Coronavirus Stay at Home Activities: Board Games
Now that you are relaxed from yesterday, its time to break out the games! Not the video games, it is too simple to just drown our sorrows in digital "booze"-put something out with your hands and clear the table. The games are about to begin!
But the question is begged, what to play? The traditional games of Monopoly, Life, and Jenga are great classics. But this is 2020-and being a gamer myself-games have gotten very creative and interesting in recent years. Ranked from Kid Friendly to Adult Friendly, the below list is my families' menu for Game Day:
1. Choose Your Own Adventure: House of Danger
I picked this up on sale, I love bargains, and resonated with it due to a love of Choose Your Own Adventure books by RL Stine as a young one. There are multiple endings and simple set up. When you are playing this, it plays out like a simple version of D&D.
2. Mille Bournes
This is a game I played a lot as a kid when I would go up north to Bridgeport, CA in a cabin that had no TV, some of my favorite memories. Goal of the game is to race your fellow family members and get to the finish line (a certain amount of miles) before anyone else does. You would draw cards to not only try to move forward but to stall your opponents with flat tires and what not. When hit with a flat tire, you have to fix your flat tire before you can start driving again.
3. Exploding Kittens
This is a game/game maker I have loved and followed since they started making games. This is their first game, and it is a card version of hot potato/Russian Roulette. The goal of the game is to survive to the end and not be destroyed by the "Exploding Kitten". You are given some defenses and diffuses, but there is always one more "Exploding Kitten" than you have an ability to avoid. To get to the end its a mix of luck and strategy. If this is your first time playing, stick with the original-since its coming out there are a lot of expansions-the original is family friendly.
4. On A Scale of One to T-Rex
From the maker of Exploding Kittens, this is the most recent game they have created and produced. This is charades but a different kind of charades, you are given three cards to act out, that everyone can see, but you are given an intensity card that is a secret to you. The goal is to find another player acting their cards out in the same intensity as you. This is a great game for a family that loves cherades, regardless of your skill level at the game.
5. Throw Throw Burritos
From the makers of Exploding Kittens, this is their 4th game created. The goal of the game is to try to collect matching sets of cards faster than your opponents while playing dodgeball with squishy burritos. The cards you collect earn you points and getting hit by burritos loses you points. Indoor dodgeball and card games got married and this is their baby. This is a nice game to get everyone moving while they are thinking.
6. Bears vs Babies
From the makers of Exploding Kittens, this is their 2nd game created. You and your family are bears in the battle of Bears vs Babies. Each person builds their bears to not only defend themselves against the babies, but against their fellow players. The person with the most babies eaten and most parts on its person wins. This is a relatively short game but lots of action, if you are playing with your family-do not play the NSFW version.
7. You've Got Crabs
From the makers of Exploding Kittens, this is their 3rd game created. You team up with someone to gather four of a kind but there is a catch, you can not sit next to each other. You must rely on your non verbal communication to tell your partner to accuse you with the following phrase, "You've Got Crabs". If your teammate calls it out and you have four of a kind, you get a point-if your opponent catches the signal before you do, you lose a point. The team that gets to a certain number of points wins. This is a great game to test your non verbal communication skills as well as team skills.
8. Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons and Dragons, or more commonly known as D&D, is the ultimate role playing game. It can be a simply played as dice, books, and paper. Or it can have built up table top worlds and figurines to accompany your imaginary adventures. You start by creating a character and going on an adventure with your fellow travelers. Why are you all together? Where are you going? What stops do you make a long the way? That is a two part decision, one major part of the decision making is the players themselves. The other part of the decision making is the Dungeon Master, or DM, bascially plays god. This can be as short or as long as you and your family want, with many other adventures available to continue your story.
9. Settlers of Catan
This is still a family friendly game, but it is considerably harder for kids to get. This is definitly for an older family or older group to play. But still a family friendly game. In this game, each person is a settler starting a civilization in Catan. But it is not enough to settle, you must expand and grow, get more resources. The goal is to get a certain number of victory points before your opponents do. Most of the ways to get victory points are obvious, but you can draw cards that are victory points as well so strategy is a must here. This will generally be a longer game.
10. Cards Against Humanity
I have put this game last as it the most adult game on the list, yes you can get versions that are family friendly but that is very difficult. I would not play this game with my parents if I wanted to win, and I am close to my family. But this is one of my favorite games if your group is big enough. One player is the Card Master and draws a black card, for example: "BLANK is a slippery slope that leads to BLANK". The other players are holding 8 white cards in their hand and pick one or two answers that you think the Card Master would like and place them face down in front of the Card Master. Everyone submits and then the card master reads the responses. They read them all and then the Card Master picks the answer they like the best, "Meatloaf the Meal is a slippery slope that leads to Meatloaf the Man". That response is actually based on a true story, its funnier now than it was then and then it was pretty darn funny.
When it comes to games, there are so many you can mention. Whether its simple Poker or dice games like Farkle and Yahtzee, the options are endless. What games are you playing with your family? Do you have any of the above mentioned games at home? Which game have you played that you ended up enjoying more than you thought you would? Inquiring minds want to know, let's have a positive conversation during the time of the Coronavirus.
P:(657) 246-2298-Email Me - Moxi Zombi Marketing - Blog-Twitter - Instagram - Facebook - Flickr - LinkedIn
But the question is begged, what to play? The traditional games of Monopoly, Life, and Jenga are great classics. But this is 2020-and being a gamer myself-games have gotten very creative and interesting in recent years. Ranked from Kid Friendly to Adult Friendly, the below list is my families' menu for Game Day:
1. Choose Your Own Adventure: House of Danger
I picked this up on sale, I love bargains, and resonated with it due to a love of Choose Your Own Adventure books by RL Stine as a young one. There are multiple endings and simple set up. When you are playing this, it plays out like a simple version of D&D.
2. Mille Bournes
This is a game I played a lot as a kid when I would go up north to Bridgeport, CA in a cabin that had no TV, some of my favorite memories. Goal of the game is to race your fellow family members and get to the finish line (a certain amount of miles) before anyone else does. You would draw cards to not only try to move forward but to stall your opponents with flat tires and what not. When hit with a flat tire, you have to fix your flat tire before you can start driving again.
3. Exploding Kittens
This is a game/game maker I have loved and followed since they started making games. This is their first game, and it is a card version of hot potato/Russian Roulette. The goal of the game is to survive to the end and not be destroyed by the "Exploding Kitten". You are given some defenses and diffuses, but there is always one more "Exploding Kitten" than you have an ability to avoid. To get to the end its a mix of luck and strategy. If this is your first time playing, stick with the original-since its coming out there are a lot of expansions-the original is family friendly.
4. On A Scale of One to T-Rex
From the maker of Exploding Kittens, this is the most recent game they have created and produced. This is charades but a different kind of charades, you are given three cards to act out, that everyone can see, but you are given an intensity card that is a secret to you. The goal is to find another player acting their cards out in the same intensity as you. This is a great game for a family that loves cherades, regardless of your skill level at the game.
5. Throw Throw Burritos
From the makers of Exploding Kittens, this is their 4th game created. The goal of the game is to try to collect matching sets of cards faster than your opponents while playing dodgeball with squishy burritos. The cards you collect earn you points and getting hit by burritos loses you points. Indoor dodgeball and card games got married and this is their baby. This is a nice game to get everyone moving while they are thinking.
6. Bears vs Babies
From the makers of Exploding Kittens, this is their 2nd game created. You and your family are bears in the battle of Bears vs Babies. Each person builds their bears to not only defend themselves against the babies, but against their fellow players. The person with the most babies eaten and most parts on its person wins. This is a relatively short game but lots of action, if you are playing with your family-do not play the NSFW version.
7. You've Got Crabs
From the makers of Exploding Kittens, this is their 3rd game created. You team up with someone to gather four of a kind but there is a catch, you can not sit next to each other. You must rely on your non verbal communication to tell your partner to accuse you with the following phrase, "You've Got Crabs". If your teammate calls it out and you have four of a kind, you get a point-if your opponent catches the signal before you do, you lose a point. The team that gets to a certain number of points wins. This is a great game to test your non verbal communication skills as well as team skills.
8. Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons and Dragons, or more commonly known as D&D, is the ultimate role playing game. It can be a simply played as dice, books, and paper. Or it can have built up table top worlds and figurines to accompany your imaginary adventures. You start by creating a character and going on an adventure with your fellow travelers. Why are you all together? Where are you going? What stops do you make a long the way? That is a two part decision, one major part of the decision making is the players themselves. The other part of the decision making is the Dungeon Master, or DM, bascially plays god. This can be as short or as long as you and your family want, with many other adventures available to continue your story.
9. Settlers of Catan
This is still a family friendly game, but it is considerably harder for kids to get. This is definitly for an older family or older group to play. But still a family friendly game. In this game, each person is a settler starting a civilization in Catan. But it is not enough to settle, you must expand and grow, get more resources. The goal is to get a certain number of victory points before your opponents do. Most of the ways to get victory points are obvious, but you can draw cards that are victory points as well so strategy is a must here. This will generally be a longer game.
10. Cards Against Humanity
I have put this game last as it the most adult game on the list, yes you can get versions that are family friendly but that is very difficult. I would not play this game with my parents if I wanted to win, and I am close to my family. But this is one of my favorite games if your group is big enough. One player is the Card Master and draws a black card, for example: "BLANK is a slippery slope that leads to BLANK". The other players are holding 8 white cards in their hand and pick one or two answers that you think the Card Master would like and place them face down in front of the Card Master. Everyone submits and then the card master reads the responses. They read them all and then the Card Master picks the answer they like the best, "Meatloaf the Meal is a slippery slope that leads to Meatloaf the Man". That response is actually based on a true story, its funnier now than it was then and then it was pretty darn funny.
When it comes to games, there are so many you can mention. Whether its simple Poker or dice games like Farkle and Yahtzee, the options are endless. What games are you playing with your family? Do you have any of the above mentioned games at home? Which game have you played that you ended up enjoying more than you thought you would? Inquiring minds want to know, let's have a positive conversation during the time of the Coronavirus.
P:(657) 246-2298-Email Me - Moxi Zombi Marketing - Blog-Twitter - Instagram - Facebook - Flickr - LinkedIn
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