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Playing 'Real Games' with my son [a chronology from ages 5 to 8]
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My now 8 year old son Edward became fascinated with my games collection when he was five, and I started playing some lighter ones with him then. But I'm still not sure how well suited most of my games are for him -- my usual gaming buddies enjoy games that have a back-stabbing quality to them. So here's a list of what we're playing and have played through the years, plus some that I think he might enjoy. I'm looking for other games he may like, so please add to the list to share your experience playing other games with young children. I'm more interested in so-called "real games" -- ones you would normally play with adults -- as opposed to games games targeted directly at children. This list was started when he was five. I'm going to keep it going for as long as I can.
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Posted Sat Jan 27, 2007 4:37 am
Edited Mon May 11, 2009 2:05 pm
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26.
Board Game: Samurai
[Average Rating:7.55 Overall Rank:51]
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William Hostman
United States
Eagle River
Alaska
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This tile layer is simple enough for a 5-6 year old to play, and possibly to win. One could handicap themselves by taking a smaller hand size.
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I picked up this little Knizia offering today. This was a purchase with Edward specifically in mind.
The box says the game is recommended for ages 10+, but that's gotta be a very young 10 year old who has a hard time with this game. It's a bit of a tug of war / guess where the dragon lands kind of game.
Edward loved it. We got 6 plays in today, spread between McFood and at home. It plays really fast and has a great theme. I probably wouldn't take it out when playing with my gaming buddies, but I'm sure I'll get a bunch of plays in with the kid.
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28.
Board Game: Taluva
[Average Rating:7.17 Overall Rank:186]
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Taluva, along with Dragon Parade (as mentioned above) were purchases I made late last week. While Dragon Parade was primarily for Edward, Taluva was all mine. I was, however, a bit torn in the purchase. I had just purchased Pillars of the Earth the week before, and it will probably be a while before that hits the table with my regular gaming group. Taluva being another 4 player max game could also have problems in my regular group, which normally has five or more show up. Thinking back on the reviews I've heard of it and looking at the recommended age, I decided to give it a shot and try it with the kid.
Today we got our first "let's learn the rules together" game in. It seems to be a neat little game. There's a bit more to the game than our usual fare, and I could really see him concentrating hard at times. He asked a few questions (some he asked more than once!) during the game about what he was allowed to do and what he couldn't. This could be a tricky game for youngsters since there are multiple ways to win.
Almost to prove that last point, Edward ended up winning by completing his temples and huts. He was actually burning through his huts like a mad man! I could have won, but I actually forgot the second way to win -- by building all your pieces of two different types. I suspect in a two player game that this is the more likely way to win. We weren't very cutthroat this time, though, even if he looked for ways to send my huts back to the box.
We hope to get another game in tomorrow.
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Edward received Cinq-O from his Great Aunt this weekend for our family Easter get together. It will offer some competition to Treehouse in the ultra-portability department, but is, in my opinion, the lesser game. Edward loves it, and has amazing luck in it. It's a bit like a portable Yathzee, but different. It does give the opportunity to reinforce simple addition and multiplication which is cool.
I haven't actually played it yet. But he got his Mom (a total non-gamer) to play it. Likewise, Edward's Great Aunt (another total non-gamer) enjoyed this game with him, but really didn't take to Treehouse at all.
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First, I need to say that teaching my boy Blackjack was NOT MY IDEA! I can't stress this enough.
On our recent Easter trip, Edward asked his Papa (his Grandma's fiancé) to play a game. He responded that Blackjack was his favourite. Well of COURSE Edward needed to learn how to play Papa's favourite game. So the game was on.
Papa was the dealer and Edward the only player. Papa would cheat to allow Edward to win more than he should have. I wasn't quite comfortable with that idea -- it's bad enough that he's learning how to gamble (yes, they used real coins in the game) without getting the idea that it's simpler than it actually is!
So I jump in as the dealer and play it fair, hoping to show Edward just how easy it is to lose at this game. Wouldn't you know it -- Papa busted out but Edward ended being up a buck! So much for that lesson!
I was pleased to see Edward being so conservative with his betting, though. Papa would be throwing 50 cents in and Edward would bet 3 pennies.
After Papa went broke, we explained to him that it's just as easy to lose as it is to win, just like Papa lost. So I hoped that the lesson was received. The next morning, though, Edward and his Mom woke up earlier than I did. I hear them in the living room, with Edward's voice going "Dealer shows a 10".
Oh well, at least he can add to 21...
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I saw the 'mini' version of this on the shelf recently and snagged a copy. Remembering how well Quoridor went over with Edward, I decided to take a try with this one. I'm a sucker for these little wooden abstracts. Also, the mini version is of a size that's easy to pack for a trip, which is an added bonus.
We played one game last night, just before going to bed. Of course he won, but we're still basically handing each other random pieces to see what happens, without much strategy. The end game can be quite tense, but how to get to an advantageous end-game is beyond me so far from my one play.
I'm leaving the game in his room so we can play it just before bed time. When he saw me put it away, he asked if it was his. I said no, it's mine, but I buy games that I think he would like to play. His response was "But I like to play ALL games." Yep. He certainly does.
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This stretches the limit of the original intent of this list, really, but I thought I'd include it. This is a game I picked up from a thrift shop specifically for Edward. It's more of a kid's game, co-designed by Kramer, so I couldn't really refuse it. If you ever wondered if it was possible to port the old video game Space Invaders to a board game format, wonder no further -- this one pretty much does it.
Edward asks for this game frequently. He is quite enthusiastic when playing, particularly when the garlic 'splats' against the vampire. There's a good deal of randomness here, but you are still making constant choices each turn, which is pretty cool for a kid's game.
And the theme and 3-d board are quite good too -- perfect for a kid's game. I'm sure they could have packaged this up in a more serious manner and still have some success in the non-kids market.
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33.
Board Game: Poison
[Average Rating:6.47 Overall Rank:716]
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I've had this one on the shelf for quite some time. This is one of the first Knizia games I bought, way back when. It was cheap, had Knizia's name on it, and nothing else on the shelf appealed to me that week. When I brought it home and cracked it open I was disappointed by what was inside the box -- that's a lot of box for a deck of cards, essentially. And the rules didn't seem too promising either -- sure it was clever enough, but not something my regular game group would go for -- we have lots of other good filler games. So this languished for a good number of months.
Fast forward to this weekend, and Edward wants to play games as usual. Since he's quite good at arithmetic, I decided to give this one a go. It's about time I reduce my count of unplayed games instead of increasing it!
I'd forgotten that this is a three player game, so I made up some two player rules on the fly. Essentially, I dealt four hands, but we only played one each, so half the deck was missing. Since I can count cards pretty easily, I didn't want to know what was in his hand. By taking out half the deck, the hand sizes were reasonable but lots of cards were still unknown to me. It worked pretty well -- we played a couple of games that way.
I then tried another two-player variant where the buried cards would play a dummy hand. After each of us played the dummy would turn over a card and drop it in the appropriate pot. If it was a poison, it would go into the lowest valued pot. The dummy would take the cards if the pot boiled over and its cards would be used to determine who had the most of what colour. This worked better and added a good deal of unpredictability. Not as good as an actual third player, but still good. In this variant, Edward is quite good at dumping his cards and taking the fewest points possible. The computer hand (ie, the dummy) isn't very good at this at all.
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This one's been on the shelf at my local store for quite a while now. This weekend is the local game con, so the shop decided to mark down some of the non-movers 50%. At $28, I didn't think twice about this game, but at $14 it seemed a good deal, so I picked it up, thinking that Edward would probably enjoy it. If not, at least I got some pretty cool Easter Island statues out of the deal.
We played a couple of games tonight, and what do you know, he took to it like a kid to games. He beat me both times, and rather handily too. I don't know if it's because he's a genius or because I've been subsisting on Red Bull and chocolate covered espresso beans for the last week and just crashed. Suffice to say, I'm going to demand a rematch when my faculties return!
This is a quite a cute, neat little game. I'm still not sure if it's worth the full price, but at a deep discount, you can't go wrong with this.
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35.
Board Game: Zendo
[Average Rating:7.33 Overall Rank:194]
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OK, maybe not exactly Zendo, but tonight when we were at the restaurant, I took out my ubiquitous Treehouse tube. Edward wanted to play Tic-Tac-Toe, using the crayons and brown-paper tablecloth in the restaurant. I tried to teach him Martian Tic-Tac-Toe, but I think I flubbed it horribly. So I grabbed a few pyramids and placed them in two arrangements, pointing to one and saying "This one has the Buddha Nature" and then pointing to the other and saying "This one does not have the Buddha Nature". Naturally, Edward asked me what the Buddha Nature was, and the game was on! I'm not sure he understands the goal perfectly yet, but he had a load of fun (and so did his Mom!) making koans (I think that's the word...) and trying to guess the Buddha nature. In fact, he wanted to play again after the dishes were cleared. I'll have to try this with a larger set some time...
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Edward and I started playing this one recently. It's a fast moving card driven race game with hidden colours. Yeah, it sounds a lot like Schildkroetenrennen, but there are enough differences to make the games unique. Edward loves sinking my piece in quicksand. It's not the best game in the world, but it's quick and fun.
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I've been wanting to play Carcassonne with Edward for some time now. But my copy has all the expansions mixed in together, which makes for a whole mess of tiles and a very long game. I don't see myself separating them any time soon, nor do I think I'm up for buying a second copy of the game.
A solution presented itself in the form of Knizia's foray into the Carcassonne universe with his 2-player Carcassonne: The Castle. Sure, there is a whole heap of extra scoring going on with the special chits you pick up on the score track, but the tile placing rules are a bit more relaxed.
We got a play in today, and it went well. He wants to play again, mainly because he didn't win, so I have to admire his perseverance. There's a lot for him to take in, but I'm sure he'll be pushing me in no time.
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I had a recent birthday (yea me!) and I wanted a little treat for myself. So I hobbled off to the FLGS to see what's on the shelf. There were some big box games I was really tempted by, but in reality, I have too many games I haven't played yet and space is at a premium now. So I went for this one instead. The smaller box is a big bonus at this point in time. The theme appealed to me, and it seemed like the game was light enough that Edward and I could enjoy it.
We got in a few games this weekend, and he loved it. His job in the game is to place the treasure chests in their respective ports, and he's doing it flawlessly. Super cool. This is a pretty neat pick up and delivery game, but you're not always in control of the vessels carrying the goods. Instead, you need to bribe the boats with your limited resources. I'd really like to try this with 3 or 4, as I suspect the dynamic will change significantly. Still, a cool little game to play with the youngster (and he's pretty good at it too, if a little predictable...)
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39.
Board Game: Go
[Average Rating:7.81 Overall Rank:36]
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I picked up a second hand Go set recently. It's nothing spectacular -- the pieces and bowls are plastic and the board, while well constructed and quite solid, isn't quite real wood. But every collections needs the classics, and this is my first set. It looks great from afar, but just don't touch it or you'll spoil the illusion.
Edward and I started a 10x10 game today. Neither of us played before, but luckily you can learn the rules in seconds. We had to abort the game for other commitments, but I can already tell that this is a game that I will be fantastically bad at. Edward and I will learn together, which is cool.
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Here's one I picked up for dirt cheap at a 50% sale at the thrift store. Yeah, as if the normal thrift store prices were too high...I've been eying it for a few weeks, actually, as it remained on the shelf untouched and unloved. I finally broke down at the aforementioned sale.
Why did I wait so long? Well, this game advertises itself a easier than Chess and more fun than Checkers. I'm always turned off by these claims -- if the game box itself needs to draw comparisons to two classic, time worn games, and suggest that it's an improvement, I'm reluctant to give it a try.
We played a game the night we brought it home. It probably lives up to its billing, and it would be a fine game in its own right without the comparisons to Chess and Checkers. Edward is enthusiastic in playing it -- we keep it in his room for "I'm stalling because I don't want to go to" bed time. We've only played a small number of games, and the tactics so far elude him, but we're enjoying ourselves. So far, anyway. I'm not sure if this will have the staying power of his favourites.
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The latest Gigamic game is a recent edition to Edward's gaming shelf. What kid, big or little, doesn't like to play with blocks? There's some neat decisions to make in this game, but it can also be fast and furious (how we usually play). Scoring reinforces arithmetic and simple multiplication.
And when the game is done, he can topple the towers. What's not to like about that?
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42.
Board Game: Quixo
[Average Rating:6.06 Overall Rank:2462]
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While I was setting up Skybridge recently, Edward looked at the Gigamic catalogue that came in that box and said cheerfully "Daddy, we've never played this Quarto before. "What the heck?" I think. We play Quarto all the time! We have the travel 'mini' version, so maybe he's thinking of one of the larger ones? Looking closer, he's actually referring to "Quixo". Well, he's right, we've never played that one before.
So this weekend as I head out on some errands, I stop by the Strategy Games store. No, seriously, the store's called "Strategy Games". They specialize in Chess and Go, but have a great board games shelf, and are about the only store near by that carries Gigamic games. I saw Quixo on the shelf when I picked up Skybridge a while back, and sure enough the 'mini' version is still there.
We played a few games already, and it's a fun little connect-five affair. Edward's primary strategy is to move his already flipped cubes to push me around. However, this leaves him at a numbers disadvantage, so he'll need to rethink this some more.
A neat little game that kids can pick up easily. Looking forward to more plays.
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This is an old favourite of mine from when I was a wee lad. OK, maybe not so wee -- I was a teen when I got it. I saw the adverts on TV for this and knew I had to get it. I had a great time playing this with my friends.
Fast forward too many years, and I see the 20th anniversary edition in a collector's tin for $3 at a thrift store. And it still has the hat! So I pick it up. I still have my 20 year old copy, but this one is going in Edward's room.
It's been about a week since I bought it before we pulled it out. There was a delay as I tried to get over the nastiest cold I've had in some time. Edward, though, was insistent on playing "The Mr X Game" that I finally broke down last night during 'stalling time'. I played Mr X while I gave Edward all 5 detectives.
He really got into this game, and showed quite a knack of knowing where I was. He was able to narrow down what stations I could possibly be at based on my last reveal and what tickets I played. Some of his choices are questionable, as he ALWAYS wants to ride the train, even if it takes him away from where I am. He got a good web going against me a couple of times that took some doing to avoid.
Unfortunately, the game lasted much longer than I had expected, and we could only get 2/3 of the way through Mr X's track before we had to pack it up and get some sleep. It's a close call as to whether or not he would have got me. Great fun though. Hope to get more plays in when we have time.
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44.
Board Game: Bolide
[Average Rating:6.62 Overall Rank:885]
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I saw this on the shelf a couple weeks back. Thinking that I'll never actually get a Formula Dé of my own (I missed the ONE!! copy my FLGS got from the recent reprint), I decided to give this one a try. There's at least three copies of Formula Dé in my regular group, plus I have a computer version for Edward to play as he feels the urge, so I'm not in an actual hurry for FD. Anyway, Bolide had a neat sounding mechanic, and since I don't have a car racing game yet, I gave this one a try.
Today, Edward was insistent on playing this, so we took it out. I was worried that he would have a problem with the movement system, but I should know by now that this was just silly talk. He took to movement just fine, even if I had to point out on a few occasions what his plan would actually accomplish. I would give his his options and he would choose. The one problem is he likes to move the car before determining his vector. I wish they had included a second pawn per colour in the game to do this, as it's only natural to just pick up your car and move it.
It was a fun game. I'm sure that each track is 'solvable', given the lack of luck in movement, but until then it will be a fun game to play. And I have no plan to solve the tracks, so we should get good mileage out of this.
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45.
Board Game: Quixo
[Average Rating:6.06 Overall Rank:2462]
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We added this to our Gigamic collection recently and started playing it during 'stall time'. A fun little game, much better than you would think from reading the description. It looks like another 'tic-tac-toe' variant, but that's not really true. Edward is pressing me pretty good, and his play is getting a bit more subtle.
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Way back too many years than I care to admit, I owned a copy of this game -- the Inside Moves version shown here. It was a present from my folks, which made an odd gift when I come to think about it. While I loved games since, oh, forever, I suppose it made a bit of sense. But my parents and my sister couldn't care less about them. And when I had friends over, it was usually a crowd of two or more others, so a two player game hardly ever got out to be played. I got a few plays in, but not many, and when I left home for university, this was left behind. I'm not sure where that copy ever ended up.
Flash forward a bunch of years, and I see this no the shelf at a local thrift store. Recalling it as a two player abstract with nice wooden bits, I decided to pick it up. Edward and I have enjoyed many two player abstracts in the past, and I'm a sucker for wood pieces.
We got a play in recently. Edward is very keen on capturing my pieces, but doesn't yet consider the consequences. He's quick to notice when I block his path, but hasn't found a way to crack my defense yet. The poor guy seemed a bit frustrated in the game, but it may be because he was tired. I'll have to see if he requests this again.
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Seems like your wife is interested in educational games for Edward, so let me plug a verbal game that also teaches metaphors, creative thinking and...
 Ah, who am I kidding. I noticed your attempts to get the "adults" to play some games, and this is it. I highly recommend getting both the "adult" regular version and the children's version, switching the box lids, then bringing the kid's version to any gatherings with the young'uns.
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I picked this up recently as a game I can play with both my buddies and with Edward. I haven't gotten it on the table with my regular game group yet, but Edward and I have given this a couple of ties. He's picked up on the rules quickly, but hasn't worked out the finer strategies. This is one he suggested the last time he asked to play a game.
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I actually should have added this one a while back...
Some time ago, I picked up a set of double-nine dominoes at a thrift store. Nice quality and a really good price. This is the first set I've ever owned, I think. We may have had some when I was a lad, but I honestly don't recall. Anyway, I thought this would be a good surprise for Edward.
So I bring them home and show them to him. He exclaims immediately "Dominoes!!" and dumps them out. OK, he's seen them before. That's cool. I'm suspecting him to stack them up, or line them up in a row so he can tip them over -- my two primary uses for Dominoes when I saw them at his age. Of course he surprises me utterly by shuffling them, drawing five, and explaining me the rules of the standard Draw game. He then proceeds to beat me soundly three games in a row.
Apparently he's learned this during his summer camp.
Now I try to bring along a set of dominoes when we take a trip. He's usually up for a game.
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A long, long time ago I was really into miniature games. Heroclix was the order of the day. Most of my time was spent actually putting them under the knife and paint brush to make my own custom clix. It was all good fun. Until Edward got into my tools and paints and I had to put them away. Daphne is now at the age where she would get into everything, so the tools and paints stay put away.
Anyway, at that time someone in the clix mod community pointed out Star Wars Epic Duels. It had a bunch of neat Star Wars figs in approximately the same scale as the Clix figs. So I definitely picked this up.
Don't worry -- I never actually got around to chopping them up. They're a bit too small for Clix modding, but they're cool never the less. What can I say, I like miniatures.
Fast forward about 5 years, and the game remained on the shelf unplayed. That is, until Edward wanted to know what it was. So I pulled it down, went over the rules, and we had a game. His Obi Wan easily defeated my Count Doku. I hardly had a chance.
Next game, my Yoda seriously destroyed his Vader. His reaction after the game: "I shouldn't have played the bad guy." Actually he lost because his deck was poorly shuffled -- all his big special cards were buried.
A fun little game that I'm sure will get more play.
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Posted Thu Mar 22, 2007 9:47 am
Ottawa
Ontario
Ottawa
Ontario
If you're interested, I have a game log in the form of a GeekList ( http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/18969) where I go into a bit of detail on how my games went. Look for games where the participants are "Dean and The Kid(tm)". They're kind of like mini session reports and thoughts on how the games went. I don't know how long I can keep it up, but I've been pretty good about it so far this year.
Baltimore
Maryland
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/2202
I found a lot of games could be modified quite easily for play with the "young'uns".
Iowa
my email address is jdance2@yahoo.com