping themed board games? This week we take a look at CAMP: The Game that Grows With You, the Dr. Toy award winning game from Education Outdoors. CAMP has a lot of features that are really appealing, but do they come together to make
» Read moreWhat’s Up and Strawberry Ninja: Short and Sweet!
This week, we take a look at a pair of short, simple games from Strawberry Studio, What’s Up and Strawberry Ninja. Strawberry Studio’s mission is to “enrich the world of gaming with a line of smart, fun and easy to play microgames for families and friends”. Do they succeed with these two titles? Let’s dive in and find out.
» Read moreThe Mysterious Forest: Bad Dream or Fantasy?
“Ask yourself a question!” “When you recall the past, can you always distinguish which memories were real events and which were dreams or fantasies?”
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