Questions: Good games for adults and kids
Hi all,
In the spirit of the recent book question (which I enjoyed immensely, despite my inability to spell immensely without spell check assistance) I would love to hear game recommendations. Here are the parameters:
1. Appropriate for an easily frustrated 8 year old.
2. Enjoyable for adults as well
3. I prefer something where field is somewhat level (eg. Scrabble is less desirable because 8 year olds vocabulary won't be as strong.)
4. No kid characters (I am tired of princesses)
5. No writing involved (this will be used on a Jewish holiday where writing is not allowed.)
6. No electricity involved (see item 5)
7. Love the idea of a no winner game but I know those are more challenging to find.
8. It would be AWESOME if I could find something that my non reading very smart 4 YO could play or assist with as well but that is not a requirement.
Some we have and enjoy: Apples to Apples, Rumicube, Jenga
by
erikadyscern
asked a year ago
puzzles? No winners involved there. I know it isn't a game though. But it does fit all your criteria. Building the picture, Shape recogition, all that cogintion that goes into making the puzzle work is good for both 4 year olds and 8 year olds. We were always doing 'adult' puzzles when i was younger. I didn't know until I was much older that those puzzles were supposed to be too hard for me.
@hobbit: There is an issue of building a puzzle on Jewish holidays. While puzzles are all fun and games, it might not live up to criteria 1.
What about card games? Rummy, Kings in the Corner, Cribbage are a few.
Also Blurt is good. It will help your kids build their vocab while having fun.
How many players at once are going to be playing?
What about outside games? I know that it might not be in the spirit of Yom Tov, but some can be appropriate. One of my favorite games is Bocce.
I always liked Trouble when I was a kid:
http://tinyurl.com/y9aolfb
Very simple game, and kids love pressing the bubble to roll the dice.
Sorry, Monopoly (if you are not worried about the issues with the fake money), Life, Risk, Stratego
One I heard on the radio this morning that I haven't played in years is Battleship. Simple and easy, yet fun. On the card game topic you could try Uno and Phase 10. They also have other varieties of Uno and a kids version of Phase 10. With a normal deck of cards you can play war (maybe too simple), and we always played a game called speed when I was a kid.
Others that may be enjoyed: chutes and ladders, candyland, checkers, chess (might be too much), chinese checkers, backgammon...
You can also find collections of wooden peg games which can take some thinking to complete.
http://tinyurl.com/yf4mswl
http://tinyurl.com/yk8f8lz
You could also put together a scavenger hunt for the kids. Fun for you in thinking of what clues to put where and watching them figure it out. Fun for them because it's like a treasure hunt and they get a prize at the end.
@sgoman5674: If you like Risk, then Axis and Allies might be good. I loved the original version when I was a teenager.
good advice all. play money is ok for us. I really like the trouble suggestion. I could see the girls loving pushing the thing.
Cards are a little challenging because the older daughter has some OT challenges that make holding cards difficult. It breaks my cards because I play spades all day long.
There will be between 2 and 8 players. A colleague just suggested Blockus. Anyone played it?
@erikadyscern: Blokus is fun. Only 4 players though.
Perpetual commotion is fun. I think 8 people can play that, but it is a card game.
Parcheezi (sp?) and Sorry were favorites when I was a kid.
Risk is good if the 8yo has a decent attention span. It can be lo-o-o-ng.
@reemus: great call on the scavenger hunt; that had never occurred to me.
We play our own version of speed scrabble with a few sets & partial sets of letters - you can play and add up a score or not it's fun either way.
Speed scrabble "rules"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speed_scrabble
We don't do "take 2" - we do 2 other versions:
1. you make a word & then draw more letters to have 7 total.
2. or we do you try to use up all your letters and as soon as every one is stuck they put their unused back in the pile & redraw 7 tiles again.
version 1 is more fast paced & fun, version 2 requires a larger vocabulary & less beer for the adults. Anyway to play is fun just to see what words are created.
Another good game for 4-10 people is Apples to Apples (there is a Jewish edition, I kid you not.)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apples_to_Apples
For help in holding cards you might consider:
http://www.amazon.com/Playing-Card-Holders-Set-2/dp/B000V7P5FM
or something like it
After playing it at our next door neighbor's house a couple of times, we recently bought Sequence (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00000IVAK). We actually got the jumbo edition, which is better for larger groups and/or players with poor eyesight (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00000IV4A/).
It's kind of hard to explain.... You use two decks of standard playing cards, but it's not a card game at all. The board has a spot corresponding to each of the cards (except for Jacks, which are 'wild'). You play a card and place a chip of your team's color on one of the corresponding spots on the board. The goal is to get a "Sequence," of five of your team's chips in a row.
On it's face, it's quite simple and I think kids would enjoy it. But when it's just adults around, there can really be quite a bit of strategy involved.
Another idea: Set (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00000IV34). This is a pattern-recognition game. The Product Description on Amazon describes it pretty well.
I loved things like construction paper, scissors, and glue. Here's some books I'd recommend.
If you go to that link on Amazon, there are even more books (including my favorite for older children, Make Your Own Working Paper Clock).
http://www.amazon.com/Make-Your-Working-Paper-Clock/dp/0060910666/ref=pd_sim_b_3
The books for paper automata are simply wonderful, and the look on a child's face when they realize that they've accomplished the marvel of a pecking hen dipping its beak into a feeder is just breathtaking.
@shrdlu: If electricity is out, scissors and glue are probably out as well (the whole holiday thing).
But I'll getting the models book for my kids post-haste! Great find.
@shrdlu and @heymo: yes, scissors and glue are both out. As are anything that has to do with building permanently.
@erikadyscern: You could play Clue. But instead of writing down who you know didn't kill Mr. Boddy, you can use paper clips. Also a way around keeping score is to use a large book and using a bookmark to keep track. One of my friend's wife was playing scrabble that way.
@anotherhiggins: Sequence is a fun game.
I love these suggestions! Are rules are very strict for Passover because we will be with family that observes very strictly. For other holidays and the sabbath where we are home all day and play games, scissors and glue are ok so I am keeping those firmly in mind.
@shrdlu how precise do you need to be in your fine motor skills for the paper projects? Back to the OT thing...
The risk option concerns me just because of the younger child's tendency to destroy everything around her. I am intrigued by Sequence and will check that out further. I have heard good thing about Set http://www.amazon.com/SET-Enterprises-4098363-Game/dp/B00000IV34/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=toys-and-games&qid=1269538183&sr=8-1 and Scrambled States of America http://www.amazon.com/Scrambled-States-America-Game-Card/dp/B0000663RL/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=toys-and-games&qid=1269538234&sr=1-2 as well.
I have seen the Jewish edition of Apples to Apples, we have the Jr. edition though.
@erikadyscern: I was going to mention Tripoli and Flinch (if they still make it) but the difficulties holding playing cards might rule these out. Even the 6 year old can play Flinch.
What about a version of Charades? I'm sure there's a younger version made up somewhere.
Dominoes. Either double 9s or double 6s. Cuban husband says 9s are the real way to play. The tiles come in all sorts of sizes.
@shrdlu: A paper clock??? Sounds mighty cool. My version of making my own time piece would probably be sticking a 12" stick into the sand.
Love origami!
What about making paper lunch bag puppets? Maybe if you prep all the construction paper & string into different shapes & sizes ahead of the holiday and only have to glue...
We like Carcassonne: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/822/carcassonne. No reading for most players (just the one teaching everyone else how to play); my 4-year-old is getting the hang of it enough to participate, and my 7-year-old enjoys it. No writing. There is score keeping, but a lot of the scoring is at the end of the game, so I feel like it doesn't dominate the playing.
I'd second the recommendation for Blokus.
I know you said you're tired of princesses. There are a few princess things in the Frog Juice card game, but they really don't dominate it: http://www.amazon.com/Gamewright-202-Frog-Juice/dp/B00001TQ0J
We recently got Cranium Triple Triumph from Kid's Woot and have been enjoying it. Connect 4 is also good. Is Twister an option, or is it too rowdy? Memory is always good and your 4 yr old could play. For the 4 yr old Candy Land and Hi Ho Cherry-o are good, but might bore an 8 yr old. I also have to second whoever mentioned Blokus.
@erikadyscern: Regarding holding cards, my DH got some card-holding things. They look like big round disks, and the cards slide into the top. Maybe that would help? He found them at a local game store.
@sfeitler: I've seen holders that resemble the tile holders used for Scrabble but on a bigger scale.
@lavikinga: I just posted a card-holder deal: http://deals.woot.com/deals/details/990e1be1-ce33-48c8-812f-bbaf8f442c87/triangle-card-holders-set-of-four-toys-games#0
I don't know how well they work though.
@lavikinga: Like these? http://bit.ly/c1veDY
I'd never seen those before.
@sfeitler: Thank you. More than you can know, thank you. Cards, recipes, single pages, I can think of 101 uses right now.
@erikadyscern: I'd say that the fine motor skills are not going to be the issue for you, when I rethink (and withdraw) this suggestion. You have a four year old who will want to help. Four year olds will provide more frustration than the older child will be wanting to deal with.
Since I no longer have very good fine motor skills (arthritis), I can tell you that patience is more of a requirement than delicate motor skills (the clock on the other hand would be impossible for me at this time in my life).
You can't use scissors and glue, but you could still use heavy construction paper, which can be torn into shapes, and folded into others. When I was a little girl, they packed kits with shiny paper, construction paper, scissors, blue, and other items. You might also consider origami books, which come with directions, and sheets to be torn out. The 4 year old can be encouraged to make simpler shapes.
@shrdlu: You are most welcome!
I posted the other style here: http://deals.woot.com/deals/details/d373a42d-657a-431b-a4f9-e9cacb552489/wooden-curved-shape-card-holders-includes-2-card-holders
I don't know anything about the retailer, but the price seems to be good.
@sfeitler: oooooooooh, now that changes everything! I love that idea.
I highly recommend RUMIS! It's a 3-dimensional strategy game. http://www.amazon.com/Educational-Insights-2992-Rumis/dp/B0002VJYQI
Uno is a versatile option that your 4-year-old should be able to pick up. We play a version with some added twists at home: Uno Spin. I also carry Uno cards when we travel. We've ended up playing with random strangers in the airport.
Taboo for Kids.
Rummikub is a Rummy Tile Game. It's similar to playing rummy in cards. The tiles are easier to handle than playing cards.
Not as great for adults but tolerable & 4-year-old friendly:
Kerplunk is similar to Jenga. It would be easier for the 4-year-old to play.
Sorry. My daughter quickly developed strategies that allowed her to compete with older kids & adults.
@glindagw: agree with the Uno mention. Our family plays it quite a bit.
The rules indicate that you should keep score, but when we have children (around 4 and 5) over, we ditch the scorepad, and just play each hand individually. We help them with the numbers sometimes, and will ignore the Draw Four cards until they get a hold of the game. They caught on pretty well, and had a good time. Not keeping score also helps remove the competitive edge, and is more fun on family holidays.
You might look at Quoridor or Quoridor Kid. I had 7-year-olds, a 4-year-old, and a grownup playing it happily on Super Bowl Sunday. Easy rules, tough strategy, but adults playing it the first couple times probably won't outpace the 8-year-old (and the 4-year-old just might not care).
I don't even know if these games still exist, but I always loved tile games as opposed to card games.
Dominoes - Regular and Mexican Crazy Train
Triominoes - 3 sided dominoes
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triominoes
Rummikub - sort of a rummy/majong game - invented by a jewish man!
http://www.rummikub.com/
Trouble (board game)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trouble_%28board_game%29
@sfeitler: Quoridor sounds really cool. Makes me want to get it.
@myrlin: Dominoes, Rummikub and Trouble still exist.
@sgoman5674: It's pretty cool, but it does seem to be mostly unavailable right now! One site said you could preorder for May... which wouldn't help at all for Passover. :)
@sfeitler: It would not help as Passover is Monday night.
Also a game that I am pretty sure is discontinued:
Can't Stop. I used to play this every Shabbos afternoon with my friend and his wife. Whenever one of us won we took our Kippahs off and threw them at her. The first time I did this (and I was the first) we all fell off our chairs we were laughing so hard.
Jigsaw puzzles (not a game, but a good division of labor activity), charades, Indian Poker (just one card to hold--bet with nuts or other small food), In a Pickle, paper football.
@erikadyscern: how about:
jumangi: http://www.amazon.com/none-Jumanji-The-Game/dp/B00000IVZN
jenga: http://www.hasbro.com/games/en_US/jenga/search.cfm?N=190&Ntk=All&Ntx=mode+matchall
cribbage: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cribbage
(i was thinking about jenga when all i could come up with was jumangi, so it's there as an option although it may not be a very good game.)
edit: reread you already have jenga; oops. cribbage is good, check it out.
@sgoman5674: This site: http://www.boardgames4us.com/fdx-5203.html seems to indicate Quoridor is coming back. I wouldn't personally pre-order based on that, but if you remember in May, you could check then.
I think we got a used copy, or else a copy that had been on the shelves for a while--it was sort of in rough condition.
@sgoman5674: I think you're right about Can't Stop. It looks good--shame I'm not willing to shell out on ebay for it. :) Although there are a few less-expensive copies there...
Gulo Gulo is a game where kids may have an advantage over adults because their hands are smaller. http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/6351/gulo-gulo
Bear with me for a second on this one. I know Scrabble is out, but how about Bananagrams? http://www.amazon.com/Bananagrams-BAN001/dp/1932188126/
A kid's vocabulary might be an asset in this game. The point is to build your bananagram as quickly as possible, to beat everyone else. Big fancy words don't necessarily get you an advantage. Speed is what counts.
I don't know if moving tiles is the same as writing, but this is my top choice, and we play it weekly.
You mentioned your child not being able to hold cards; I have the same problem and I purchased a card holder. They are inexpensive and allow me to participate in card games that I could not before. I strongly suggest this. I purchased mine at Walmart but they're widely available.
Wow, I went through this thread and took notes last night. Thanks everyone! My favorite discovery? Board Game Geek website. What a treasure trove of content!
@nvaine: Bananagrams is not considered writing.
This looks like a good possibility.
http://wunderland.com/LooneyLabs/FamilyFluxx/Default.html
Looney labs games are usually interesting and very fun.
They also have some for 5 yr olds. http://store.looneylabs.com/Aquarius and I've played treehouse (with the book that has multiple games for the treehouse pieces, very cool stuff).
@attilathemom: We have Family Fluxx, and it is a good game. There is a winner at the end, but because the rules are changed constantly, there's no way to know who will win until, well, until someone does. So it calms the competitiveness.
@sfeitler: we play games at work once a week at lunch, fluxx looks like a good candidate to bring home from gencon this year.
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