Trent, Author at The Board Game Family

Can You Smell That? Aroma – a Game of Essence Q&A

One of the reasons why we love playing physical board games is because of their tactile nature. Moving pieces, rolling dice, and flipping cards is more satisfying to us than tapping an icon on a screen.

Board games give us a chance to interact face-to-face with other players and utilize more of our senses.

Yet, I can’t recall ever engaging my sense of smell as part of playing a board game. That’s why when I heard about Aroma – A Game of Essence, I was curious to learn more.

Here’s a Q&A I had with the designers about this fascinating new board game.

January 6, 2021January 6, 2021 Trent 2 Comments aromas, smell, strategy

Board Games Family Games Game Reviews Party Games

Smart10 – Trivia Challenges That Are Fun

I really don’t like trivia games.

At least, the trivia game most people are familiar with — Trivial Pursuit. And I’ve tried to like it. But to no avail. It’s just not for me.

That’s why I was a bit wary when we got a copy of Smart10 from Bananagrams.

Yet, once we pulled it out and played it, Smart10 became the hit group game this holiday break!

And I’m happy to tell you why.

January 2, 2021 Trent 0 Comments 2-player, 3-player, 4-player, 5-player, 6-player, 7-player, 8-player, Bananagrams, party, questions, quiz, trivia

Board Games Family Games Game Reviews Kid Games

Ticket to Ride: London board game review

Ticket to Ride is one of the most popular modern board games in the world. So it’s no surprise Days of Wonder keeps cranking out more iterations of the game.

Of course, we’re not complaining because we love playing Ticket to Ride in its many forms!

The first Ticket to Ride game was published in 2004 with a map of the United States. The next year Days of Wonder published Ticket to Ride: Europe and many more map versions followed. Then in 2018, they published a small version of the game focused on just one city – New York City. It plays in a fraction of the time and is essentially a bite-sized version of the original game.

Their latest iteration is the game we’re reviewing today — Ticket to Ride: London.

December 19, 2020 Trent 0 Comments 2 players, 3-players, 4 players, Days of Wonder, luck, map, strategy, Ticket to Ride

Card Games Family Games Game Reviews Kid Games

Gremlins: Holiday Havoc Card Game Review

As a child of the 80’s, I remember seeing Gremlins when it opened in movie theaters in 1984. And I loved it!

I also remember watching Gremlins with my kids when they were old enough for me to enrich their lives with classic 80’s culture. And that’s when I realized, Gremlins really isn’t a kids movie!

Those Gremlins are pretty nasty creatures. But the excruciating deaths by kitchen appliances is quite an eye-opening scene (when I’m now seeing it through the eyes of my kids).

How irresponsible of a parent could I be?

But I digress…let’s talk game instead!

With the Christmas holiday upon us, it’s time we slap some Gremlins around in this new game by Funko — Gremlins: Holiday Havoc.

December 14, 2020 Trent 0 Comments 3-player, 4-player, 5-player, card, Funko, luck

Articles

We’re on The Learning Life Podcast!

The board game hobby continues to smash through boundaries. And we’re excited to be a part of it!

Today we made another such breakthrough on a podcast targeted to business leaders — The Learning Life Podcast with Jon Tota.

As you might guess from the title, The Learning Life focuses on the learning industry. They have weekly guests sharing new insight, new stories, and best practices to help organizations take their learning to the next level.

But when Jon saw our 2020 Board Game Gift Guide, he thought it would be awesome to take a break from the weekly corporate learning talk and talk about something fun — board games!

December 8, 2020December 8, 2020 Trent 0 Comments card, cooperative, couples, dice, family, family board games, luck, party, podcast, strategy

Board Games Family Games Game Reviews

Hues and Cues Board Game Review

If I gave you the clue “Barney”, would you be able to pick it out of a grid of 480 colors?

What about “Mustard”, “Ocean Spray”, or “Slime”?

That’s the premise in a new game by The Op called Hues and Cues. And it’s much tougher than we first imagined.cBut that doesn’t mean it’s not a fun game to play. The real question is will your family and friends enjoy playing it?

After all, that’s why we do these reviews — to give you a feel for a game and help you decide if it’s right for your group.

So let’s see where Hues and Cues may fall for you.

December 6, 2020 Trent 0 Comments 10-player, 3-player, 4-player, 5-player, 6-player, 7-player, 8-player, 9-player, color, guessing, party, The OP

Board Games Family Games Game Reviews

We’d love to be Trekking the World!

I think we all wish we could be out traveling the world right now. Traveling is the thing I’ve missed the most in 2020.

We’ve had to cancel two big vacations we’d been looking forward to for a long time. One of those would have been this week. We’re totally bummed that we couldn’t be seeing new sights in Asia right now.

But in the meantime, we can jet all around the world in our imagination while we play Trekking the World!

Trekking the World is the latest board game published by Underdog Games. It delivers a lot of the familiar game play from Trekking the National Parks while adding a few new elements we really enjoy.