Episode 404 – Connecting Through Gaming
Aug 25, 2025
We talk a lot about playing games with your kids. But boardgames aren’t the only way to connect – and they aren’t always the BEST way, either.
0:00:00 Fact for 404
404 BC: Sparta finally defeated Athens, ending the second Peloponnesian War. 404 AD: The last gladiatorial games are held in Rome.
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0:05:15 What We’ve Been Playing
A Gentle Rain (our review) HiFi Unmatched: Battle of Legends volume 3 (our review) Fruition Red Letter, Yellow Letter – we played it in the car! Backstories: Emerald Wedding Anniversary (review coming soon) Tesla vs. Edison: War of Currents Juicy Fruits Dinosaur Tea Party (our review) Prisma Arena (our review) Obelus (our review) Quarto (our review)
We’ve talked before about WHY to play games with your kids. But a reason that’s easy to skip over is connection: spending time working together on something – or lightly competing – can build memories and emphasize commonalities between people. And the important part is the CONNECTION, not the method you use.
Forcing your kids to the table does not really foster connection. (Bartering could work, though.)
Instead of always bringing them into the things you enjoy, bring yourself to something they enjoy.
Videogame recommendations:
Free-for-all fighting games like Super Smash Bros (any version) Ultimate Chicken Horse Gang Beasts
Objective-based games: Overcooked Moving Out Totally Reliable Delivery Service
Minecraft, of course. “Like playing with LEGO ‘together’.”
Two-player cooperative games that have a plot: It Takes Two (content warning: divorce, language – best for teens) Split Fiction (we haven’t played this yet) Unravel Two
Death Squared (abstract strategy puzzles for 2-4 players) Jackbox (get teens using their phones to play TOGETHER) Rock Band (or Guitar Hero, etc.) “It simulates the experience of making music together, while removing barriers”
Takeaway: Meet your kid on their terms to better connect with them!
1:05:45 New Backtalk Question
What video games are you playing with other people LOCALLY? We’re talking couch co-op and local multiplayer.
Or, for the most direct method, email us! andrew@thefamilygamers.com and anitra@thefamilygamers.com.
PLEASE don’t forget to subscribe to the show, tell your friends about the show, and leave us a review at Apple Podcast or whatever your podcast subscription source is. We’re also on Amazon Music, TuneIn, and Spotify.
You can also now find us on YouTube Music! So pull it up and give us a listen while you’re toiling away at work :)
The Family Gamers is sponsored by First Move Financial. Go to FirstMoveFinancial.com/familygamers to learn how the team at First Move Financial can help you pile up the victory points.
Episode 403 – Taking the Pressure Off
Aug 12, 2025
We love the board game community, but it can lead to pressure to play MORE or HARDER games, to keep up with the newest games. What can we do to dial it back down and make games FUN again?
0:00:00 Fact for 403
403 is the code on the internet for NO. If you want to go to a website, but you don’t have access, 403. Technically the word is “FORBIDDEN”, but really it means no.
First Move would like to make us all more aware of some of the newer scams out there. Be very careful clicking links, even ones that look legitimate!
If you’d like to talk to someone about how you can protect your financial assets, remember you can book a free meeting with First Move at firstmovefinancial.com/familygamers.
0:04:45 What We’ve Been Playing
more Paint the Roses, with 4 players this time. Much harder! Charcuterie (our review) HUTAN (our review) Stew Horrified: World of Monsters / Greek Monsters mashup (review coming soon) Goblin Vaults (off the shelf of opportunity!) Sagrada The Magnificent
While camping: Flip 7 (our review) Cabanga! (our review) Trio (our review) Sushi Go Party! Order Overload: Cafe Sabobatage Altiplano – a big miss for us.
0:24:30 July Monthly Report
Anitra: 49 plays of 27 unique games. H-index 3, with a lot of plays of Trio & HUTAN, but also at least 3 times with: Paint the Roses, Fight for Olympus, Canvas Critters, Jekyll & Hyde vs Scotland Yard, Quarto.
Andrew: 29 plays of 17 unique games. H-index 3. Lots of The Crew: Mission Deep Sea, Paint the Roses, Trio, plus Jekyll & Hyde v. Scotland Yard, HUTAN.
This hobby of board gaming lends itself to always chasing the hot new thing or trying to do MORE. Probably true of a lot of hobbies, since it’s so easy to find a community online where people brag on the cool things they’re doing.
Do you feel pressure to go to every convention, or keep up with the latest hot new thing? Pressure to get your kids to play “real” games with you? Pressure to finish a game you don’t like, or pull games off your “shelf of shame”?
First: when you feel that pressure, realize that YOU are the one putting pressure on yourself; no one else can do that to you without your consent.
0:38:40 The Shelf of Shame
We prefer to call this the “shelf of opportunity”, but it still means games that are sitting unplayed. What are some strategies to deal with this without feeling guilty?
Set limits on bringing in new games – YOU set this limit, not someone else.
Set a deadline on PLAYING a specific game that’s been sitting on your shelf. If you can’t manage to play it, purge it without feeling guilty. (More on purging)
Recognize that you can move on from a game – that doesn’t mean it’s a “bad” game. Instead, it means someone else will get to try it and enjoy it!
Getting rid of a game doesn’t get rid of the good memories you have associated with it.
“Why do I want to keep this game so much?” If a game needs JUST the right set of circumstances to play it – be honest with yourself. Will that exact set of circumstances actually happen? And even if they do, is there another game that will be easier to get to the table?
0:48:00 Getting Your Kids to Play Games
If you’re listening to this podcast, you want your kids to play games with you. You may also be feeling pressure from your friends (or other parent gamers) if your kids don’t want to play games!
The point of games with our kids is to have fun – with your kids. If they’re not having fun, it’s not serving that purpose.
Forcing someone to do something they don’t want to do is likely to breed resentment instead of fun.
But it is okay to apply a little bit of pressure, without it being overwhelming. Examples:
“Please play one round, then you can walk away if you don’t like it.”
Gentle bribery with a special snack (“I’m trying to meet you halfway, and we’re doing this as a family”)
Recognize that kids often don’t have the words to explain WHY they don’t like a game or an experience. Have a conversation with them to try to understand!
Meet kids where they are: letting them walk away, or playing pretend instead of following the rules.
0:53:30 To Finish? Or Not to Finish?
Even when we aren’t enjoying a game we often feel like “we started it, we have to finish it!”
But we don’t need to finish. Yes, we want to teach our kids not to be quitters, but we also don’t want to frustrate them unnecessarily.
How do you know if everyone is frustrated, or if you should push through to the end? ASK QUESTIONS!
There is no merit badge for finishing a game that nobody liked.
– Andrew Smith
We tell our kids “it’s just a game” when we talk about being good winners and good losers. So we need to demonstrate that in our own playing, too! It’s just a game. Being willing to set the game aside shows your kids that they’re more important than the cardboard.
0:56:12 More on Forcing Kids to Play
Sometimes, it’s not that your kids don’t want to play games, it’s that they don’t want to play with you. This is especially common around ages 11-15, in our experience. This is a normal part of growing up and finding their independence!
Hopefully, you can still get kids to do some things with you, but they’ll be more interested in their friends. If you had a good relationship when they were younger, be patient! Keep offering games and fun activities, don’t be offended when they say “no”, and they’ll (probably) come back in a while.
If you can, try to set up space to make it easier for your kid to host their friends. (Be “the fun house”.) This makes it easier to stay involved and know what they’re doing, as well as making it easier to take a break with Mom or Dad when the friends go home again.
Big takeaway: games are supposed to be FUN. If they’re not fun anymore, examine why not, and try to take a break from that.
0:59:00 New Backtalk Question
Our kids say “low key” all the time. But let’s use it the way we used to. What’s your favorite low key game? When you just want to relax, what do you play?
Or, for the most direct method, email us! andrew@thefamilygamers.com and anitra@thefamilygamers.com.
PLEASE don’t forget to subscribe to the show, tell your friends about the show, and leave us a review at Apple Podcast or whatever your podcast subscription source is. We’re also on Amazon Music, TuneIn, and Spotify.
You can also now find us on YouTube Music! So pull it up and give us a listen while you’re toiling away at work :)
The Family Gamers is sponsored by First Move Financial. Go to FirstMoveFinancial.com/familygamers to learn how the team at First Move Financial can help you pile up the victory points.
So our fact this week is a direct callout to basically anybody in their mid to late thirties who grew up in the US or Canada. In the late 90’s and early aughts, there was a kids’ TV show that came out called “The Kids from Room 402”. Do you remember that Anitra? This was an animated show based on the book “Gracie Graves and the Kids from Room 402”. It was basically a sitcom with all sorts of goofy school-based adventures the kids were going through. Animation wise it reminds me of Doug, but less polished. Do you remember Doug? Anyway, you can find full episodes of The Kids from Room 402 on YouTube and remember what it was like being 14 years old and having plenty of time to waste watching TV. And that’s my fact!
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04:00 What We’ve Been Playing
Paint the Roses – after 5+ years. First saw at PAX Unplugged 2019. Jekyll & Hyde vs. Scotland Yard – great, but we don’t like it as much as Jekyll vs. Hyde. Toriki – new review! HUTAN – review coming soon. Try it on BGA! Stew Skulls of Sedlec Cake Stack – a homemade game. Trio – our review.
What is deck building? We defined it this way all the way back in episode 64: “play cards, to accumulate currency, to buy better cards that will allow you to do more things.”
Room to Grow
Our goal with Room to Grow is to bring your kids – or your family – through a series of games that grow in complexity. Normally, we take a beginner game, an intermediate game, and an advanced game (and some honorable mentions). They offer a plan for growth for players to get comfortable with that mechanic, and all are family-friendly.
Deck building was a little challenging because even among “pure” deck-building games, some of their foundational mechanics are different – how you add new cards to your hand, how many cards you can add, how you get rid of cards you don’t want (if you can get rid of them at all!), and even what the PURPOSE of the deck building is.
Nevertheless, we came up with three we’d recommend to learn this style of game more thoroughly.
Compared to other deckbuilding games, you have a very small hand size (3 cards). There is very minimal reading, and only a few icons. Like many deckbuilding games, you gain coins to use to buy better cards – but in this game, you can SAVE some of your coins from turn to turn.
And the purpose of the game is easy for kids to understand: attack your opponent and protect your own health.
You can, of course, move on to Star Realms from here, but we’d recommend…
Intermediate: Dominion
This is the game that started it all – the very first deck building game, and sets a foundation to learn this mechanic.
Play card(s) from your hand, then use currency from what you played to buy ONE new card. Then everything goes into your discard pile and you draw a new hand.
As you build your deck, you get opportunities to buy more cards, set cards aside, or trash cards (aka “culling”). When enough piles run out, count victory points on the cards in your deck & in your hand.
Some of the features we don’t love in Dominon (card market is static, little player interaction) also make it easier to learn. And Dominion can have its own “room to grow” moment by adding expansions.
Advanced: Co-op deckbuilding games from The Op
A trio of games:
Harry Potter: Hogwarts Battle [we mistakenly called this “Hogwarts Legacy”]
Avatar The Last Airbender: Aang’s Destiny (our review)
What makes any of these games special:
The starting decks are not identical! You’re playing a specific character in the story
It’s a cooperative game. You’re all trying to help each other meet the group’s goals.
They’re hard to win/advance, but put you in the story you already know.
42:40 Other Recommended Deck Building Games
We recommend these games to explore other aspects of deck building:
Tea Dragon Society Card Game (our review) – simple and cute, but more reading than Star Realms Academy. Abandon All Artichokes (our review) (episode 345 interview with Emma Larkins) – deck “wrecking” Clank! – build a deck to get further into the dungeon and find more treasure Avant Carde (our review) – build your deck to play more cards on your turn. Quarriors or Marvel/DC Dice Masters – a “deck-builder” with dice instead of cards!
51:45 New Backtalk Question
What board game mechanic do you struggle with – or you really don’t like? Do you want to get better, or do you avoid those games?
Or, for the most direct method, email us! andrew@thefamilygamers.com and anitra@thefamilygamers.com.
PLEASE don’t forget to subscribe to the show, tell your friends about the show, and leave us a review at Apple Podcast or whatever your podcast subscription source is. We’re also on Amazon Music, TuneIn, and Spotify.
You can also now find us on YouTube Music! So pull it up and give us a listen while you’re toiling away at work :)
The Family Gamers is sponsored by First Move Financial. Go to FirstMoveFinancial.com/familygamers to learn how the team at First Move Financial can help you pile up the victory points.
Episode 401 – Ten Top Evergreen Family Games
Jul 14, 2025
Family evergreen games? Evergreen family games? Let’s discuss.
00:00 Fact for 401
The term “401(k)” comes from the section of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code that established this retirement savings plan.
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05:10 What We’ve Been Playing
Santa’s Workshop (our review) Trio (our review) Smug Owls (our review) Canvas Critters (check out the Kickstarter) Sabobatage The Crew: Mission Deep Sea Caution Signs (our review) Donald Duck in Happy Camper (next written review) Unmatched: Battle of Legends vol 3 (review coming soon) Marvel X-Men Dice Throne Fight for Olympus (old school! our review) Quarto (our review) – great when you’ve only got a few minutes Suspend – just fun. For Sale Doomlings (our review) Floristry (our review) Food Chain Island – great to play with just one hand
22:35 June Monthly Report!
We both have ALREADY (as of July 12) played more games in July than we did in June.
We asked for your feedback on the podcast in general. You answered, with a lot of encouraging comments on the #backtalk channel on our Discord, and in this Backtalk post in the Facebook community.
What’s an evergreen game? Just like an evergreen plant that doesn’t die, this is a game that stays popular in stores year after year. The games that get pulled out and played over and over again. (Games like Wingspan that have staying power.)
We thought it would be easy to find a list on BGG of “evergreen” games… but it’s a lot harder to determine than we thought! Much thanks to BGG user Daniel_M, who compiled a list using data analysis to find the top 100 games that have stayed popular over time, back in 2023.
Here are the top ten from his list:
10 Race for the Galaxy 09 Agricola 08 Power Grid 07 Puerto Rico 06 Ticket to Ride 05 Pandemic 04 Dominion 03 7 Wonders 02 CATAN 01 Carcassonne
Maybe three of these we’d consider “family” games: Carcassonne, Ticket to Ride, and Catan (although you could argue for others).
“Family Evergreen” Games?
A “family” evergreen game might be a little different – something that works at all – or most – stages for your family. By definition these are going to be simpler games, because
#1 – Not everyone in the family is a board game nerd! #2 – The game has to support multiple age ranges: not too many rules, not a lot of reading required.
So without further ado, here are our 10 games, in no particular order.
Ticket to Ride CATAN Carcassonne Can’t Stop Just One Kingdomino Drop It! Azul Strike (also available as Impact: Battle of Elements) Trio (also available outside the US as nana)`
50:30 New Backtalk Question
What’s the game that, these days, your family is going back to over and over again? This doesn’t have to be your favorite game – but what’s spending the most time on your table?
Or, for the most direct method, email us! andrew@thefamilygamers.com and anitra@thefamilygamers.com.
PLEASE don’t forget to subscribe to the show, tell your friends about the show, and leave us a review at Apple Podcast or whatever your podcast subscription source is. We’re also on Amazon Music, TuneIn, and Spotify.
You can also now find us on YouTube Music! So pull it up and give us a listen while you’re toiling away at work :)
The Family Gamers is sponsored by First Move Financial. Go to FirstMoveFinancial.com/familygamers to learn how the team at First Move Financial can help you pile up the victory points.
Episode 400 – It’s All About Families
Jun 30, 2025
Isn’t The Family Gamers Podcast always about families? Yes, but we’re doing a special focus on different ages this week, as a sort of retrospective over the last ten years.
First Move has been our sponsor since episode 175! We really appreciate their partnering with us.
If you need help finding some “bonus points” and seeing which areas of your personal finance you should be focusing on, visit firstmovefinancial.com/familygamers to schedule a time to talk to First Move – for free!
03:45 What We’ve Been Playing
Canvas Critters (coming to crowdfunding soon – from 3WS and Katia Howatson) Unmatched: Battle of Legends volume 3 (Blackbeard vs. Loki) Micro Macro Kids: Crazy City Park (review linked below) Royal Visit – making it work in a small space, as we imagined all the way back in episode 278. Toriki: The Castaway Island Floristry (our review) “the perfect date game” Hutan: Life in the Rainforest – played solo. But now also available on Board Game Arena!
24:00 SNAP Review – Micro Macro Kids: Crazy City Park
We review the newest entry in the Micro Macro series. This one is 100% appropriate for kids, and adds some tools that will help ANYONE who wants to play this seek-and-find game.
In August, The Family Gamers Podcast turns ten years old! Playing games with kids looks a lot different for us now than it did in 2015. Let’s talk about what family gaming looks like at different ages.
Babies & Toddlers
Do you have to just wait to play games? Kind of, but not exactly. Toddlers want to be a part of what you’re doing: so let them sit with you and play with some of the (larger/non-chewable) pieces. We also recommend playing with them with big chunky foam dice or “My Very First” games.
This is when kids begin to learn about taking turns or causality (“if I do this, then this happens”).
At this age, kids want play the same very short games over and over and over… as frustrating as this can be, it’s really important. Playing repetitively works on building rule-following, turn-taking, and pattern-matching. This is the right time to start teaching about being a graceful winner or loser and also to start building emotional intelligence. Yes, even with CandyLand.
Grade School
The most important thing at this age is to know your kids’ skill level. Too hard and they’ll be discouraged. That doesn’t mean letting them win! But you could set up a handicap so the adult is playing at a disadvantage. And you can talk through your strategy (and theirs) out loud to help them learn.
To avoid the stigma of playing a “baby” game or a “kids” game, be ready to pull out some VERY easy games that anyone can play like Roll for It or Zombie Dice.
If you’ve already built a culture of family gaming, it can continue even when kids leave home! At this point, it should be pretty much the same as playing games with your friends.
Don’t forget, you don’t always have to be in person to play games together. We hope to use Board Game Arena and other online gaming tools to keep the gaming going at a distance.
Tell us what you like about the show, what you don’t like about the show, what segments you’d like us to do more, or less. Should we free Anitra from Andrew’s weird food eating obsession? Should we do more Room to Grow? Board Game Terms? Lists? Guests?
We want to make sure the topics we cover and the goofy things we do are interesting to you.
Or, for the most direct method, email us! andrew@thefamilygamers.com and anitra@thefamilygamers.com.
PLEASE don’t forget to subscribe to the show, tell your friends about the show, and leave us a review at Apple Podcast or whatever your podcast subscription source is. We’re also on Amazon Music, TuneIn, and Spotify.
You can also now find us on YouTube Music! So pull it up and give us a listen while you’re toiling away at work :)
The Family Gamers is sponsored by First Move Financial. Go to FirstMoveFinancial.com/familygamers to learn how the team at First Move Financial can help you pile up the victory points.
Episode 399 – Room to Grow: Modern Abstract Games
Jun 16, 2025
We talked about older games last week like checkers and chess. This week we’re moving on to modern abstract games (within the last 20 years). We recommend three that grow in complexity – and add a few of our other favorites.
First Move Financial is not a credit counseling company, but they’d be happy to spend a few minutes talking to you to help you find a reputable credit counselor. Go to firstmovefinancial.com/familygamers to set up a quick chat and start taking steps to dig out of debt.
0:04:30 What We’ve Been Playing
The Castles of Burgundy Marvel Dice Throne: X-Men (Rogue and Gambit this time) Jekyll vs. Hyde – one of our favorites (our review) Compile – we also love this one (our review) Ultimatch – hardest at two players! (our review) Cabanga Belratti (review below) Grove (our preview/review from its Kickstarter) – we’re working on a review for Hutan which feels similar but more involved. Mojo (our review)
Last time, we asked about your favorite classic abstract games. People answered on Facebook and on Discord.
Giveaway
We’re almost at episode 400! Enter the giveaway for Avant Carde & Avatar The Last Airbender: Aang’s Destiny.
0:17:55 SNAP Review – Belratti
Can you pick cards that will fit one of two themes? Can you figure out the cards that your teammates picked, and avoid the “forgeries” (random cards) put in by Belratti?
We try both the Grape and Strawberry versions (pictured).
If you like fruity candy and also like Reeses, you might like this combination.
0:30:20 Room to Grow: Modern Abstract Games
Our goal with Room to Grow is to bring your kids – or your family – through a series of games that grow in complexity. Normally, we take a beginner game, an intermediate game, and an advanced game (and some honorable mentions). They offer a plan for growth for players to get comfortable with this style, and all are family-friendly.
We discuss again what makes an “abstract strategy game” and decide that some luck is fine but “player choices matter more than luck”.
Beginner: Drop It
This has been a favorite since we first saw it in 2018 (our review then).
There is definitely NO theme – just shapes and colors. It’s a sort of dexterity game, but not exactly.
We like this because the idea of how it works is really simple: you only get points if your shape, when it lands, is not touching the same shape and not touching the same color. Even if they struggle with adding the scores, most 4 & 5 year olds can understand the binary of “did I get points this turn, or not?”
There’s not a deep strategy here and no story or other baggage. Pick a shape from your pile, drop it, and hope it lands where you want it to. But that’s what makes it fun for anyone to play!
Intermediate: Azul
Is there a story here? Maybe. If you want one.
Azul is bright and colorful, based on the Portuguese tiling called “azulejo” (Andrew was right).
The strategy CAN get complex as players get used to the game.
Draft tiles from a central area, and put them on your board. Different parts of your board require different numbers of identical tiles to “fill them up” and move a single tile to your scoring area.
The choices are simple: pick your tile group, and decide where to put them on your board.
This game introduces several modern elements: set collection, open drafting, and sacrificing to become first player.
And the beauty of the game will draw more people to want to play it.
Azul
Advanced: Shobu
We think this game is gorgeous: four wooden boards and polished stones in two colors.
Every turn, you move a piece on one of your two “home” boards. And then you have to move one of your pieces the same way on an opposite-color board. Try to knock off all your opponent’s pieces from any one of the four boards.
This is a nakedly aggressive game and the large decision space (looking at up to 16 different pieces and setting up the second half of your move) leads to brain-burning tactics, like you sometimes see in Go or Chess. This game has no luck at all, and the only hidden information is what’s in your opponent’s head.
And as beautiful as this game is, the simplicity of presentation is like the classic abstract games we talked about – you could put this together yourself with any pieces you have on hand. (But we recommend buying this lovely game from Smirk & Dagger!)
Or, for the most direct method, email us! andrew@thefamilygamers.com and anitra@thefamilygamers.com.
PLEASE don’t forget to subscribe to the show, tell your friends about the show, and leave us a review at Apple Podcast or whatever your podcast subscription source is. We’re also on Amazon Music, TuneIn, and Spotify.
You can also now find us on YouTube Music! So pull it up and give us a listen while you’re toiling away at work :)
The Family Gamers is sponsored by First Move Financial. Go to FirstMoveFinancial.com/familygamers to learn how the team at First Move Financial can help you pile up the victory points.
Episode 398 – Room to Grow: Classic Abstract Games
Jun 02, 2025
I bet you played checkers or chess with your relatives when you were a kid. We talk about newer games all the time on this podcast, but we think old games are great and you should play those, too! We recommend three that facilitate learning strategies.
0:00:00 Fact for 398
In the Dewey Decimal filing system, 398 is the category for folklore (and 398.2 is fairy tales!)
If you want to talk about other ways to equip your children for their future, go to firstmovefinancial.com/familygamers to schedule a time to talk to First Move today for free.
0:05:30 What We’ve Been Playing
Azul Trio (our review) Flip 7 (review out this week! Keep listening) Disney Lorcana (Gateway review this week) Food Chain Island Toriki (review coming soon) – great for playing with kids Gruzzle: The City – very hard! But take a look: gruzzle.com 5er Finden (our review) HUTAN: Life in the Rainforest (review coming soon). So many trees! Adventure Party (our review)
0:25:00 May Monthly Report!
Anitra: 26 unique games, 51 plays. H-index: 3 – most played: Combo (7 times), Lorcana Gateway (6 times), Flip 7 (4 times), plus Patchwork and Food Chain Island. 37% of plays for the month were during the two days at PAX East.
Andrew: 13 unique games, 26 plays. H-index: 3 – most played: Lorcana, Toriki, Flip 7. 42% at 4 players!
Last time, we asked about your favorite convention memory. We got a couple of answers on Discord.
0:29:55 SNAP Review – Flip 7
A tiny card game that works with up to 18 people and you can learn in under a minute? Flip 7 does exactly what it sets out to do: provide fast moving fun for families or groups of any size.
We enjoy abstract strategy games, but often find ourselves only talking about ones that are NEW (even if we compare them to older games). So this week is devoted to older, classic games. You probably know how to play these timeless games already, and have some of them relegated to the back corner of your shelves or your closet.
Our goal with Room to Grow is to bring your kids – or your family – through a series of games that grow in complexity. Normally, we take a beginner game, an intermediate game, and an advanced game (and some honorable mentions). They offer a plan for growth for players to get comfortable with that mechanic, and all are family-friendly.
What’s an abstract (or abstract strategy) game?
No theme, or a theme that only exists in the player’s heads. They don’t require any kind of fancy art to pull you in.
Perfect information – no hidden cards or secret advantages.
Little or no luck – you’re not going to depend on dice or shuffled cards. (Can’t Stop and Backgammon are fantastic games, but don’t quite fit here.)
Why play old games?
Lots of people know them. Rules tend to be simple, even if the strategy is not. Old abstract games can be played with the equipment you have at hand. You don’t need to go out and buy a fancy board or pieces (although those are nice!)
Beginner: Tic-Tac-Toe
Also known as “naughts and crosses”, this is a very basic abstract game with easy rules and a simple goal: get three of your pieces in a row.
Tic-Tac-Toe is basically a “solved” game, and with just 8-9 moves, most adults know whether they can win by their second turn. Because of this, parents get tired of it quickly. But it is an excellent introduction! Since it’s so simple and games are so short (usually over in just 8 moves), kids can really master it with just a little bit of practice.
(And move on to variations like Hollywood Squares, Ultimate Tic Tac Toe, 3D Tic Tac Toe, larger boards, or Connect 4)
Intermediate: Checkers
This one is also known as Draughts.
Checkers is still a simple ruleset, but games are longer and present more options.
Double-check that you know the true rules before you start! Handicapping and house rules are OK, but do them intentionally and clearly.
Since there are still relatively few options, Checkers encourages kids to start looking ahead to future moves, without presenting so many options that it’s overwhelming.
Getting bored of the regular rules? There are dozens of games you can play with a standard American checkerboard and some or all of the pieces.
Advanced: Chess
Chess requires a significant jump in skill. It’s a harder game to learn, because there are lots of kinds of pieces and they move in lots of ways. You end up with a lot to keep track of, especially when you’re learning.
But it’s been popular for over a thousand years – and for good reason! It’s rewarding to learn and to see the different ways you can outmaneuver your opponent.
Ways to dial back the difficulty, especially for learning:
No Stress Chess Chess.com has both lessons and puzzles Play with fewer pieces and fewer kinds of pieces!
Other Highly Recommended Classic Abstracts
Go (the quintessential “easy to learn, hard to master” game) Othello Backgammon isn’t quite an abstract strategy game, because there’s too much luck involved, and there are a lot of edge cases in the rules. Nine Men’s Morris is another one that’s very easy to learn, and you could probably play it on a checkerboard.
We just highly recommend the Klutz Book of Classic Board Games (edited by Sid Sackson) if you can find it. And maybe also the Games of Art book from Sid Sackson and Eagle-Gryphon Games (which is admittedly much more modern).
0:59:15 New Backtalk Question
What’s your favorite classic abstract game?
(Anitra’s favorite: Mancala, Andrew’s favorite: Chess or Chinese Checkers)
We almost forgot – we are giving away two games for our 400th episode: Avant Carde & Avatar The Last Airbender: Aang’s Destiny. Enter the giveaway here!
Or, for the most direct method, email us! andrew@thefamilygamers.com and anitra@thefamilygamers.com.
PLEASE don’t forget to subscribe to the show, tell your friends about the show, and leave us a review at Apple Podcast or whatever your podcast subscription source is. We’re also on Amazon Music, TuneIn, and Spotify.
You can also now find us on YouTube Music! So pull it up and give us a listen while you’re toiling away at work :)
The Family Gamers is sponsored by First Move Financial. Go to FirstMoveFinancial.com/familygamers to learn how the team at First Move Financial can help you pile up the victory points.
Welcome to The Family Gamers podcast! Last week, we attended PAX East 2025, a huge convention that’s practically in our backyard. What are the coolest things we saw there?
If you’d like to have a free conversation to help you understand how to do some due diligence on a charity before making a donation, go to firstmovefinancial.com/familygamers and schedule a 15 minute phone call.
What We’ve Been Playing
Flip 7 (review coming soon) Smug Owls (our review) Caution Signs (review coming soon) Disney Lorcana Gateway (review coming soon) Another Man’s Treasure (review linked below) Combo (our review) Patchwork The Gang Jungo – coming later this year from Happy Camper Cantankerous Cats (review coming eventually) Ultimatch (our review) – still fun even when we lose.
0:14:25 SNAP Review – Another Man’s Treasure
Everyone’s had family members try to foist off their “treasures” on them. In this game, collect the junk and make it into specific rummy-like groups to get it OUT of your hand.
Anitra went for two days, Andrew and Asher went for one day. Although it’s very videogame-heavy, there’s plenty of boardgame/tabletop stuff as well.
Anitra recommends Ultimate Sheep Racoon (coming soon) if your kids like wacky video games.
Andrew is excited by Ludocene – “Tinder for videogames”, which is on Kickstarter now. It’s possible that they’ll make a boardgame version as well!
The coolest thing we both saw was Pencil! (aka Pencil XR)
The other coolest thing Anitra saw was mass-produced dice with Braille for the numbers.
Anitra highly recommends trying the boardgame tournaments, which are surprisingly low-impact and low-stress. She got her start with “Thursday Night Throwdown” and “Friday Night Frenzy!” – tournaments where no one knows what the games will be until the tournament starts.
At a tournament this year, she learned: Schrodingers Cats, Lumberjacks with Rocket Launchers, Frozen Shinies, Mountain Goats.
This year, she got the courage to play in a Patchwork tournament and a 7 Blunders tournament. (The newer version of 7 Wonders is much easier to play with!)
Asher ended up doing Trio demos for an hour for Happy Camper. We’re so proud of him.
Andrew describes Caution Signs.
And Anitra was excited to finally see Bioshop Infinite (a barbershop quartet) perform on stage.
PAX East Interviews
0:38:00 Choose Co
Choose Your Own Adventure books are BACK! The first book (The Cave of Time) is finally back after 25 years out of print, and the company has dozens of other books – some classics, some new.
TNT Laser Works makes beautiful wooden boards that are both an art piece and a functional board game, based on a game Ted played in his childhood. There’s also a more portable version that is a leather scroll.
An augmented reality VR app that gives drawing lessons, starting with tracing but moving on to 3D models, shading, and more. Both lessons and non-lesson tools to help you draw better with a real pencil and paper.
Available on the Meta Quest 3 and Meta Quest 3S. May be available on more VR headsets in the future.
Our community shares their biggest board game surprises – on Facebook and Discord.
Most of the surprises were good ones, but we also learn a lesson about calling games “simple” that have a large decision space (e.g. Splendor).
If you go to conventions, what’s your favorite convention memory? Or what is your favorite convention? If you don’t go to conventions, why not? Is there something a convention could offer you that would make you interested in going to one?
Or, for the most direct method, email us! andrew@thefamilygamers.com and anitra@thefamilygamers.com.
PLEASE don’t forget to subscribe to the show, tell your friends about the show, and leave us a review at Apple Podcast or whatever your podcast subscription source is. We’re also on Amazon Music, TuneIn, and Spotify.
You can also now find us on YouTube Music! So pull it up and give us a listen while you’re toiling away at work :)
The Family Gamers is sponsored by First Move Financial. Go to FirstMoveFinancial.com/familygamers to learn how the team at First Move Financial can help you pile up the victory points.
We’ve been reviewing board games for almost ten years. And sometimes, we run across ones that REALLY surprise us. Let’s talk about a few this week.
0:00:00 Fact for 396
This week we’ve got an “at the same time” trend going.
The most people showering simultaneously is 396, achieved by Irish Springs (USA) in Dover, Delaware, USA, on 15 June 2018.
The most people making sand sculptures simultaneously is 396, and was achieved at an event organised by Sculpture Westende and Philippe Bourleau (both Belgium) in Middelkerke, Belgium, on 23 August 2019.
The largest simultaneous launch of canoes/kayaks is 396 and was achieved by the New Hampshire Lakes Association (USA) at Endicott Rock Park, Laconia, New Hampshire, USA, on 3 August 2014.
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0:05:20 What We’ve Been Playing
lots of games on vacation! Games of Art (a dry-erase book compiled/designed by Sid Sackson, each game is based on 20th century abstract artists) Flip 7 (review coming soon) – Here’s a video talking about why three different box sizes exist. Combo (our review) Trio (our review) Shovel Knight: Dungeon Duels (review coming soon) – now that we are playing correctly, the game is less frustratingly difficult. Micro Macro Kids: Crazy City Park (review coming soon – we highly recommend!) Adventure Party (review coming soon) Merchants of Magick (our review)
and also: Toriki: The Castaway Island (review coming soon) – like Chronicles of Crime or Kids Chronicles, but somewhere in between. Belratti (review coming soon) Word Fluxx (review below) So Clover (our review) Floristry (our review)
0:34:15 April Monthly Report!
Anitra: 36 plays of 23 unique games. H-index 2 (Lorcana Gateway, Games of Art, Flip 7, Word Fluxx, Floristry, Fruition, Trio) 42% of games played were on that 5-day vacation.
Andrew: 26 plays of 18 unique games. H-index: 2 (Lorcana Gateway, Obelus, Toriki, Word Fluxx, Floristry) 46% on the vacation trip!
0:35:55 SNAP Review – Word Fluxx
Yes, this is another Fluxx game, but it does a surprisingly good job ALSO feeling like a classic word game. Some goals are still “collect this set of letters” but most goals have you make a WORD that meets specific restrictions. We recommend using the “meta rule” that keeps the game going while players collect completed goals.
Last time, we asked about your favorite Disney movie(s). And you stepped up to let us know – on Facebook and on Discord.
0:53:00 Five Games that Really Surprised Us
On our SNAP reviews we use the GAMES acronym – and we end with surprise. But what games REALLY surprised us? It might be the kids’ reaction, it might be something we didn’t expect when we opened the box. But here are five games that did something we didn’t expect, or didn’t do something we DID expect.
Adventure Party (review coming soon) – It’s a deduction game!
Magic Mountain – Looks like a kids game but it’s not just a kids game! It grabs EVERYONE.
Back Stories – The mechanics are simple, but put together unlike anything we’ve seen before! The card-back actions and the way your options change are just so much better than what we’ve seen in most other “escape room” card games.
Kingdomino – This is a solid game, which is not a surprise. But everything fits together SO WELL that even a 4 or 5 year old can understand the basics of how to play. That’s why I recommend it at the bottom of our list of games for 4-year-olds.
Pan Am – Our number one surprising game. The way this game feels SO DIFFERENT at different player counts is wild.
1:04:30 New Backtalk Question
What’s the greatest surprise you ever had in gaming? Is there a game that shocked you? Or maybe a surprise that happened WHILE gaming. Or maybe a type of game you never thought you would enjoy?
Or, for the most direct method, email us! andrew@thefamilygamers.com and anitra@thefamilygamers.com.
PLEASE don’t forget to subscribe to the show, tell your friends about the show, and leave us a review at Apple Podcast or whatever your podcast subscription source is. We’re also on Amazon Music, TuneIn, and Spotify.
You can also now find us on YouTube Music! So pull it up and give us a listen while you’re toiling away at work :)
The Family Gamers is sponsored by First Move Financial. Go to FirstMoveFinancial.com/familygamers to learn how the team at First Move Financial can help you pile up the victory points.
Episode 395 – Euro, Ameritrash, and Other Boardgamer Jargon
Apr 14, 2025
Do you know what a “eurogame” is? Could you explain it to someone who hasn’t played a lot of boardgames? What are some other jargon terms we use that are unfriendly to new players?
0:00 Fact for 395
We talk about our local Interstate 395, and the much more beautiful Route 395 in California.
If you want help looking at your 401(k)s to make sure you’re not overpaying go to firstmovefinancial.com/familygamers to set up a time to chat, for free!
04:00 What We’ve Been Playing
Order Overload: Cafe – I can’t believe we were ready to give this game away! Trio (our review) Circus Flohcati (our review) – I love how easy it is to get started playing this one: shuffle the deck and go! Anomia – always a fun party game. Green Team Wins (our review) Landmarks (our review) – the surprising stand-out hit of the business/fun trip weekend. Alpina (review linked below) Floristry (our review) Farkle In the Footsteps of Marie Curie (our review) Disney Lorcana: Gateway – Learn Lorcana in a structured way! Review coming soon Escape from the Starline Express (“Professor Puzzle Presents…”) – like the easier EXIT boxes, and more-or-less re-giftable.
18:30 March Monthly Report
Andrew: 23 plays of 17 unique games. H-index: 2. Trio (3 plays), then Anomia, Project L, Order Overload: Cafe, Obelus (2 plays) 39% at home, 39% on the work trip.
Anitra: 48 plays of 28 unique games. H-index: 4. Trio (6 plays), plus Mezen, Landmarks, and Circus Flohcati at 4 times each. 46% of plays were on the work trip (because Anitra doesn’t have to work on that trip!)
Marc Specter (of Grand Gamers Guild) sent us an Australian candy bar called Violet Crumble.
Is it true that “it’s the way it shatters that matters” ?
Anitra’s verdict: “sugar and air, wrapped in chocolate”.
25:15 SNAP Review – Alpina
Create a grid of alpine habitats and animals, while choosing which objectives you want to score. There are a lot of symbols to learn and a lot of options to juggle in Alpina.
Are there any obscure or brand-new terms we could cover? There are some portmanteau / combinations of terms that we didn’t see until recently, like “co-opetition”, “deck breeding”, or “deck wrecking” (Abandon All Artichokes).
What is a “euro game”?
Wikipedia says it’s also called a “German style board game”. Euro games are notable for what they lack: player elimination, direct conflict, and luck. (If there’s some luck or randomness, it’s something that is revealed and then all players have to deal with it.)
Most euro games have very little player interaction – mostly just competing for limited resources – and require more forethought and planning. Euro games usually emphasize elegant mechanics instead of theme. (Examples: Catan, Carcassonne, Puerto Rico, Power Grid)
We use the phrase “classic euro” because this definition has morphed over time. Modern euro games will tend to have better art and hew a little closer to their themes.
“No player elimination” is an important feature that has been incorporated into a lot of newer games that we wouldn’t call euro games.
How about Ameritrash?
Euro games are usually contrasted with “American style” games (or sometimes “Ameritrash”)
Ameritrash is a term that we heard a lot a decade ago and don’t hear very often any more, probably because it’s kind of derogatory.
“American style” games that are heavy on theme and luck and often encourage direct conflict between players. Usually the theme informs the mechanics (not the kind of game where you could easily cut and paste a new theme).
These are also the games most likely to have excessive amounts of minis.
American-style games are informed by a culture that REALLY LOVES video games. It’s going to be a game with direct conflict (often combat), probably bright, saturated colors, a really strong theme, and lots of luck.
These are still not your typical American “family” game like Scrabble, Monopoly, or checkers.
We think of games like Mythalix, Cosmic Encounter, Imperial Assault, Blood Rage, Rising Sun, the Shovel Knight: Dungeon Duels game we’ve been playing…
These are loose definitions, but the there’s a definite contrast between the two styles.
Both “euro” and “ameritrash” are problematic terms for people new to board gaming – because even with the definitions we just talked about, there’s a ton of disagreement over whether any particular game fits one of these definitions!
More Jargon – Straightforward, Overlapping Mechanics
JP suggests that “straightforward” has entered gamer jargon. But if we call a game “straightforward” and then someone else struggles with the game, it can make them feel “less than” or kind of dumb.
I think when we say straightforward what we really mean is “this game was easy for me to learn and makes sense to ME.”
Or, for the most direct method, email us! andrew@thefamilygamers.com and anitra@thefamilygamers.com.
PLEASE don’t forget to subscribe to the show, tell your friends about the show, and leave us a review at Apple Podcast or whatever your podcast subscription source is. We’re also on Amazon Music, TuneIn, and Spotify.
You can also now find us on YouTube Music! So pull it up and give us a listen while you’re toiling away at work :)
The Family Gamers is sponsored by First Move Financial. Go to FirstMoveFinancial.com/familygamers to learn how the team at First Move Financial can help you pile up the victory points.
This week, we're talking about cooperative games - what they are, what makes them a good fit for families, and we explore the breadth of games that can be considered "cooperative".
Sometimes intentionally, sometimes by accident, we find games that disconnect us from the stresses and worries of every day life. Andrew and Anitra discover that they have different ideas of what helps them step away from the real world – but there’s some overlap, too. 0:00 Fact for 389 When diving (“stooping”), the peregrine falcon can reach speeds of 389kph.
Episode 381 – Top 5(ish) Beautiful Family Games
Oct 07, 2024
0:00 Hello and welcome! This week, we’re talking about beautiful games – ones you would leave out on a coffee table – that are great for families to play. Fact for 381 We’re back to the Guinness Book of World Records, friends. The largest hand-held video game console party was on 12 October 2007, at the Parramatta mall in Sydney
We talked about date night games in 2020 - which ones would we still recommend now? Our new top six list has FOUR games that weren't even on the old list!
Episode 374 – Top 5 Games to Beat the Summer Slide
Jun 24, 2024
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.
Episode 368 – Ken Franklin and Flash Point: Legacy Of Flame
Mar 25, 2024
We are no longer restricting our interviews to just odd-numbered episodes. We couldn’t wait any longer to have Ken Franklin on the show again! 368 Fact We learn about Studio 368, doing very cool stuff for creators and media (like Greta Gerwig, Lena Dunham, and the Safdie brothers). Sponsor Message Are you doing your taxes? Some states offer a tax
Episode 364 – Look Back: How Did 2023 Predictions Fare?
Jan 29, 2024
We often talk about new games. But let's look back a little bit. We were excited for a lot of new games at the beginning of 2023 - how did they fare? Were all of them as great as we hoped?
Episode 361 – PAX Unplugged 2023 – Days Two & Three
Dec 18, 2023
Find out more about The Tree Trimming Game, Sequitur, Jokkmokk, Marvel Remix, Unboxed, Crabs in a Bucket, Star Realms Academy, Caution Signs, Pack the Essentials, Maize Craze, and Mycelia !
Episode 357 – Spooky Games and Hidden Gems with Stephanie Nye
Oct 23, 2023
Today, we're talking with the newest writer to join The Family Gamers, Stephanie Nye! What are some of her favorite games for the "spooky season"? And what games are awesome that not enough people talk about?
Episode 356 – Top 10 Games for Kids 7-10
Oct 02, 2023
We took a break for a while from our age-segregated lists. But now we're back at it! Plus: CuseCon wrap-up, contest winner, and a new community announcement.
Episode 355 – Panic Time! With Justin and Anne-Marie De Witt
Sep 18, 2023
Castle Panic has been a part of our lives longer than The Family Gamers has existed, and this week we talk to its creators: Justin & Anne-Marie De Witt!
It's been a long time since we talked about US history and gameschooling. Now let's talk about games that are newer, and games that are less US-centric.
Episode 351 – SAHM Reviews with the Bradys
Jul 24, 2023
Nicole and Scott have been doing family-friendly review content since 2008 with their site SAHM Reviews. But they're tied into the board game industry in many other ways...
Episode 347 – Board Games with BoardGamingMama!
Jun 19, 2023
Welcome to Heather, the Board Gaming Mama! 347 Fact There’s evidence oil wells going back to 347 AD! Chinese drills made of bamboo got to over 200 meters deep. Sponsor One of the first concerns from prospective clients is whether they can afford to work with us. If you want to see an estimate of what your fee would be
Episode 346 – Room to Grow: Word Games Edition
Jun 12, 2023
If you want to play word games with your kids, you're going to have to wait a LONG time for them to be ready. We suggest a few games that can help your family work their way up to "adult" word games.
Episode 336 – Most Played Board Games
Mar 27, 2023
Let's talk about the most popular games played in the Smith household. These aren't necessarily our favorites. They just make it to the table the most often.
Episode 334 – Noisy Games: Extra Fun or Parents’ Nightmare?
Mar 13, 2023
Every parent has some LOUD game that their kids love. Do you buy into the fun factor of noisy games, or do they drive you crazy? There are more games in this category than we thought...
This week, it's all about YOUR questions! What's the best game for a deserted island? What kind of mystery games can we recommend for a 7 year old? What games can you play with a short attention span?
Episode 328 – Room to Grow: Dungeon Crawl Games
Jan 30, 2023
Love dungeon crawl games like Gloomhaven, but aren't sure where to start with kids? Three dungeon crawl games that build in complexity, perfect for playing as a family.
Episode 327 – Top Anticipated Games for 2023
Jan 23, 2023
We look ahead to games coming in 2023: ones we've been anticipating for a while, ones that are new and we're hyped for, and ones that we "want to want".
Episode 325 – Board Game Trends with Ross Thompson
Jan 09, 2023
Our topic this week is trends in board games. And who better for this kind of conversation than Ross Thompson? He has held positions all across the board game industry.
This week, we'll talk about our top games of the year. Ones that were new to us this year; our favorites and games that really surprised us. And we ask each of the kids for their favorite game of the year, too.
315 – The Video Game Holiday Gift Guide with Stephen Duetzmann
Oct 31, 2022
It's that time of year again. We are joined by the "unmitigated hype monster", Stephen Duetzmann, to learn about recommendations for (mostly) family-friendly video games this holiday season.
310 – Top-Rated Games – The Family Gamers Podcast
Sep 19, 2022
We've been reviewing games for a long time, and have rated about a dozen games as "perfect" and about twice as many as "almost perfect". Do those ratings hold up?
308 – Different Ways to Adventure with Board Games
Sep 05, 2022
This week, we're talking about adventure! What games make you feel like you're going on an adventure? There are more ways to accomplish this feeling than you might think.
307 – Jon Manker and Pax Viking – The Family Gamers Podcast
Aug 29, 2022
Jon is the co-founder of Ion Game Design, making board games "based on reality". Although most are quite complex (Pax Viking, Sammu-ramat), there are some family-oriented games just around the corner...
306 – Room to Grow: Dice Set Collection – The Family Gamers Podcast
Aug 22, 2022
What is dice set collection? Think Yahtzee. You're rolling dice, usually with some re-rolls allowed, trying to get a certain result spread out among many dice (a straight, two/three/four of a kind, etc.)
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