Anitra Smith is the managing editor of The Family Gamers, and co-host of The Family Gamers Podcast.
Explore the reviews and podcasts she has contributed to.
I love eating baked goods, but my daughter loves making them. In Filler, 1-6 players are pastry chefs, reporting to work at the bakery. Use your supplies to fill recipes; may the best baker win!
» Read more
Nick joins us for episode 150, where we cover some recent favorite games, and discuss THEME. Each of the three of us has a different take on theme and its role in board games.
» Read more
On a recent rainy day, we received a mystery box from Clever Kids Mysteries – the Mystery at the Lux Museum. Opening the box, the kids were immediately interested in what this mystery might be, and how they could solve it!
» Read more
Best Treehouse Ever: Forest of Fun from Scott Almes and Green Couch Games is a solid game that improves and expands on the original. What does an 8 year old think? Listen and find out!
» Read more
Have you always wanted to be an architect? Try your hand at creating towers to fit in tight spaces in Tokyo Jutaku, a speed building game from Jordan Draper Games.
» Read more
We have a great conversation with Ellen and Randy Kirby, of We Game Together, about all things gaming and kids… and what we’re looking forward to at Origins this year.
» Read more
When the teacher’s away, the penguins will play! Each player will take a turn being the hall monitor (or Catcher) while the other penguins (Runners) try to collect fish hanging over the doors. IceCOOL 2 is a sequel and/or expansion that we prefer slightly over the original IceCOOL.
» Read more
We all have experiences in life we don’t want to miss. FOMO, or fear of missing out, seems to hit particularly hard when it comes to hot new boardgames. Between Kickstarter and conventions constantly hyped on social media, how can we deal with this irrational response?
» Read more
This week we’re happy to welcome Isaac Villa. He runs a site similar to ours, called Gaming with Sidekicks. We first met at PAX Unplugged, and we’re always happy to talk with other family-focused gamers. Gaming with Sidekicks branched off from a different website; the founders met while playing Dice Masters competitively. At one point, they had four different podcasts!
» Read more
Who doesn’t like food? There are tons of great food games, and we can’t play them all. We rank our top 5, from preschooler-friendly to adults-only.
Play along as we try a food-themed round of Order of Invention. You’ll be surprised which food innovation came first!
» Read more
Who doesn’t like shooting stars – and laid-back puzzley gameplay? That’s the premise behind The Stars Align from Breaking Games.
» Read more
Happy Mother’s Day! Anitra talks to Linda Wrobel, Managing Editor of Board Games for Engaged Family Gaming. She’s also a mom and a first-grade teacher. How does that affect her gaming preferences?
» Read more
We’ve got a top 10 today – yes, actually 10! Inspired by some filler games we recently received in the mail, and looking forward to hanging out with One Board Family (because we talked filler games when we had them on the podcast), we decided we’d talk about our favorite filler games today. First we thank Breaking Games, whose game
» Read more
An alien ship has crash-landed in the forest outside of town. Agents have been tracking the craft and rush to the scene, hoping to dissect the Visitor and seize its craft. But a local Kid has also ridden her bike out to the wreck to save the Visitor. Who will make it through the ship’s force field first?
If you’re up for an unusual deduction game with asymmetric roles that accommodate many skill levels, we highly recommend Visitor in Blackwood Grove.
» Read more
It’s our friend Joe from ArtOfBoardGaming.com! How does he keep up with boardgames now that he’s on the road? Can we recommend a dice-heavy game that he’ll actually enjoy?
» Read more
It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s… a skyscraper! Build the tallest and best buildings in Supertall, a micro game designed by Nat Levan and published by Button Shy Games.
» Read more
