Keeping it friendly at the table

Hey Meeps, I have a confession to make. I used to hate board games. Nowadays, anyone who knows me thinks this would be an impossibility. How could someone who owns a board game business ever had hated games? Easy. I’ve played with a lot of cheaters.

I had a childhood friend (let’s call him Greg) who would have me over every few weeks or so for a ‘friendly’ night of games. Greg would invite over 3-4 of his other friends as well and we would engage in 2-3 different games each time we got together. For the first few game nights I had fun. I enjoyed learning the rules and even though I was getting my but kicked there was a sense of achievement each time I played as I came to understand the different mechanics and how to use them to build a strategy. This didn’t last very long, however, because I came to realize that the friends I was playing with were just going easy on me, which Greg flat out told me. That said, it was going to take a lot more than a kick to the ego to stop me from trying to beat them at a game they were better at then I was.

Fast forward a few months later. We were playing the same game but now I was feeling pretty good. My strategy had been on point all night. I could see that in 3-4 more turns I was finally going to win. Having been the loser at the table for the last 8-10 times we had played this game I was ready for a win! Problem was, Greg wasn’t prepared to lose and I didn’t know that yet. I finished my turn and took a quick washroom break. When I came back to the game I noticed, by looking at the board, that the odds seemed to be slightly more stacked in favour of Greg. I quickly looked over the board and realized that the only way he could win the game would be if the other players had helped him get to that point. ” Your turn!” he gloated.

Knowing that there was absolutely no way for me to win this late in the game I played out the last few turns with a complete lack of enthusiasm. As Greg got more and more ahead I kept losing interest, but fearing being called a bad sport I played on. After the game everyone left Greg’s house and went home. One of my other friends that was gaming with us that night lived close to me so we walked home most of the way together. We talked over the highs and lows of the game we had just played recounting all the great and not-so-great moments. “I really thought I was going to win this time!” I told my buddy, which he responded with “You know Greg told us to gang up on you, right?”. There it was. My suspicion confirmed.

That was then, this is now.

Turns out Greg wouldn’t be the last person to ‘cheat’ for the win. As a kid I had seen all kinds of people try to turn the tables in their favour using….unsavory methods. Whether it was taking an extra 500 dollar bill from the bank (Monopoly), sneaking an extra 2 more armies into South America (Risk), or telling me that a yahtzee (umm..Yahtzee) had been thrown on their first toss of the dice just when I happened to take a washroom break, cheaters were just something you had to put up with…and apparently a Jolt Cola-filled bladder. Or so I thought. Enter Dungeons & Dragons…

Now here was my kind of game. 100% cooperative and the person that invited you over to play (the Dungeon Master) wanted you to succeed so that they could bring your character to the next part of the story that they had created. I played D&D for years and even with my good ol’ backstabbing friend Greg (insert rogue joke here). Finally…I realized that there was a sea of games out there that didn’t require you to ‘beat’ another player at the table. With cooperative games you win or lose as a team.

Fast forward 35 years. I’m a dad now and have played hundreds of games. My kids, like all kids, like I was, are competitive. I tell my kids that sometimes you win and sometimes you lose but that never seems to be the words they want to hear when you’re consoling a sobbing 9-year-old girl who’s shouting “I hate my sister and I NEVER want to play with her again!”. It’s not their fault. When you’re as young as they are…as we were, life’s ups and downs have so much more impact on us because life is still so short. Just remember….an hour long game is a long time for someone who thinks it’ll take ‘forever’ until Christmas comes when it’s already Dec 10th. That’s why I swear by cooperative games with my kids.

As promised – Our TOP 5 List of Cooperative Family games

In no particular order here’s our picks for top 5 Cooperative games that, conveniently, you can purchase through our store here.

1. Forbidden Island – Great gateway to the Forbidden series of games (Forbidden Desert, Forbidden Sky). In this game players take on the roles of fearless adventurers trying to collect four sacred treasures and escape the ruins of a sinking island. Designed by Matt Leacock, the designer of Pandemic, who is the master of cooperative game design. This game is good for 2-4 players and although it is recommended for ages 10 and up it can easily be played as early as 8 years of age.
2. Choose Your Own Adventure: House of Danger – Great combination of storytelling and adventure for ages 8 and up. Make risky choices, collect clues, and face challenges as a team. Play again and again to uncover more secrets and more exciting endings! Playtime is about an hour but what makes this game great is the extremely short set up time. Get playing right away!
3. Mysterium – Remember the game Clue?…time to forget about it. This award winning game keeps all the nuanced elements of a “whodunit” but presents the story through a tableau of beautifully illustrated cards. Players must decode a series dreams represented as pictures to figure out, as a team, where the murder took place, with which weapon, and by whom. This game is truly a favorite in our home. 2-7 players. Ages 10 and up but our 9-year-olds have no trouble with it.
4. Outfoxed – The team at Department Recreation created a game that deftly combines both elements into a wonderful venue for honing deductive reasoning in a non-competitive environment. As you work together to try and nab the guilty fox, you’ll learn some valuable skills such as estimating probability and paying attention to details, as well as the important role that collaboration plays towards problem-solving. Ages 5 and up but might only be played until age 7 as a child craves more challenge. Truly the best gateway game for young children.
5. Codenames – Two teams compete to see who can make contact with all of their agents first. Spymasters give one-word clues that can point to multiple words on the board. Their teammates try to guess words of the right color while avoiding those that belong to the opposing team. And everyone wants to avoid the assassin because that spells game over. It’s a cooperatively competitive party game. Win or lose, it’s fun to figure out the clues. Can’t beat the price for the replayability factor as no game is the same. Game time is 15-20 minutes and it’s perfect for and older family (10+).

HAPPY GAMING 🙂

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Like the backyard trampolines that are popping up all over the neighborhood, board games are a hot commodity these days.

In this new age of physical distancing, board games offer new ways for those living under the same roof to interact with each other. They offer an escape, entertainment, a new topic of discussion, and most importantly social interaction. Board game sales are up, board game swap groups on social media are busier than ever, and online board game sites are almost as popular as Zoom. Almost.

WHAT ARE ONLINE BOARD GAME SITES?

There are several popular online board games sites: Yucata, Board Game Arena, and Tabletopia are just a few of the most popular ones. All of these sites offer hundreds of classics and current popular games to choose from, and you can play for free, or upgrade to gain access to more services. You can play with your friends, by yourself, or make new friends. I’ve only tried Board Game Arena so far since that’s the site that all my friends were on, and my goodness does it ever make the current situation much more enjoyable.

Here are 5 great benefits of playing board games with your friends (or strangers) online:

1. Try before you buy

Sometimes it’s so hard to know if that game you bought but never played before will really see a lot of play time (or just gather dust on a shelf.) By testing it out virtually you can get a better sense if that game is for you.

2. It’s a great activity/conversation starter

As a self-proclaimed introvert, I love board games because it gives me something to talk about (other than super boring small talk about the weather) and encourages socialization.

3. You can play for free (or almost!)

Most board games cost around 50 bucks. They’re not cheap, but when you compare it to a family outing at the movies it’s a good deal for something you can enjoy over and over again. But not everyone can afford board games, and free services are always nice. Plus, for the same price or less than the cost of one game, you can play a huge variety of games online.

4. No setup required

Some board games take forever to set up. The worst are the ones that have a bazillion pieces and take longer to set up than to play! Virtual games require absolutely no set up time and can take a third of the time to play. This means you can squeeze in more games during your game dates.

5. Less waste

If you’re eco conscious, you’ll appreciate the almost zero carbon footprint of playing a game online.

BOARD GAME ARENA, YOU HAD ME AT “HELLO”

I have a confession to make.

I never liked the idea of playing board games online. It’s like reading books on a tablet, it’s just feels wrong. I honestly would much rather play in person than virtually. Plus, I’ve never been an early adopter when it comes to new gadgets, or social media platforms, or trends, so it took me about a month before playing my first online board game after my friends introduced me to it.

HOW I RATE BOARD GAME ARENA

I’ve only played on Board Game Arena so far because that’s the platform that all my friends are on, but here is how I rate it:

User friendliness: Good.

It can be a bit confusing to figure out how to find your friends or invite a friend to play, (and some of the other functions as well) when you’re new to the site and you don’t have someone to guide you through it.

Game Selection: Great!

But only if you have a friend with a premium account to play with, or if you have a premium account. Then you can play great games like Dice Forge, Carcassonne, and 7 Wonders. The selection of free games is quite limited, but luckily a premium account is very affordable at only $34.80 CAD for a whole year of fun.

Socialization: Great!

Board Game Arena allows you to connect with your friends while playing through video and/or chat. But again, this service is only available to premium users or their friends. My friends and I often like to play multiple games during one session and it’s frustrating that you can’t keep talking when you’re not in a game or in the “lobby”. Maybe I should have rated it Good, but it feels so great to hear and see your friends as you’re playing!

Overall, Board Game Arena delivers a smooth game play that encourages conversation in between moves and turns. It understands that our quest for social interaction is the main reason why we play in the first place.

I still feel that it’s much better to play board games in person, but my aversion to playing board games online is gone.

Janelle Tang is the Founder of Meeple & Sheep, a pop-up and online board game shop for families and casual players located in Ottawa, Canada. In a world overwhelmed with technology she hopes to encourage more families to disconnect and reconnect to one another through entertaining analog games. Janelle loves Star Wars and Star Trek almost equally, and also enjoys latin ballroom dancing, climbing, and painting.

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It’s mostly awesome, but if you’re an introvert like me, the small talk with family, friends or coworkers can get tedious after the third or fourth gathering. Before you run out of things to talk about, why not play a board game?

There’s so many great games out there that are easy to learn and can be fun for even non-board gamers. Here’s a list of 7 great games to add to your board game party mix.

NMBR 9

NMBR 9 by Z-Man Games is a gem of a strategy game where players must stack numbers by following a few key rules to get the most points. It’s one of those quick 15 minute games that as soon as it’s over you want to play again because you know you can do better.

The best part? No one has to wait for their turn because everyone plays simultaneously.

Get your copy here: https://meepleandsheep.ca/product/nmbr-9/

Dixit

Dixit by Libellud can be played with up to 6 players which makes it great for parties. Plus, it’s easy enough for kids 6 and up to join in the fun.

The goal of the game is to get some of the other players to guess which image card is yours by giving them a clue. If your clue is too easy and everyone guesses your card, you get no points. If your clue is too obscure and no one gets it, you get no points.

The fun is finding a clue that only a few will guess, maybe clue for your roomie about how the monster in the picture looks a lot like your landlord.
Get your copy here: https://meepleandsheep.ca/product/dixit/

Azul

Azul by Next Move games didn’t win the coveted Spiel des Jahres 2018 award for nothing.

In this beautiful strategy game players compete to create the best tile pattern before someone completes a horizontal line of tiles. The tiles are gorgeous, the gameplay is fun, and if you like playing dirty you can really mess up the other players by forcing them to pick up tiles they can’t use and lose points.

My mom isn’t big into board games but she did enjoy this one, and if I remember correctly, totally destroyed us as well.
Get your copy here: https://meepleandsheep.ca/product/azul/

Ticket to Ride

If you’re looking for a longer game but with simple rules for non board gamers, Ticket to Ride is a great choice.

Players compete to finish routes between their secret destinations and need to collect car cards of the same colour to get there. However, if you take too long to claim your route, someone else might just nab it and leave you no choice but to slam your fist on the board and make all the trains fly — I’m kidding.

There are many ways to get to a destination, and your detour route might perhaps secure your victory!
Get your copy here: https://meepleandsheep.ca/product/ticket-to-ride/

TimeLine Canada

Okay, okay… Timeline Canada by Asmodee Games is a card game and not a board game, but it’s still fun as heck to laugh at people who get their historical Canadian events wrong by a hundred years. Usually that person is me.

Timeline Canada is a teeny card game in a super portable tin that could fit in most fancy party purses or pants. Bring it to your next holiday gathering and see just how much fun learning about Canadian history can actually be!

Players take turn guessing where their event card fits among a growing line of events on the table. If you place it in the right spot you have one less card in hand and you’re one step closer to victory.
Get your English copy here: https://meepleandsheep.ca/product/timeline-canada-english-version/
Get your French copy here: https://meepleandsheep.ca/product/timeline-canada-version-francaise/

Flick’em Up!

Live your old Western movie gunslinger fantasy with Flick’em Up!, where players choose the Outlaw or Sheriff’s side and try and knock over the other team’s wooden cowboys to complete their mission.

Play this game with folks who enjoy a bit of silliness and don’t take rules too seriously. You can play a scenario from the book or create your own, and even create your own story for your tiny wooden heroes, and all the pieces are solid wood including the gorgeous box.
Get your copy here: https://meepleandsheep.ca/product/flickem-up/

Rhino Hero Super Battle

My last suggestion for a great holiday party game is Rhino Hero Super Battle by HABA. This is technically a kids dexterity game but adults will have just as much fun building a crazy wobbly skyscraper out of cards and battling other superheroes for the highest spot for the win.

Just don’t fight too much over who gets to play Batguin (a penguin dressed in a bat costume and pretty much the coolest superhero ever.)
Get your copy here: https://meepleandsheep.ca/product/rhino-hero-super-battle/

I hope you get to try out some of these fun party games this holiday season, they’re great fun and will help you avoid those awkward silent moments when you run out of things to say.

Which one is your favourite game from the list? Is there a game that you’re surprised we didn’t mention? Leave us a comment below, we’d love to hear from you.

Happy holidays everyone!

The post 7 Memorable Board Games for Your Next Holiday Party appeared first on Meeple & Sheep.

Photo Credit: The Littlest Gift Boutique

We don’t always stay at home and play games. Sometimes we like to venture out and do other cool stuff together as a family. Like going to the Ottawa Geek Market X. Last Sunday was our first time attending the OGM, but it wasn’t our first family foray at a Geek Convention-style event. [Insert dreamy flashback to 2011. My daughter Zoé was dressed up as toddler Princess Leia. She stole the hearts of many at the Calgary Expo with her squeaky shoes. Even the storm and scout trooper couldn’t resist.]

The OGM is super family-friendly and you’ll feel it from the moment you walk in with your little ones. Adult admission at the door was $10 and kids under 12 get in for free, which is so nice when you’re used to paying crazy dollars for most outings with a family of 4. Plus, some of the proceeds from our admission went to the Royal Ottawa Foundation for Mental Health. The OGM deserves props for that.

The OGM has something for everyone. You can buy board games, comic books, Legos, wall art, geeky tshirts, stuffies, jewellery and so much more. At this year’s event you could also test out tons of board games for free. Or you could try virtual reality games or a mobile escape room experience in a portable trailer. Perfect for your next birthday party.

Photo courtesy of MTKS Adventures and Ottawa Geek Market

And whether you came dressed or not as your favourite superhero or villain (the theme of this year’s event) there was LOTS of great cosplay to see. This includes my very own sister-in-law Sherri Boucher who rocked a vintage Star Trek cosplay uniform as part of the Ladies Who Trek community group. Hopefully she’ll let me borrow her awesome beehive for fancy parties.

We met some wonderful vendors and wanted to highlight a few of them here. Most offer their handmade merchandise for sale online so wherever you live you can still get your hands on these geeky goodies.

Glitch: Hi-Tech Lo-Fi Art

TBone Forest is the mastermind behind these incredibly detailed shadowboxes of retro arcade games. Many of the games are still around in one form or another so my kids really got a kick out of identifying some of them. As their name states, Glitch turns digital pixels into a 3D analog artwork.

I could totally picture the classics like Donkey Kong or Super Mario Bros lovingly cherished in a kids room or a video game collector’s den. View all the different shadowboxes and purchase a favourite from your childhood here: https://glitchartwork.com/

Custom Game Bits

Steve Larkin from Custom Game Bits creates wooden board game box inserts, cool board game accessories, and even original wooden games too. His customizable and very affordable wooden dice towers makes rolling more fun and less frustrating (no more rolling dice off tables or knocking over game pieces).

And our kids really enjoyed playing with his Tower of Chairs Dexterity Game, where you free play and stack up 30 tiny wooden chairs in cool ways. At only $30 this game would make such a nice handcrafted gift for a friend or child’s birthday. Visit their website here to see their entire catalog of inserts, accessories and original games: https://www.customgamebits.com/collections/all

Créations Lilipop

All the way from Montreal, Julie Lauzon, owner of Créations Lilipop loves to attend the Ottawa Geek Market and has participated now for many years along with her loyal sidekick/husband. Her jewellery creations are bright, cheeky, and oh so geeky.

I even spotted earrings inspired by my favourite alien quote from the best alien cult movie EVER, Mars Attacks. (If you didn’t know I was referring to “Ack Ack” you need to watch the movie right now.)

Plus it turns out that my daughter Zoé likes Sailor Moon now. How she got into it I have no idea, but that’s pretty cool considering that I was the biggest Sailor Moon fan in high school twenty-some years ago. She really wanted to buy Lilipop’s Luna Pin and is looking forward to rocking it at school.

Lilipop’s website has so many cute geeky and funky earrings you’re bound to fall in love with a few of them, and at $10 a pop, it’s easy to say yes to all of them. Visit Lilipop’s website shop here: https://www.lilipop.ca/

More than 6,000 unique visitors enjoyed this tenth installment of the Ottawa Geek Market, which helped the organization raise $5,000 for the Royal Ottawa Foundation for Mental Health. Be sure to catch the next Ottawa Geek Market happening March 23-24, 2019 and enjoy the action while shopping for some geeky goodies with your family.

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Then something on both their list got me all excited!

The school officially requested that each student bring a board or card game to play with their friends on those rainy school days.

As a lover of board games (and card games)

this made me super stoked! I’m all about getting more kids to play board games to help them develop key social skills as well as practicing their reading and counting skills.  This school’s new initiative was a sure sign that educators are recognizing the importance and the value of social analog games in the vast digital world that surrounds us.

If you received social games as an item on your kids’ school list or if you’re looking for a fun and easy educational game for the home, here’s a personal list of some of my favourite board or card games for rainy school days. I’ve ranked them out of 5 stars based on a few factors that would make it easier for kids to play these at school with their friends:

• portability (is the game small enough to fit in a crowded backpack or locker?),
• easy to learn (and easy for your child to teach the rules to new friends),
• educational (what, and how much do kids get out of it),
• and replayability (can this game entertain kids over and over?)

Cardline: Animals

Portability: 5/5
Easy to Learn: 4/5
Educational: 5/5
Replayability: 3/5

Play Time: 15 mins
Set Up Time: 1 min
Recommended Age: 5+
Number of Players: 2-8

Cardline: Animals published by Asmodee is one of those miraculous games that everyone enjoys. Test it out on your grandma or your grumpy uncle at your next family gathering and you’ll see what I mean. It takes less than a minute to explain the simple rules, which makes it easy for kids to teach their friends how to play at school.

It also helps that the cards are absolutely GORGEOUS. On each of the 110 unique card is a beautiful hand-painted animal illustration by Gael Lannurien. The same image is printed on both sides of the card, but one side also features the animal’s average height, weight, and lifespan. Before starting the game all players must choose which one of the three units of measurement they will use for that game. One by one the players must try to place their cards in the right order on the cardline. If they guessed correctly, they have one less card in their hand and one step closer to winning the game. If they’re wrong, they must draw another random card from the facedown pile of cards. It’s amazing how much you’ll learn about animal species with this game no matter your age.

Oh, and by the way, when I asked my kids which game they wanted to bring to school they both decided to bring a copy of the French version of Cardline: Animals since they go to a French school (and this game is awesome.)

Click here for more information about Cardline: Animals or to get a copy of this game:
https://meepleandsheep.ca/product/cardline-animals/

Patchwork

Portability: 3/5
Easy to Learn: 3/5
Educational: 4/5
Replayability: 5/5

Play Time: 30 mins
Set Up Time: 2 mins
Recommended Age: 8+
Number of Players: 2

At first glance you might think Patchwork by Mayfair Games is a game for tea-loving old ladies with its quilted box cover and traditional name, but it’s actually a very entertaining 2-player strategy game for all ages. It’s sort of like Tetris, but in this version the pieces stay still and you have to purchase them with buttons.

The rules are simple and well explained with loads of illustrations, so even though there’s no reading involved in the game itself, some younger kids might need help to get started. Players must try to cover as many squares on their board with odd-shaped patches that they can purchase with buttons. How do you get buttons? You earn them from collecting patches with buttons on them.  The person who finishes the game with the most buttons and the least amount of empty squares on their board wins!

Click here for more information about Patchwork or to get a copy of this game:
https://meepleandsheep.ca/product/patchworkgame/

Spot It!

Portability: 5/5
Easy to Learn: 5/5
Educational: 3/5
Replayability: 4/5

Play Time: 10 mins
Set Up Time: 1 min
Recommended Age: 5+
Number of Players: 2 to 8

The name of the game says it all! Spot it first and you win. This is a fast-paced card game that can get loud with excitement so it’s best to play when being active in class is okay. All 55 cards contain a unique combination of symbols, but there is ALWAYS one and only one matching symbol between any two cards. It’s up to you to spot yours first. The rulebook offers five variants for this game (which can keep it fresh even after a few plays), but the standard way is distribute one card face up to all the players and place the rest in a pile face down in the centre.

The game starts when someone flips over the centre card and if you can spot the matching symbol between your card and the middle card first you add that card on top of your pile. The person with the most cards when the centre pile runs out wins! This game is great for students learning a new language or developing early language skills, as you have to say the matching symbol out loud before you’re allowed to take the card. There’s even a few different themes available, like Spot It! Gone Camping for those kids who love to camp.

Click here for more information about Spot It! or to get your copy of this game:
https://meepleandsheep.ca/product/spot-it/

I hope more schools will integrate social games in their learning strategy as it will benefit the students in so many ways. Does your school encourage playing board games on rainy days as well? If so, what games does your child like to play at school? Please share in the comments below!

For more great game ideas for kids and adult alike or for game tutorials, visit our website at www.meepleandsheep.ca. Plus, sign up for our e-newsletter Meepmail on our landing page and receive 10% off your first order.

Keep on playing!

Janelle

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