Wood For Sheep: Family Games

One of the challenges that I have as a boardgamer, is that the kinds of games that I like are generally quite complex and take some time to explain. This doesn't lend itself to family gatherings (especially in my family) where there are varying levels of attention span and tolerance to complex games. What this means is that I have to have a stock of games that are not only easy to teach, but can accomadate a wide range of player counts and are largely portable/durable. Spot it hits all of these high points. The game comes in a small tin, so it's super portable and is just 55 round cards with a couple of rules cards (one for each game variation). Basic gameplay is very simple, each card has a series of simple pictures on it, and each card has exactly one matching picture in common with every other card on the deck. All players have to do is spot the matching symbol, call it out, and grab it. The player with the most cards at the end wins. It's super easy to learn, super fun to play, and super easy to cheat at. But then you're a bad person. Snorta LOOKS like a kids game, and it is, really. Each player gets a little plastic barnyard animal and a barn to hide it from the other players. There's a deck of cards that also has pictures of animals on them. Players take turns revealing their cards one at a time onto indivdual piles in front of them. If the card on top of a player's pile matches the card on any other player's pile, the two matched players have to race to make the noise of the animal hidden under the other players barn. The loser of each face off gets the winners pile, and the first person to run out of cards wins. Like I said, this LOOKS like a kids game but trying to remember what animal is under the barn of someone sitting across from you is harder than it seems! I've seen fully grown men turn red in the face over this game, and let me tell you, winning a game by yelling "Moo!" at the top of your lungs is strangely satisfying. Wits and Wagers This game is the most "boardgamey" of the trio. Because it plays kind of like a cross between Trivial Pursuit and a casino table game, it's instantly familiar to older players, and it's still simple enough to teach to younger players. The game is played over seven rounds, and each player will write their answer to each question on a miniature whiteboard in dry erase marker. Every answer will be in the form of a numerical value, whether it's a count of something, a date or a percentage. Players order their answers in ascending order on a playmat that assigns odds to each answer, with outliers getting higher payouts. Then everyone places their wagers on the answer that they think is the closest without going over (the "The Price is Right" reference is another warm and fuzzy for the oldies like me), and once the answer is revealed, everyone who bet on the correct answer gets their payouts. This has the uncommon party game circumstance where players can end a round with fewer points than they began it with, but the game is generally so light, and games so quick, that this is generally not going to ruin someones night. Liar's Dice or Perudo is super popular in South America, and is easy to improvise with 5 dice and a mug per player. Our set consists of a bunch of dollar store dice, and easter egg dye kits from Value Village. Everyone simultaneously rolls their dice, covering them with their cups. After everyone reviews their roll, one player starts play by declaring a bid based on ALL the dice on the table. Bids take the form of a number and a pip-count, like "eight-sixes" or "ten-fours". The next player has to either increase the bid or say "it's a lie" or "dudo (I doubt it)". Everyone reveals their rolls, and the table tallys the relevant valued dice, INCLUDING ones as they are wild. Whoever was "in the wrong" loses one of their dice and play continues with the "winner" of the last round. Great game for large groups, we usually play until one person loses their last die, because it sucks to get eliminated AND have to watch everyone else play.