Gather ‘round the table for unplugged family fun
There are so many twists and turns to getting a board game to market, it’s a wonder there isn’t a board game about making a board game. But for this gift-giving season, we offer 10 cool games that have made it to the finish line.
All have debuted in the past year or so. And all have grins galore for children and adults, for casual gamers and hard-to-please hobbyists.
Now, it’s time to go play.
St. Petersburg
$27.95 (Rio Grande Games)
Stats: Ages 10 and older; 2-4 players; 30 minutes
Object: In this card game, shrewdly spend your rubles to build the city of St. Petersburg.
Plus: A strategy game for intermediates, it’s not too daunting.
Minus: If you’re not good at math, your brain’s gonna hurt.
Comment: U.S. publisher Rio Grande Games has imported a bunch of great European titles this year. If you like strategy games, visit Rio Grande’s Web site.
Sentence Says
$29.95 (MarBan Industries)
Stats: Ages 8 and older; 2-6 players; 30 minutes
Object: With the letters you are dealt, create a sentence that makes sense, before time runs out.
Pluses: Fun for kids and adults. Encourages kids to think creatively.
Minus: As in Scrabble, making words with “Q,” “X” and “Z” is difficult and redundant, but players can agree beforehand to remove those consonants from the mix.
Comment: It’s an easy-to-grasp game that plays quickly and has a very high replay value for the whole family. It doesn’t get much better than that.
Trivial Pursuit “Saturday Night Live” DVD Edition
$34.95 (Hasbro)
Stats: Adults; 2-6 players; 60 minutes
Object: Fill your game piece with pie wedges by correctly answering trivia questions about “Saturday Night Live,” then correctly answer a final question.
Plus: DVD is included, which features sketches, commercial parodies, characters and more.
Minus: If you were born way after 1975, you’ll suffer.
Comment: The statuette-like game pieces are decked out like the Land Shark, Mango and Matt Foley (Chris Farley’s motivational speaker who lives in a van down by the river).
Go Mental
$29.99 (HL Games)
Stats: Ages 12 and older; 3-6 players; 60 minutes
Object: Scoot across the board by identifying which of four items listed on a card does not belong. For extra moves, explain why the odd item out doesn’t belong.
Plus: Even if it’s not your turn, you have to pay attention, because if your opponent’s first answer is wrong, you can move ahead or send your opponent back.
Minus: A very minor quibble: The game board could use a little dressing up.
Comment: A trivia game with a twist that keeps everyone involved.
Words of Wiz-Dumb
$24.99 (All Things Equal)
Stats: Teen to adult; 4-6 players; 45 minutes
Object: After players offer advice by secretly completing a fill-in-the-blank question, you must match each one to his or her answer.
Plus: Because of the fill-in-the-blank format, the game can be played again and again.
Minus: You need at least four players.
Comment: Giving goofy answers is part of the fun. Could have used a better name, though.
Foray!
$24.95 (Gamewalas)
Stats: Ages 8 and older; 2 players; 30 minutes
Object: Guide your six animals on a foray across land, reef and water into your opponents’ zone, then return them safely home.
Plus: A beautiful combination of simplicity, strategy and luck.
Minus: The game pieces look good enough to eat, so keep the younger kids away.
Comment: The game maker says Foray! is based on a 4,000-year-old South Asian sport called Kabaddi.
Roundabout
www.playround about.com
$19.95 (Otero Games)
Stats: Ages 10 and older; 2-4 players; 20 minutes
Object: Make allies as you try to be the first to get your 10 pieces home.
Pluses: Simple rules, fast action, lots of interaction.
Minus: With more players, options for moving are limited.
Comment: This is sort of like Trouble/Sorry/Headache, but you move two pieces in opposite directions on each turn.
Snorta!
$19.99 (Out of the Box)
Stats: Ages 7 and older; 4-8 players; 30 minutes
Object: Quickly and in turn, players have to make the correct animal noises.
Plus: The snorting and woofing and braying lead to loud laughter.
Minus: It’s not a game you can play every night or for more than a couple of games at a time.
Comment: A great way to take a quick break from serious, intense games.
Maharaja: Palace Building in India
$44.95 (Rio Grande Games)
Stats: Ages 10 and older; 2-5 players; 90 minutes
Object: Be the first to build seven palaces for the maharaja.
Pluses: You have seven skills, but you may use only two of them per turn. Making those choices adds to the strategy, without overwhelming you.
Minus: The game can get a little long.
Comment: Once you get a feel for the strategy, you’ll want to play again and again.
Goa
$32.95 (Rio Grande Games)
Stats: Ages 12 and older; 3-4 players; 45 minutes long
Object: Build the most successful spice-trading company in the 16th century.
Pluses: A great “gamer’s game.” Good balance and plenty of options open the door to lots of strategy.
Minuses: This isn’t for the Monopoly crowd. The options that are available to you on each turn can feel overwhelming, thus slowing down the game for people who enjoy those fun roll-the-dice- and-move games.
Comment: After you’ve conquered St. Petersburg, definitely give this one a shot.