The Family Gamers Podcast

Can you bring a small game or two to a social event? Even if it’s with non-gamers? 0:00:00 Fact for 433 4’33”. Anitra recommends listening to the Twenty Thousand Hertz episode about this modernist composition. Sponsor Message Head over to FirstMoveFinancial.com/familygamers to see how First Move Financial can kick start your financial engine today. 0:06:30 What We’ve Been Playing Got Five! (review) Doomlings (review) The Great Split * Royal Visit Horrified: Dungeons & Dragons (review) Ham Helsing (review) Duel for Cardia (review) with Guardians of the Wild expansion * Le Chocolat * Orbita * Inking Inside the Box * from the Pipnetic Book of Cut and Play Party Games (*) First mention on The Family Gamers Podcast WE FORGOT THE SEPTEMBER MONTHLY REPORT!?! We each had an H-index of 2, mostly due to playing Gyges a lot. 0:35:10 The Family Gamers Community A baby warthog welcomes our new community members! We still have one giveaway running for Bullseye. Read the review and check it out! 0:36:45 #Backtalk Games as spectator sports… we love these ideas! Read the responses on Facebook or #backtalk channel of the Discord. 0:41:00 Giveaway winner We announce the winner of our VNTYPL8S giveaway! 0:42:30 Packin’ Games Do you usually have a game with you? Or, what kinds of games do you bring with you when you’re going to a social event and you don’t know if a game might be appropriate? Anitra I nearly always have a game in purse, usually a solo (or solo-able) game. “If we’re going out to dinner, you’ve got a captive audience…” Intentionally picking a game (or two) that can be played in a family group when we’re going somewhere that may result in downtime. Fast, interruptible, easy to teach, like: In Vino Morte Get the Macguffin word games Trio Cabanga Flip 7 With adults, having a game just in case: Trio Anomia Similo Andrew More office-y professional. If I grab a game, it’s going to play well with a group. Has to be casual, probably has to be fairly quiet, and needs to last less than 30 minutes. The plus is that I have a backpack, so games don’t have to be *quite* as small Games with a medium player count, few rules: roll & write / flip & write Super Mega Lucky Box Metro X Not too many pieces and quick to set up. Competitive but low-stakes: Odin (for under 5 players) Red Letter, Yellow Letter (for 5+ players) Similo – cooperative, easy to teach Got Five! – a good lunch-time game “People like to be smart”: Smug Owls Chit Chat Person Do Thing (Similo fits here, too) 0:53:45 New Backtalk Question Well, what’s your game? Just like “what’s the book on your night stand”, what’s the game that’s always in your bag? If there was a game in your bag (or in the trunk of your car), what would it be? Tell us on the #backtalk channel on our Discord, or in our Facebook community. Find Us Online: Facebook: @familygamersaa and thefamilygamers.com/community Twitter (X): @familygamersaa Instagram: @familygamersaa TikTok: @familygamersaa Bluesky: @familygamersaa Threads: @familygamersaa Youtube: TheFamilyGamers or join the Family Tabletop Community on Discord! thefamilygamers.com/discord Or, for the most direct method, email us! [email protected] and [email protected]. PLEASE don’t forget to subscribe to the show, tell your friends about the show, and leave us a review at Apple Podcast or whatever your podcast subscription source is. We’re also on Amazon Music, TuneIn, and Spotify. You can also now find us on YouTube Music! So pull it up and give us a listen while you’re toiling away at work :) If you’d like to support The Family Gamers, there’s three ways to do that. First, you can pick up some sweet sweet merch: T-shirts, hoodies, mugs, and stickers! Go to store.thefamilygamers.com You can also support us on Patreon, if that’s more your speed. We have a few different support tiers from just a couple of dollars to show your appreciation – which we appreciate – up to five, ten, or even $20/month. There are all sorts of different rewards you can get, which we tried to make unique. You can see those at thefamilygamers.com/patreon. Thirdly, you can start your Amazon shopping at TheFamilyGamers website, using our Amazon affiliate link. Music for The Family Gamers Podcast is provided with permission from You Bred Raptors? The Family Gamers is sponsored by First Move Financial. Go to FirstMoveFinancial.com/familygamers to learn how the team at First Move Financial can help you pile up the victory points. The post Episode 433 – Packin’ Games appeared first on The Family Gamers.

When is a game too complex for your group? How do you know? 0:00:00 Fact for 432 The 432 Hz Tuning Controversy – “The Consciousness Control” conspiracy. Also, Guiseppe Verdi asked orchestras to tune A to 432 Hz (instead of 440), down-tuning to reduce strain for the singers. Sponsor Message If you want to talk to someone about your money personality – or your money history – then 15 minutes will just scratch the surface. But First Move can give you some resources to point you in the right direction. Set up a time to talk with them at firstmovefinancial.com/familygamers today. 0:05:00 What We’ve Been Playing Phantom of the Opera Gygès Sky 5 * Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza (at CuseCon) Stroop Got Five (our review) (*) First mention on The Family Gamers Podcast 0:20:00 The Family Gamers Community Say hi to our new members! Take a look on Facebook. We now have TWO giveaways running: VNTYPL8S and Bullseye. Read the reviews and check them out! 0:21:45 #Backtalk What game (or kind of game) would you pick for a day you’re stuck inside? Read the responses on Facebook or #backtalk channel of the Discord. 0:28:15 Complexity in Board Games Complexity – when is a game too much? When is it too little? And how do you find the right balance? How do you figure out a game is too complicated (for your group) – what are the warning signs? Andrew: if it sits on the shelf and you never find the right opportunity to play it. Anitra: if, like Mandy Patinkin learning Wingspan (language warning), your fellow players’ eyes glaze over or they freak out because they just don’t understand it. What if a game is not complex enough? Some people are just bored. Or it involves a skill they don’t want to use. Anitra says: “As a parent, your duty is to find a way to enjoy it with the people who do actually love it.” (While still setting boundaries.) Sometimes it’s because the game is very dependent on luck (Mr Postmouse’s Picnic comes to mind). Find other places in and around the game that you can find a way to enjoy it. Andrew also feels this way about In Vino Morte. You are allowed to step back and let the kids enjoy it without you. But it’s also good to sometimes lean in and show through example how you love your kids by doing something they care about, even when you don’t. What do you do when you open the box and you realize that this is going to be way too complex for the situation? Maybe you survey the table – “do we still want to do this?” If you’ve got a more mixed group (like multiple kids of different abilities): Make the call as soon as possible. As the parent/teacher, come up with some alternative plans: Other board games Other activities related to the theme (movie, whatever) Do a short alternative activity while you (as teacher) set up and learn the game Walk away. If someone is having a meltdown partway through the game, find a way for the melting-down person to be able to exit gracefully. Is it worth it to overcome resistance from your kids (or the grandparents) to playing a more complex game? Sometimes. How do you do it? Lean into the theme. (Themed snacks? Music?) Make it as easy as possible You have set up the game. You have already learned the rules. Explicitly build in time for breaks. (Be willing to stop after the break if they don’t want to come back!) And yes, bribery. (Snacks!) Recognize that you don’t “level up” as a gamer, and you don’t always have to play the hardest games you can handle! Sometimes folks who normally love crunchier games are just burnt out and need something simple. What to do when a game just won’t get played? There will be times that you have to face the disappointment of realizing that a game Does. Not. Work. for your family. We highly recommend that you get rid of the game. Give it away and move on! This will prevent you from feeling bitter every time you see the game on the shelf. Giving up on a game is not a commentary on how good the game is! It is also not a judgement on your ability as a parent to bring your kids into the things you love. It is simply an acknowledgement that this game did not fit for your family/group. 1:02:00 New Backtalk Question We are spending a lot of time watching football games (although we’re there for the marching band). So that got us thinking… What board game would be the best spectator sport? Paint the picture of the spectator board game event: something in a stadium, e-sports style, with fans rooting for their favorite player or team. Tell us on the #backtalk channel on our Discord, or in our Facebook community. Find Us Online: Facebook: @familygamersaa and thefamilygamers.com/community Twitter (X): @familygamersaa Instagram: @familygamersaa TikTok: @familygamersaa Bluesky: @familygamersaa Threads: @familygamersaa Youtube: TheFamilyGamers or join the Family Tabletop Community on Discord! thefamilygamers.com/discord Or, for the most direct method, email us! [email protected] and [email protected]. PLEASE don’t forget to subscribe to the show, tell your friends about the show, and leave us a review at Apple Podcast or whatever your podcast subscription source is. We’re also on Amazon Music, TuneIn, and Spotify. You can also now find us on YouTube Music! So pull it up and give us a listen while you’re toiling away at work :) If you’d like to support The Family Gamers, there’s three ways to do that. First, you can pick up some sweet sweet merch: T-shirts, hoodies, mugs, and stickers! Go to store.thefamilygamers.com You can also support us on Patreon, if that’s more your speed. We have a few different support tiers from just a couple of dollars to show your appreciation – which we appreciate – up to five, ten, or even $20/month. There are all sorts of different rewards you can get, which we tried to make unique. You can see those at thefamilygamers.com/patreon. Thirdly, you can start your Amazon shopping at TheFamilyGamers website, using our Amazon affiliate link. Music for The Family Gamers Podcast is provided with permission from You Bred Raptors? The Family Gamers is sponsored by First Move Financial. Go to FirstMoveFinancial.com/familygamers to learn how the team at First Move Financial can help you pile up the victory points. The post Episode 432 – Complexity appeared first on The Family Gamers.

We missed recording last week because we were too busy… going to our favorite small convention. So this week, we’ll talk about small conventions! 0:00:00 Fact for 431 It’s a big year for Greek myth. 431 BC marked the beginning of the (second) Peloponnesian War, the end of the Golden Age of Greece, when Athens lost its dominance to Sparta (and less than a century later was conquered by Macedon). Sponsor Message Did you know that according to a recent poll sponsored by the National Foundation for Credit Counseling only 18% of Americans feel very confident about their retirement? So if you aren’t sure about retirement, you’re not alone. If you want to talk to a professional to see if you are on track to achieve your goals, go to firstmovefinancial.com/familygamers to schedule a quick free phone call and see if First Move is the right fit for you. 0:03:45 What We’ve Been Playing Horrified: Dungeons & Dragons * Jekyll & Hyde vs. Scotland Yard Gygès * Seikatsu (our review – out of print but should be coming back soon) Skulls of Sedlec Stroop Peak to Peak * Llama Llama * Whoa There Cowboy * Bus & Stop * Taverns of Tiefenthal * (after first seeing it at PAX 2019!) Looot * Unmatched Adventures: TMNT (review coming soon) Phase * (Kickstarter opens early October) Champions of Midgard * Machi Koro The Phantom of the Opera * (*) First mention on The Family Gamers Podcast 0:29:00 The Family Gamers Community Welcome new members! We’re so happy to see so many new names. 0:30:25 #Backtalk We asked you about your “Icarus” game. (A game you were convinced your family was going to play all the time – and time has shown that it’s a game you’re actually never going to play.) Read the responses on Facebook or #backtalk channel of the Discord. You can enter the VNTYPL8S giveaway. Read the review and check it out! 0:36:15 Small Cons We’ve talked about conventions plenty of times on the podcast – we go to PAX Unplugged every year, and try to make it to a few other big conventions when we can (Origins, GenCon, Essen, PAX East). But this past week, we went to a very small convention: CuseCon, which has only a few hundred attendees. Small conventions are perfect for simply playing games, and won’t overwhelm you with choices. It’s also a much easier environment to meet up with friends, or to make new boardgaming friends! Andrew compares a small convention to a “staycation” – you’ve committed to being somewhere and playing games, rather than hoping you get around to it when you have free time. A small convention is less expensive than a big one. It’s easier to do less, or do things in the same area that aren’t the convention. It’s less intimidating, and may be calmer. It’s easier to play prototype games with designers. The people who run the convention are THERE and accessible. It’s easy to volunteer or have input! It may be easier to bring a child (or to get a babysitter and go for just a few hours). You can keep an eye on a gamer child without needing to keep them “on a leash”. You may be able to stay in the same hotel where the convention is – much easier for family logistics! Both large and small conventions have their place, but a small convention is much easier to dip your toe in the water. 0:54:00 New Backtalk Question If you know you’ve got a whole day where you can’t go outside, which game do you grab first and why? Do you get a small appetizer game to set you all up for something big, or do you get the big chonkin’ game to the table first? Do you play 1-2 big games or a bunch of small ones? Tell us on the #backtalk channel on our Discord, or in our Facebook community. Find Us Online: Facebook: @familygamersaa and thefamilygamers.com/community Twitter (X): @familygamersaa Instagram: @familygamersaa TikTok: @familygamersaa Bluesky: @familygamersaa Threads: @familygamersaa Youtube: TheFamilyGamers or join the Family Tabletop Community on Discord! thefamilygamers.com/discord Or, for the most direct method, email us! [email protected] and [email protected]. PLEASE don’t forget to subscribe to the show, tell your friends about the show, and leave us a review at Apple Podcast or whatever your podcast subscription source is. We’re also on Amazon Music, TuneIn, and Spotify. You can also now find us on YouTube Music! So pull it up and give us a listen while you’re toiling away at work :) If you’d like to support The Family Gamers, there’s three ways to do that. First, you can pick up some sweet sweet merch: T-shirts, hoodies, mugs, and stickers! Go to store.thefamilygamers.com You can also support us on Patreon, if that’s more your speed. We have a few different support tiers from just a couple of dollars to show your appreciation – which we appreciate – up to five, ten, or even $20/month. There are all sorts of different rewards you can get, which we tried to make unique. You can see those at thefamilygamers.com/patreon. Thirdly, you can start your Amazon shopping at TheFamilyGamers website, using our Amazon affiliate link. Music for The Family Gamers Podcast is provided with permission from You Bred Raptors? The Family Gamers is sponsored by First Move Financial. Go to FirstMoveFinancial.com/familygamers to learn how the team at First Move Financial can help you pile up the victory points. The post Episode 431 – Small Conventions appeared first on The Family Gamers.

0:00:00 Fact for 430 Chlorophyll A absorbs light strongly in the blue-violet region (around 430 nm) and the red region (around 680 nm). Sponsor Message If you want to talk about more ways to teach your children to manage their personal finances set up a time to talk by going to firstmovefinancial.com / familygamers. 0:04:30 What We’ve Been Playing Fight 5 Ham Helsing Three Sisters Carnuta Sails Up! August Monthly Report Anitra: 31 plays of 23 unique games. H-index: 2 (Obelus, Hummingbirds, Got Five!) Andrew: 28 plays of 18 unique games. H-index: 2 (Obelus, Sails Up!, Hummingbirds, Got Five!, Spaceteam) 0:23:00 The Family Gamers Community Welcome new members! We’re so happy to see so many new names. 0:24:20 #Backtalk We asked you about your thoughts around preserving “disposable” games. Read the responses on Facebook or #backtalk channel of the Discord. 0:34:45 Top Games of 2017 We review our top-rated reviews of 2017 and our most-played games of that year. Which ones hold up? Would we still make the same recommendations today? Our top-rated game reviews in 2017: Seikatsu (8.5) – about the same. Great game, but it doesn’t get played much. Downforce (8.5) – Even better than Corey rated it, we think. Fight for Olympus (8.5) – about the same. Getting played a lot recently! Purrrlock Holmes (8.5) – a good game, but there are other deduction games that are better. Knot Dice (9) – Beautiful, and a good system. Would still rate highly, but slightly less. Tournament of Towers (9) – We would still rate it highly but slightly less. It’s a really hard game! Barenpark (9) – about the same. Still love it. Potion Explosion (9) – about the same, especially if you can get the newer version. Our family grew to prefer the iOS version of the game. Box of Rocks (9) – It’s very good at what it does. Kingdomino (9.5) – It should have been a perfect score. (Editor’s note: Anitra was wrong – Kingdomino had already won the Spiel des Jahres before we reviewed it.) 0:57:30 Our (Anitra’s) top most played games in 2017: Do we still have them and play them? In Vino Morte Spyfall – we don’t own this game (anymore). Happy to play it though. Kingdomino Dairyman Barenpark Stroop Blank – a favorite(?) of our kids NMBR 9 Seikatsu Magic Maze – a fun novelty, but not a game we need to have. 1:05:10 New Backtalk Question There are games in this week’s list that we used to love and thought we’d play forever. So the question is – Have you ever had a board game Icarus? A game that you were absolutely convinced was going to be an evergreen that you would play as a family all the time, and now, years later, that game hasn’t hit the table in forever! If you had that kind of game, what is it? What did you love that you don’t anymore? Tell us on the #backtalk channel on our Discord, or in our Facebook community. Find Us Online: Facebook: @familygamersaa and thefamilygamers.com/community Twitter (X): @familygamersaa Instagram: @familygamersaa TikTok: @familygamersaa Bluesky: @familygamersaa Threads: @familygamersaa Youtube: TheFamilyGamers or join the Family Tabletop Community on Discord! thefamilygamers.com/discord Or, for the most direct method, email us! [email protected] and [email protected]. PLEASE don’t forget to subscribe to the show, tell your friends about the show, and leave us a review at Apple Podcast or whatever your podcast subscription source is. We’re also on Amazon Music, TuneIn, and Spotify. You can also now find us on YouTube Music! So pull it up and give us a listen while you’re toiling away at work :) If you’d like to support The Family Gamers, there’s three ways to do that. First, you can pick up some sweet sweet merch: T-shirts, hoodies, mugs, and stickers! Go to store.thefamilygamers.com You can also support us on Patreon, if that’s more your speed. We have a few different support tiers from just a couple of dollars to show your appreciation – which we appreciate – up to five, ten, or even $20/month. There are all sorts of different rewards you can get, which we tried to make unique. You can see those at thefamilygamers.com/patreon. Thirdly, you can start your Amazon shopping at TheFamilyGamers website, using our Amazon affiliate link. Music for The Family Gamers Podcast is provided with permission from You Bred Raptors? The Family Gamers is sponsored by First Move Financial. Go to FirstMoveFinancial.com/familygamers to learn how the team at First Move Financial can help you pile up the victory points. The post Episode 430 – Our Top Games of 2017?!? appeared first on The Family Gamers.

Why would you ever want a disposable game? And what are some types of disposable games?