A night of family fun is best topped off with gathering around a board game and letting the dice fall where they may. These are the highlights of the year that you’ll certainly want to invest in.
Rory’s Story Cubes
Some of the best titles don’t even use a board at all. Take Rory’s Story Cubes for example. The game consists of nine six-sided dice with a unique image on each side. Players roll the dice and use the images that land face up to craft a story based on what images they see. It’s a new take on “Once Upon A Time” storytelling that has won Dr. Toy’s Ten Best Games Award. It’s not only a fun recreation for family and friends, but also a different way to inspire creativity when writer’s block hits. Rory’s Story Cubes is also available for the iPhone.
Angry Birds: Knock On Wood
The digital phenomenon has gone real. Mattel’s “Knock on Wood” comes with a deck of cards with examples of structures you can build on them, and the disconnected plastic pieces needed to make those structures, along with the plastic pigs to put inside the structures, and a slingshot with plastic birds to launch at them. Kids will feel as if they pulled the game out of the computer or phone and set it down on their bedroom floor to play. Difficulty ranges for building each structure are printed on the cards, with “1″ being the easiest, and they go up from there.
LEGO Heroica
“Heroica” is LEGO’s answer to fantasy role playing titles such as “Dungeons and Dragons” but with starters and children in mind. Players move their characters through passageways into unknown areas, battle monsters, collect treasure, etc., just like in other fantasy games. There are tiles that make up the passageways the characters walk through, dice to determine movement and the outcome of any epic battles that may break out. In lieu of character sheets, “Heroica” characters have backpacks which contain their spells, potions, weapons and anything else available to use while they traverse the dungeons. It’s made for two players, ages seven and up.
ThinkFun PathWords
It’sword search meets Tetris in one of thenew board games 2011 has to offer. Winner of the Top Ten Most Wanted Puzzle award, Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Best Toy Gold Seal Award, Parent’s Choice Gold Award and the Creative Child Magazine’s Puzzle of the Year Award, this is simply the must-have award winning choice for the year. The title comes with a game grid that features storage for the puzzle pieces, eight puzzle pieces and 40 Challenge Cards with difficulties ranging from Beginner to Expert. Solutions are included as well. This is a single player choice suitable for ages 12 to adult.
Settlers of Catan: 4th Edition
Players assume the role of a new arrival on the island of Catan and have to begin life anew, struggling to gather wood, grain, sheep and other necessities of life on the frontier. Certain combinations of commodities build homes and roads, while other combinations lead more towards food production. Experimenting with combinations earns players better roads, more advanced buildings, etc. Players trade goods with one another or at local trading ports, all to be the first to acquire ten points and win. “Catan” is best played with three to four players, ages ten and up, and it takes just about an hour to play, on average.
Simon Flash
Sure to be one of the best toys 2011 has, this new version of Simon loses a bit but gains immeasurably. Gone is the board with the flashing buttons. In its place, however, are four light up cubes that each have a different title programmed into them, and yet each one can communicate wirelessly and work together on all four. One involves the cubes be shuffled in a certain order, another has the player trying to decipher a secret code involving color, and another still is the classic Simon game. Simon Flash is designed for one or more players ages ten to adult.
Carcassonne: 10 Year Special Edition
Not just one of the ideal choices of the year, “Carcassonne” has won the Spiel des Jahres award for excellent achievements in gaming. In this tile-laying choice, players take on the role of villagers in Carcassonne, a city in the south of France. They distribute residents of the village to live in the fields and surrounding areas of the city in order to command dominance of the area.It’s designed as a two player selection but can be played with anywhere up to five, and it takes approximately 45 minutes to play one session. For ages eight and up.
City Square Off
“City Square Off” pits two players, or two teams, against one another to be the first to erect a functioning city plan within certain boundaries before their opponents do. Each player has their own 9×9 board, 21 construction tiles to construct their city, 21 cards that bear images of the tiles and four starter tiles. Cards can be placed anywhere on the board so long as there is room. Any tiles that go over the edges are disqualified and the other opponent is named the winner. The title is made for two players, ages eight and up.
Bop It XT
Shake it, Pull it, Flick it, Twist it, Bop it, Spin it. These are some of the commands the title can call out to players during a session of “Bop It XT,” one of the best toys 2011 has to offer. As the commands are called out, the player plays along following the commands, which only makes the title call out the commands faster. “Bop It” can be played in party mode or solo. There’s even a headphone jack for private listening. This choice is designed for one or more players, ages 8 and up. Play is enhanced with four different difficulty levels.
Perplexus Epic
This 3D puzzle challenge is sure to be one of the best board games of 2011. The puzzle is a transparent plastic 8.5 inch sphere with twisting tubes, tunnels, pathways and canals running wildly around the inside. Inside this labyrinth is a tiny metal ball. The object is to move the metal ball through the near-impossible maze to the other end. The title improves the player’s hand-eye coordination and is a good brain exercise. There are no loose pieces, making this an ideal choice for travel, and it is suitable for all ages.
Monopoly Crazy Cash
“Crazy Cash” is just like your standard Monopoly where players roll dice, move their tokens, buy property and collect rent. The differences herein lie with the electronic cash machine. Instead of having a banker, the included electronic ATM dispenses all movies to players by launching it at them across the board. Chance cards are also launched at the player from the same ATM, so be careful when you land on a certain square. Play is over when the ATM runs out of money, and the player with the most money wins. “Crazy Cash” is suitable for ages 5 and up.
Torx Games
No instruction book is necessary to begin having fun with “Torx,” easily one of the best toys 2011 has produced. “Torx” looks like a black plastic stick with a ball in the middle, each end having featuring a handlebar. When activated, the title will shout out commands and the player moves, bends or twists either the game or their body in the demanded way and the game is afoot. “Torx” is four ways to play in one and one awesome good time. Three of those games can be single player choices if the player wishes. For ages 8 and up.
Tapz
“Tapz” is a game of lights and sounds that tests the players’ reflexes based on cues given through either lights or music, and is sure to be a favorite of children and adults alike. The main piece is round with indents along the edge and red lights along the top. The item sits atop a table on top of a special placemat.It features five different ways to play, four of which test reflexes and the fifth is a free form music mode. Released by Mattel, “Tapz” is certainly going to become one of the best board games 2011 will have. Ages 7 and up are recommended with this one.
FlipOut
Winner of multiple awards for gaming excellence including the Oppenheimer Toy Portfolio Game Award, Creative Child Magazine Seal of Excellence Award, Major Fun Award and iParenting Media Award, to name a few, “FlipOut” is a fast moving card game where players exercise their skills with logical problem solving, patterning skills and memory. The purpose of this one is to get four of a kind in a row, done so by flipping, swapping or turning cards in order to achieve the goal. It’s sure to be one of the best toys 2011 produces.
Scrabble Turbo Slam
“Turbo Slam” is classic Scrabble reinvented as a set of cards. In place of tiles, each player now is dealt a hand of cards with letters printed on them. Four cards are placed on the table and players slam cards down in order to change the words before a buzzer sounds, at which time action cards get brought into play which could either help or hinder the players on their way to winning the game. The game consists of 55 cards, a storage tray and 12 action cards.“Turbo Slam” is geared for two to four players, ages eight and up.
Cranium Brain Breaks
Hidden away inside the brain shaped box in the game aisle of your local store is this guaranteed party favor. “Brain Breaks” is one box with over 200 ways to play in it that can be played in just about one minute. That’s enough time for everyone at the party to get a full turn, regardless of the size of your party. Your guests will be shouting, sculpting, drawing, or whatever the cards tell them to do. It’s designed for two or more players, ages eight and up. This is sure to be one of the best board games 2011 has to offer.
Spot It
“Spot It” is intended to be fast paced action with maybe some loud noises and good times had by all. The deck consists of 55 round cards with random images on them. Each card has only one image in common with any other card. The object of this one is to connect cards with like images touching. The idea is to be the first person to spot the matching images. There are four different ways to play. “Spot It” is intended for two to eight players, ages five and up. This looks like it will be one of the best board games 2011 will produce.
ThinkFun Tilt
Winner of the Parents Choice Gold Award and the Oppenheimer Toy Portfolio Best Toy Gold Seal Award among others makes “Tilt” one of the best board games 2011 has to offer. The title earns its name because the board is imbalanced, having a centralized stump instead of legs making the board lean from side to side. Players take turns setting pieces that inhibit the other player’s movement and lean the board a certain way in order to achieve victory. There are few pieces making this a good travel choice for kids. Not to mention it helps them think strategically to accomplish their goals.
Big Boggle
Classic “Boggle” has been re done as one of thenew board games 2011 has to offer. Players of “Big Boggle” have three minutes to see how many words they can find from the letter cubes on the board. This is “Boggle” with a vengeance. The 5×5 board holds 25 letter cubes and the minimum amount of letters allowed per word is four. Only the letters showing face up can be used to construct words. More cubes make it easier to form more words, and extra points are given for longer words. The title comes with 25 letter dice, a 5×5 tray, a dome cover, instruction booklet and timer.
Scrabble Alphabet Scoop
Gather the family around the table for a new dish of Scrabble. Sure to be one of the best board games 2011 has to offer, “Alphabet Scoop” is geared more towards younger readers. Players draw a card with a word on it, grab their scoops, count to three and dive spoon first into a bowl filled with letter tiles, trying to scoop out the letters to spell their word. If they draw any fly tiles, they have to dump all their letters back and start over. The first player to scoop out the necessary letters for their word wins this one.
Uno Tippo
Seeing shades of its predecessor, “Uno Tippo” is much like classic Uno with one major difference: there are two discard piles on opposite ends of a scale. When players discard, they have to match color and number in the discard piles. Players have to be careful where and how they discard, because if someone knocks the scales down, that playerhas to draw more cards. The first person to run out of cards wins this choice. It’s a family friendly selection for ages seven and up. Look for it to be declared one of the best board games 2011 has.
Yahtzee Flash
Yahtzee’s gone digital. “Yahtzee Flash” is an exciting new board game 2011 has introduced that uses digital monitors programmed with Wonder-Link technology in place of physical dice. These “dice” display the rolled numbers, remember what rolls are kept and automatically reroll the remaining numbers. The player moves the “dice” together that he wants to keep, and those not collected know to reroll. The “dice” have other games programmed in them, including Poker. The game is designed for one or more players. It comes with the five digital “dice,” rules, game case and Quick Play Card. Suitable for ages 8 and up.
Chinese Revolution
It’s Chinese Checkers with some modifications on the old design that makes “Revolution” one of the best board games 2011 has to offer. Play is as the classic version, except at certain times players can draw cards that instruct them to change things about the board up to and including turning it, getting some pieces closer to the goal and others further away. On top of that, some cards can order the player to rotate the center of the board, drastically changing some pieces’ places on the board. It’s designed for two to six players, ages six and up.
Quelf Jr.
Obey the card! That’s the number one rule for “Quelf Jr.” In this game of total random hilarity, anything can happen. It all depends on what cards players draw. If a player obeys the card, he moves forward on the game board, but if he encounters Mr. Sourface, then his piece is pushed backwards down the way it came. It’s this type of nonsensical fun that makes “Quelf Jr.” one of the best board games 2011 has to offer. The game comes with the board, 165 cards, 6 playing pieces, an instruction sheet and a sand timer. Designed for ages six and up.
Jolly Octopus
An award winning choice in 2010 becomes one of the best board games 2011 has to offer. “Jolly Octopus” features the character of Jolly as he hoards all the local crabs up in his grasp. Players use a pair of provided tongs and try to rescue the colored crabs from Jolly’s clutches without touching his tentacles, because that will tickle him and he will make the challenge more difficult. The first player to collect all the crabs is the winner. There are two difficulty levels making this a perfect exercise for children’s hand eye coordination. “Jolly Octopus” is designed for two to five players ages four and up.
A night of family fun gathered around the table playing together makes memories that last forever. Make yours around some of the best choices of the year.
What is your favorite family board game?:
