June Game-a-Day Challenge - Day 5: Jamaica (2007)

Jamaica (2007)

My husband bought me this game for our Anniversary this year. I had put off playing it for a while, because I actually wasn't sure what the game was and it didn't interest me right off the bat. Once I sat down to play it, though, I was hooked.

Jamaica is a 2-6 player game where you are a pirate who needs to make it around the island, but watch out for pirates! You use dual action cards and you roll the dice to determine the order of the actions you'll take. Each card has two actions you do (a daytime and a nighttime action). When you roll the dice on your turn, you put the dice in the order that you want. Then you follow the order of your actions on your cards, moving or taking materials in the amount determined by the dice.

This is a fun game with a unique mechanic and it really makes it engaging to play.  It is also a gorgeous game! You can arrange each of the different pirate character decks into a panoramic picture of a pirate scene. I can image making a pretty awesome framed picture with those cards.

 I was torn between what to focus on tonight. We started out with Cartagena and the played Jamaica and it turned into a pirate night, so we pulled out Guild Hall: Seven Seas and Mint Tin Pirates. It was fun, but I think my husband has been playing too many games alone. I'm becoming suspicious of his wins. Hmmmm....

June Game-a-Day Challenge - Day 4: Qwirkle (2006)

Qwirkle (2006)

My husband had been begging me to bring this game back from my Tabletop Club for about a week now. I finally remembered today and figured it was time to get it to the table.

Qwirkle is a game where you have to create patterns in order to earn points. You can place tiles by matching either colors or patterns. You create rows and when you create a row of 6, you have a Qwirkle with gives you 12 points. Within these rows, you cannot repeat a color (if you're doing patterns) or a pattern (if you're doing colors). Each tile you place earns you a point and you earn points for each row you add to or create (up and down, left and right).

I really enjoyed this game. It was funny watching my husband get all flustered. I think it was the most zen game I've played in a long time. It's great for families. Our 4-year-old daughter kept coming downstairs (she was supposed to be in bed) and was very interested. She was pointing out patterns and almost gave up some of our tiles. I feel that she could play it, easily, with help for scoring. The game is listed as 6 and up.

A great family game that helps build valuable skills. Assessing patterns, looking for what is missing, and making connections are all skills that are practiced. The other bonus is that it is easily packed for travel. The tiles are kept in a drawstring bag and can be slipped into a carry-on or beach bag for easy play. You do, though, need a decent sized surface and it should be flat. Might be nice for by the pool or anywhere you can play on a table.

June Game-a-Day Challenge - Day 2: Noah (2012)

Noah (2012)

Noah is a game that my husband bought for me for our anniversary one year. It was a tin anniversary. This was a tiny tin game. I really enjoy the fast play and the cuteness of the cards (see my review at GeekGirlPenPals.com).  It's pretty great to quick throw down and challenge yourself. Math skills are a must!

A flood is coming and Noah needs to save as many animals as possible before the water gets too high. Noah, though, is a big ol’ softy and his heart is breaking for certain animals more than others. His tears are falling, which are probably making the flood waters rise even faster! You need to save those animals as fast as possible so that Noah stops crying and the animals won’t drown.

You have boats and each boat can hold 21 tons of animals. The animal cards have the weight and some special abilities. These cards are played on the boats in patterns. Either boy/girl, girl/girl, or boy/boy. When the fourth boat has sailed or someone runs out of cards, the round ends. Those with cards tally up the amount of tears on their cards. Those are the points you have to record. Noah is a game about the fewest points, instead of the most points. You don't want those tears on your conscience.

Noah plays for three rounds and has some great promos. I got mine through BoardGameGeek. Frogs, and Crocs, and a special boat. Neat stuff.

I recommend this game for the summer and travel. It's easy to take out onto the patio. The materials are heavy enough where, unless you're on the beach and the wind is blowing, you'll be fine. It's a nice game for little ones with emerging Math skills and there's a great story behind it. Plus, it's small enough to slip into a purse or a beach bag and it's a tiny, so it's a little more heavy duty than a box.

Enjoy!

June Game-a-Day Challenge - Day 1: Star Realms (2014)

Star Realms (2014) 

Star Realms is a deck building game where you fight against the other players. Each player can use the cards from any of the four factions, which are signified by a ship or a base (symbol in the upper corner). There are some cards that reward you for using the same faction, but it might also not be beneficial to do so. I do, whole-heartedly, recommend this game to anyone who loves classic deck-building or collectible card games, because you get all the amazing feeling of being collectible without dropping hundreds of dollars. And did I mention. . .it's Sci-Fi? If you followed me last November, you'd know I have a bit of affinity for Sci-Fi games. . . .well. . . Sci-Fi anything, because right now I am in the midst of a Sci-Fi reading frenzy! And with summer break on the horizon, I see a great deal of Sci-Fi in my future, as well as something other adventures.

Also, with it being that time of year where families are traveling, I have to recommend this game. It is small and can be easily transported in a small deck box. It only takes a small table to layout.

Also, with it being that time of year where families are traveling, this game might be dangerous for the competitive family member. I love cards games and deck building games. I typically feel it is one of my stronger suites when it comes to gaming. We have several deck building games in our collection. I mean, seriously. . . what dedicated game collection doesn't? Yet, what I found tonight when I played this with my husband, was that he turned rather bitter rather quickly. This is unusual for him. Bitterness tends to run from me or from something I've said or done. Tonight, I was in the cool zone and he just rained an air grrr the whole time. Made me kind of sad, because, to be honest, I thought he had me. I was just enjoying playing with the different effects (ALLY CHAIN EFFECTS ROCK!).

He even looked up something in the book afterwards and was like, "I would have taken you out a while ago, too, if I had known that." Le sigh. All in good fun is how I felt, but man. . . if you have a competitive family, maybe leave Star Realms at home or have your vacation ruined with animosity.

One of my rockin' chains for 27 points.

Tomorrow is lighter fair as I try to make it through my last full week of school.

June Game-a-Day Challenge

In December I challenged myself to play a different game each day for a month. Now that school is letting out and I have a bit more time on my hands, I wanted to challenge myself to get back into gaming and really exploit my extra free time between family, traveling, and professional development.

Starting tomorrow I will be playing a game a day. I can't say I can guarantee it will be 30 days of different games. In December that was really hard to do, and even moreso right now, because I'm really excited about a few games and feel the need to play them frequently. With that being said, I cannot commit to diversity, but that's okay, because I also have to get my 10x10 and 15x15 challenges done. Summer is the best time for that, for me.

Half of my time in June will be spent traveling, but I'll still get a game in. It'll just be a matter of posting it when I get a chance. Can't wait to get started!