{"id":1425,"date":"2014-12-26T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2014-12-26T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/2014\/12\/the-family-that-plays-together-stays-together.html"},"modified":"2014-12-26T08:00:00","modified_gmt":"2014-12-26T08:00:00","slug":"the-family-that-plays-together-stays-together","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/2014\/12\/the-family-that-plays-together-stays-together.html","title":{"rendered":"The family that plays together stays together"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

A philosophy we live by, as demonstrated by the shelves and shelves of games and other forms of entertainment we have. \u00a0If we had more money, we\u2019d travel. But in lieu of that, we make the most of what we have. \u00a0And for the plentiful days of bad weather that Ohio provides, especially in the Fall and Winter months, we have quite a selection of games to play. \u00a0Though video games, and new game apps, occupy the boys, there is still room for family games and family time. \u00a0So much so that they still ask for board games as well as tech stuff (and sometimes in some years, instead of tech stuff). <\/p>\n

Here are some that we received this year, some by request, others by revelation. \u00a0In addition to some old standards, like Battleship and Scattergories, that were requested, and some for the youngest, including an awesome kiddie version of Scrabble so he can join our annual Scrabble game on New Year\u2019s Eve, the following should prove some fun hours in the upcoming year:<\/p>\n

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Based on the battle at the end of The Hobbit<\/i>, the game (and its partner game War of the Ring) is based more on the books than the PJ movies. \u00a0And a good thing, since that helps it stay closer to the source material. \u00a0These games were the request of my 16 year old, and while ostensibly for multiple players, they are probably easier to play between two players. \u00a0The rules and flavoring and events mirror the books and the feel that one has when reading Middle Earth from Tolkien\u2019s perspective. \u00a0Not games made for a brief half hour to kill, the War of the Rings has been a joy, and this promises to be just as fun.\u00a0<\/div>\n

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Years ago, my parents bought a game called Labyrinth for our boys. \u00a0It was by a game maker named Ravensburger Games. \u00a0It was fun and well received, but we didn\u2019t play it often since even then, the older boys felt the pull of growing up, leaving our third son holding the bag with Mom and Dad. \u00a0But now our youngest has discovered it, and can\u2019t get enough playing Labyrinth. \u00a0Our boys, being good big brothers, have rotated playing it as well. \u00a0So given the quality and experience with that game, we found this product from Ravensburger. \u00a0We don\u2019t know if he\u2019ll like it as much, but if it comes close to Labyrinth it will be money well spent.\u00a0<\/div>\n

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When I was in high school, I had the idea of taking the board game RISK and adapting it to a World War II setting. I \u00a0even drew up rules and everything. \u00a0I never bothered sending it in, which is good news for everyone else but me. \u00a0Only a year or so later, a game called Axis and Allies was released, taking certain basic game concepts not unlike those in RISK, and multiplying them for a full blown WWII contest. \u00a0Two other games came out at that time: Fortress America and Shogun (or Samurai in other editions). \u00a0The latter two didn\u2019t have the same fanbase or numbers to sustain them like WWII had. \u00a0Still, I played Shogun once, and it was a blast. Now, with the miracle of Amazon.com, we were able to find an intact version for a reasonable price. \u00a0We\u2019ll see if it lives up to my memories. \u00a0Now if only I could find an intact version of Dark Tower for a reasonable price!<\/div>\n

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For years, decades perhaps, Avalon Hill was the undisputed master of historically inspired strategy and tactical games. \u00a0The old cardboard chits piled high in those days, and AH did an admirable job of combining scholarship with fun game play. \u00a0Some games were more complex than others, though striking a right combination between playability and historical accuracy was always key. \u00a0This is, as one could guess, based on the American Revolution. \u00a0The Historical Notes section of the rules makes clear this is not some modern Multi-Cultural PC version of events, but one that seeks to make actual events and players in the Revolution come alive. \u00a0We already have one Revolutionary War game, this one should add nicely to the collection.\u00a0<\/div>\n

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Based on reader recommendation, I couldn\u2019t find a rating for this that was under 4 of 5 stars. \u00a0It\u2019s in a historical genre completely out of my league. \u00a0Though I\u2019ve studied some Asian history, most of my focus has been on Chinese if anything at all. \u00a0My knowledge of Japanese history comes in mostly toward the post-Industrial era. \u00a0It\u2019s certainly a pretty game, but we\u2019ll see. We may play Shogun first just to get the flavor of the period, since the two seem to be coming from similar historical settings. This also has a similar \u2018feel\u2019 to the game Mansions of Madness, which can only bode well for the game. \u00a0We\u2019ll see. \u00a0<\/div>\n
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But so far, enough games, as well as a couple in holding for Twelfth Night, and those our youngest received, that should keep us busy in addition to our store of games we already have.
\n \u00a0A merry season indeed!\u00a0<\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A philosophy we live by, as demonstrated by the shelves and shelves of games and other forms of entertainment we have. \u00a0If we had more money, we\u2019d travel. But in lieu of that, we make the most of what we have. \u00a0And for the plentiful days of bad weather that Ohio provides, especially in the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2805,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1425","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nThe family that plays together stays together<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A philosophy we live by, as demonstrated by the shelves and shelves of games and other forms of entertainment we have.  If we had more money, we'd\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/2014\/12\/the-family-that-plays-together-stays-together.html\" 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