Meeples Overboard

Tag: Codenames

Best Christmas Board Games for your family 2025
The festive season is approaching. And when people think about spending more time with friends or family they often think about getting the best board game and want to know what is the best Christmas board game? However, there are a number of challenges with that question; do you want a Christmas themed board game, a gift to go under the Christmas tree or a game to play and perhaps the biggest what one family thinks is a fun game may not be enjoyed by another family.

We all have different plans for the holidays and this post will help you decide on the board games for your family Christmas plans. There will be different numbers of people, different ages, different amounts of time and levels of interest in games. Some people will be reluctant to play games as their memories are classic board games like Monopoly, but with the large choice of family board games now available, there will be something that works for your gathering.

Here are my tips for discovering what type of board game you are looking for. If you want more help on selecting an exact game, read my post How to choose a board game.

Buying board games

Where I have them, I’ve included links to my reviews or Instagram posts. In other cases I’ve linked to Amazon for ease. These are marked with * and if you buy something after clicking the link I will earn some money. However, please consider supporting a specialist board game shop. They often have great prices, and you can be confident you are getting a genuine version of the game (yes, people sell counterfeit board games).

Finding the best Christmas board game for your whole family

To help you select the best holiday game, there are a few questions you should answer first:
- do you want a Christmas-themed board game or just a great game?
- are you wanting to play the game during Christmas or are you giving it as a gift?
- who will be playing?
- when will you be playing (how will the game fit in to your plans)?
Games to play at Christmas

Christmas themed board games

At this time of year, you’ll find lots of shops start selling board games for Christmas. These are often a holiday edition of an existing game, with a few that are unique. If you want a Christmas family board game, my advice is to use the following tips and make sure what ever you select fits your plans. I don’t remember ever playing a Christmas themed game, so I’ve done some research to get a list of games that have good reviews.
- Ghosts of Christmas* – a trick taking card game based on a Christmas Carol
- Christmas Tree* – a tile laying game where you’re trying to get the best decorated tree
- Santa’s Workshop* – a worker placement game where you direct elves to collect materials and build gifts
- Dice Throne: Santa v. Krampus – a 2 player game where you attack each other using dice rolls
- Ugly Christmas Sweaters – who can design the ugliest sweater using cards
- Animal upon Animal: Christmas Edition – who can stack their wooden shapes on the snowy hills first. We loved the original version of this so recommend this for younger kids
- Holly Jolly* – you collect points by placing lights or tinsel cards on to a central tree
- Welcome To… Winter Wonderland* Pack – In Welcome to… you create a neighbourhood based on the cards turned over. This pack gives you Christmas theme paper to draw your neighbourhood. You need the base game to play.
- Ticket to Ride Nordic Countries* – collect cards to build train lines across the Nordic countries.
Large variety of ages

It can be tricky to find family-friendly games that are fair and fun for all ages. I recommend staying away from general knowledge or trivia, and if there are very young children involved avoid games which involve reading or spelling (it really slows down a game when you have to ask them to interpret their writing). Consider games like:
- Taskmaster* – amusing challenges e.g. drawing a cake with your eyes closed
- Dixit* – can you guess the correct abstract picture card from the clue?
- Codename pictures – picture association in teams
- Make ‘n’ Break – a dexterity game with differentiated challenges, so the children can have easier ones
- Magic Maze – you work together to move characters around a shopping mall, but each person can only move them in one direction – and you can’t talk!
- Tsuro* – place tiles to build paths that your dragon has to follow
Highly Competitive

Some families take great pleasure in playing highly competitive games where the focus is on who will win the game, possibly with gloating for years. We don’t play a lot of these games, so I have limited experience, but here are some suggestions:
- Anomia* – instead of saying snap when your cards match you have to give the quickest trivia answer
- Staccups – who can stack all their cups the quickest? Although you’ll find this in the games for kids section, trust me when I say it gets very competitive among adults. It is a frantic game.
- Ice Cool* – flick penguins around the school, one person trying to capture the other penguins and others trying to avoid them
- Throw Throw Burrito* – card game where you collect cards, but with occasional throwing of soft burritos at the other players. This is a crazy game.
Games for the fun of playing

Sometimes you want to have family fun without keeping score or paying attention who has won. Time for party games. We own all the following games and know we’ll always have a great time with them.
- So Clover* – linking random words together for others to guess
- Just One* – word association again, but if more than one person gives the same clue they are all removed so the guesser has fewer clues to help them.
- Telestrations – this is similar to Chinese Whispers / Telephone game but using drawings. If you are looking for grown-up games there is a version called Scrawl which is very funny.
- Concept* – a bit like charades but using a board of pictures to give the clues
- Time’s up Party – starts like charades, but each rounds gets hard until you’re are using just one word to describe a person
Co-operative games

In co-op games you play as a team and either win or lose together. There are many brilliant games in this category. They are particularly useful if you want to keep arguments to a minimum or there are different levels of experienced players.
- Magic Maze – you are all moving the same pieces around the board, but each person can only move them in a certain direction – and you can’t talk
- Forbidden Desert – you need to find the components of an airship so you can escape, but the land keeps moving due to sand storms
- Pandemic – you need to find the cure for 4 different diseases by sharing information from around the world
- Mysterium* – as a group of psychics you get visions about a murder, and you need to work out which is the correct vision
Long games

Long games are great if you want an evening of fun, or you want to keep people occupied for several hours. They are often more complex so you probably want to read the rules before Christmas.
- Sleeping Gods – this is an original game where you exploring a map creating your own story (this is the longest game, it took us about 12 hours – over several months).
- Terraforming Mars – a tile laying game where develop Mars from the current lifeless planet to one that is habitable
- Hogwarts Battle – a Harry Potter deckbuilding card game. The early years are quick, but they build in complexity and length as you progress through the story. Our Year 1 game took 10 minutes and Year 5 over 2 hours (we haven’t played year 6 or 7 yet).
- Dead of Winter* – there has been a Zombie apocalypse, and you need to get food and protection for the safe colony, by exploring outside. Probably not considered a family game for young children.
Quick plays

Sometimes you just want a simple game that will fill a spare 15 minutes, with minimal set up.
- Tsuro* – place tiles to build paths that your dragon has to follow
- Just One* – word association again, but if more than one person gives the same clue they are all removed
- Happy Salmon* – an absolutely silly game where you are trying to find matching cards using hand gestures and possibly shouting
Flexibility

Sometimes you want to play a game, but also know that people may need to duck out e.g. to watch children or cook dinner. These games allow people to leave (and possibly join) without impacting on the game play.
- Codenames – team based word association – can you guess your words before the other team
- Just One* – word association again, but if more than one person gives the same clue they are all removed
- Concept* – a bit like charades but using a board of pictures to give the clues
- Anomia* – instead of saying snap when your cards match you have to give the quickest trivia answer
Problem solving games

If you want to solve a mystery, there several games you can try, some fall under the broad heading of escape room type, but all of them have a problem that needs solving. Note these are usually one time plays.
- Exit – escape room style game series
- Unlock* – escape room style games with an app to check answers, give clues and time you
- Adventure – choose your own adventure style game
- Chronicles of Crime – explore locations and interview witnesses using the app (some of these crimes are not suitable for children)
- Suspects – you get to interview the witnesses of a crime before deducing who is the culprit.
Large groups

Over Christmas you may be looking for games that play more than the traditional 4 or 5. You can sometimes buy expansions that let you increase the number of games, but all these play at least 6 players in the basic box.
- Dixit – can you guess the correct picture card for the clue?
- Anomia* – instead of saying snap when your cards match you have to give the quickest trivia answer
- Codenames* – team based word association – can you guess your words before the other team
- Concept* – a bit like charades but using a board of pictures to give the clues
- Just One* – word association again, but if more than one person gives the same clue that word is not given to the guesser
- Telestrations* – similar to Chinese Whispers / Telephone game but using drawings
- Tsuro* – place tiles to build paths that your dragon has to follow
- Mysterium* – as a group of psychics you get visions about a murder, and you need to work out which is the correct vision
Quirky games

Perhaps you want a game that is different to the usual game so your festive game becomes a family legend as people remember it for years to come!
- Micro Macro Crime City* – you use a large image of the city to solve crimes, where’s Wally style (looks cute, but you may not want to share all the crimes with your children).
- Ice Cool* – flick penguins around the school, one person trying to capture the other penguins and others trying to avoid them
- Chronicles of Crime – explore locations and interview witnesses using an app and QR codes (some of these crimes are not suitable for children)
- Potion Explosion* – create potions by drawing marbles from the board and creating “explosions”
- One Night Ultimate Werewolf* – a social deduction game, can you work out who is the werewolf (just to add I’m dreadful at this game as it turns out I can’t bluff)
- Mysterium* – as a group of psychics you get visions about a murder, and you need to work out which is the correct vision (one of you will play the ghost giving out the visions).
Choosing your Christmas board game is the first step. The second step is to learn how to play the game and the third is to teach it to the other players. I recommend you learn it in advance. If you are giving the game as a gift and can’t open the instructions, look for details online. You will probably find the written instructions, but possibly more helpfully videos explaining how to set it up and play.

I hope these tips help you find a game that is perfect for your Christmas and helps you spend quality time together. Do let me know in the comments what are your favourite Christmas board games and which have become a family tradition.

*Disclosure – this post includes affiliate links which means if you buy something after using it I will earn some money from the seller for suggesting you visit them. However, it will not cost you anything extra.
September 19, 2024
Codenames Pictures game review
Codenames Pictures* is a team based party game. Where one person from each team gives a one word clue, which their team uses to deduct which picture cards on the table represent their spies. If you have played the original Codenames, this follows the same rules but uses pictures instead of words to depict the spies.

We love Codenames*. And have already played it on more than twenty days this year. We introduced it to friends on a skiing trip earlier this year and by popular demand we played it every night. While we’ve been in lockdown in the UK, we started a weekly virtual Codenames night with up to ten people joining by Zoom.

Everyone loves the original, but after playing it for more than 10 weeks I thought it would be good to try something different. So I was very excited to try Codenames Pictures when Asmodee offered us a copy to review.*

Codenames Pictures Overview

Game Type – a team based party game involving deduction

Aim – To be the first team who finds their spies (pictures) before the other team

Players – 4+ players
The box says 10+ but our 8 year old likes to join in

Time to play – 15 minutes

Components

The game comes with sealable plastic bags which makes it easy to store everything in the box. It also makes the game portable as you can take just the bags. Inside the box you get:
- 140 double-sided picture cards
- 60 double-sided key cards or spy maps
- 15 agent cards — in each colour and 1 double agent
- 4 innocent bystander cards
- 1 assassin card
- 1 rulebook
- 1 card stand
The picture cards have jumbled or abstract images so it is possible to make multiple connections between them.

How to play

Objectives

The objective is to find your spies before the other team finds theirs, and to avoid the assassin.

Setting up Codename Pictures

A grid of picture cards is set out five across and four up. Two teams are formed, red and blue, and a spymaster chosen from each. A key card is put in the stand and positioned so only the spymasters can look at it.

The agent, bystander and assassin cards are placed near to the grid. The team that goes first is chosen by the colour on the outside of the keycard. This team is given the double agent card, so they need to find one more agent (the double agent card is red on one side and blue on the other).

Playing Codenames Pictures

The spymasters look at the colours on the keycard and match them to the grid of picture cards to work out which cards represent their spies. They think of words that connect the cards without linking to any other cards in the grid. Each clue must only be one word, followed by the number of cards they want their team to guess.

Their team can discuss the clues and options and make a final guess by touching the card. If they are correct it is covered by the spy card of their colour, if they are incorrect it is covered by the colour shown on the keycard. This could be a spy from the other team, an innocent bystander or the assassin (in which case you lose the game).

If the guess is correct they can make another one and if it is incorrect the turn ends. It is not necessary to guess all the numbers as a clue can be used on a future turn, although you can only make one additional guess each turn.

It is then the opposing team’s spymaster’s turn to give a clue. This continues until the end of the game.

How we’ve played remotely

We’ve used Zoom to play Codenames and Codenames Pictures remotely. We use Zoom on a laptop to see our friends and join in the conversations. To show the cards we use a mobile phone, connected to Zoom but on mute, looking down at the table. We’ve created a phone holder using a tripod, boom arm and a phone holder my husband had to hold his phone on his drum kit.

Since discovering the game on the ski trip, most of our friends have bought the original Codenames. During lockdown, they’ve also been playing it remotely with family, and have used a variety of methods to hold the phone including brooms and bamboo canes!

Ending the game and winning

There are two ways of winning Codenames Pictures. Your team can find all their spies before the other team or the other team can guess the assassin by mistake.

We don’t keep score. However, we have a rule that the winning spymaster stays on for the next game. And if you are spymaster for the whole evening, you get great kudos.

Do I recommend it?

Yes, although not necessarily more than the original Codenames. This will depend on how and who you’re playing with. For example, if you’re playing with younger children they could find it easier to link pictures than words. However, playing it over Zoom (the only way we’ve played so far) some of the picture details are lost, which makes it harder to play than the original.

It is certainly nice to have variety using the exact same game play. We’ve played Codenames so many times with the same group of people that the words are getting very familiar, even with the additional cards in Codenames Duet. And I look forward to playing Codenames Pictures in person.

Things I like
- Fun mechanism
- Children can get involved
- Portable
- Quicker game than the original as fewer cards to guess
- Pictures are good for people who think better with imagery than words
May be a challenge
- Need 4 or more people
- Harder to play over Zoom
Other games you may want to consider

Party Games
- Codenames Pictures (my review)
- Telestrations (my review)
- Just One
- Decrypto
- The Resistance
Team Games
- Codenames
- Decrypto
- Wavelength
- Concept
- Taboo
* Disclaimer – I received this game through the Asmodee Blogger Board Game Club. This was a free game in exchange for an honest review. All comments are my own. This post contains affiliate links which means if you buy something I may earn a percentage of the value. However it does not cost you any more.
July 31, 2020
Time’s Up Party Game Review
Time’s Up Party* is a fun quick party game involving guessing people from descriptions of miming. It is based on the long-standing game Celebrity. Unfortunately due to the lock down we haven’t been able to experience this as a party game, but we have given it a good go as a family.

I’ve been looking for a new team based party game that is portable. We introduced our friends to Codenames (my review) earlier this year, and there is a chance they’ll be bored with it by the time we go away next year. So was very pleased when Asmodee asked if we’d review Time’s Up Party, could this be a contender for the next ski trip?

https://youtube.com/watch?v=SjNOXnbUwik%3Frel%3D0

Time’s Up Party Game Overview

Game Type – This is an acting, guessing and memory game, played in teams.

Aim – The aim is to be the team who has guessed the most cards correctly after three rounds.

Players – 4-12 players
The suggested age is 12+, however this is dependent on the names on the cards. I’ve successfully played this with an 11 and 8 year old, but think it will be more fun with adults.

Time to Play – The suggested time on the box is 40 minutes, but this is variable depending on how many cards you start with, and how good the acting and guessing skills are.

Components

The box is unusual as it is almost a cube, however if that doesn’t fit on your shelves it also comes with a bag so you can keep all the components in there instead.

The game also comes with over 200 name cards (each has two names), a biographies book if you don’t know a name, sand timer and score book.

When you open the box the first component you notice is the bamboo. It is stackable wood pieces painted in three different colours. The player action markers and dice are also wooden.

The panda and gardener are pre-painted plastic miniatures, and blue plastic sticks depict the irrigation channels. Everything else is cardboard of varies thicknesses.

Each player has a board that reminds them of the possible actions each turn, and to collate their loose pieces. Thes boards maybe optional in a game with adults, but I think they are essential in a game with children.

How to play Time’s Up Party

Objectives

To be the team with the most correct guesses at the end of three rounds.

Set up

The first thing to do is to split into teams. We’ve only played it with two teams, but the scorecard suggests it will work with up to four.

Start by creating the deck of cards which will be used for all three rounds. This is done by dealing 40 cards between all players. Each person reviews his or her cards and if they don’t like / know a name they can swap it with the remaining cards. The selected cards are shuffled together and given to the first player.

When we’ve played with children we’ve all picked cards from the deck until we each have five we know as this increases the chances the children will know the names and also means the game is quicker.

Round 1

This is the describing round. The first person to go describes the name on the card until their teammates guess it, they continue with a new card until the timer runs out. The deck is passed to the person in the second team; until all the cards are gone. The number of correct guesses are added to the scorecard for each team.

Round 2

The cards are collected, shuffled and given to the first person to go in this round. This time only one word can be given as a clue, but as everyone, may, remember who is in the deck this can be easier than you expect. The rules state you can only make one guess per card in this round, but we ignored this when we played with children. The correct guesses are added to the scorecard.

Round 3

This is the miming round. The cards are again collected, shuffled and given to the first person to go who can not use words to describe the name, so has to rely on actions and humming. Again, memory from the previous two rounds is important.

Ending the game and winning

The game ends when the last name is guessed at the end of round 3. The winning team is the one with the most correct guesses over the three rounds.

Do I recommend Time’s Up Party?

Based on my experience playing this with children I do recommend it as I’ve had fun, particularly in Round 3. However, I am looking forward to playing it with more adults as I think it will be quicker and even more fun.

We managed to adapt this to play with our children, but they still struggled with some names. So if you want to play with younger children, there is a Kids version which uses pictures, but it doesn’t seem easy to get hold of in the UK. Fortunately, Asmodee wants to entertain families during the pandemic and has provided a number of print and play games on their website, including Time’s Up! Kids so you can easily try it out.

Things I like
- Simple to learn
- Quick turns
- Everyone knows some of the cards in the deck as they chose them
- You can use your memory to help in rounds 2 and 3
- Portable
- Team based
Things that may create challenges
- You maybe limited by your knowledge of people (the biography book might help, but we’ve always forgotten to use it)
- The younger the players, the fewer people they are likely to know
Other games you may want to consider

Party Games
- Codenames Pictures (my review)
- Telestrations (my review)
- Just One
- Decrypto
- The Resistance
Team Games
- Codenames
- Decrypto
- Wavelength
- Concept
- Taboo
* Disclaimer – I received this game through the Asmodee Blogger Board Game Club. This was a free game in exchange for an honest review. All comments are my own. This post contains affiliate links which means if you buy something I may earn a percentage of the value. However it does not cost you any more.
May 1, 2020
2019 Board games played wrap up
Here’s a look back on my gaming year, and the first thing to note is I played more games than 2018.

Number of games played: 94

Total plays: 266

Games played at least 10 times: 6
- Tsuro
- Sushi Go Party
- Splendor
- Santorini
- Timeshock
- Drop-It (gifted)
Month I played the most: May

Games I played that we didn’t own: 36

Games we acquired after trying someone else’s copy: 3
- Beyond Baker Street
- Just One
- Tiny Towns
Change in our game collection: +11 to 75

Games we removed: 19

New Games: 30
- Bargain Quest
- Beyond Baker Street
- Blue Lagoon (gifted)
- Carcassonne
- Catan
- Century Golem
- Chocolate Factory
- Concept
- Dream Home
- Just One
- Love Letter
- Papillon
- Root
- Rubik’s Cage (gifted)
- Rubik’s Match (gifted)
- Santorini
- Scythe
- Splendor (gifted)
- Takenoko (gifted)
- Terraforming Mars
- The Faceless
- Ticket to Ride
- Tichu
- Tiny Towns
- Topiary
- Ultra Dash (gifted)
- Vadoran Gardens
- Villagers
- Wingspan
During the year we owned a total of 94 games and I played 53 of them 56%

Full list of games I played in 2019
- Rummikub 2
- Sushi Go Party 10
- Azul 3
- My first Carcassonne 2
- Ice Cool 2
- Drop-It 10 (gifted)
- Queen Domino 2
- Linkee 1
- Hero Realms 5
- Tsuro 10
- Dream Home 5
- Grabolo 9
- Timeshock 10
- Code Names 1
- Scrawl 5 (goodie bag game)
- Staccups 4 (game I won)
- Photosynthesis 2
- Pursuit of Happiness 1
- Magic maze 1
- Grimm Forest 1
- Scythe 1
- Exit the secret lab 1
- Rising 5 1
- Pandemic 5
- Rhino Hero 4
- Kingdomino 2
- Dobble 9
- Playing cards 8
- Animal upon animal 3
- 5 second rule Jr 1
- Sagrada 6
- The magic labyrinth 2
- Reef 1
- Tokaido 1
- Architects of the west kingdom 1
- The Faceless 3
- Cluedo 1
- Patchwork 2
- Clank! 2
- Gizmos 2
- Colt Express 1
- Beyond baker street 2
- Jenga 1
- Dino Hunt Dice 2
- Phase 10 2
- Villagers 8
- Dixit 2
- Pandemic Legacy 1 6
- Slam it 1
- Just One 6
- Adventure Mart 1
- Victorian Masterminds 1
- Shadow Amsterdam 1
- Sushi Roll 2
- Team3 1
- Maiden’s quest 6
- Vadoran Garden 2
- Concept 3
- Carcassonne 2
- Yeti in my spaghetti 1
- Harry Potter trivial pursuit 1
- Blue Lagoon 2 (gifted)
- Takenoko 3 (gifted)
- Splendor 10 (gifted)
- Topiary 7
- Castle panic 2
- Tsuro of the seas 1
- Century 3
- Passtally 1
- Santorini 10
- Throw Throw Burrito 1
- Tiny Towns 3
- Dinosaur Island 1
- Kana Gawi 1
- Wingspan 2
- Abyss 1
- Love letter 1
- Ultra Dash 1
- Chocolate factory 3
- Ticket to ride 2
- Rubik’s Cage 3 (gifted)
- Rubik’s Match 2 (gifted)
- Celestia 1
- Lotus 1
- Code name pictures 1
- Dead of Winter 1
- Forbidden Island 1
- Champions of Midgard 1
- council of four 1
- Grimm Masquerade 1
- Quadropolis 1
- Mission: Red Planet 1
- Papillon 1
- Articulate 1
*Disclosure – this post includes affiliate links which means if you buy something after using it I will earn some money from the seller for suggesting you visit them. However, it will not cost you anything extra.
January 1, 2020
What I loved about 10 x 10 game challenge
I was very excited when my friend told me about the 10×10 game challenge for two reasons 1) it would encourage me (and hopefully the family) to play more games and 2) I could create a spreadsheet to analyse the data. And I admit that may have been more exciting than the prospect of playing games as I do love creating spreadsheets!

What is the 10×10 game challenge?

According to BoardGameGeek, where I believe the challenge originated, the challenge is to play 10 games 10 times each in a year. This challenge encourages people to play each game several times to explore and experience them in depth. There is normal and hardcore challenge depending on whether you want to choose the ten games as you go along or define them at the start of the challenge. As I didn’t know what I was letting myself in for I did the normal challenge.

Did I enjoy the 10×10 game challenge?

Yes I did, in fact I really enjoyed it. It added a new interesting dimension to my gaming; and not just because I had a spreadsheet. I’m very pleased that I completed the challenge, although it was tight because I played the tenth play of the tenth game on New Year’s Eve! I’ve enjoyed
- finding out more about the type of games I like to play
- watching the children develop their game playing abilities
- spending time with family and friends
However, it was also frustrating at times as my fellow game players were not always as keen to play the games on my list. At times it actually felt I was playing as many games as possible instead of focusing on playing a small number more.

It was also difficult to decide what counted as a play. As different games have different play lengths is one play actually equal? The rules on BoardGameGeek say “If you play a game multiple times in a row, each completed game counts as a play.” I disagreed. Some of the games I play with the children are very quick such as Grabolo and I could get to ten plays in one day, which didn’t seem very challenging. Therefore I counted the number of days I played a game, no matter how many times I played it.

The ten games I played ten times

In my quest to get ten plays of ten games I actually played 69 games, a total of 253 plays (an average of 3.6 plays each). I’ve put the full list at the end of the post. But here are the ten games I played ten times; it is an interesting list as it is pretty different to my favourite games of last year. Links with * are an Amazon affiliate link.
1. Hero Realms (my review) – 16 plays
2. Staccups (my review) – 18 plays (gifted)
3. Pack of cards (my review) – 15 plays
4. Animal upon Animal* – 11 plays
5. Grabolo* – 11 plays (gifted)
6. Rummikub* – 11 plays
7. Magic Labyrinth* – 10 plays
8. My First Carcassonne* – 10 plays
9. Star Realms* – 10 plays
10. Magic Maze* – 10 plays
Although on average I played 21 games each month, I didn’t have my 10th play until September. It wasn’t looking good that I’d complete the challenge, but managed to get five games to ten plays in December.

I enjoyed the normal 10×10 game challenge so much I am doing it again this year.

What I learnt from doing the 10×10 game challenge

As well as playing lots of games and creating a spreadsheet I also learnt a lot more than I expected during the challenge.

The games I played don’t necessarily reflect my choice

I play a lot of games with my children and often let them chose the games. So my list of ten games is more of a reflection of what they enjoy playing than what I enjoy. For example I’d like to see more puzzle games e.g. Azul and fewer dexterity games e.g. Grabolo.

https://web.archive.org/web/20241007201733if_/https://www.instagram.com/p/BngXSABB8tj/embed/?cr=1&v=14&wp=638&rd=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.meeplesoverboard.com&rp=%2Fposts%2Fwhat-i-loved-10×10-game-challenge#%7B%22ci%22%3A0%2C%22os%22%3A14743.800000071526%7D

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Playing a game more often with children helps them develop their own strategies and start winning

Children often don’t have the experience to be successful on the first few plays of a game. However, the more you play a game, the more they can see what works and doesn’t and can try different strategies. Hero Realms is the first game I played ten times and that was mostly driven by B who discovered it and loved it. She got better each time so it wasn’t long before she started beating me and I had to get tips from my husband to have a fighting chance!

https://web.archive.org/web/20241007201733if_/https://www.instagram.com/p/BgLlhrrHspO/embed/?cr=1&v=14&wp=638&rd=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.meeplesoverboard.com&rp=%2Fposts%2Fwhat-i-loved-10×10-game-challenge#%7B%22ci%22%3A1%2C%22os%22%3A14749.300000071526%7D

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It is quicker to set up a game you’ve played several times

When you’ve played a game a few times you don’t need to refer to the instructions as often. This means it is easier to set up the game and you get down to playing quicker. Or, in some cases the children have set up games when I’m doing something else so we start playing as soon as I’m there (they’ve learnt this also means we play the game they choose).

It is possible to find more time to play games

The challenge provided enough encouragement to find more times to play games. And I was surprised how easy it was to find pockets of time. My favourite was organising game night; although this sometimes backfired as people would bring their own games which didn’t help me get ten plays! But I also played games with one of my children while the other was in a dance class, and any other children in the waiting area.

https://web.archive.org/web/20241007201733if_/https://www.instagram.com/p/BqndkPIF6w_/embed/?cr=1&v=14&wp=638&rd=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.meeplesoverboard.com&rp=%2Fposts%2Fwhat-i-loved-10×10-game-challenge#%7B%22ci%22%3A2%2C%22os%22%3A14753.600000023842%7D

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Helped us to review our game collection

Recording the games we played over a year means we have a very good record of which games we play and which we don’t. This means we’ve been able to consider why we haven’t played the games and get rid of the ones we know we don’t enjoy. This means we now have space to get more games, which is very convenient just before UKGamesExpo. It has also helped us question whether we’re ready to get expansion set. For example we were planning on getting the Magic Maze expansion, but realised despite having played the base game 10 times we still had lots of scenarios to work through.

Good to have quick play games

It is great to have games which are quick to set up and play because it means it is possible to fit in a play during a short period of time. I think our children are ready to move on to Carcssonne from My First Carcassonne but we’ve decided to keep it. Although it is simple, it is also fun and can get competitive, so is a game we frequently play when we get in from after school activities.

The games we play go in phases

I was surprised how hard it was to reach ten plays of a game. We’d enjoy a game, play it a few times and then decide to move on to something different. One exception was Grabolo, which I got in a conference goody bag, which we played lots because my son LOVED it. It took 69 days to get to ten plays of Grabolo, compared to 191 days for the next quickest game, Animal upon Animal. The average duration to get to ten plays was 257 days and the longest was 339 for My First Carcassonne.

https://web.archive.org/web/20241007201733if_/https://www.instagram.com/p/Bn4K3QbB0T7/embed/?cr=1&v=14&wp=638&rd=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.meeplesoverboard.com&rp=%2Fposts%2Fwhat-i-loved-10×10-game-challenge#%7B%22ci%22%3A3%2C%22os%22%3A25489%7D

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You can play board games on your own

There were times when I wanted to play games, but couldn’t tempt anyone to join in. So it is great that an increasing number of games have a one player option; we have two: Magic Maze and Sagrada. I still prefer to play games with other people, but it is nice not to be reliant on them.

https://web.archive.org/web/20241007201733if_/https://www.instagram.com/p/Bk9mwCRBbLj/embed/?cr=1&v=14&wp=638&rd=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.meeplesoverboard.com&rp=%2Fposts%2Fwhat-i-loved-10×10-game-challenge#%7B%22ci%22%3A4%2C%22os%22%3A25502.200000047684%7D

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Do I recommend doing the 10×10 game challenge?

Well that depends on whether you enjoy playing games. If not, the challenge is unlikely to change your mind. But if you enjoy games and want to encourage yourself to play more than yes I do recommend it. And if you love analysing data then absolutely yes because you can collect lots.

Have you taken part in any game challenges? Do they add to your gaming enjoyment?

Full list of games I played during the 10×10 game challenge

I’ve marked a few of these games as gifted as I’ve been given them to test, however, please note all my comments are honest

5 Second Rule Junior – 1 (gifted)
5 Second Rule Mini – 1 (gifted)
Adrenaline – 2
The Amazeing Labyrinth – 1
Animal Upon Animal – 11
Anomia – 3
Azul – 4
Beasts of Balance – 1
Bugs In The Kitchen – 1
Camel Up – 1
Catan Junior – 4
Caveman – 1 (gifted)
Champions of Midgard – 3
Charades for Kids – 1
Cludeo – 1
Code names – 4
Concept – 2
Dice Forge – 1
Dinkee Linkee for Kids – 1
Dino Hunt Dice– 3
Dixit – 5
Dobble – 5
Dream Home – 1
Drop-it – 6 (gifted)
Exit Secret of the Premiere – 1 (promotional demo)
Exploding Kittens – 1
Fairy Tile – 1
Forbidden Desert – 2
Grabolo – 11 (gifted)
Happy Salmon – 3
Hero Realms – 16
High Society – 1
Ice Cool – 6
Iquazu – 1
Jenga – 3
Junk Art – 2
King of Tokyo – 1
Kingdomino – 6
Linkee – 1
Magic Labyrinth– 10
Magic Maze – 10
Make N Break – 3
My First Carcassonne – 10
One Night Ultimate Werewolf – 1
Operation – 2
Ore-some – 1
Othello – 1
Pandemic – 1
Pass the Pigs – 1
Patchwork – 3
Phase 10 – 2
Playing Cards – 15
Potion Explosion – 1
Queendomino – 1
Rhino Hero – 7
Ruins of Thandar – 1
Rummikub – 11
Sagrada – 4
Scrawl – 4 (gifted)
Staccups – 18 (gifted)
Star Realms – 10
Stuffed Fables – 1
Sushi Go Party – 5
Talisman – 1
Timeshock – 1
Tsuro – 4
Waggle Dance – 2
War of the Nine Realms – 1
Yeti in my Spaghetti – 1

*Disclosure – I was given some of these board games free. This post also includes affiliate links which means if you buy something after following a link I will earn a percentage of the sale but it will not cost you more. All the plays were honest choices by myself, family or friends.
May 3, 2019
2018 Board Games Played Wrap Up
2018 was the first year I kept a record of the games I played, as part of tracking how I was doing for the 10×10 challenge. Here’s a look back on my year.

Number of games played: 69

Total plays: 253

Games played at least 10 times: 10
- Hero Realms (my review) – 16 plays
- Staccups (my review) – 18 plays (gifted)
- Pack of cards (my review) – 15 plays
- Animal upon Animal* – 11 plays
- Grabolo* – 11 plays (gifted)
- Rummikub* – 11 plays
- Magic Labyrinth* – 10 plays
- My First Carcassonne* – 10 plays
- Star Realms* – 10 plays
- Magic Maze* – 10 plays
Month I played the most: September

Games I played that we didn’t own: 23

Games we aquired after trying someone else’s copy: 5
- Drop-It (gifted)
- Ice Cool
- Azul
- Happy Salmon
- Sushi Go Party
New Games: 17
- Anomia
- Sagrada
- Stuffed Fables (loaned from friends)
- Exit: Secret of the premiere
- Drop-It
- Ice Cool
- Champions of Midguard
- Queen Domino
- Azul
- Ruins of Thandar
- Grabolo (gifted)
- Happy Salmon
- Sushi Go Party
- Scrawl (gifted)
- Caveman (gifted)
- Adrenalin
- Timeshok
Games we removed from our collection: 3

Full list of games I played in 2018

I’ve marked a few of these games as gifted as I’ve been given them to test, however, please note all my comments are honest.

5 Second Rule Junior – 1 (gifted)
5 Second Rule Mini – 1 (gifted)
Adrenaline – 2
The Amazeing Labyrinth – 1
Animal Upon Animal – 11
Anomia – 3
Azul – 4
Beasts of Balance – 1
Bugs In The Kitchen – 1
Camel Up – 1
Catan Junior – 4
Caveman – 1 (gifted)
Champions of Midgard – 3
Charades for Kids – 1
Cludeo – 1
Code names – 4
Concept – 2
Dice Forge – 1
Dinkee Linkee for Kids – 1
Dino Hunt Dice– 3
Dixit – 5
Dobble – 5
Dream Home – 1
Drop-it – 6 (gifted)
Exit Secret of the Premiere – 1 (promotional demo)
Exploding Kittens – 1
Fairy Tile – 1
Forbidden Desert – 2
Grabolo – 11 (gifted)
Happy Salmon – 3
Hero Realms – 16
High Society – 1
Ice Cool – 6
Iquazu – 1
Jenga – 3
Junk Art – 2
King of Tokyo – 1
Kingdomino – 6
Linkee – 1
Magic Labyrinth– 10
Magic Maze – 10
Make N Break – 3
My First Carcassonne – 10
One Night Ultimate Werewolf – 1
Operation – 2
Ore-some – 1
Othello – 1
Pandemic – 1
Pass the Pigs – 1
Patchwork – 3
Phase 10 – 2
Playing Cards – 15
Potion Explosion – 1
Queendomino – 1
Rhino Hero – 7
Ruins of Thandar – 1
Rummikub – 11
Sagrada – 4
Scrawl – 4 (gifted)
Staccups – 18 (gifted)
Star Realms – 10
Stuffed Fables – 1
Sushi Go Party – 5
Talisman – 1
Timeshock – 1
Tsuro – 4
Waggle Dance – 2
War of the Nine Realms – 1
Yeti in my Spaghetti – 1
January 1, 2019
Favourite Board Games 2018
We love playing board games. And we enjoy playing as a family and with friends, at home and out and about. It has been an interesting year for us as we’ve visited a local board games cafe, Thirsty Meeples and the UK Games Expo for the first time. I’ve also been taking part in the 10×10 challenge, with the aim to play ten games on ten different days, which has given me an extra focus on the number and type of games I’ve played.

https://web.archive.org/web/20241007195902if_/https://www.instagram.com/p/BkYffBXhjWO/embed/?cr=1&v=14&wp=638&rd=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.meeplesoverboard.com&rp=%2Fposts%2Ffavourite-board-games-2018#%7B%22ci%22%3A0%2C%22os%22%3A23433.299999952316%7D

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Our favourite board games

We each listed our top five board games * of the year and I’m very pleased there is enough overlap that I’ve been able to create a top five for the family. Interestingly, each game had two votes so they are not all loved by all members (especially as Scrawl is 17+ game).
- Azul
- Drop It
- Rummikub
- Scrawl
- Sushi Go
I’m intrigued that none of these games appeared on last year’s list. However, as we got four of them this year, it will be interesting to see if their novelty lasts into 2019.

Azul

Azul is a tile drafting game to create patterns with different coloured tiles. I loved this the first time I played it, and not just because I won, because since then I’ve been beaten every time. My daughter particularly is very good at making good choices while drafting to get high scoring patterns.

Drop It

We played Drop It at UK Games Expo and were then lucky enough to be sent a copy. You drop different coloured and shaped pieces into the frame to earn points. However, there are a number of challenges due to restrictions such as not touching another piece of the same colour and the pieces frequently don’t land where you expect.

https://web.archive.org/web/20241007195902if_/https://www.instagram.com/p/BjiiGltBoOV/embed/?cr=1&v=14&wp=638&rd=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.meeplesoverboard.com&rp=%2Fposts%2Ffavourite-board-games-2018#%7B%22ci%22%3A1%2C%22os%22%3A23439.5%7D

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Rummikub

R ummikub is a game we’ve had for a number of years, however my son has learnt the rules this year and likes number patterns so has asked to play it a lot. The game has similar rules to the Rummy card game where you create sets or runs of tiles, with the aim to get rid of your tiles first.

Scrawl

I got a copy of Scrawl in a blogging conference goody bag and I absolutely love playing it. Although as it is not child friendly I haven’t played it as much as I’d have liked! Everyone starts with a saying which they draw for the next person to write a description of the drawing, which the next persons draws and so on until it ends up back with the original person. Think Chinese Whispers / Telephone game but using drawing and writing instead of whispering.

Sushi Go

We were introduced to Sushi Go on a weekend away with our university friends, and have since got our own copy. It is a quick and cute card drafting game meaning you chose a card to keep from the cards in your hand, and then pass the cards to the next person. At the same time you take the desk of cards you are being passed from the person on the other side of you, and choose a card to keep, and then pass on the ones left. This continues until all the cards are used. Then you count up your score based on the different rules for each food group (it is easier to play than this may sound).

The votes broken down by person

Here are the favourite games by each person. Again these are in alphabetical order as it is too difficult to select a favourite, let alone list five in order of preference.

My favourite games (female adult)*
- Azul
- Codenames
- Drop It
- Scrawl
- Sushi Go
Ed’s favourite games (male adult)*
- Azul
- Champions of Midgard
- Hero Realms (links to my review)
- Magic Maze
- Scrawl
B’s favourite games (female 10 year old)*

It is worth noting I think B was heavily influenced by a recent gaming weekend with friends as we only owned two of these games. However, she got Sushi Go for Christmas and plays Potion Explosion on her tablet whenever she gets the chance.
M’s favourite games (male 7 year old)*
Do you play board games as a family? What are your favourites? Which would you recommend we try? What games do you plan to buy in 2019?

*Disclosure – I was given some of these board games free. This post also includes affiliate links which means if you buy something after following a link I will earn a percentage of the sale but it will not cost you more. These games are genuine choices by me and my family.
December 1, 2018