New Family Favourite Kleine Fische

we have had this German card game for almost twenty years. I bought it at the same time as I bought a bunch of others, a mix of card games and big box games. Somehow we never quite got round to it and it just got put up in the loft when we lost the games room to child #2, yes it's The Boy's fault.

Anyway I had to go up in the loft to add a few books to the hundreds up there and a couple of games that have fallen off the play list. A good opportunity to bring down a few others. With the kids being 11 and 9 we still have a number of games they are not old enough to fully get. We tend to let them loose on up to about 12+ games. Both get Settlers of Catan and hold their own at Ticket to Ride so they do all right.

Kleine Fische is 7 plus but whilst seven year olds can play this it's got a deeper play level that a older and more experienced gamer can get their teeth into. It's typical of the better German (OK Euro if you will) game in that it's so very easy to get the rules but mixed in with the simplistic rules is some nice tweaks that getting will increase your chance of winning and deepen your enjoyment. The Girl got this real quick, The Boy took a few hands before he fully got most of the depth. 

It's great for kids as each game is fast paced and whilst little interaction takes place your still involved. the aim is to collect different fishes on your fishing line without suffering the octopus gobbling them all up. It's all about knowing when to stop turning the cards over against the risk of going for one more card to get extra points.

Once the deck is exhausted you score the highest card you have in each type and add to previous rounds score. First to 77 wins which seems about three to four rounds on average. The blurb says 15-25 minutes a game but to be honest we were having too much fun to pay attention to it.

I got home from work to find out they had been playing a few three person games and had a ball (it's 2-4 player). If I remember correctly we paid about £5 for it so it was a steel. A quick look on -bay, Amazon and Spirit Games show no copies, seems it did not make a splash and get a lot of attention then. 

It's no headliner but I expect it to make regular appearances for a fair bit of time to come. If you like German games then this ones well worth looking out for. It's also a great bridge game for your none gaming friends over a few beers.

Snow Day = Games Day

Yes we had snow, not enough to stop us doing anything though the kids spent most of the morning out playing in what we had. First snow of the winter you see. We had already planned on playing a few games if time allowed and it seemed the perfect plan for the afternoon.

First game up was Fast Flowing Forest Fellows. I picked this up for £4.99 from The Works when they first started to stock the odd Euro Game. It's a great game to introduce players to Euro's, especially if kids are involved. It's an easy game to learn with very simple rule mechanics but it's a bit shallow regarding long term play. Don't get me wrong it's both fun and it's not all luck based, it's just that it is limited to what you as the player can do regarding your moves with just two pieces to move (4 player option). This means you will enjoy a few games but despite the many board connotations you will reach for other games after a few games in a short period. 

It's been well over a year since we last played so all of us were happy to play (the kids have been wanting to play for awhile now). As such we had fun, lots of stuffing each other and forcing other players back down long currents. Cath actually won it handily as she managed to get the one log rider off the first board and safely over the finish line. Once that was done the other rider sped down the board for an easy win. One game was enough but I can see it being played again next games session.

Next up was Rummikub, we have played it once before with the kids with a not too bad a game though it's a bit of a stretch for The Boy being only nine. It's 8-adult but that's a smart 8 year old in my mind. He did struggle at the start and as such became a bit detached making it harder for him to get it but towards the end he started to enjoy it. The Girl ended up winning the one round we played with Cath coming a close second. We decided not to go any more rounds so as not to frustrate The Boy further. Funny as he has a good grasp of The Bean Game.

We do like to introduce a new game when we can and the kids really wanted to have a crack at Ticket To Ride so we gave it a go. Typical Alan Moon game, low on rules high on options making for a game the kids could get. I thought the sticking point would be the destination tickets, especially the option to pick up extra ones as the game ran on. It ended up being the most fun of the three games and both kids were asking to play again but it was time for tea. It's going to probably be one of the first games we play next time and is sure to remain a favourite for some time.

Our game was fairly close with the kids dropping off at the end but finishing a credible points score. I through away the win by picking as my last action destination cards and having to keep one failed route for minus six points. Cath's longest route +10 points nipping in front of me. 

We have been playing the Bean Game a lot recently after a lay off and I lost a game of Commands & Colors to The Boy last Wednesday so it's a bit of a games hub at the moment.

Eurogame in The Works Again

It seems that The Works is not just picking up Eurogames on the odd occasion and selling them in their UK stores. I went to the local Outlet Shopping Centre on Thursday and found they had had a large stock delivered. This is great news as they happened to have a range of about ten more titles and whilst these are obviously surplus stock or Reo Grande they have included a number of good games two of which I grabbed.

Bean Trader is based on Bohnanza or The Bean Game which we play with the kids and they really do get the idea and the days of easy wins are for the most part in the past. Bean Trader seems to be something similar but with what seems to be more control on how your beans will run but trading remains a major part of the game.

Priests of Ra is also a stand alone board game that is based on a prior successful game, this time simply Ra but looks to possibly have more game play than the original. I would have bought more but I will get these two on the table Sunday and see how we go. It's great that the kids have our love of board games and whilst I do not tend to report the games here we do get a few sessions a month with the kids and it always leaves them wanting more. 

Both these games were £9.99 each as was the majority of the others, none more expensive but the card games or small board based games were £7.99

We called in the Mansfield store which had a few of the new ones and on the clearance shelf was another game I had looked at before but this was just £1.99 so maybe just maybe we will get a go at Strozzi as well. Cath thinks they are ready to have a go at Settlers of Catan though our version is in German so maybe a little help will be required.

For anyone wanting to play a game or three with their kids but just can't face another game of Monopoly (though played by the official rules it's not bad) should try one of the Eurogames, their is a good spread of ages though my 7 and 9 year olds are now playing age 12+ and are fine with them once a few turns have been played through. We must have 50+ titles and it will be great teaching some of the old classics to them. 

Euro Games Day

We had fun the other day just playing a mixed group of Euro Games with a mixed family group. Only myself and Cath had played more than one Euro before so it was going to be an interesting time seeing what they all made of it.

The cast was obviously Cath and myself, we took along Child1 (age 7) and Child2 (age 5) who were joining in some of the games, also playing was J (nephew aged 18), H (niece aged 17) and Ja (boyfriend of niece aged 17) so overall a younger crowd. First question was could we hold their attention? Second would they be able to leave their phones in their pockets?

First up was Pirates Cove by Days of Wonder and a game owned by J. This is the one Euro the other three had played before. I was at a disadvantage on rules but having played so many games of this style I knew I had a fair chance to make good. Cath played Take It Easy with the Kids whilst we were busy. Pirates Cove was quite fun, nothing really new to me in it's play or mechanics but it all seemed to work well. Each player has a ship board that charts the upgrades you can do. The basic idea is that you travel to different islands to take the cards turned face up. These cards give you treasure, gold, prestige and special cards. Some cards give you all four and some just a few and the value of the cards can be high or meh. Each island also allow you to upgrade your ship in a certain category, sails, crew, guns and hull. This means that not only the cards have to be consulted but what upgrade you require as each island only allows one type of upgrade. You also have a further option of visiting treasure island and burying your treasure for prestige points.

The snag comes when two or more players wish to enter the same island, apart from Treasure Island there is only room for one pirate and you have to fight it out. A Legendary Pirate also sails the sea visiting each island in turn and you just don't want to fight him!

I think this point was rather missed by the other players who went after the best card or dumped treasure rather than following a strategy. I instead upgraded the crew and guns over any other actions so that I could win the encounters. Ja on the other hand seemed to be on the losing side of every encounter and failed to get started whilst the rest of us grew. This was not so much a failing of the game as Ja should have gone after the less interesting cards leaving the rest of us to battle. This he stated at the end of the game which pleased me no end as it showed the right kind of thinking. In the end it was really close but I got the win based on me defeating the Legendary Pirate in a mass battle at the end. Me winning is defined by all the others doing the work and then me putting the boot in at the very end. I would like to play again and whilst I would not want to play every session I can see it getting a fair shake.

Next up the the four youngest played Take It Easy which my kids love. Child1 was calling out the tiles and really played very poor scoring a record low whilst Child2 and H did all right. Ja on the other hand scored 170+ in one round and possibly the highest yet. I look forward to a full game of this against him sometime.

The idea is to complete lines scoring the number on the tile x the tiles in the row. You score all line directions. As one player draws the tiles randomly and every player has to play the same tile the luck factor is reduced. Do you go for the easy points or do you hold out hoping for the perfect tile?

Cath played J at a two player card game called Speed. This is based on the normal deck of cards by the same name but has symbols, colours and numbers. Cath is a demon at it and it was fun to watch her carve him up. Though his "again, again" after each defeat brought a smile to both mine and Caths face (she loves a smuck).

Next up was a five player game of "Evo, the last gasp of the dinosaurs" which we have owned since it came out. We had only played it once or twice and had difficulty remembering it. Well the teenagers loved it, both Cath and myself were not really that impressed. The idea is that you bid for the tiles drawn with your evolution points (player with the highest points wins at game end). So it's possible for two or more players to go after the same tile with the loser of the bidding then settling for the unwanted tile. In our game a certain amount of puffing of the bids happened sometime to great hilarity. The problem was that the game play really was not that involved. It had a mixture of systems that seemed not to do much. More a case of too much system not enough game play. Excitement levels were low ad the ability to pull back the leader was limited. Basically there is a lot better games out there for the time slot it fills. We will have to play it again if only for the sake of the other players but I very much doubt Cath or I will change our view. I am sure we are not missing anything. J won this as was clear he would with three turns to go.

Last up was a straight up card game called Bohnanza, those who know it know why we finished with it. Same reason a great rock band finishes with a big hit. You just want more! Now this card game came out in 1997 and has had so many expansions I am surprised the overkill has not done it to death but it is still one of the most played card only games played. The concept is about as naff as you can dream of. You plant fields of the same type of bean and attempt to grow a good crop. To do this you need to trade for beans from other players and also get rid of beans from your hand as you have to play them in order. This leads to lots of haggling and plenty of attempts to block other players trades in the hope of getting the deal. H says she enjoyed it but seemed a little lost a few times. Ja on the other hand really got it and I think would have benefited from a second game. J on the other hand just quietly took it in his stride as he traded his way through point after point. Come game end he had enough points to equal me for a joint win. Ja had come in next only two points behind. The best thing was that  They Got It. This will get played next time, I'm guessing sooner in the running order though. That their will be a next time I have no doubt as they really had a lot of fun, as did we. Next time our kids will only be involved a bit as Granny Willey will look after them when we play grown up games, the real question is what next? This was the frustrating thing, when asked which games they liked the most or liked the style of we got a chorus of all of them etc etc. zero feedback means we can not Tailor the games to their liking, but at least we have plenty of choice.

It's in the Blood

For Christmas we buy the kids a game or two. Last year it was Buckaroo and this year we got them Connect Four and A Eurogame called Click Clack. Old followers may well remember they have been playing the odd Euro with us with simplified rules but this game is by Queen Kids games a division of Queen Games. The age range suited as we have a 5 and 7 year old and the subject matter was bound to be a hit with Alice loving all things small and critter like whilst Joseph was bound to like frightening the squirrels with the pig!!

Sure enough they both liked it and the bonus was that Cath and me could have fun playing them as well. The rules as you would expect are very simple but still allow for some gameplay. Alice who is 7 and a few months really got how to limit the chances for the other players and even uses the pig strategically rather than just the biggest gathering. You see in this game each of you are a squirrel trying to steal from the garden and the pig does his best to keep you away.

Two of the four cute squirrels that make up the player pieces. This makes the game really accessible to the kids, nice big bright chunky animals, we never had this sort of thing when we were kids. So the squirrels each try and either collect 4 of a kind (6 of each nut type exist) or 7 nuts in total. Each nut is in fact a small metal disc with a picture of a nut on it. These are put face down on the tray that fits below the board and the squirrels all have magnets in their bases. Each player throws a die on it's turn with two pictures of the pig and one each of the four areas of the garden. If the pig is picked you move the pig onto one of the four areas, otherwise you can move your squirrel onto this section, of course only if the pig is not there! Then you get to move the board one space. As the board moves round (in either clock wise or anti) it is possible to uncover fresh nuts (whilst also hiding other nuts that was uncovered by the holes in the board).

All this creates lots of comments and groans from the players, adults and kids alike. Even Joseph got the interaction between players and was having great fun. We played it a fair few times all together over Christmas but what was better was the kids have and continue to play it on their own. It's easy to set up and we get them to play to 10 points instead. Possibly the best £7.99 we have spent on a boardgame so far. The Connect Four gets some play but nothing like Click Clack.

Wanting to carry this forward we went back last week and picked up a game that states it's for 8+ but took a punt hoping to be able to play it with the kids. Well Boardgames Geek gives it a 6+ raiting which is about right. Joseph just about gets it whilst Alice is a total git. She really gets the idea of blocking her opponents, sending them into a current that will send them way back and pushing her own players into currents that send you forward. Just so you know this game is a log race game. Typical racing game driven by cards that move you forwards but with the added mechanic of water current and logs jamming up the play. It's called Fast Flowing Forrest Fellers and will never win any game title contest but plays well. Listed as 2-5 player but 2 player is a little sterile whilst 4-5 must be a hoot. Great to play with the kids but I would not be ashamed to bring it out on a games night. It does not have the legs of a classic and to be fair how many do? But at £7.99 at The Works it's a no brainer if you like Euro's. As for Alice, I will get her back one day!!!