Digsaw from Stronghold Games

[image from boardgame geek]

"Digsaw is a roll-and-cut game in which anyone can become an archaeologist!

Each turn, players roll dice and use scissors to physically cut apart their dig site to recover priceless artifacts buried in the earth. Make careful cuts in an attempt to excavate artifacts one at a time until you have cut your dig site into little pieces. A skilled archaeologist needs both precision and patience because at the end of the game, only isolated artifacts will score!

Are you a “cut” above the rest? Only the best student can be raised to the coveted position of senior archaeologist!"

            -Stronghold Games 

Some of my thoughts after trying it out solo are:

• Involve a kid not up for using scissors independently by having them play the "Head Archaeologist" and rolling the dice, may be even have them call the cut options.
• Seems open to making custom dig sites. The player sheet could also be enlarged with a color scanner and printer to adapt for smaller hands not yet up for quite as precise cuts. 
• A way to practice scissor skills because sloppy cuts can lead to lost points.
• Has decent solo play.

It's a cute game and could be a cute addition to your family game collection.

Sparkle*Kitty from Breaking Games

Whenever anyone mentions gaming with children Sparkle*kitty is a quick one to come to mind! It plays a bit similar to Uno but with more silly word combinations. It's a good way to practice reading individual words in a silly and fun way. I've seen Sparkle*kitty introduced to quite a few adults with no kids involved, and it is more fun than you might think by how simple it is.

"Sparkle*Kitty is an adorably fun, social, and magical spell card game for all ages, sizes and genders. Once upon a time, a group of powerful princesses were captured and locked away in Cursed "No Cursing" towers by the evil queen Sparkle*Kitty! All their words and magic spells vanished and became sugar & spice... almost everything nice.

Luckily these are no ordinary princesses and you are no ordinary player! Take matters into your own hands and harness the simple and sweet words into special spell combinations to set yourself free! The first to escape, wins!"

            - Breaking Games

Game.

The evil Sparkle*kitty has trapped the princesses (players) in towers (though if someone doesn't want to be a princess then they can think of it as saving the princess – to each their own) The players play cards into the spellbook, matching word, color or symbol similar to uno (the colors also have a border pattern to help if seeing colors is tricky) and read the pair of words aloud. When a player empties their hand they draw one of the 4 cards from their tower to start a new hand of 5. There is a winner when someone draws the last card from their tower. A variation from Uno is that there are 3 copies of every word and when a word is played and you have a copy you can play out of turn by saying "double" the word, or for the third copy "double, double" the word ( as in toil and trouble). There are also specialty cards that help you empty your hand or tower faster if played right and wild cards. Another variation to Uno is black magic cards, these cards are played next to the player instead of the spellbook and that player now need to remember to say the black magic word before the spellbook words, every turn – if they are caught messing up there is a rule for a penalty. 

Storytime. 

Setting: Upper elementary schooler's birthday party.

Players: Birthday girl, 20 somethings and a first grader.

So, I had brought games. I wanted to be inclusive, so not knowing the first grader I asked his adult what his reading level was. I was told he can but is reluctant, okay I can work with that. I explained the rules to everyone but probably didn't emphasize the reading part heavily (you have to read the spellbook when you play a card). We started playing, at some point he didn't want to read, he was reminded of the rules, and he chose to walk away. I allowed it since it had little effect on the other players, but I also left all his cards in place. After a bit, he changed his mind and wanted to play again - I reminded him of the rules and said he could as long as he remembered and followed the rules. Yes, he was at a disadvantage from the time he sat out but he was still participating. 

(side note: this seems like gentle parenting now that I have the term – which is a lot easier when you're just stepping in for a little bit)

This game is fun for all ages and very silly! There are also a few expansion packs that I have yet to play.

Tower Brix from Kosmos

 [image from the game company's site: TowerBrix – Thames & Kosmos ]

From the game company's site:

"Working as a team of up to six players, your goal is to build a colorful tower of bricks that meets everyone’s placement conditions — for example, at least one red brick must be touching both purple bricks, or at least three bricks must be placed horizontally. The catch: the conditions are secret, and you can’t discuss them with your team! Learn the game in minutes, then enjoy endless hours of challenging and rewarding play for children and adults. A cooperative game of skill with varying degrees of difficulty and exciting additional challenges for creative builders ready to take their skills to the next level.

• A cooperative stacking and balancing game for up to six players
• Wonderfully tactile, with sturdy, colorful wooden block components
• Encourages creative communication, logical deduction, strategic thinking, fine motor skills, and teamwork
• Includes varying difficulty levels and bonus missions for added value"

- TowerBrix – Thames & Kosmos 

I heard of this game due to its inclusion on the Play to Win list at one of the conventions I regularly go to. I passed it by until I hear a parent say they enjoyed it with their 6 year old - I then investigated it more. 

After playing it myself, I have these thoughts:

• There is adaptability built into the rules. By choosing different levels of goal cards and twist rules, the challenge can be tailored to the players involved. The rules even provide a goal value for different difficulty levels for reference.
• Not only is this a collaborative puzzle, but it has a tactile aspect without being dexterity really.
• An adaptation not exactly in the rules as I was taught is to start with no secret goals, so that the group can focus on the problem solving; and then add the secret goals.

Dawn Under

 

Life is happening. So a simple post for October (yes it is now November). Dawn Under is about Vampires finding a grave before dawn. The game is, at its core, a memory game, but it has some quirks.

1. It gets hard as the game progresses, not easier (fewer open graves)
2. You can sabotage spaces (garlic)
3. At any time there are only about to capitalize on 2 times of spaces (you can only place vampires from either open end of your row)

This game is accessible to kids and they may even have a bit of an advantage. If that is not the case, you can play with only the kids get garlic or without garlic at all.

Bonus, the rules provide a change for a shorter or easier game.

Below is a list of resources from other sources:  

• Brief Review from Mikkosgameblog

• Review on BoardGameGeek

• YouTube Review

• YouTube Playthrough

Box age limits are more like … guidelines?

 Brief research indicates that box age is influenced by more than just the skills needed to enjoy the game. Even if it was, it would be based on generalizations. Everyone differs from generalization in some way.

There are a series of factors to keep in mind when figuring out if your young players can enjoy a specific game. 

Firstly, the teaching or leading player should have played the game before trying to fudge the box age. This is so the game can be evaluated in relation to the young player. 

Know the players involved, both young player(s) [kid] and those expected to play without ignoring the box age [adult]. Adults need to have patience enough to meet the kid where they are and the leading player should know the kid’s:

• Strengths 

• Weaknesses

• Interests - game themes can help with enjoyment and modify attention span (engaging themes can boost engagement)

• Attention Span - how long do they tend to focus vs length of game

Try to balance the needs of all your players so that everyone has fun - this balance can look different for every play group.

Common skills used in gaming (not necessarily all inclusive)  

• Reading

• Math, simple and complex

• Abstract thinking

• Turn complexity

• Waiting for turn

• color/pattern matching

• Dexterity

Also keep in mind game mechanics (definitely not all inclusive)

• Quick thinking

• Bidding and Betting 

• Hidden details

• Others may be listed on BoardGameGeek.com listings for games

Evaluating a young player for compatibility for a specific game:

• If the player skills are comparable to the box age then the game is probably worth trying with the right play group.

• If one or more of the player skills is below expected for the box age and experience says that the player skills are still below game play skill, then do you want to use the game to practice a skill?

• If yes, be thoughtful if choosing more than one skill to practice.

• If not, then picking a different game may be advisable.

Note: this evaluation can apply to adults, though they generally can evaluate themselves.

Another way for some games is to ignore certain elements of game play to simplify until the player can handle all parts of game play. A good example is simplifying earning of points, like ignoring farmers in Carcassonne. 

One thing I’ve observed is that generally pre-kindergarten is harder to find kid accessible and adult engaging games. But early childhood games are important to build both life skills and the foundation for a love of gaming. I hope to do a post on those games for modifications for older players to improve engagement (both for siblings and parents)