Board, not Bored: Family Games
You may have noticed some new boxes on the AHPL shelves at the start of the year: we have many board games available to check out! To get you acquainted with the large selection of games we have to offer, every month we will highlight 5 games from the collection. This month, we take a look at the Family Games.
By quite a margin, Family Games are the biggest category of games we have here at the library. What makes a family game different than a party game or a children’s game? Family Games are games that can be played and enjoyed with a wide range of ages. Often rules-light, these games are great for a casual game night. The games we’re highlighting this month are a blast to play with groups of mixed age people, perfect for your Easter celebrations!
Our first game features a family right on the front of the box, so you know it’s in the right category. 5-Minute Dungeon is a very fast-paced, frantic game that can be played with 2-5 players over the age of 8. The game is mostly card-based, so you don’t have to worry about setting up a bunch of complicated pieces, you can just dive right in.
Per BoardGameGeek, ” Once the five-minute timer starts, the race is on to defeat all the monsters inside the dungeon. In order to defeat a monster, players must match symbols from their hand with ones on the monster’s card. At the end of each dungeon is a powerful dungeon boss — and after the first boss is defeated, the campaign continues to the second boss. Each boss, and each randomized dungeon, gets harder until players reach the fifth and final boss.”
Bohnanza is a game that was created in 1997, has never been updated, and is perfect. The object is simple, to collect cards of the same value (a type of bean) which you can trade in for points. Despite the simplicity, Bohnanza will tear a party apart with the trading and bartering for the beans you need. You can play with 2-7 people and while the box says ages 13+ you can easily play with people as young as 8.
Per BoardGameGeek, “The cards are colorful depictions of beans in various descriptive poses, and the object is to make coins by planting fields (sets) of these beans and then harvesting them. To help players match their cards up, the game features extensive trading and deal making. One of the most unique features of the game is that you cannot rearrange your hand, as you need to play the cards in the order that you draw them.”
Don’t be fooled by its cute Gamewright packaging, Trash Pandas is a cut-throat game involving gambling, dice-rolling, hand management, set collecting, and more. 2-6 players, aged 8 and up, become sneaky little raccoons who try to hoard items for points while pressing their luck and stealing from others. It’s a pretty quick game, so you can be right back for another round in no time.
Per BoardGameGeek, “In Trash Pandas, players are raucous raccoons, tipping over trash cans for food (and shiny objects). Players push their luck to acquire more cards, but must stash them in order for them to count as points at the end of the game. When the deck runs out, the game ends and players compare their stashes to see who has the majority for each card type and score points accordingly. The player with the most points wins!”
These little sushi rolls may look familiar if you’ve played Sushi Go! but this is Sushi Go Party! and it’s even better. Sushi Go Party! takes all the things you love about Sushi Go! and expands on them, allowing up to 8 players to collect sushi now while still being friendly to ages 8 and up. This expansion introduces many different types of cards in addition to the ones in the original game and allows you to customize the game experience for unique plays time after time.
Per BoardGameGeek, “Sushi Go Party! expands Sushi Go! with a party platter of mega maki, super sashimi, and endless edamame. You still earn points by picking winning sushi combos, but now you can customize each game by choosing à la carte from a menu of more than twenty delectable dishes. What’s more, up to eight players can join in on the sushi-feast. Let the good times roll!”
Splendor allow you to channel your inner Renaissance gem merchant to collect gems, mines, shops, and more to increase your prestige. This game allows 2-4 players, ages 10 and up, to battle it out for 30 minutes to see who can collect prestige points quickest. Will your strategy be to build your own wealth, or to prevent your opponents from gaining wealth? It’s a tricky line to walk, but it’s very fun.
Per BoardGameGeek, “On your turn, you may collect chips, buy and build a card, or reserve one card. To reserve a card—in order to make sure you get it, or, why not, your opponents don’t get it—you place it in front of you face down for later building; this costs you a round, but you also get gold in the form of a joker chip, which you can use as any gem. All of the cards you buy increase your wealth as they give you a permanent gem bonus for later buys; some of the cards also give you prestige points. In order to win the game, you must reach 15 prestige points before your opponents do.”
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