6-player Archives - The Board Game Family

Skull – Is it a fun game or colorful drink coasters?

Forget the regular preamble to a board game review. We’ll cut right to the chase – Skull is an absolutely hit with everyone we’ve introduced the game to.

It’s a short game packed with strategizing, guessing, second guessing, and bluffing. Yes, bluffing.

While players don’t actually lie during the game, the way they choose their disks and state how many disks they think they can safely flip, they can definitely influence other players into thinking one way or another.

To do well, you’ll need to anticipate what your opponents will do and try to call their bluff at the right times while also making careful choices yourself.

And that’s exactly why we keep playing Skull over and over again.

October 17, 2025 Trent 0 Comments 3-player, 4-player, 5-player, 6-player, bluffing

Family Games Game Reviews Party Games

25 Words or Less party game review

“I can name that tune in 5 notes.”
“You go ahead and name that tune!”

That’s exactly what I thought when reading the rules to 25 Words or Less, a new game from The Op Games.

Since most of our readers won’t be familiar with the 1970’s TV game show, Name That Tune, I’ll briefly explain. Essentially contestants would battle for how quickly they could name a song. They bid lower and lower until one contestant stopped and forced the other to name the song in that many notes.

In a similar vein, in 25 Words or Less teams compete to see which team can guess the 5 answers on a card in as few word clues as possible.

But efficiency of word clues isn’t the only challenge – because the sand timer is also ticking away.

If you’re up for a fun team word challenge, keep on reading.

August 11, 2025 Trent 0 Comments 10-player, 4-player, 5-player, 6-player, 7-player, 8-player, 9-player, party, The Op Games, word

Board Games Family Games Game Reviews Party Games

Top Tier party game review

It’s always been popular to rank things.

By human nature, we feel compelled to place all sorts of things in order of preference.

And with the meteoric rise of our online world, ranking things have reached all time highs.

So why not make a new party along those same lines?

Top Tier, recently published by Indie Boards & Cards, is exactly that.

It’s a light party game where players take turns ranking contenders based on a crazy category and the rest of the players try to guess the rankings.

June 21, 2025 Trent 0 Comments 10-player, 4-player, 5-player, 6-player, 7-player, 8-player, 9-player, Indie Boards and Cards, party

Board Games Family Games Game Reviews Party Games

Do You Even Know Me? party game review

Who hasn’t played a “get-to-know-you” game before?

They’re all over the place.

Whenever you find a newly formed group of people, you’ll find a “get to know each other” activity. We encounter them at school, at work, and at family reunions. Many such activities are merely spoken and don’t include any typical game-type components. There are also a slew of published party games that seek to achieve similar results.

So why are we reviewing Do You Even Know Me? – a similar game that’s new on the scene?

Because we appreciate the work of the person who created it!

(And we enjoy the game.)

April 5, 2025 Trent 0 Comments 10-player, 11-player, 12-player, 2-player, 3-player, 4-player, 5-player, 6-player, 7-player, 8-player, 9-player, group, party, social

Card Games Family Games Game Reviews Kid Games

Trio card game review

When you play a new game, and immediately everyone asks to play it again, you think you might have discovered something good.

When everyone wants to play it repeatedly again and again, you know you’ve got a family card-game hit!

That’s the way we discovered Trio from Happy Camper.

Likewise, that’s how a game shoots right to the top of our “to review” pile – bumping ahead of many other fun games in the queue.

So let’s talk about Trio!

March 20, 2025March 20, 2025 Trent 0 Comments 3-player, 4-player, 5-player, 6-player, card, Happy Camper, memory

Family Games Game Reviews Party Games

That’s Not a Hat party & memory game review

How good is your short-term memory?

I used to think my memory was superb…until I played That’s Not A Hat by Ravensburger.

It’s a simple party game to play but it can also pack a deceptive punch.

That is, a punch right to your pride in front of your friends and family when you can’t remember what’s on the card just passed to you (or that you just passed to someone).

I first heard about the game last summer and it sounded like a fun group game. So I bought a copy and have had fun playing it with family, friends, and co-workers on lunch breaks.

Will you be able to remember if you were just passed a hat?

February 14, 2025 Trent 0 Comments 3-player, 4-player, 5-player, 6-player, 7-player, 8-player, memory, party, Ravensburger

Dice Games Family Games Game Reviews

Splitter dice game review

Sometimes you just want a quick and light dice-rolling game for a bit of fun.

No heavy strategy.

No belabored turns.

Just some quick choices as you roll away.

In Splitter, by Pandasaurus Games you really don’t have to wait for typical turns anyway because everyone is active with every roll of the dice.

We included Splitter in our 2024 Board Game Gift Guide in the dice game category because it’s such a simple game that anyone can join in the fun.

January 28, 2025 Trent 0 Comments 10-player, 2 players, 3-player, 4-player, 5-player, 6-player, 7-player, 8-player, 9-player, luck, Pandasaurus Games, solo

Card Games Family Games Game Reviews

Thrones of Valeria card game review

Welcome back to the world of Valeria!

In May, we reviewed the first Valeria game published by Daily Magic Games, Valeria: Card Kingdoms. It’s a fun card and dice game where players build their crew of various citizens to expand their realm and fight monsters.

Since then, Daily Magic Games has published a number of card games in the Valeria universe. Each have unique game mechanics.

Today, we’re excited to share our thoughts on one of the most recent Valeria card games, Thrones of Valeria.

It’s a unique trick-taking card game where the ranks of the different Houses (suits) change constantly. Every card played may alter your plans. We hope you’ve got what it takes to win in Valeria.

September 11, 2024September 16, 2024 Trent 0 Comments 2-player, 3-player, 4-player, 5-player, 6-player, card, Daily Magic Games, luck

Card Games Family Games Game Reviews

Sandbag card game review

We enjoy playing several trick-taking card games.

Our favorites over the years have been Skull King, The Crew: Mission Deep Sea, and Cat in the Box. That’s because they all present some very unique spins on basic trick-taking game play.

We’ve recently played a new trick-taking card game with unique twists that have us thinking in fresh ways yet again.

Sandbag, by Bezier Games, is a fun new spin on trick-taking card games that’s a lot of fun.

June 18, 2024July 17, 2024 Trent 0 Comments 3-player, 4-player, 5-player, 6-player, Bezier Games, card game, trick-taking

Board Games Family Games Game Reviews

Downforce – Such a fun racing game

A few years ago, I was introduced to a new racing game from by Restoration Games that has become one of my favorite racing games of all time – Downforce!

In the game, players bid in car auctions, race the cars, use special powers, and bet on the outcomes. There’s no dice rolling as it’s the cards that determine which color cars move and how far. And even though you want to favor the cars you bought in the auction, the cards you play will also be moving other player’s cars as well.

I first played Downforce at SaltCon End of Summer 2021 and then bought a copy later that year.

So it’s high time for me to write a review about it and share why I enjoy it so much.