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!
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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.
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We have loved Tiny Towns since the moment we laid eyes on it. The simple mechanics of the game left us to wonder how it was possible a game like this hadn’t already existed. Place wooden cubes in configurations to collapse into a building – so simple, our 4-year-old can play, but a surprising amount of depth and strategy as well.
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Playing Castle Panic (a fantastic game) with my 4-year-old felt more like giving instructions to an unwilling robot. He wasn’t enjoying himself, and I wasn’t enjoying him not enjoying himself. Would My First Castle Panic be different?
My First Castle Panic is a cooperative tower (castle) defense game for 1-4 players ages 4+ that plays in just 20 minutes. Team up and protect the castle from monsters coming to knock it down! Throw the monsters in jail and save the castle!
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Palm Island is a 17-card game designed and illustrated by Jon Mietling, published by Portal Dragon Games. It needs no flat surface at all; the entire game is played in one hand.
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You’re the most capable heroes in the land. Squash terrifying creatures, disintegrate their wills, and splinter their ranks. But how do you do it? With words, of course. Words like Bravery! Like Righteous! Like… Hamster? Spell Smashers, from Renegade Game Studios, supports 1-5 players, ages 12+, for 60 minutes of word-building (and world-building) fun.
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The constant push and pull to acquire the right resources and rooms to ratchet up your victory point and gold total is a fascinating puzzle for me. If you enjoy the careful balance of tight resource management games you will enjoy Cave vs Cave.
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It is up to you to find the most Scarab relics! From the desert to the rain forest, from the Bermuda Triangle to Antarctica, these golden beetles are scattered across the world. Set up camps and mark Excavation Areas. Can you find the most Scarabs and uncover the mystery of Scarabya?
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In Catch! from Peaceable Kingdom, players work together to move 4 cats to surround a mouse and keep it from escaping the yard.
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You want to be a master painter? In Pigment, from Copper Frog Games, you can be. Send your apprentices out to collect or trade “pigment” cubes (red, yellow, blue). Then spend them in the right combination to paint Renaissance masterpieces.
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I love science fiction and I love games; but I hate waiting around. Unfortunately, whether it’s a music class, sports practice, or just school pickup, I do a lot of waiting. Why not play a game? Twin Stars is a solo wallet-sized game from Button Shy, played with only 3 cards at a time.
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Mmm! is a favorite game to play with children. Reiner Knizia has created a puzzle that is neither too easy for adults nor too hard for preschoolers.
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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.
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Playing puzzle games with children can be frustrating. If it’s mildly challenging for me, it may be impossible for my 7-year-old; but if it’s the right level for him, it’s far too easy for me. I don’t want to hold back: I want to beat my children fair and square. What to do? Match Madness gives us a possible solution.
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As a city planner, you naturally want to make the most beautiful and crowd-pleasing city. But watch out! Other players may offload their problems to your beautiful city, even as you upgrade your buildings to become more useful. Will you flip for Flip City, or is it more of a flop?
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Scuttle! by Jellybean Games is a card game full of pirate adventure, attacks, conquest, and fun, for 1-5 players. Manage the shifting seas of cards like an old salt, be the first to collect enough treasure, and you’ll win the title of master pirate captain.
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Test tubes clank as their contents are poured back and forth. “Eureka!” a voice shouts. “I’ve got it!” Dr. Eureka promises fast-paced, family-friendly gameplay. But does this dexterity-puzzle game master the formula for fun?
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Stories: The Path of Destinies is a video game that blends traditional action-RPG with choose-your-own-adventure style. This makes for a game that you must play through multiple times in order to “win”.
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Stowaway 52 and Jump Ship! inaugurate the new Cardventures series from GameWright. Do these solitaire, choose-your-own-adventure story games live up to their promise? In Stowaway 52, you have stowed away on an alien spaceship. You’re trying to escape, but first will you spy on the aliens to discover their plans for earth, or sabotage their spaceship on your way out?
» Read morePlaying board games solo is a great way to improve your skills, using strategy and critical thinking. There are unofficial solo variations available for nearly every game, mostly on BoardGameGeek.com, and there are even groups (ironically) dedicated to solo play, such as the 1-player guild.
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