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.
Does your kid’s school have a board game club? How could you help support it as a parent?
» Read more
Randomly draw crew tiles from the bag, then decide to keep them or flip them. Craft the best crew organization to earn the most treasure and prove yourself the best captain!
» Read more
Welcome Stephanie Nye this week, to talk about the games we’ve been playing lately and the Origins Game Fair.
» Read more
I really enjoyed the tight, back-and-forth nature of this duel. Even with so few cards in your hand, you’ll have to work hard to predict what your opponent will do, and try to counter it, or try to surprise them.
» Read more
All paintings start as color and line. Color Field lets us play with matching up colors in an artistic framework.
» Read more
One of the calmest games I’ve ever played is A Gentle Rain, which I discovered in 2022, and is now back in print with a new publisher.
» Read more
If you have kids in school, you’ve probably heard of the “summer slide” or summer learning loss. The best way to keep your kids from losing math and reading skills is to use them! So let’s talk about five games that will give some practice.
» Read more
I’ve never thought a mushroom was *cute*. Then I played Mycelia.
It’s a lovely game with sentient mushroom “heroes”, who will help you remove the dewdrops from your forest.
We recommend Mind Up! for families; but not for kids under 8. You’ll bid cards from your hand to acquire cards on the table… but the cards you bid become the cards you might get next turn!
» Read more
It’s June, kicking off “convention season” for a lot of people. So, we’re sharing our best tips for navigating conventions with kids.
» Read more
Compile is a two-player card dueling game with just 18 cards on each side, but a huge variety of possibilities! Why do Andrew and Anitra enjoy it so much?
» Read more
Place your marker on a graph to get other players to guess which word is yours! Mind Map is a party clueing and guessing game that’s best for nerdy families and small friend groups.
» Read more
We chose five games from 2023 (and the first half of 2024) that come in small boxes but pack a big punch!
» Read more
We’ve played this game before, and others like it. But we’d never tried something quite like this with our kids.
» Read more
It’s been six years since we devoted a podcast to this topic. So let’s revisit: Why do we play games with our kids?
» Read more
Ten word games in a small box, with an intuitive card design. Is Tapple 10 right for your family?
» Read more
Sherlock Holmes doesn’t really work alone – he works best when Dr. Watson is beside him. Sherlock Solitaire is the same way: it can be played solo, but is more fun as a two player cooperative game.
» Read more
We’re excited to welcome back our friend Marc Specter! We’ll talk about his current Kickstarter and lots of other games coming soon.
» Read more
A game that’s light on rules – but someone MUST act as a countdown timer and be “mean” to make this game fun.
» Read more
