Fun game for the family

[Scott]

We recently got the board game Shadows Over Camelot that I wanted to highly recommend for a family game or game with kids, especially boys. The players play King Arthur's knights (please - no Monty Python references) and they join forces to fight a tide of evil threatneing to engulf Camelot (Morgan le Fay, Mordred, the Black Knight, etc.). What makes this game unusual is that the players cooperate together to win. And winning is hard to do. I played a game with my boys (8 and 5) and three of their friends (13, 11, and 8) and everybody had a blast even though we lost. I played again with just my boys and we barely won. They love it and keep talking about it and asking to play. Anyway, the cooperative nature makes the game very interesting and shows the importance of working together. I really enjoy the game too, so it is nice having a really fun game to play with the kids. BTW, the first printing of the game is sold out, but you can still find it in a few places like this seller on ebay, which is where we got it. The publisher is supposed to reprint it later this year.

Scott

 

[ChristopherPaul]

Sounds cool Scott thanks!

I just added this to my list along with Memoir '44 .

 

[VaughanRSmith]

I've heard really good things about Shadows Over Camelot, its in my "to play at some point in time" list.

I got Tigris and Euphrates for Christmas, and haven't been able to stop playing. It is absolutely brilliant.

 

[bradofshaw]

I've played it before. It's a good game!!

 

[Theoretical]

Puerto Rico is also fantastic in the somewhat heavier category.

 

[Scott]

I've heard really good things about Shadows Over Camelot, its in my "to play at some point in time" list.

I got Tigris and Euphrates for Christmas, and haven't been able to stop playing. It is absolutely brilliant.

Cool. I want to try that at some point and have heard great things about it. We got Settlers of Catan and Memoir '44 over Christmas. We like both but have been playing a lot of Settlers, as '44 is better as a head to head game and we usually have 3 or 4 players.

Its funny that my five year old loves Settlers. We give him a nice handicap due to age. We let him start with two cities instead of two settlements. He understands enough about placements and resource combinations to choose good locations (this will only make sense if you are familiar with Settlers). So, he actually wins his share of games, given that he is given basically a double advantage over others. We let my 8 year old start with 1 settlement and one city, although he really does not need a handicap. He understands the game very well.

 

[Scott]

Puerto Rico is also fantastic in the somewhat heavier category.

Scott H: Do you ever play with TNPC guys like Jay Horne or Mark Kraemer? I know there are some guys there that would like those kinds of games.

 

[MrMerlin777]

Looks really cool. About what price range is the game in? I may pick up a copy when I'm in funds and I have the time.

 

[VaughanRSmith]

Cool. I want to try that at some point and have heard great things about it. We got Settlers of Catan and Memoir '44 over Christmas. We like both but have been playing a lot of Settlers, as '44 is better as a head to head game and we usually have 3 or 4 players.

T&E is definitely a heavier game, it took me several games to get my head around the mechanics of it.

Its funny that my five year old loves Settlers. We give him a nice handicap due to age. We let him start with two cities instead of two settlements. He understands enough about placements and resource combinations to choose good locations (this will only make sense if you are familiar with Settlers). So, he actually wins his share of games, given that he is given basically a double advantage over others. We let my 8 year old start with 1 settlement and one city, although he really does not need a handicap. He understands the game very well.

Settlers is a great way to get into board games. I started with settlers, then moved into Diplomacy (which is a great game for anybody who doesn't mind getting stabbed in the back several times a game).

Check out BoardGameGeek for more suggestions. I love that site.

 

[VaughanRSmith]

Puerto Rico is also fantastic in the somewhat heavier category.

I. Love. Puerto. Rico.

Have you played San Juan, the card game of PR? It's great.

 

[Scott]

Looks really cool. About what price range is the game in? I may pick up a copy when I'm in funds and I have the time.

Retail is about $48. That is what it is on the ebay site I listed. When the reprint is done, you will be able to get it cheaper at online board game outlets like Time Well Spent, probably around $35.

 

[Scott]

Sounds cool Scott thanks!

I just added this to my list along with Memoir '44 .

For what it's worth, my boys like Memoir '44 but have gone crazy over SoC. SoC takes a bit longer, though (90 mins or so). '44 plays in about 30-40 minutes.

 

[Theoretical]

For Sale is a great light quick bidding card game that takes about 15-20 minutes at most, would be very quick to teach younger kids, and requires some good strategy

San Juan is also excellent and very portable, for trips and such.

Blokus (even available at Target) is a challenging abstract game for four that is requires careful placement of twenty shapes on a limited-size board, while competing with several other players. Those wanting to encourage spatial thinking even educationally should consider this choice.

For those that like Puerto Rico, I'd also recommend Princes of Florence, which is somewhat similar but adds bidding to the mix, while removing the "roles" of Puerto Rico.

If you are looking for boardgames, I highly recommend www.boardgamegeek.com, as it will have nearly every board game one can imagine. Those in the Dallas area might want to check out Newspiel, a online store based out of Carrolton. If you are willing to go to the owner's house to pick up the games, he'll waive shipping costs. Just put PICKUP in the coupon code area when ordering.

 

[Scott]

Shadows Over Camelot has staying power. My two boys still want to play it whenever we can. We have been playing twice a week (on the weekends, since it takes 1.5 hours to play) pretty much since we got it. It is also spurred an interest in the Arthurian legends, and the boys have been reading many library books on the topic. I am even reading John Steinbeck's the Acts of King Arthur, which is a modern English version of Malory's 15th century classic.

 

[Redaimie]

That does looks like fun.

 

[Scott]

For those interested in games, Barnes & Noble has 75 percent off a lot of the games it stocked up on for Christmas. Here are some good bets for the family that all BNs carried for Christmas (they are sold out at many stores). Sorry - no Shadows over Camelot! The clearance items are typically on a table at the front of the store.
RoboRally - $12.49
Niagra - $12.49
Carcassonne - $6.24

And several GameWright card games for the kids:
Wig Out - $1.49
Thingamabots - $1.49
Sleeping Queens - $2.49
Top Speed - $1.49
Scrambled States of America - $1.49

Those are great deals (RoboRally and Niagara retail for $50; I bought a gift copy of Carcassonne for someone recently for $25). You won't find these prices anywhere else. Anyway, I picked up copies of all those games.

I also understand many BNs carry Puerto Rico, which was highly recommended earlier in the thread, although I have not seen it at mine.

 

[VaughanRSmith]

For those interested in games, Barnes & Noble has 75 percent off a lot of the games it stocked up on for Christmas. Here are some good bets for the family that all BNs carried for Christmas (they are sold out at many stores). Sorry - no Shadows over Camelot! The clearance items are typically on a table at the front of the store.
RoboRally - $12.49
Niagra - $12.49
Carcassonne - $6.24

And several GameWright card games for the kids:
Wig Out - $1.49
Thingamabots - $1.49
Sleeping Queens - $2.49
Top Speed - $1.49
Scrambled States of America - $1.49

Those are great deals (RoboRally and Niagara retail for $50; I bought a gift copy of Carcassonne for someone recently for $25). You won't find these prices anywhere else. Anyway, I picked up copies of all those games.

I also understand many BNs carry Puerto Rico, which was highly recommended earlier in the thread, although I have not seen it at mine.

Man... board games for less than $10... we only dream of that kind of thing in Australia. Board games here retail for $40+, all the way up to about $150 for a big one. I'd get games from the US, but postage is so much I may as well buy it here.