Gaming with Grandma - 132

Another Saturday morning gaming session with my mother Sue (AKA Grandma), my wife Debbie and younger daughter Georgia (9.5 years).

Today we chose Piranha, a children's dexterity game designed by Ronald Hofstatter and Arno Steinwender and published by Ravensburger.

Watch out for those piranhas Georgia!

The object of the game is to be the first to get rid of all your piranhas by attaching them either directly to a safari hat suspended from a fishing rod, or to the tails of other piranhas already hanging from the hat.  On your turn you must attempt to place one piranha on either the hat or a piranha hanging from the hat.  Any piranhas that fall during your turn causes the turn to end and the fallen piranhas to be taken into your piranha pile.

We all enjoyed the tension of trying to correctly place the piranhas and the laughs when another player caused piranhas to fall.  It was a tight battle but Deb eventually took the win.

Gaming with Grandma - 131

Another Saturday morning gaming session with my mother Sue (AKA Grandma), wife Debbie and two daughters, Maddie (almost 14!) and Georgia (9.5).

Our first game of the morning Scrabble.  The players were me, Grandma, Maddie & Georgia.  This game is an oldie but a goodie and one we all enjoy.  Final scores were Grandma 157, Maddie 128, Wayne 121 & Georgia 39.

Scrabble

For our second game we were joined by my wife Deb, so we now had five players.  Snorta! is a fun memory party game in which everyone is given a cute plastic animal which is shown to the other players then hidden in a little barn.  Various animal cards are played by each player one at a time in a separate pile in front of them.  When two matching animal cards appear those two players must then make the sound of the animal of the other player.  The first person to make the sound is the winner.  The loser takes all the cards from both piles and adds them to their hand.  The first player to play all their cards wins the game.


This game is a lot of fun and there was much laughter.  Maddie was even in tears at one stage she was laughing that hard.  We played three games with me winning two and Georgia winning one.

Snorta!

Gaming with Grandma - 130

Another Saturday morning gaming session with my mother Sue (AKA Grandma), and elder daughter, Maddie (12).

The game of choice today was Clash of the Gladiators, a game I acquired in an Australian BoardGameGeek math trade in May 2008.  Sadly, this game has languished, unplayed, on my game shelf since that date.  This morning would be our first play of this Reiner Knizia designed game.

Clash of the Gladiators

Clash of the Gladiators is a game for two to five players.  Players select from five different types of gladiators to create a team of four gladiators.  Each type of gladiator (spear holder, net caster, swordsman, prong bearer and shield carrier) have different effects on combat.  The number of gladiator teams a player may field is based on the number of players in the game (2-3 players four teams each, 4-5 players three teams each).

The object of the game is to kill opposing gladiators and animals.  The game ends when only one player has gladiators on the board at which time the points are calculated.  Points are granted for all opposing gladiators and animals you have killed (gladiators = 1 point each, animals = 2 points each) and the player with the most points is the winner.

The rules are fairly simple and once players become familiar with the combat effects of each type of gladiator, the battles also play out quickly.

We had a fun game and although I was the first player to lose all my gladiators, there is a great rule that allows a player to continue playing (and gaining points) by using the animals to attack the remaining players.

Final scores were Maddie and I sharing the win with 21 points each, and Grandma with 15 points.

Gaming with Grandma - 129

Another Saturday morning gaming session with my mother Sue (AKA Grandma), wife Debbie and two daughters, Maddie (11) and Georgia (6.5).

The game we played today was Carcassonne: Hunters and Gatherers. I'm trying to introduce the girls to more grown up games and this game is recommended for 8 years and up.  As this was the first game for Maddie and Georgia, on their respective turns I explained the options and benefits for their tile placement and let them choose where to place it.  In fact we were all involved in advising on tile placement on each turn.  Maddie found the game not that interesting (despite eventually winning) and Georgia found it all a little too complex.  Grandma and Debbie picked it up fairly quickly and enjoyed the game play.

Final scores were Maddie 72, Wayne 64, Georgia 61, Grandma 58 and Debbie 40.

Gaming with Grandma - 128

Another Saturday morning gaming session with my mother Sue (AKA Grandma) and two daughters, Maddie (11) and Georgia (6.5).  Our special guest today was my wife Debbie (AKA Mummy) who normally works most weekends but is currently recovering from recent surgery and was able to join us as a 5th player.

Our first game today was a game I'd been wanting to play since I received in a BoardGameGeek Math Trade back in 2008.  Die Mauer (translated as 'The Wall' in German) is a game in which each player is given a matching set of 7 wooden pieces (a tower, a gate and 5 wall pieces of different lengths) which they hold hidden in their hand.  On a turn, players secretly select a single piece and all reveal at the same time.  Depending on what type and the number of pieces revealed, as well as who is the Master Builder for that round (an orange piece that is rotated to the left player at the end of each round), determines the effect of building on that round.  There are a couple of simple building restrictions and we all picked this game up after a few quick rounds, with the exception of Georgia who at 6 years old struggled a little bit.

We played three rounds. Final scores were 1st Wayne - 16, 2nd Grandma - 17, 3rd Debbie - 26, 4th Maddie - 30 and 5th Georgia - 53.  I should point out that although I won overall, Grandma did win two of the three rounds but just missed out on taking 1st place overall when final scores were calculated.  All the adults enjoyed this game but the kids weren't that enamoured.  This would be a good pub or camping game and only needs a small flat surface.

Because Georgia came last we let her choose the next game.  She chose Pick Picknic.  In this game players are dealt a hand of cards representing either fowl or foxes of differing numerical strengths.  A playing area of 6 boards is laid out representing the enclosures of 6 types of fowl.  Each round a single coloured wooden cube is randomly deposited on each board.  These cubes are in three colours of differing values (green = 1, blue = 2, and yellow = 3) and are the victory points players are attempting to acquire.  Each turn players secretly choose a card from their hand and all then reveal at the same time.  Depending on what type of card (fowl or fox), and how many are played on a specific board, determines the outcome of the round.  Foxes eat fowls and this is another way players can acquire victory points.

The mechanics of this game are similar to Die Mauer but perhaps more thematically suited to children.  That's not to say adults can't enjoy this game, and I find it's a great game for parents and children to play together.

Final scores were 1st Debbie - 58, 2nd Wayne - 36, 3rd Georgia - 35, 4th Maddie - 28 and 5th Grandma - 9.  It was great to see Deb win and Georgia so close to beating me for 2nd place.

Gaming with Grandma - 127

Another Saturday gaming session with my mother (AKA Grandma) and daughters Maddie (10) and Georgia (6).  This morning we played three board games.

Our first game was PitchCar Mini and it was chosen by Georgia.  The girls wanted to have teams so it was Maddie and Georgia vs Grandma and me.

It was an exciting 3 lap race with the lead changing several times.  We use a house rule where if a player is in last place after their flick, they can take a second flick.  We find this works well and keeps everyone in with a chance.  The final scores were 1st Georgia, 2nd Wayne, 3rd Grandma and 4th Maddie.

 PitchCar Mini

 The second game was Der schwarze Pirat (The Black Pirate).  In this game players use a rubber bellows to blow wooden ships around the board in search of golden treasure on the many islands.  This is a game we all enjoy and everyone gets to talk like a pirate.  Final scores were 1st Grandma with 13 gold, 2nd Wayne with 9 gold, 3rd Maddie with 8 gold and 4th Georgia with 6 gold.

Der schwarze Pirat

Our final game of the morning was Burg Appenzell (AKA Chateau Roquefort).  In this game players have 4 mice each to scamper under the roofs of the castle in search of cheese.  This is a game which uses action points to move, run or slide a piece of ceiling tile.  The sliding mechanic allows you to move pieces of the board horizontally and vertically which adds to the strategy.  This was the first time Georgia has played this game and she soon got the hang of it.  Both girls were leading for the majority of the time but I made a quick burst at the end to claim my 4th piece of cheese and the sweet (or should that be cheesy) victory.  Final scores were 1st Wayne with 4 pieces of cheese, 2nd Maddie and Georgia with 3 cheeses each and 4th Grandma with 1 piece of cheese.

 Burg Appenzell

Gaming with Grandma - 125

Another Sunday morning gaming session with my mother (AKA Grandma) and my two daughters Maddie (10) & Georgia (5).

Last weekend we introduced Maddie to Monopoly in a game with my wife, father-in-law and me.  Maddie loved it.  I guess when I was a kid I also enjoyed the play money, the randomness of movement and cards and people paying me rent.  Maddie also ended up winning her first game of Monopoly.  She has been bugging us to play it again all week.

So this morning Grandma, Maddie, Georgia and I sat down for a three player game of Monopoly (Georgia was my dice roller).  After several turns we all had a good portfolio of properties but no one had a monopoly of any one colour.  Then Maddie offered me Vine Street (for an exorbitant price) and I was able to compete the set of brown properties.  After that I quickly put a hotel on each and sat back and waited.  It wasn't long before these properties started raking in the cash.

I then bought out another property from Maddie when she offered it to obtain more cash.  I then had another monopoly on a colour range and was able to build more hotels.  It wasn't long before it was game over with Maddie going out.

Let's just say Maddie didn't enjoy this game as much as her first.  Learning to enjoy playing games even when you don't win is a sign of maturity.  Maddie is only 10 after all.  That said, I didn't really enjoy this game either and I won, but then I'm not a fan of Monopoly.

Gaming with Grandma - 124

Another Sunday morning gaming session with my mother (AKA Grandma) and my two daughters Maddie (10) & Georgia (5).

Our first game of the morning was Haunted Castle.  This is a fast-paced card game where each round a card showing seven characters is flipped.  There are a possible eight characters so the object is to be the first to identify the missing characters on each card.  If you are correct you keep the card as a point.  We played two games.  Scores from Game 1 were me 16, Grandma 8, Maddie 5 and Georgia 4.  Scores from Game 2 were me 17, Maddie 8, Grandma 7 and Georgia 1.

 

Our second game was The Simpsons Slam Dunk Card Game (AKA It's Mine).  This is always a fast, tense game and being able to slam your hand on the table and yell out "Slam dunk!" is cool.  Understanding the scoring system and knowing when to claim a row of cards is the key to this game and therefore Georgia sat this one out.  I cleaned up in this game with the final score being me 58, Grandma 21 and Maddie 7.

Our final game of the morning was For Sale.   This is one of Maddie's favourite games and we've played it many times before.  It's been a while since we last played it though.  At the end I felt sure I was going to win. However, after we added up the scores Grandma took the win with $82K, me $79K and Maddie $52K.

Gaming with Grandma - 123

Another Sunday morning gaming session with my 10 year old daughter Maddie, 5 year old daughter Georgia and my mother (AKA Grandma).

Our game today was HeroQuest. This is a game I've owned for quite some time but have been waiting for the 'right time' to play with Grandma and the girls. HeroQuest states on the box it is for ages 10 and up so my only concern was with Georgia being half that age. I wasn't worried she would be able to understand the game it was more keeping her interested throughout the entire playing time. Maddie volunteered to update Georgia's character sheet for her during the game.

Oddly enough I've never played HeroQuest before. I've read the rules a number of times and so for our first game I took on the role of the Game Master. Maddie chose the Elf, naming her Elirrian (and choosing one of my 25mm pewter miniatures to represent her), Georgia was the Barbarian, naming her Lora, and Grandma was the Wizard, naming her character Zelda.

I chose to run the adventurers through the first quest which was called The Trial. The party was tasked with journying to the east and entering the catacombs which contain Fellmarg's Tomb. The had to seek out and destroy Verag, a foul Gargoyle who hides in the catacombs.


Georgia, playing the Barbarian, was the main slayer of the monsters and this kept her involved for the majority of the game. Grandma and Maddie used their spells to good effect at crucial times and also waded into battle when they could. They had fun exploring the catacombs and defeating the foul guardians of the tomb. However, they were battered and bruised when they faced Verag the Gargoyle and his minions in the climactic battle. After a hard fought combat there were cheers all round when they prevailed.

They all enjoyed the game although it took about 90 minutes and Georgia's attention began to wander towards the end. We'll definitely be playing HeroQuest again though.

Gaming with Grandma - 122

It's been a good half year or so since we've sat down to play a board game. I guess in part it's due to me exploring other gaming interests and giving board games a break, but it's also been a busy time over the last six months with my wife now working from home and the addition of a new puppy to the household. However, today the board game itch was back and as it was a nice spring morning we decided to play at the table on our back deck.

Maddie (10) and Georgia (5.5) chose Der Schwarze Pirat, a dexterity game we'd played several times before. In this game players use a rubber bellows to blow their little wooden ships around the board in search of treasure. This is always a fun game and Grandma ended up ruling the waves and coming first with a score of 20, Georgia was 2nd on 9, Maddie 3rd on 4 with me coming last on 3.

Der Schwarze Pirat

Our next game was PitchCar Mini. Maddie chose to sit this one out. In this racing game players flick little wooden discs representing their cars around a modular race track. Competition is always fierce in our house but we do allow a house rule that gives the player in last place two flicks. This tends to keep the race fairly tight and allows for lots of opportunities for overtaking from behind. It this game Georgia pulled off an incredible win, with me in 2nd place and Grandma in 3rd.

Pitchcar

Gaming with Grandma - 121

We had decided to postpone Grandma's regular Saturday morning visit because this Saturday morning was New Years Day. So instead of Saturday morning Grandma came over today on Sunday.

Our first game of the morning was Der Schwarze Pirat. We originally had intended to play with 4 (almost 5) year old Georgia but on the first turn she had difficulty with the blower and then got upset and started acting up. A quick intervention from my wife first distracted and then removed Georgia from play so that left Grandma, 9.5 year old Maddie and me.

This was a really exciting game as the majority of gold built up on just a few of the islands. At one point in the game the red island had 9 gold on it. The winds certainly favoured me as we all raced for this particular island. I was the first to enter the harbour and claim these 9 gold for myself. That would have to be the most gold in a single haul that I've yet seen. Final scores were me 24 gold, Grandma 12 gold and Maddie 0 gold.

Maddie mustn't have been too impressed with her result in this game because she then dropped out leaving Grandma and I to play. Grandma suggested we play our old favourite Battle Line so I pulled it out of the game cabinet and set it up.

I always enjoy this game and Grandma is challenging to play. This time I had some good card draws combined with some early placement decisions that paid off. I ended up winning with a breakthrough of three adjacent flags in the centre of the line.

Gaming with Grandma - 120

Another Saturday morning gaming session with my 9 year old daughter Maddie and my mother (AKA Grandma).

Our first game was Liar's Dice (AKA Bluff). This was a fairly quick game with Grandma winning with 2 dice left.


Our second game was an old favourite, Gulo Gulo. 4 year old Georgia joined us for this and amazed us all with her skill of nimbly plucking the eggs from the bowl. Maddie led for most of the game but I overtook her right at the end when she missed a purple egg after being the first to find Gulo Junior. Final scores were 1st Wayne, 2nd Georgia, 3rd Maddie and 4th Grandma.

Gaming with Grandma - 119

Another Saturday morning gaming session with my mum (AKA Grandma) and 9 year old elder daughter Maddie. This morning we played Atlantis (AKA Escape from Atlantis). Grandma took yellow, Maddie took red and I took green.

The board at the beginning of the game

We'd placed all our people one at a time at the beginning of the game and then I realised that I'd forgotten to place the ships at their designated starting points. Rather than go through the initial people placement process again we just left the people where they were. I suspect that the placement of people would have looked different had we all known where the ships were going to be. I'll read the set up rules more clearly next time.

Maddie made an early start and was able to get a ship with two of her people and one of mine to the safety of one of the outlying island harbours. As the outer parts of Atlantis started to sink that's when all manner of sea creatures were attracted to the screams of the terrified Atlanteons. There is a sense of evil enjoyment as one sends a sea serpent to destroy a ship filled with your opponent's people. Maddie's now at an age where she's less likely to take personally a move that hinders her, and can even take pleasure in 'take that' moves she makes herself.

Chaos ensues as the ocean drinks Atlantis

Final scores were Maddie and me sharing 1st place with 4, and Grandma coming 2nd with 2. I'm not aware of a tie-break mechanic in Atlantis although Maddie reached her score before I did. I was just happy to share the win.

Gaming with Grandma - 118

Just a quick game of Der Schwarze Pirat for Grandma, Maddie and I this morning. Maddie and Grandma made some great moves but alas, the winds were not kind to me. It was fun to see some pirate action between Grandma and I, each giving as good as we took. Final scores were 1st Maddie with 17 gold, 2nd Grandma with 15 gold, and 3rd Wayne with 4 gold.

Gaming with Grandma - 117

Another Saturday morning gaming session with my mother (AKA Grandma to our kids), 8 (almost 9) year old daughter Maddie, and a welcome guest in younger daughter Georgia who is 4.5 years old.

Maddie chose the games we were to play. First up was PitchCar Mini. The colours of the four drivers were Wayne (tan), Grandma (yellow), Maddie (pink) and Georgia (blue). The starting grid was 1st Maddie, 2nd Georgia, 3rd Grandma and 4th Wayne.


Maddie led for pretty much the entire three laps with me in second and slowly gaining on her each lap. Georgia and Grandma kept trading 3rd and 4th position. It was on the last bend of the final lap that the major drama of the race happened. Maddie ran off the road and I was able to overtake her and win on my next go. She took 2nd with Georgia 3rd and Grandma 4th.


Maddie then chose Diamant. This is my home-made version and we use glass stones to represent the rubies and diamonds. Maddie and Grandma took an early lead which they held for the first four caves. On the final cave I pushed my luck further than the other three and was lucky to come away with a big score that handed me the overall win. Final scores were 1st Wayne 47, 2nd Maddie 39, 3rd Grandma 29 and 4th Georgia 15.

Gaming with Grandma - 116

Another Saturday morning gaming session with my mother (AKA Grandma to our kids) and 8 year old daughter Maddie. We only played the one game this morning and it was one I chose, influenced I must admit by my infatuation with the upcoming video game Red Dead Redemption and a dice game playable by your character in the video game itself.

Bluff (AKA Liar's Dice) is a dice game where each player is given five dice and a cup to roll and hide them with. Players make successively higher declarations (guesses) regarding the results of all the dice remaining in the game, e.g. "there are five threes". However, someone can always challenge the bid. When that happens, all the dice are revealed and either the bidder or the caller loses dice, depending on who was correct. The last player with dice remaining is the winner.


Maddie did quite well. She was the one that challenged me the most and eventually knocked me out of the game first. Grandma did go on to win (with two dice remaining) and it was fun to watch the two bid and challenge each other.

Gaming with Grandma - 115

Another Saturday morning gaming session with my mother (Grandma) and my 8 year old daughter (Maddie).

First up this morning was Cloud 9. This is a game where players push their luck in piloting a hot-air balloon. The higher you rise the more points you get, but the trick is to hop out and claim your points before the balloon crashes to earth. I won this with 51 points, Maddie was 2nd with 23 points and Grandma was 3rd with 10 points.


Our next game, Pass the Pigs, was another push-your-luck style game. In this game players roll two cute little rubber pigs and depending on how they land determines how many points you receive. Maddie had a great game and won with 104 points, just beating Grandma who came 2nd on 96 points, with me lagging far behind on 3rd place with 41 points.


The next game was Wanted!, a card game in which quick reflexes and keen eyes help determine the winner. Each player flips over a card from their hand each turn, and if it's a special action card then all players must do the corresponding action. The slowest player takes the cards. First player to discard their hand of cards is the winner. I came first, Maddie came 2nd and Grandma came 3rd.


We then played my home-made version of Diamant. Another push-your-luck game in which players explore treasure and danger-filled caverns. Grandma was the one who made the best decisions to take the win with 40 points, I was right behind on 2nd with 37 points, and Maddie was 3rd with 29 points.


Our last game of the morning was Money Money Money. This is a fun game of guessing probabilities with a little luck thrown in. Maddie was the clear winner with 30 points, Grandma was 2nd with 23 points and I came 3rd with 15 points.


A fun morning of gaming with my family and it was great to see us all have at least one win each.

Gaming with Grandma - 114

Another Saturday morning gaming session with my mother (AKA Grandma) and 8 year old daughter (AKA Maddie). This morning we chose to play Atlantis (AKA Survive, AKA Escape from Atlantis) a game kindly given to me by Friendless.

The version I have is the German one produced by Schmidt Spiele and made under licence from Waddingtons Games Ltd. I'm not sure what year it was made because I could find no date on the board, rules or box. I suspect it was made in 1986 (when the original English Waddingtons Games version was released) as this particular German version was made in the former West Germany. We used the 1996 Parker (Hasbro) rules obtainable from BGG. The plastic land tiles, sea creatures and ship components are very nice. The wooden people playing pieces are colourful and functional. I played green, Maddie played blue and Grandma played yellow.


I quite enjoy the theme of trying to escape from a threatening disaster (e.g. The Downfall of Pompeii) and also the mechanic of racing to be the first to get all your people to safety (e.g. Cartagena). This game pre-dates both of those games and is a nice mixture of both. Each turn involves moving your people, then removing a land tile and then moving a random sea creature to either help yourself or hinder your opponents. Under each tile there are symbols that refer to events that are either good (e.g. a ship or dolphin appearing) or bad (an octupode, shark, sea monster or whirlpool).

Limited movement points mean that it's always a tough decision trying to work out which of your people to help save that turn. There's also the fun element of occasionally being able to send a shark to attack an opponent's swimmers or a sea monster to gobble up a ship. I find that at her age Maddie doesn't appreciate this part of the game. Or should I say she has no problem with sending a sea monster to destroy a ship full of Dad and Grandma's people but doesn't take it well when Dad sends a shark to eat one of her swimmers (heh heh!).

I don't normally hold back in trying to win a game when playing with my kids and this game was no different. Despite that, Maddie went on to grab a well-deserved win with 4 points, I came second with 3 points and Grandma came third with 2 points.

I can see this game becoming a regular favourite.

Gaming with Grandma - 113

Another Saturday morning gaming session with my mother (AKA Grandma) and daughters Maddie (aged 8) and Georgia (aged 4).

Our first game of the morning was Ingenious. The object of the game is to score points in six different colours by placing plastic tiles consisting of two joined hexes. You score points when you place coloured tiles next to matching colours. The game ends when there is no room to place any further tiles or someone wins by scoring the maximum points in each colour. If the game ends when the space runs out then everyone checks their least-scored colour and the person who scored the most points in their least-scored colour wins the game.


Final scores were:

Grandma - 10, 12, 15, 15, 18 ,18
Wayne - 10, 11, 12, 15, 15, 17
Maddie - 10, 10, 11, 12, 15, 18

Grandma came first on count back, I came 2nd and Maddie came 3rd.

Our second game of the morning was PitchCar Mini. Georgia joined us for this game so we had four 'cars' on the track. I played brown, Grandma played yellow, Maddie played green and Georgia played pink. We had the house rule that whoever was in last place took two flicks.


I led for pretty much the entire race with 2nd, 3rd and 4th places hotly contested between the girls. I went on to win the three-lap race, with Georgia a surprise 2nd place, Grandma 3rd and Maddie 4th.

Gaming with Grandma - 112

Our game session this morning was at Grandma's house for a change.

We played Quicksand. This is a game in which the object is to be the first adventurer to reach the hidden temple. You use cards to move and hinder the playing pieces which represent the six adventurers. The catch is that each player is secretly assigned one adventurer at the beginning of the game as their character. You win if your character is the first player-owned character to reach the temple. If a non-player character is the first to reach the temple it is reset on its starting space.


So this is a race game where bluffing is the main tactic. Advancing only your own character is a sure way to identify it to the other players who can then play 'quicksand' cards to hinder you. Trying to identify who owns which character while at the same time trying to prevent them from guessing your own, and still trying to advance towards the temple, can be a difficult balancing act.

I played black, Grandma played yellow and Maddie played red. I did end up winning, after Maddie unknowingly helped me at times during the game. Grandma progressed quite well and didn't move her own character at all during the game!

This is a fun, light bluffing game and I'm sure it will see further plays.