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”.
0:00:00 Fact for 390
While the exact number fluctuates, there are around 390 known species of sharks in the world, from tiny lantern sharks to massive whale sharks.
The average weight of a full-grown jaguar can reach up to 390 pounds, making it the largest cat in the Americas.
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0:04:15 What We’ve Been Playing
Combo (review linked below) Flower Fields (review coming soon) Holiday Hijinks: The Marriage Mix-up – two thumbs up! In Vino Morte (our review)
Where are good places and times to play cooperative games?
Coop games can be a great way to bring younger kids into gaming. Any perfect information game can work for this, but in a cooperative game, your littlest can easily be part of the team.
Also good for preventing sore losers – or sore winners!
Categories of Cooperative Games
Anitra decides there are three basic categories: you either work together to solve a puzzle, work together to tell a story, or one person is giving clues to everyone else to guess.
A lot of the puzzle-type cooperative games have players take turns and then “bad stuff happens”.
But not all! Ultimatch charges players to solve a problem without a separate “bad stuff” turn. The Crew has a little more story and does something similar.
The Adventures of Robin Hood is a “story” game. The best of these have multiple ways to “solve” the puzzles involved. Some escape room games do this really well; some just present puzzles you have to solve a specific way.
Most clue-giving games are word-guessing games, but not all. Similo is a great example of one that is NOT a word game.
All Kinds of Mechanics
It seems like every game mechanic has had some kind of take on how to do it cooperatively:
And don’t forget about the whole genre of timed cooperative games! This can be pure puzzle solving like Kites or Skyrockets, or a memory game like Panic Island.
TFG Favorite Cooperative Games
Similo Shadows over Camelot Illiterati The Grizzled SkyTeam
1:00:00 New Backtalk Question
Question: What is your favorite cooperative game? Why is it your favorite?
Would you like us to break this out more and dive into specific genres of cooperative games?
Or, for the most direct method, email us! andrew@thefamilygamers.com and anitra@thefamilygamers.com.
Check out our new Family Gamers and Play Games with Your Kids merchandise – T-shirts, hoodies, and mugs – at thefamilygamers.com/merch.
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.
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.
Owning a home isn’t for everyone, but if you want help talking through whether it makes sense for you to buy or rent, set up a free phone call by going to firstmovefinancial.com/familygamers today.
Andrew and Anitra deal with stress differently. Andrew needs to “disconnect” and do different things when he has too much on his plate. Anitra needs an escape that has simple rules and not too many choices.
We agree that word games are bad for this (although for different reasons).
Andrew doesn’t mind a lot of rules, but needs it to be a familiar game because learning a new game is too connected to the real world. Really deeply thematic or narrative games are great for him. But strong competition is not.
Anitra prefers gently competitive games (or solo) – the kind that leave her feeling accomplished, no matter how well she did compared to others.
Andrew says deduction (figuring out what other players have) is also bad for this. No games with limited communication or any game that increases FRICTION.
Little Alchemists (review coming soon) would be a great choice! It’s sort of co-operative, sort of competitive. Nothing grounded in “real life”, a limited set of decisions each turn, and you can’t plan very far ahead.
Roll Player – Andrew (primarily as solo) A Gentle Rain – Anitra (our review) Escape room games that have continuity between puzzles (Holiday Hijinks, maybe some Unlocks, the easier EXITs) Abstract games with a limited decision space – like Quarto, Quoridor, Cinco Linko. We discuss whether Shobu or Tether work in this category. Tasso Banana (our review) – and other games where you simply react to what is on the table. Button Shy solo games – obviously A Nice Cuppa, but Anitra also loves ROVE and Sprawlopolis. Other themes might work better for other people.
44:40 New Backtalk Question
What game do you play to disconnect and de-stress?
What’s the “number one game in your tool-belt to step away from the stresses and busy-ness of the world”?
Or, for the most direct method, email us! andrew@thefamilygamers.com and anitra@thefamilygamers.com.
Check out our new Family Gamers and Play Games with Your Kids merchandise – T-shirts, hoodies, and mugs – at thefamilygamers.com/merch.
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 :)
Send us more weird food FOR SCIENCE! : The Family Gamers 60 Auburn St. #528 Auburn, MA 01501
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.
It’s the first podcast of 2025, so we’re going to go back over our favorite games from 2024.
0:00:00 Fact for 388
The National Guard observed its 388th birthday on December 13th, continuing a tradition that began long before the nation’s founding in 1776.
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0:05:06 What We’ve Been Playing
Combo (review coming soon) Video Game Champion Landmarks Mezen River Valley Glassworks Run Run Run! A Nice Cuppa (review coming soon) Calico
0:25:00 Monthly Report and Year in Review
December:
Andrew: 18 unique games, 29 total plays. H-index: 3. Most played: Obelus, Combo, Landmarks
Anitra: 62 plays of 29 unique games. A ton during PAX and on NYE, not much otherwise H-index: 5. Most played: Combo, Landmarks, A Nice Cuppa, Obelus, Ultimatch.
2024: Anitra: 529 plays of 178 unique games. Not as good as last year. But a better H-index: 10! Number one game: Trio. Andrew: 130 unique games, 302 plays. 87 “new” games. H-index: 6. Number one game: Trio.
Listeners tell us about their favorite gifts. See responses on Discord and Facebook.
0:37:30 SNAP Review – Tasso Banana
See how this banana-stacking game surprised us. Watch the video or read the transcript of our Tasso Banana review.
0:41:45 Top Ten Games of 2024
We used the same system as last year: we each had 10 points to spend on as many (or as few) games as we wanted. And somehow we still ended up with a combined top ten!
Or, for the most direct method, email us! andrew@thefamilygamers.com and anitra@thefamilygamers.com.
Check out our new Family Gamers and Play Games with Your Kids merchandise – T-shirts, hoodies, and mugs – at thefamilygamers.com/merch.
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 :)
Send us more weird food FOR SCIENCE! : The Family Gamers 60 Auburn St. #528 Auburn, MA 01501
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.
Butterfly Garden – Capstone Tightrope & Ziggurat – Mindware Chip Theory games for kids! card game coming from Thunderworks Games A Place for All My Books – Smirk & Dagger The Gang and more – KOSMOS Played games with the Slaiby family! (Downforce mostly) Backstories: Alone Under the Ice
Or, for the most direct method, email us! andrew@thefamilygamers.com and anitra@thefamilygamers.com.
Check out our new Family Gamers and Play Games with Your Kids merchandise – T-shirts, hoodies, and mugs – at thefamilygamers.com/merch.
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 going to spend the second half of the show with some wonderful people running a wonderfully magical place over in North Carolina. It is, of course, The Tabletop Inn, run by Grace Kendall and Mike Belsole.
Fact for 386
Moana 2 pulled in 386 million dollars on its opening weekend – the new record for the top opening weekend for an animated film. (It beats out Super Mario Brothers at $377m and Frozen II at $358m.)
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0:03:15 What We’ve Been Playing
Little Alchemists Santa’s Workshop (simple side and complicated side are BOTH great) Circus Flohcati Green Team Wins: Holiday Party Flower Fields Bottle Imp (review soon!)
0:20:00 November Monthly Report!
Andrew: 23 plays of 15 unique games. Interesting: 52% were with 4 players! H-index: 3. Most played: Little Alchemists, Cabanga!, Circus Flohcati
Anitra: 35 plays of 22 games. Far more with Andrew than anyone else. H-index: 3. Most played: boop the Halls, Tasso Banana, Little Alchemists, Cabanga!, Circus Flohcati
We talk a bit more about Tasso Banana and how it surprised us.
0:26:40 Welcome Facebook Community Members
Welcome, newbies! We’re glad you’re here! Feel free to share some numbers if you’re statistics nerds like us.
0:27:40 Backtalk
Listeners tell us about their favorite video games. See responses on Discord and Facebook.
0:36:00 SNAP Review – boop the Halls
Mischievous kittens are dressed for the holiday, and now they’re not only booping each other, but knocking ornaments off the tree, too!
The Tabletop Inn is a full bed and breakfast with a board game theme and an awesome view of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
What is a traditional bed and breakfast? (It’s not the same as AirBNB.) Mike & Grace have opened their home to offer travelers a warm bed and a hot breakfast; it’s a place you spend some time, not just in-and-out.
“There are pockets of fun hidden throughout the B&B that we hope guests can find and be delighted by.”
“Every room has games in it”… even the hall bathroom.
But if Mike and Grace sound familiar, it’s because they are also the creators of Smug Owls, a party card game we love.
They tell us about the four different themed rooms, each of which has a recommended game pairing.
Board games as wallpaperYes, real game boards on the wall.Board games in the dining roomTic Tac Toe in the bathroomThe Creativity Closet – for all guestsFull of crafting suppliesGame roomGame roomNeed help finding the right game?A gorgeous view
“The ideal guest is someone who appreciates the mountain-escape aspect of the place as much as the games…” without being terribly far from civilization. It’s just a mile from downtown Marion, NC – a cute little city.
Andrew: when we took a 48 hour tiny-house getaway to just be alone together and play board games in 2021. Anitra: learning Tzolk’in on a company trip with Andrew and his coworkers.
1:01:30 Holiday Contest Winners!
ArcheOLogic – Annette Patrician: Towers of Influence – Nick Avant Carde – Mikhail
There are two more winners (Mutton Bustin, Holiday Hijinks bundle) we haven’t been able to confirm as of recording time – check your email!
Or, for the most direct method, email us! andrew@thefamilygamers.com and anitra@thefamilygamers.com.
Check out our new Family Gamers and Play Games with Your Kids merchandise – T-shirts, hoodies, and mugs – at thefamilygamers.com/merch.
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 385 – Video Game Holiday Gift List
Nov 25, 2024
0:0:00 Hello and welcome! This week we’ve invited video game hype man Stephen Duetzmann (from Engaged Family Gaming) to go over his video game holiday gift guide.
Fact for 385
The largest gathering of people dressed as elephants is 385, achieved by 2 Wish Upon A Star (UK), in Cardiff, UK, on 13 August 2016.
Sponsor Message
If you want to talk through financial ideas to take some of the stress out of the holidays, set up a time to talk to First Move by going to firstmovefinancial.com/familygamers today.
0:04:30 What We’ve Been Playing
Stephen – Empire of the Ants (PS5) and Mario and Luigi: Brothership (Nintendo Switch)
Anitra – boop the Halls (review coming soon), and Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom (Nintendo Switch)
Andrew – Paris, City of Lights and Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons (on Steam/Xbox/PS)
0:17:45 Backtalk
OK, so what’s your favorite beverage for board game night? See responses on Discord and Facebook.
Stephen says mostly water, maybe a diet energy drink.
Anitra’s is hot coffee in the morning, or herbal tea in the evening.
0:25:20 SNAP Review – Hamster Roll
Elliot helps us explain this rolling dexterity game.
We highly recommend Hamster Roll and have put it on our Hall of Fame.
“Should we buy a Switch this year?” Still yes. Even if a new Nintendo console comes out, Switch games are not going away any time soon, and the new console will be backwards-compatible.
What kind of Switch to buy? Depends on how it’s going to be used. If you only want a handheld, not to use the TV (like an old-style Gameboy), get the cheaper Switch Lite.
Andrew asks about controllers.
Playstation or Xbox? It doesn’t matter – for KIDS – unless you need Spiderman (only available PS5)
0:39:10 Playstation Recommendations
Astro Bot – “must play, for just about everybody” EA Sports College Football ’25 (available on Xbox too) Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (rated T) Spider-man 2 (rated T) – very very good! Cat Quest III (available on Switch and Xbox too)
0:43:40 Xbox Recommendations
Metaphor: Refantazio (rated T – available on Windows and PS5 too) Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown (rated T – also on PS5 and Switch) Balatro (on literally everything, including Apple Arcade) Star Wars: Outlaws (rated T – also on PS5)
0:50:00 Nintendo Switch Recommendations
Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom Mario and Luigi: Brothership Super Mario Party Jamboree “the GOAT” – including a mode that eliminates some of the randomness that most Mario Party games have had! Princess Peach Showtime – Anitra agrees. “Very definitively NOT a Mario game.” Perfect if your kids loved the Mario movie. Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door (remake of Gamecube game) – “the funniest game I’ve ever played” Nintendo World Championship: NES Edition – show your kids your OG Nintendo skills.
1:02:00 Miscellaneous
Andrew complains there’s no Spyro on Xbox Gamepass… but there is! Look for the Spyro Reignited Trilogy.
More kid-friendly stuff should be coming next year.
Don’t forget, the subscription services also make a great gift (Xbox Game Pass, Playstation Plus) especially if they’re going to be playing games against others online.
If you’re buying a console for a holiday present, do not leave it in the box!
Don’t forget to set it up before Christmas! (Plug in, connect to the internet, download updates, install a game or two. You might need to update the firmware on the controller.) It’s a much more effective surprise if it’s ready to play on Christmas morning.
Or, for the most direct method, email us! andrew@thefamilygamers.com and anitra@thefamilygamers.com.
Check out our new Family Gamers and Play Games with Your Kids merchandise – T-shirts, hoodies, and mugs – at thefamilygamers.com/merch.
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 384 – Board Game Holiday Gift List
Nov 12, 2024
0:0:00 Hello and welcome! This week we’ll be going over our holiday gift list of board games.
Fact for 384
384 is the sum of six consecutive primes (53 + 59 + 61 + 67 + 71 + 73)
Sponsor Message
If you need help figuring out how to get your engine started, First Move Financial might be able to help. Head over to FirstMoveFinancial.com/FamilyGamers to see how First Move Financial can kick start your financial engine today.
0:02:15 What We’ve Been Playing
Just two this week, that we’ll be reviewing soon.
Santa’s Workshop Super Snipers
0:13:00 SNAP Review – Nekojima
Why are we building such a shoddy electrical grid, and why are cats hanging all over it? We don’t know, but it makes for a fun game!
Reminder: We have five giveaways – enter the ones you’re interested in:
ArcheOLogic Patrician: Towers of Influence Mutton Bustin Avant Carde Holiday Hijinks! (Kickstarter is done)
New (Old) Backtalk Question
Inspired by an up and coming SPONSORED For Science, we’re going to restate last week’s backtalk question to encourage you to keep weighing in: What’s your favorite beverage to have with a board game? Or do you forbid drinks from being anywhere near your games?
Or, for the most direct method, email us! andrew@thefamilygamers.com and anitra@thefamilygamers.com.
Check out our new Family Gamers and Play Games with Your Kids merchandise – T-shirts, hoodies, and mugs – at thefamilygamers.com/merch.
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.
Have you ever heard the term “it takes money to make money”?
Well, it’s not the only way to make money, but it is a true statement. Income, however it looks, is like an engine. It can start slow, but as you build your resource pool, it often becomes easier to make more.
If this sounds a little like the last time you played Wingspan or Terraforming Mars, it’s because there’s a lot of similarities between engine building in board gams and financial engine building in real life.
If you need help figuring out how to get that engine started, First Move Financial might be able to help. Head over to FirstMoveFinancial.com/FamilyGamers to see how First Move Financial can kick start your financial engine today.
04:00 What We’ve Been Playing
Bottle Imp (review coming soon) Donut Shop (review coming soon) Cabanga! – we will be teaching this at PAX Unplugged Dodo – a great kids’ memory game with a cool slow-rolling ball as the timer. (review coming soon) Runemasters (review coming soon) Turns out beautiful games Deblockle (our review) and Quarto (our review) are also great for calm times or “sick” days. Dirty Pig (our review – no longer in print) Campaign Trail (one of the very first games featured on TheFamilyGamers.com)
26:00 October Monthly Report!
Andrew: 26 plays of 17 games. Primarily at 3 players! H-index: 2. Most played: Hamster Roll, Football Feud
Anitra: 44 plays of 24 games. H-index: 3. Most played: Hamster Roll, Circus Flohcati, Football Feud, Dodo
28:20 Welcome Facebook Community Members
Welcome, newbies! We’re thankful you’re here! Feel free to share some numbers if you’re statistics nerds like us.
29:00 Backtalk
Listeners tell us about their spookiest games. See responses on Discord and Facebook.
34:00 SNAP Review – Railroad Ink: Archipelago
Anitra reviews this expansion board that works with any version of Railroad Ink.
If you’re unsatisfied with how short a normal game of Railroad Ink is – this is the expansion for you.
Or, for the most direct method, email us! andrew@thefamilygamers.com and anitra@thefamilygamers.com.
Check out our new Family Gamers and Play Games with Your Kids merchandise – T-shirts, hoodies, and mugs – at thefamilygamers.com/merch.
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 382 – Top 5 Spooky Games for Halloween
Oct 21, 2024
0:00 It’s the end of October, which means it’s time for Halloween-themed games!
382 Fact
Patent class 382 is the generic class for the automated analysis of an image or recognition of a pattern.
(What is this? All that AI that Google brags about with identifying people, or things to then shop for, all of that falls under patent class 382).
Find out more: https://www.uspto.gov/web/patents/classification/uspc382/defs382.htm
Sponsor Message
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5:08 What We’ve Been Playing
Football Feud (watch our SNAP review!) Harmonies Hamster Roll (review coming soon) Ghosts Love Candy Too (more in the second half) Circus Flohcati (review coming soon) Felix: The Cat in the Sack – picked this bidding game up on a whim and had a pleasant time! Tether
32:30 Our Top Spooky Games for Families at Halloween
We’re not big into horror or being scared. But we do love these gently spooky games for Halloween play.
1. Ghosts Love Candy Too – you’re ghosts scaring kids in costume to try to get them to drop their candy. Scare the kids TOO much, and you’ll have to take responsibility (usually negative points). Only nine rounds, with a ton of variability due to the kids who appear and what candy each player values most. Read or watch our review.
2. Ghost Fightin’ Treasure Hunters – we LOVED this game when our kids were younger. Cooperatively retrieve the treasures from a haunted house before too many ghosts and “hauntings” appear. It looks like the anniversary edition now includes rules for a player to control the ghosts, which means up to five people can play!
3. Studies in Sorcery – the darkest game on our list. Dig up graves for spell components to complete your degree in the dark arts in this card drafting / set building game. Read our review.
4. Zombie Dice – we’ve been playing this with our kids from very young ages. Pull three dice out, roll them. Brains are good, shotgun blasts are bad. Want to keep going? Gather any footsteps and add more dice to get back to three. Roll them and see if you are satisfied… or if you have three shotgun blasts, wiping out your brains this turn. (Find it on Amazon)
5. Horrified – There are four of these now! Classic, American Monsters, Greek Monsters, World of Monsters. Our favorite is Greek Monsters, but all are good. Cooperate to move “victims” away from the monsters and work towards defeating the monsters for good!
Or, for the most direct method, email us! andrew@thefamilygamers.com and anitra@thefamilygamers.com.
Check out our new Family Gamers and Play Games with Your Kids merchandise – T-shirts, hoodies, and mugs – at thefamilygamers.com/merch.
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 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 Australia, where 381 people gathered together, each one brandishing their own Nintendo DS.
Sponsor Message
Did you know that according to a recent poll sponsored by the National Foundation for Credit Counseling only 18% of Americans feel very confident about their retirement? So if you aren’t sure about retirement, you’re not alone. If you want to talk to a professional to see if you are on track to achieve your goals, go to FirstMoveFinancial.com/FamilyGamers to schedule a quick phone call and see if First Move is the right fit for you.
02:43 What We’ve Been Playing
Nekojima – review coming soon. We love that it can be cooperative or competitive. Mojo – review coming soon. Mundus Novus Captain Flip (our review) Sky Team – we talked about playing this on Board Game Arena, but now we’ve played it in person. Looking forward to playing a lot more. Dice Throne – as recommended in our Games for Teens. We don’t love king-of-the-hill with our boys. Agueda: City of Umbrellas – review coming soon Fire Tower Football Feud! – very simple. Review coming soon.
18:20 September Monthly Report!
Andrew: 20 plays of 15 games. H-index: 2. Most played: Chrono-Trek (3 times) & Mojo (3 times). Also Trio (2 times).
Anitra: 29 plays of 18 games. H-index: 2. Most played: Chrono-Trek (6 times) & Mojo (4 times).
Listeners tell us about games they wish they still had. See responses on Discord and Facebook.
26:25 SNAP Review – Super Kawaii Pets
This super-cute game is great for pet lovers. It’s really simple and light, best for kids or very light family play.
Watch the video to see our grumpy cat Romeo “help” with this one.
31:00 Top 5(ish) Beautiful Games
This is a very subjective topic. And we have a ton of games which we love for their art. But we’re thinking about coffee table games or “eye candy” games – not games with good art, but games that you could leave set up and would look good in and of themselves. Maybe one you could expect to see in the background in a design magazine. Usually this means abstract games made with natural materials.
Or, for the most direct method, email us! andrew@thefamilygamers.com and anitra@thefamilygamers.com.
Check out our new Family Gamers and Play Games with Your Kids merchandise – T-shirts, hoodies, and mugs – at thefamilygamers.com/merch.
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 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.)
303 – Beyond Board Games: Open Roading
Jul 25, 2022
This podcast has almost nothing to do with board games! Four years ago Joe and Kalyn sold their house and bought an RV. It requires a lot of planning...
302 – How to Raise Little Gamers – The Family Gamers Podcast
Jul 18, 2022
"One of the best ways to get your kids excited about doing something is by being excited about doing something." Can you get your kids to love games the way you do?
299 – Dani Effertz, Sovranti – The Family Gamers Podcast
Jun 27, 2022
Sovranti is a digital board game app allowing friends to play board games across the world. Dani is the community manager for Sovranti, and she's going to tell us more about it!
298 – Looking Forward to Summer – The Family Gamers Podcast
Jun 20, 2022
This week, we're looking forward to summer, with resources for playing games with kids, and a short discussion of what we're looking forward to playing with our extra time.
297 – Kevin & Melissa Delp, Tantrum House – The Family Gamers Podcast
Jun 13, 2022
Today on the podcast, we welcome Kevin and Melissa Delp, part of the team at Tantrum House. Fact – Clematis is a type of flowering plant – which currently has 297 species. What We’ve Been Playing Skyrise (Roxley)Under Falling Skies (CGE – our review)UNDO: Forbidden Knowledge (Pegasus Spiele – review coming soon)Space Station Phoenix (Rio Grande)Rear Window (Funko Games)Batman: Everybody
295 – with Little Big Thumbs, JP Decosse – The Family Gamers Podcast
May 30, 2022
This week we welcome JP Decosse, also known as “Big Papa Thumbs” from Little Big Thumbs. Fact(s) – We have 3 ridiculous Guinness World records this week: The longest jump on a unicycle (295 cm), the most handheld lasers lit simultaneously (295 lasers), and the most people filling in their eyebrows simultaneously (295 people, organized in the shape of two
291 – Beyond Board Games – Strong Songs – The Family Gamers Podcast
May 02, 2022
Our special guest this week is Kirk Hamilton, host of the podcast Strong Songs. What makes a song great? Is it the "thump, pop, and sizzle" of the drum groove, power chords, lush 7ths and 9ths? Kirk uses music theory, history, and isolates patterns to break down songs you've heard before and help you understand WHY they're great.
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