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- Yesterday1h 4m
Episode 422 – 1, 2, 3, Tidal Blades 2!
We’re testing out a new review format, with our thoughts recorded in real-time after 1, 2, and 3 plays. 0:00:00 Fact for 422 Kuwait Airways Flight 422 hijacking – the hijacking lasted 16 days! Sponsor Message If you want to see an estimate of what your fee would be to work with First Move, visit firstmovefinancial.com/familygamers and scroll down, there’s a fee calculator there, as well as a way to set up a quick phone call to see if they’re a good fit. 0:04:00 What We’ve Been Playing Fleet: The Dice GameCarnutaS’mores Galore: Roast and Write (our review)AdventurousTag Team – we begin to unpack WHY we struggle with this game, and talk about whether we’d go for the new Arthurian legends box.Tidal Blades 2: Rise of the Unfolders 0:16:20 The Family Gamers Community Say hello to our three new members! #Backtalk We talked about games that are too tempting in the Facebook community and on the #backtalk channel of the Discord. Andrew found the weird cat game he mentioned: it’s Catlantis. 0:22:20 1,2,3 – Tidal Blades 2! We give our thoughts on Tidal Blades 2: Rise of the Unfolders. We really enjoyed this game, but it is a LOT. (First play conversation was originally from episode 415.) 0:28:10 after the second play We get a little more comfortable with the largeness of the game. 0:40:30 after the third play Verdict: We think Tidal Blades 2: Rise of the Unfolders is overall a better game than Tidal Blades: Heroes of the Reef. Are we going to come back to this game and play it more and more? Maybe. We really enjoy this game. It’s immersive, and when we start playing we don’t really want to stop. But we need to allow 3+ hours for a play session. And that’s really hard for us to do. And we don’t have the space to leave it set up. Maybe we can at least play it a few more times over the kids’ summer vacation? We recommend this to families with a heavy caveat: this is a big game that requires a big commitment. 0:58:40 New Backtalk Question Last week we talked about the
- 2 weeks ago56 min
Episode 421 – What to Look for in a Game?
What should you look for in a board game? Let’s look at five elements of games to help you choose. 0:00:00 Fact for 421 The game that is ID 421 on Board Game Geek happens to be pretty well-known among boardgamers. Sponsor Message Regardless of whether you’re trying to figure out how to start saving for your future, or trying to decide if you can afford to retire, First Move can help you. To set up either a 15 minute phone call or a 90 minute meeting go to firstmovefinancial.com/familygamers today. 0:04:55 What We’ve Been Playing Aspens (w/ Majestic Marvels expansion)A Place for All My BooksMission to Planet Hexx!Got Five!SantoriniTag Team – we think it needs a “cookbook” with suggestions for complementary pairsAdventurous 0:23:00 April Monthly Report Andrew: 9 games played 14 times. No H-index, only played Got Five! more than once. Anitra: 16 games played 25 times. H-index: 3 (Got Five!, A Place for All My Books, Adventurous) 0:23:45 The Family Gamers Community Welcome to our newest community members! We’re glad you’re here. #Backtalk Gamification? You express mixed feelings on the #backtalk channel of the Discord. And we found out Book-It is still around, and you can still get a Pizza Hut personal pan pizza! 0:33:00 What to look for in a game? This is a topic that’s subjective and intensely personal. When you’re looking for your own family, looking for a gift, or simply browsing the shelves at a boardgame store, there are a few aspects you should consider. Keep in mind: who is going to play this game? 1. Duration How long is this game supposed to last? How long is it going to take the first time you play? (Are you prepared to learn the game and teach it before presenting it to your family?) We think that for gamer families, aim for 90 minutes or less. 60 minutes is probably better. (One shot games are an exception.) For non-gamers, shorter is better! Aim for 45 minutes or less. Maybe an hour if no kids in the mix. 2. Theme Heavily thematic games can be a great choice! They’re not the only thing to consider, but it’s still important. 3. Game Type / Mechanics There are certain mechanics that are simpler for non-gamers to understand. Things like worker placement and action selection are generally more challenging, and can get very complicated when they’re done in innovative ways. (This is a big part of why we do the Room to Grow series!) This also includes whether a game is co-operative or competitive. (Some can work both ways.) 4. Chance?! A lot of people don’t like much luck in their games, and others hate games that have no luck. We recommend going for luck-heavy games when you have a wide age range playing together. Having more chance evens out the gap in skills that usually exists between children and adults. 5. Player Count Seems obvious. But it’s related to sea
- 3 weeks ago1h 8m
Episode 420 – Gamification
What is gamification? Does it have any relationship to board gaming? We examine the concept this week. 0:00:00 Fact for 420 Where did the reference “420” come from to refer to smoking marijuana? Sponsor Message Did you know that you can talk to our sponsor First Move Financial for free? First Move is a fee-only firm, which means that until you sign on as a client you’re not paying to talk to them. If you’re curious what it would cost to get help from First Move you can visit firstmovefinancial.com/familygamers and scroll down, there’s a calculator there where you enter your income and net worth and it will tell you your estimated monthly fee. 0:05:10 What We’ve Been Playing Dragonarium *Iliad (our review)A Place for All My Books *Tidal Blades 2: Rise of the UnfoldersS’mores Galore: Roast and Write (review soon)SpringWombat Poo * * = First time on the podcast 0:30:00 The Family Gamers Community Welcome to our newest members in the Facebook community! #Backtalk You shared your strategies for teaching board game manners on the #backtalk channel of the Discord. 0:35:45 Gamification: The Good and The Not-So-Good According to Merriam-Webster: “the process of adding games or gamelike elements to something (such as a task) so as to encourage participation.” So, this is things that are not games with game-like elements added to them for motivation: like learning math, or working on fitness goals, or meeting work quotas. Types of gamification (from GoCadmium “Gamification in Learning 2026”): Achievement-based (leaderboards, badges, status levels) Social gamification (team-building exercises, collaboration to achieve a goal, peer recognition) Progress-based (things to “unlock” – skill trees, extra content, etc.) Rewards-based (incentives, either virtual or real-world: discounts, prizes, etc.) Gamification examples we thought about: Hotel/airline gold/platinum status Merit badges (but not military honors) Book-It is obviously rewards-based gamification! Store loyalty programs. Everything from simple “collect 10 stamps, get a free coffee” to the more sophisticated programs with big national chains that give incentives or unlock special offers by getting to a different “level”. These can push you to buy just a little bit more or more often than you would otherwise. (Supermarkets, Kohl’s Cash, CVS Extrabucks, etc.) Fitness apps often use multiple kinds of achievement-based gamification, to hook different kinds of people. Leaderboards, badges, and “personal best” tracking. They may include rewards or social collaboration as well. (We discuss Apple Fitness, Peloton. Company fitness challenges often are rewards-based.) Duolingo also uses achievements (streak-tracking!), while having obvious progress-based elements
- Apr 6, 20261h 7m
Episode 419 – Teaching Board Game Manners
How do you teach kids to play games “nicely”? To respect the rules of the game? 0:00:00 Fact for 419 419 scams (AKA Nigerian prince scams) Sponsor Message Did you know there’s a U.S. Law that allows every American to check their credit reports with each of the three major credit bureaus each year, for free? You don’t have to sign up for a service or pay a monthly fee, just go to annualcreditreport.com. First Move has a blog post about how to read your credit reports. If you’re overwhelmed by debt hiring a financial advisor may not be right for you, but First Move is still happy to have a 15 minute phone call to get you going in the right direction and point you toward free resources. Go to firstmovefinancial.com/familygamers to set up a time to chat today. 0:04:10 What We’ve Been Playing Scurry Up! *Verdant Arizona (our review)Lands of Amazement (our review)AspensS’mores Galore Roast and WriteCabanga! (our review)Trio (our review)Flip 7 (our review)Person Do Thing (our review)Adventurous *Unmatched: Stars and Stripes *Jekyll vs. Hyde (our review)Got Five! * * = First time on the podcast 0:26:20 March Monthly Report Andrew: 10 plays of 8 games. H-index: 2 (Flip 7, Aspens) Anitra: 31 plays of 12 games. H-index: 3 (almost every game was played at least 3 times…) Most played: Aspens, Lands of Amazement Did you check out our March Madness extra reviews? 0:29:00 The Family Gamers Community We’re so glad you’re here! 0:29:50 #Backtalk You shared your escape room experiences on Facebook and the #backtalk channel of the Discord. FOR SCIENCE! “Tacos in Pasta Shells” recipe, contributed by Discord member Sms137355. 0:44:30 Board Game Manners How do you teach manners to kids as they’re playing board games? How do you teach them to properly “play games” at all? Young kids HAVE to be taught to take turns (which extends to a lot more than just board games!) All the games in our list for three year olds are great for teaching this skill. Young kids also h
- Mar 16, 202644 min
Episode 418 – Escape Rooms
Escape rooms let your family cooperate in new and interesting ways. But do you prefer a physical, in-person escape room, a video game, or a board game experience? 0:00:00 Fact for 418 HTTP code 418: “I’m a teapot” Sponsor Message If you want help planning for your kid’s college education, set up a time for a free 15-minute call by going to firstmovefinancial.com/familygamers. 0:05:00 What We’ve Been Playing Embers (our review)Lands of AmazementAspensVerdant Arizona 0:12:50 The Family Gamers Community We’re so happy to welcome new members! You can join the community on Facebook too. 0:13:30 #Backtalk You shared your purging regrets on Facebook and the #backtalk channel of the Discord. 0:19:25 Escape Rooms Physical escape rooms – we’ve done a few. Very cool but can feel high pressure. They’re great to do in a group, letting everybody work on different things. Doing it as a family is expensive! Video games are a much cheaper way to capture this style really well: Portal, The Room, Escape Academy Board Game “Escape Rooms” These range in size and playtime. Some are more puzzley, some are more narrative-driven. But any of them can be a great family experience. And we have reviewed a bunch of them – we’ll talk about six series here: EXIT series – Fairly immersive, with a plot and setting that hangs together. Everything you need is in the box. Wide variety of puzzles to write on, manipulate, cut, etc. But comes with a downside – that wide variety means you almost always run into a puzzle in the game that is not figure-out-able (for us). They come in a huge range of difficulty, including several that are appropriate to do with younger kids who are just barely reading. Unlike the other games in this list, we think they’re best with more than 2 players. There are also EXIT Kids games now! (Check out the EXIT games we’ve reviewed.) Unlock series – These require an app. Other than the app, completely card-based and re-settable to pass on to a friend to try. These also have a juvenile line now – Unlock Kids. Our experience has been really uneven. Some really great (Wizard of Oz, Star Wars). Others are just really weird, with puzzles don’t make sense. We generally recommend these, but use caution. Holiday Hijinks – probably our favorite compact escape-room type game. Packs a ton of puzzles into 18 cards and a web app. Full of puns, trivia, and holiday cultural references.
- Mar 2, 202658 min
Episode 417 – The Purge: How Do You Know You’re Done?
How do you know when you’re done with a game? Your kids have aged out of it – are you sure? 0:00:00 Fact for 417 Solfeggio frequency 417 hz. Sponsor Message If you want to talk about more ways to teach your children to manage their personal finances, set up a time to talk by going to firstmovefinancial.com/familygamers. 0:05:00 What We’ve Been Playing Flip 7 (our review)Cabanga! (our review)Circus Flohcati (our review)Trio (our review)Floristry (our review)Slay the Spire (over 3 separate days)Draftosaurus (our review back in 2019)Embers solo game (review coming soon)Unmatched Adventures: TMNTIliad (review coming soon) 0:21:55 Monthly Report Andrew: 14 (15?) plays of 10 unique games. H-index: 2 (Trio, Iliad) Anitra: 22 plays of 12 unique games. H-index: 3 (Trio, Slay the Spire, Embers) 0:24:00 The Family Gamers Community Hello to all our new members! You can join the community on Facebook too. 0:24:45 #Backtalk You shared your super powers, your special abilities! With a slight digression to Winter Olympics sports. Andrew wonders what the difference is between different ice-skating jumps. You responded on Facebook and the #backtalk channel of the Discord. 0:34:55 How Do You Know When You’re Done? There’s no easy formula here, sorry! It depends what’s going on with your own life, and also your family and friends. It’s easy to “move on” from kids games when you have other kids in your life, younger than your own kids. Harder if your own kids are really nostalgic. You may regret moving on from some games! That’s normal and okay. Board games are a consumer product, and you can probably replace it if you look hard enough (eBay is amazing). Your family situation will change over time: whether that’s “aging out” of a game, or a change in interests & priorities. We grieve a little bit over losing who our children *used to be* while still enjoying the people they are *right now*. Nostalgia ALONE is not a reason to keep a game! You may be able to find it in another place, or just keep your fond memories. But if nostalgia regularly drives you back to *wanting* to play the game, maybe it makes sense to keep. Andrew suggests “dimensionally constraining” nostalgic / kids items (a box, shelf, or other limited space) to help you focus your collection. Examine your reasons to want to keep a game, if it’s not being played. Examine your reasons to want to get rid of a game. Determine if a game can be played at multiple age & skill levels (aka with B-mods
- Feb 16, 20261h 3m
Episode 416 – Growing As a Family with Board Games
We’re going to talk about what it’s like to grow up in a gaming family! 0:00:00 Fact for 416 The largest chocolate bar by area measured 416.34 square meters, achieved on 2 December 2024. Sponsor Message What do you do with your tax refund? Do you get a refund at all? If you want to talk to First Move about habits you can build to take the next step toward your goals, go to firstmovefinancial.com/familygamers to schedule a call. 0:04:05 What We’ve Been Playing Floristry (our review) – looking forward to trying the update!Flip 7 (our review)Trio (our review)IliadFight 5Animal Rescue TeamDice Throne: Marvel X-men – review coming soon 0:25:00 The Family Gamers Community Welcome to our newest members! You can join the community on Facebook. 0:25:30 #Backtalk We asked about more topics… and your silliest #boardgamevalentine (see our TFG valentines). You responded on the #backtalk channel of the Discord. 0:29:00 Growing as a Family with Board Games We started The Family Gamers Podcast when we had three kids, age 7 and under. Back then, we were really just playing with the oldest and trying to find ways to include the preschooler. We started playing very simple games with our oldest when she was probably 3 years old. We did play some CandyLand, but we mostly played simple “family” games rather than kids’ games. We were often trying to rule-shift or play games that were very simple (like Zombie Dice, which we mention back in episode 1!), in part because our oldest started reading at a very young age. So we didn’t need games that avoided reading. She also really enjoyed the adult attention she got from doing “adult” things. And then our middle child got old enough to want to join in the games. Unfortunately, we discovered many “family games” don’t work well with multiple children when at least one can’t read yet. That is when we first realized that when gaming with very young children, games need to be short, with very simple decisions, no reading, and limited symbols & counting. We were barely aware of HABA games and other games geared towards very young children, but we learned! (Episode 36) Teaming Up: Playing with Multiple Children We also would “team up” a parent with a kid. The job of the parent was to present and explain the available decisions, without forcing the kid into any specific option.</
- Feb 2, 202658 min
Episode 415 – Room to Grow: Card Games
Looking for some card games for your family to grow into? We’ve got you covered. 0:00:00 Fact for 415 The racing tall ship Amerigo Vespucci holds the record for the largest maximum crew complement: 415 sailors. Sponsor Message If you’d like to talk about other ideas to help pass on your financial values to your children, schedule a time to talk to First Move by going to firstmovefinancial.com/familygamers today. 0:04:25 What We’ve Been Playing Compile: Main 2 (very much like Compile: Main 1)Logic & Lore – review coming soon. Check out the Kickstarter!IchorIliadCarnutaDice Throne: Marvel X-menTidal Blades 2: Rise of the UnfoldersVerdant ArizonaDice ClashEmbersTag Team 0:29:00 January Monthly Report Anitra: 42 plays, 23 unique games. H-index: 3. Most played: Trio Andrew: 23 plays of 14 unique games. H-index: 2. Most played: Trio & Verdant Arizona 0:31:00 The Family Gamers Community Welcome to our newest members! You can join the community on Facebook. We also cover some “for science” emails from listener Mallory. Would you be interested in hearing us try recipes “for science”? 0:35:15 #Backtalk We asked about your New Year resolutions: any that have to do with board games? You responded on the Facebook group and on the #backtalk channel of the Discord. 0:41:30 Room to Grow: Card Games Our goal with Room to Grow is to bring your kids – or your family – through a series of games that grow in complexity. Normally, we take a beginner game, an intermediate game, and an advanced game (and some honorable mentions). They offer a plan for growth for players to get comfortable with that mechanic, and all are family-friendly. What is a card game? For the purposes of this podcast, we’re defining it as: A game that uses only cards (plus maybe a few tokens or a scoresheet) Can be played with more than 2 players Rewards paying attention to what is going on around the table (not just your own hand/tableau) Beginner: Flip 7 There are several games we could pick as a really easy starting point. But this one is the most like conventional card games, so we think it feels the most approachable. Young kids can play this and enjoy it as long as they have basic numeracy. They might not get the statistics, but they can understand that there’s only one 1 and a lot of 12s, and they don’t want repeats. See our review of Flip 7. <img data-recalc-dim
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Enjoy playing board games with your family at any age, skill level, or player count.
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