May 2024
Welcome board game fans! This month we're focusing on games that are perfect for families with younger players. We have a list of games suitable for kids. We visited the charming medieval town of Quedlinburg in Germany to bring you a review of the whimsical bag-building family game "The Quacks of Quedlinburg”. We also offer some tips for this year’s UK Games Expo. Lastly, we invite you to share your views in our May readers’ poll. Your input matters, and we can't wait to see what games you love most.
Have fun and keep playing games!
Games for younger gamers
(and kids of all ages)
Introducing children to board games helps them foster valuable social and cognitive skills but more importantly it unlocks a whole world of screen-free entertainment. To help you plan the perfect family game night here are six picks sure to delight both the young and the young at heart!
Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza
This game will result in pure mayhem which will delight the younglings!
Players need to keep the five words in mind saying them out loud in order each time they play a card. If the card you play matches the word you say then all players race to get their hands on the central pile of cards. The last one to pile on takes the whole pile with the winner being the first to get rid of all their cards.
Dobble (Spot It!)
Dobble is pure fun in a tin! The genius of this game is that every card has exactly one matching picture to every other card in the deck, players race to spot the match and call it out. Games are short but this one will provide endless hours of entertainment for the kids, particularly because adults seem to be much slower at finding the matching shapes!
Bunch of Butts
Bunch of Butts is a simultaneous card flipping and matching game. The first player to call a match takes the cards. If a spank card is revealed the first player to spank the foam rubber butt gets to steal a card from another player. The player who collects a set of cards spelling out “Bunch of Butts” before any other wins. Super silly fun very easy to teach and guaranteed to get you noticed if playing in a public space!
Sushi Go!
A quick and fun card-drafting game where players aim to collect the best combination of sushi dishes while passing the cards round the table conveyor-belt style! Sushi Go! is great for developing strategic thinking and pattern recognition.
Forbidden Island
A cooperative game where players work together to collect treasures and escape from a sinking island. This game promotes teamwork and decision-making skills in a thrilling adventure setting. May be more suitable for older children than the other titles mentioned here.
King of Tokyo
For slightly older kids due to the cards with writing on them, this classic monster-battling dice game is a great fun. Players take on the roles of quirky giant monsters battling it out to become the King of Tokyo.
(Featured games are available to rent as a bundle from our library or purchase from our online shop.)
Review:
THE QUACKS OF QUEDLINBURG
Wolfgang Warsch
2-4 Players
45 minutes
Played @ Quedlingburg, Germany
In April a few of us took a road trip to the medieval town of Quedlingburg in Germany. What better place, we thought, to soak up the atmosphere that inspired the classic family game by Wolfgang Warsch?
The Quacks of Quedlinburg is a potion-making game that combines a pinch of light strategy with generous lashings of push-your-luck mechanics to produce an exciting gameplay experience full of tense moments, tough decisions, and hilarious self-made misfortune.
Players step into the shoes of quack doctors from the titular medieval town competing to brew the most potent and valuable potions. Each round players concoct their potions by drawing ingredient chips from their own bag and adding them to a spiralling track on their player board (pot). The further round the track you get before calling it a day the better you do. Players earn victory points for that round as well as money for thier potion which they can use to buy better ingredients.
The catch? The ingredients are drawn blindly and not all the ingredients in the bag are safe to add to the potion – add one too many cherry bombs to the pot and BOOM! The potion explodes forcing you to choose between either taking points or taking money that round but not both.
There are no turns and play proceeds concurrently until every player has either completed their potion for the round or caused their pot to explode. Between rounds players get to improve their ingredient bags and must decide which ingredients to invest in to maximise their potion-making potential for the next round.
The game's push-your-luck element is both exhilarating and tense, as players must decide whether to play it safe and stop brewing or risk drawing additional chips to enhance their potions to score and earn more. Randomly drawn event cards, a wide selection of ingredients to choose from at the start of each game and an “advanced” level cauldron add to the re-playability of this game.
The Quacks of Quedlinburg is a highly luck based game so of course will not be to everyone’s tastes but, having said that, Quacks is one of the most exciting push your luck games and is a barrel (or should I say cauldron) of laughs! We’ve yet to find someone who hasn’t had at least one good hearty chuckle playing a game. A great game for all ages and overall it a perfect choice for your family board game night.
UK GAMES EXPO 2024
Birmingham NEC
Friday 31 May - Sunday 2 Jun 2024
Why you should go and what you should know
The UK Games Expo is the annual destination for thousands of gaming enthusiasts of all ages from all around the world. If you’re not sure if you should visit the expo this year, here are our top reasons we think you should as well as some things you should know if you do decide to attend.
Why You Should Go:
Firstly, the games - the expo showcases a huge variety of games from classic favourites to hotly anticipated new releases (last year’s release of Disney L’orcana had queues snaking around the convention centre hours before the stall even opened!). If you’re looking for a rare gem or want to see what’s new in the world of boardgames UKGE is the place to be.
Secondly the players -one of the things that makes UKGE the top convention of its kind is that so much space, time and energy is devoted to simply allowing people to meet to play the hobby they love. From open gaming areas in the hall to late night gaming in the Hilton convention rooms across the road UKGE is a great place to meet & make new friends over a game or two (or several!)
Thirdly the industry insiders - UKGE offers you the opportunity to rub shoulders with designers, publishers, podcasters as well as attend panel talks, workshops and seminars that will educate and entertain you in between the browsing and playing.
What You Should Know:
Plan Ahead: There are many things to see and do, there will be hall-fulls of people, and it could get overwhelming, so we recommend a bit of planning in advance to help you navigate the crowds, get to othe events you want to attend and still allow plenty of time for playing!
Comfortable Shoes, Layers, Deo: It’s a safe bet that you'll likely be doing a good deal of walking on each day of the expo so comfortable shoes are a must. You’ll also want to dress in layers to stay comfortable throughout the day and lastly spare a thought for those you’ll be sitting next in the evening after a day of walking around a crowded halls and remember to freshen up.
Stay Hydrated : With all the excitement, it's easy to forget to take care of yourself so do remember to stay hydrated, pack snacks to keep your energy levels up, and take breaks as needed to rest and recharge.
Have Fun: The board gaming community is a friendly one and everyone there will be there to celebrate the hobby we love, it’s a great opportunity to make new friends, don’t be shy to participate in events and workshops or ask if someone would mind teaching you that game you’ve been watching them play.
Above all, soak up the atmosphere, embrace the excitement, and enjoy every the gaming extravaganza that is UKGE.
My Board Game Library merchandise will be available from our online shop in the summer! We hope to bring you fun board-game themed T-shirts, coffe mugs, dice trays and stationery to enhance your board game nights!
Our Rental Library makes it easy to try new games before deciding to add them to your collection. It’s also a great way to add variety to your board game group without having to invest the full cost of a game.
If you have any suggestions for or newsletter or features you’d like us to add to our web site please drop us a line at support@myboardgamelibrary.com
It’s all part of our friendly service!
“ As a game designer, I'd rather do something "wrong" and spark a conversation, than do everything "right" and end the conversation ”
– Eric Lang, (Disigner of Rising Sun, Blood Rage and many other games)
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