Family tabletop game

Soldato
Joined
18 Oct 2002
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Maidenhead
Hi all,

I want to buy a few board games for the family to play over the holidays. There is my wife and 2 kids - girl 11yo, boy 8yo (although he is more like a 10 in mental ability).

I've chosen Small World as the kids enjoy the fantasy genre (we spent the weekend watching LoTR and Hobbit films).

Any other recommendations? Some things I am considering but can't decide on... Ticket to ride Europe, Camel Up, Sheriff of Nottingham, King of New York, Tsuro of the Seas, Munchkin and Carcassonne. Is there anything else I'm missing?

Thanks
 
Soldato
Joined
18 Oct 2002
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7,005
Location
Melksham
Ticket to Ride Europe is great and 'simple', as is Camel Up/Cup and Carcassonne.

I'd go for King of Tokyo over New York, New York is good but just seems like making the game more 'complex' with no real added benefits. Not sure on the new version of King of Tokyo as to whether it changes anything.

Tsuro of the Seas is similar imo, base Tsuro is fun, not sure the monsters bit adds anything worth adding.

Munchkin is a bit of a polarising one, if you do go for it the 'deluxe edition' (with board etc) is better imo in terms of keeping track of where others are, but ultimately it's not that great, I enjoy it every 6 months or so but more than that and I think I'd get tired of it really quickly.
 
Associate
Joined
8 Jan 2012
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2,296
Location
Cornwall
camel cup : is great random fun and very simple,you can add the expansion to add a little more complexity.£21.99 roughly


love letter(batman is our fave): really simple little filler game,i have quite a few filler games and this is easily our fave.£7.99 roughly

king of tokyo/newyork: i have king of new york (i wanted more complexity after playing king of tokyo,but they are both great games and tbh tokyo seems to get more support regarding expansions and such.£22 roughly

cash n guns: this is a excellent little game ,great for families and drinking fun,whats not to love about foam guns and loot!.£21 roughly

Epic Spell Wars of the Battle Wizards: Rumble at Castle Tentakill (2015): i would check the art on this first as it maybe to much for what you wish your kids to see,but this could be great fun for the kids as you shout out the spells you make like a wizard(its in the rules!) £19 roughly

hanabi: you make fireworks as a team however you dont know what cards you have but everyone else does and they cant directly tell you ,great team work game and good fun.
£9 roughly

i agree with skill regarding munchkin,we have adventure time munchkin its okay but it never really sees play now,and from what i understand all of them play nearly identical as its more of a change of skin than game mechanics.
 
Soldato
Joined
24 Dec 2002
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2,661
Location
Barton upon Humber
good choice of games (no interest in munchkin personally but some seem to like it) Id put Ticket to ride Europe, Camel Up, Sheriff of Nottingham, King of New York & carcassone as all excellent choices, as said no interest in munchkin and although i rate tsuro its a great short filler game inbetween other games but not a main game to play for an evening

i would add Colt Express to the list as its a fun short game and looks great on the table.

i dont think you can go wrong with TTR so id say go for it.

Qwirkle is a nice simple family game.

Takenoko is also a very nice family game

finally for something a bit more involved you could look into mice & mystics, RPG in a box game with a story and character progression, my 9 year old loves it but it doesn't get out much as its too deep for our 4 year old currently.
 
Soldato
Joined
18 Oct 2002
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16,913
Location
Cambridge
I've just bought my 2 boys Descent: Journey's in the Dark Second Edition. It's like a more advanced Hero Quest (which they loved). Definitely recommend it, quality throughout from pieces to board to rules and quests. It is a bit more advanced than your typical game though.
 
Soldato
Joined
7 Feb 2011
Posts
6,056
If the kids are capable of Small World, you should look at Via Nebula. It's sold a lot of copies on the back of cute pigs, but it's also a very tight and very smart game despite its simple mechanics.
 
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