Whilst we were in Leisure games last week A bought herself two new games.
It was only after a long convoluted discussion that she didn't buy more dice - true gamer-chick there ;)
This afternoon the kittens were chasing a large D20 around the living room, so J decided even the pets here are gamers . . .
The first game A bought was Rat-a-tat-cat - made by Gamewrights, a publisher we know and trust :)
The game is a turn based card game, but it has some interesting twists to the usual rules.
Cards are numbered zero to nine, with cats for the numbers up to five, and rats from then on. The pictures are well drawn, and have a nice sense of humour to them. The aim of the game is to get the lowest score.
You start with four cards face down in front of each player, the rest of the deck is the draw pile, but the top card is flipped to begin the discard pile.
At the start of the game you may look at the two outer cards (number one and four in front of you) but NOT the other two. Unless you get a special card later on you may not look at these cards again. For younger players the game can be played with these outlying cards face up.
On your turn you may either take the top discard card, and switch it with one of your cards (face downs stay face down on the table) OR draw the top card from the draw pile, show it to your opponent(s) and decide whether to play it or not. It may be a numbered card (switch with one of your face down cards) or one of three "Specials" - these are Swap (swap one of your cards with an opponents, you may not look at the cards you exchange)Draw two (draw another card, decide if you want to play it, if not discard it and draw another) or Peek (look at one of your own face down cards.) You always have the choice of playing or discarding it, but specials on the discard pile do not have their special powers intact.
The round continues until one player knocks on the table and declares "Rat-a-tat-cat" (when they are satisfied with their score), at which point the opponents get one last turn and then the scores are worked out.
Scoring is easy - add up the cards in front of you. If you have a special it is discarded and a random card drawn to replace it.
The game is played over an agreed number of rounds, we do five, which allows everyone to get the hang of what they are meant to be doing.
We like the game, it encourages a bit of maths, some strategy, some watching of opponents, and plays quickly. A - at 7 - is fully able to understand the rules, J - 9 - enjoys the game too. I suspect that M would enjoy it as a way to connect with younger children, but at 11 he is a little old for it really.
Monday, 9 December 2013
Saturday, 7 December 2013
Ticket to ride - review and ramblings :)
A week ago we ended up in one of our favourite places in the world. The inimitable Leisure Games, an Aladdin's cave of wonderfully obscure board games, innovative European games, Role playing games, and so much more. My kids love it there, all of them couldn't wait to spend their pocket money - which is often hoarded for such trips. The staff are awesome, and good for advice, even the other customers are pretty cool - with one random dude offering A advice when she couldn't decide between two games. And the dude was right - the one she picked is *very* much A's cup of tea :)
Amongst other games we finally picked up a copy of Ticket to ride - hubby has had the app on his tablet for ages, and lots of friends have raved about it, so I kinda feel we're a bit late to this particular party.
The game is pretty simple in it's mechanics, by collecting different coloured cards you are able to claim various rail routes between American cities, earning points as you go.
Because each turn you only get to do one of the various actions turns move quickly and it keeps everyone engaged really well.
To start the game each player is dealt three "Quest" cards, which are scored by linking two cities in a continuous route, the more connections you need to make the higher the score. These cards are hidden, and not revealed to other players until the end of the game. Any quest you haven't completed deducts from your score . . . Each player has to keep at least two of the initial cards dealt to them, so there is some wiggle room in deciding what you will do.
You are also dealt four carriage cards, these are what you have to collect to claim routes.
Five further carriage cards are then placed face up beside the draw pile, and the remaining quest cards.
During your turn you can either :
We have played in various combinations of people now, and all of the family enjoy the game - J plays fairly randomly with not much strategy, M seems to be thinking several turns ahead.
It works well on an adult basis - My husband, L and I have played and all enjoyed it - we were a bit more strategic, and a bit more competitive than when we played with the younger ones ;)
A is still a little young to play alone, but I think that once she is familiar with the game she will be able to play independently too.
There is subtle learning going on - as with games like Risk there is a degree of learning where the places named are, but there is also a lot of quick thinking required. The turns move fast, and often the other players claim routes you need, so it is helping M and J learn to look for alternatives before giving up on a quest. There is also a need to learn when to sit back and gather resources, and when to claim routes and make the best of what you can do.
All told this was a good addition to our games shelves, and I can see it getting a lot of use.
Amongst other games we finally picked up a copy of Ticket to ride - hubby has had the app on his tablet for ages, and lots of friends have raved about it, so I kinda feel we're a bit late to this particular party.
The game is pretty simple in it's mechanics, by collecting different coloured cards you are able to claim various rail routes between American cities, earning points as you go.
Because each turn you only get to do one of the various actions turns move quickly and it keeps everyone engaged really well.
To start the game each player is dealt three "Quest" cards, which are scored by linking two cities in a continuous route, the more connections you need to make the higher the score. These cards are hidden, and not revealed to other players until the end of the game. Any quest you haven't completed deducts from your score . . . Each player has to keep at least two of the initial cards dealt to them, so there is some wiggle room in deciding what you will do.
You are also dealt four carriage cards, these are what you have to collect to claim routes.
Five further carriage cards are then placed face up beside the draw pile, and the remaining quest cards.
During your turn you can either :
- Take two face up carriage cards (except jokers)
- Take one face up Joker
- Take two carriage cards from the draw pile
- Take one face up carriage card and one from the draw pile
- Claim a route
- Take a new quest (draw three, keep at least one)
We have played in various combinations of people now, and all of the family enjoy the game - J plays fairly randomly with not much strategy, M seems to be thinking several turns ahead.
It works well on an adult basis - My husband, L and I have played and all enjoyed it - we were a bit more strategic, and a bit more competitive than when we played with the younger ones ;)
A is still a little young to play alone, but I think that once she is familiar with the game she will be able to play independently too.
There is subtle learning going on - as with games like Risk there is a degree of learning where the places named are, but there is also a lot of quick thinking required. The turns move fast, and often the other players claim routes you need, so it is helping M and J learn to look for alternatives before giving up on a quest. There is also a need to learn when to sit back and gather resources, and when to claim routes and make the best of what you can do.
All told this was a good addition to our games shelves, and I can see it getting a lot of use.
Tuesday, 3 December 2013
Rules
Sometimes I wonder how other families eat meals. You know, neuro typical families . . .
For us, the only way to keep things sane is constant reminders of "The Rules."
I guess most families have rules, perhaps largely unspoken, about how to behave around the dinner table.
Our first rule is pretty ordinary - No Rocking of Chairs. Since we bought M a wobble cushion he is much better, but there is still a large amount of rocking that goes on. Every now and then there is a crash as someone falls over too . . .
The next rule relates to rocking - No Knees! If left to their own devices M, J and frustratingly L will all brace their knees against the table. That means they rock with barely any effort :(
The third, and last of the obvious rules, is Use Cutlery. Ought to go without saying really, but it is said - a lot.
Now, I'm afraid, we move on to the more esoteric ones . . . Set purely for the retention of sanity.
No Singing.
No Dancing.
No Humming.
No Miming.
No Drumming.
No Banging.
No Minecraft discussions.
No Staring contests.
Seriously. Most of those need to be repeated most days.
Where else but an ASD household!
For us, the only way to keep things sane is constant reminders of "The Rules."
I guess most families have rules, perhaps largely unspoken, about how to behave around the dinner table.
Our first rule is pretty ordinary - No Rocking of Chairs. Since we bought M a wobble cushion he is much better, but there is still a large amount of rocking that goes on. Every now and then there is a crash as someone falls over too . . .
The next rule relates to rocking - No Knees! If left to their own devices M, J and frustratingly L will all brace their knees against the table. That means they rock with barely any effort :(
The third, and last of the obvious rules, is Use Cutlery. Ought to go without saying really, but it is said - a lot.
Now, I'm afraid, we move on to the more esoteric ones . . . Set purely for the retention of sanity.
No Singing.
No Dancing.
No Humming.
No Miming.
No Drumming.
No Banging.
No Minecraft discussions.
No Staring contests.
Seriously. Most of those need to be repeated most days.
Where else but an ASD household!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)