1 World Solutions Technology News & Info

<div id="8a067cde-e6bc-4494-a1ca-07df83b18b62" data-cy="shortcodeListicle" data-id="listicle-8a067cde-e6bc-4494-a1ca-07df83b18b62" data-location="LIST" data-position="4" content="X – LIST ITEM" superlative="Simple and silly family game" page-position="" linktext="" linkurl="" like="Anyone can play ~Super quick gameplay ~Just rolling rocks" dislike="~I wish the rolling box was sturdier" image-carousel="[]" can-collapse="true" collapse-on-page-load="true" can-truncate="true" truncate-on-page-load="true" offer="{"id":"75569555-0b75-4306-be5a-9064c45f6799","label":"Zombie Dice","slug":"zombie-dice","edition":["us"],"imageId":"","imgUrl":"","imageHeight":0,"imageWidth":0,"typeLabel":"Series","objectType":"content_product_series","icon":""}" techobjectinfo="{"uuid":"75569555-0b75-4306-be5a-9064c45f6799","slug":"zombie-dice","name":"Zombie Dice","productType":"SERIES","updateType":"EZMONEY","mod":1697800355535}" overridecredit="Steve Jackson Games" overridecaption="

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Steve Jackson Games

Like

  • Anyone can play
  • Super quick gameplay
  • Just rolling rocks

Don’t like

  • I wish the rolling box was sturdier

While the box says this game is for players 10 and up, I’ve found my 5-year-old more than capable of having lots of fun. Zombie Dice is a simple game where you are a zombie trying to eat 13 brains. To get those brains, you have to roll dice and try not to get shot or let your victims escape. It’s completely not gory so perfect for younger kids.

This is always one of our first games on game night, and we like to include a pot of candies that look like brains to make winning a round all the sweeter!

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Fireside Games

Like

  • Cooperative fun
  • Great visual artwork
  • Easy to learn

Don’t like

  • Lots of small, easy-to-lose pieces

While many casual video games have been based on board games, Castle Panic is the reverse. It’s based on those iOS tower defense games you see all over. As a family, you have to defend your castle from the horde of monsters coming from all sides. 

Because the bad guys are based on dice rolls and follow set paths, there is no need for one person to be the baddie; everyone gets to be the hero. 

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Wizards of the Coast

Like

  • Easy to pick up and play
  • Great intro to D&D ideas
  • Bright and colorful

Don’t like

  • Easy to damage cards and tokens

Dungeons and Dragons is a big, scary game that feels intimidating to get into, and Wizards of the Coast, the company that makes it, knows that. Dungeon is an entry-level game for ages 8 and up that introduces the concepts around D&D; things like fighting monsters for loot and rolling dice to simulate that combat. 

The board is separated into different levels of difficulty, and the character you play will decide what difficulty you should be aiming for. This means that younger players can play without too much fear of loss, while older players can up the challenge rating. 

Once you have mastered Dungeon you can move onto Adventures Begin, the next phase in your D&D introduction. Keep playing these games, and soon you’ll be playing full-blown D&D! 

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Palm Court

Like

  • Easy to pick up and put down
  • Fun dial mechanic

Don’t like

  • Harder to hold everyone’s attention

This is a super simple game to pick up and play and just as easy to drop when food arrives or people want to move on. Essentially, a card with two categories is revealed (say, “easy to sit on” or “hard to sit on”), and one player is shown a meter with a point somewhere between the two ends. They then must come up with a word that will get everyone else to guess where that point falls (for instance, if the point was close to “hard to sit on,” I might say “cactus”). It’s a simple game but quickly gets a group talking and laughing about the weird disagreements that never would have surfaced without Wavelength (like, “How hard is it really to sit on a cactus?”).

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Looney Labs

Like

  • Infinitely replayable
  • Easy to travel with
  • Loads of variations

Don’t like

When my family and I want to play together but don’t want the hassle of getting a giant board out to play, we normally settle on one of the eight packs of Fluxx we own. Fluxx is a fast-paced, ever-changing card game that starts with a basic set of rules: draw one, play one. From there, everything about the game can be changed — from the goal required to win to how many cards you pick up each turn.

Fluxx also has a lot of licensing agreements, so it has a ton of variations. From Marvel Fluxx to Spongebob Fluxx and beyond, there is a version for everyone. There is even a drinking version that has waterproof cards for more adult families.

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Sit Down!

Like

  • Quiet game
  • Lots of teamwork

Don’t like

In Magic Maze, four wizards are trying to shoplift from a mall and escape before the time runs out. There are two problems: players can communicate only by passing a nondescript game piece back and forth (that means no talking or pointing), and each player is responsible for a movement rather than a character. Yes, that means one player is responsible for making every wizard turn left, use an escalator or just walk forward. What results is a near-silent, yet chaotic experience that will stretch your family’s nonverbal communication to its limit. If that’s the sort of thing you’re into, winning the game together is about as satisfying as board games get.

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Indie Boards and Cards

Like

  • Great for large groups
  • Lots of strategic play

Don’t like

Plenty of bluffing games are on the market, but The Resistance is one of the best for large groups. It’s a simple game of deception in which some players attempt to mount a resistance against an oppressive regime through covert operations, and the rest of the players try to stop them. Problem is, no one knows who’s who.

If you’re looking for something that is a little more of a strategy game with more depth (and maybe a little less character assassination to get your parents to believe you more than your siblings), Sheriff of Nottingham balances a fun market-building mechanic with the intrigue of sneaking goods past (or just bribing) whichever player is filling the sheriff’s shoes at the moment.

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Hasbro

Like

  • Great for young kids
  • More than one game in the box

Don’t like

Cranium is an oldie but a goodie: It’s perfect for bringing together kids as young as 5 or 6 with the rest of the family. This classic game includes everything from sculpting clay to Pictionary-like challenges and pop culture trivia. Hasbro has released a new version of Cranium called, aptly, New Cranium, with new games for the modern age.

If the kids you have in mind are a little older, an alternative might be Ticket to Ride, a fun train-themed building game with simple enough mechanics for an elementary-age kid to enjoy, but enough complex strategy to keep everyone else interested.

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Gamewright

Like

  • Teamwork makes the dream work
  • A fun sense of impending doom
  • Tiles add variety

Don’t like

Magic Maze may be cooperative, but the lack of verbal communication makes it feel less cooperative than other games of the same type. So I’m giving the title of Best Cooperative Game to Forbidden Desert. While it’s a fairly simple game to play, fun elements like the ever-shifting board and unique actions available to each player make this a fun game for mixed company. It has a wonderful sense of urgency too as the island is slowly sinking the whole time.

How we test family board games

As you can imagine board game testing is a grueling and often stressful experience. I’m kidding; testing board games is awesome. It is, however, subjective in a lot of ways. I tend to look at certain criteria as to what makes a board game “good, however.”

Because board gaming is a team sport, my family’s opinions are used to help me average out testing. While I may like a 5-hour-long game with 1,000 pieces, my 17-year-old son may not feel the same. Getting a good spread of opinions helps me find the best overall games in each category.

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