Gameology Blog - Gamer's Hub Online
The Best Family Board Games of 2018!
When one thinks of family board games, classics like Monopoly and Scrabble are probably the first ones that come to mind. However, in the family board game genre, these big titles are only the tip of the iceberg. Today’s board games are incredibly diverse, with gameplay ranging anywhere between few minutes to a few days and requiring few players or even the entire family! If your family game night still consists of only the classics, you are missing out on all the incredible fun that these contemporary board games bring. Here is a list of the top family board games of 2018. 1. SETTLERS OF CATAN 5TH EDITION Settlers of Catan should definitely be in your arsenal of board games if you have family game nights regularly. This is a strategic game, perfect for three or four players. The premise of the game is rather straightforward – Players have to collect resource cards to build structures around the island of Catan. Players earn victory points as they build structures and the first players to get ten points, wins the game! The twists, obstacles, clever rules and the very theme of building a settlement, make this game super fun. 2. CODENAMES This challenging spy game will keep you on the edge of your seat all throughout. The premise of this game is to guess the identity of your secret agents with the help of your team’s spymaster. 25 cards are laid on the table, each representing the two team’s secret agents. Spymasters give one-word clues that point out their cards on the board. The teammates guess words of the right color while avoiding the cards that belong to the opposing team, and everyone wants to avoid the assassin. The gameplay is quick, challenging and extremely competitive. 3. CODENAMES DUET Codenames Duet keeps the basic elements of Codenames, but now, you are working together as a team to find out your secret agents. Codenames has spawned various variations over the years, but by far, Codenames duet provides the best experience of them all, probably for the fact that the game has been made cooperative and playable with as few as two. 4. EXPLODING KITTENS Exploding Kittens is a fast-paced, action game that adds thrill and excitement to even the dullest of family gatherings. The premise is very simply – avoid getting blown up by exploding kittens. Players take turns drawings cards until someone draws an exploding kitten. The game gets more intense with each card as fewer cards in the deck mean more chances of drawing a kitten and facing a massive feline explosion. 5. TOKAIDO In Tokaido, players take a journey through the “East sea road’, traveling from medieval Edo to Kyoto in Japan. In this competitive board game, players meet people, taste fine meals, visit temples and wild places and do many interesting things on their journey. At the end of the trip, when everyone has arrived at the end of the road, you’ll have to be the most initiated traveler. It shouldn’t be just a trip, it has to be a journey with the most interesting and varied things. 6. SUSHI GO PARTY The most adorable game on the list, Sushi Go Party with its simple rules, family-friendly gameplay and adorable artwork, is a must-own game even for the most jaded gamers. Sushi Go Party is a card drafting game where you pick a card from your hand and then pass the rest of your hand to the next player. The basic theme of the game is that all the players are at a sushi-go-round, the cards get passed around and at each round, you’ll get to pick one thing of the conveyor belt as it goes past. 7. CAPTAIN SONAR Captain Sonar is an innovative real-time game where two enemy teams are trying to locate each other’s submarines in order to blow it out of the water. In this challenging game, the teams consisting of Chief Mate, Radio Operator, and Engineer take their submarines head-to-head in a thrilling battle and try to win by destroying the enemy’s submarine, a task which is far more difficult and exhilarating than it may first appear. 8. CHARTERSTONE Charterstone is a legacy style game where players construct buildings and inhabit a shared village. The game features a story evolving through 12 linked games in which players take turns moving their worker pawns around the board and gather resources to build their village. The process of building your own village is rather enriching in which a few dozen buildings soon grow into an action-filled, bustling village. 9.PANDEMIC LEGACY SEASON 2 BLACK / PANDEMIC LEGACY SEASON 2 YELLOW Transform your family game night into an epic adventure of bringing humanity back from the brink of extinction. Unlike most games, actions you take in Pandemic season 2 will affect future games. The world is on the brink of extinction and the world is counting on you!
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The amazing benefits of playing board games
Board games are great fun, we all agree to that. Other than the fun part, playing board games have several other benefits as well. Bringing family together is top on the list. Children of all ages want to spend time with their parents and friends and playing games is an excellent way to spend unhurried, enjoyable and valuable time together. Board games are also rich in learning opportunities. Children get an idea of competition and through a healthy competitive environment, they can also learn how to lose or win gracefully. Games, both educational and non-educational teach important social skills as well such as communicating with others, negotiating, sharing, taking turns and enjoying with others. It fosters the ability to focus, lengthens attention span and makes an individual more patient and accepting. Board games like the Catan board game secretly teaches many life skills – establishing something of your own, adjusting with what you have, accepting that luck can change any moment for the better or for the worse. The message inherent in probably every board game is to “never give up”. If you haven’t yet considered including board games in your family time, I am sure after reading the benefits of board games given below, it’ll be the first thing on your to-do list. It exercises your brain In order to play a board game successfully, one has to learn the rules and strategize techniques that help them win the game. In a way it is an extensive brain exercise. Board games help us master skills required in a specific game, like our communication skills for Dixit board game, beat opponents and win the game. It gives you a reason to put your screens down Board game is an excellent remedy for a world that is constantly distracted by blinking screens. They can be set up anywhere, outdoors or indoors, and they’re wonderful alternatives for a group of friends just sitting around and debating about what they should do while constantly being on their phones. They create plenty of fun moments while also creating opportunities of spending time constructively. You never know when the Risk board game can become your squad’s favourite pass time! They are therapeutic As you play them with friends and family, board games can actually boost your overall mood. They require a certain level of focus, hence, giving a chance to take a break from problems. Studies have shown that encouraging brain stimulation through the use of board games may be used to prevent the deterioration of one's cognitive memory. In short, you can fight Dementia with board games! You can learn while having fun Board games are a great way to sneak in some learning while also having fun, something that all kids will appreciate. Learning to count your moves, solving puzzles, practicing math facts, or even enhancing your vocabulary and communication skills; a lot can be accomplished through board games.
5 reasons why Settlers of Catan should be in your game closet
“Settlers of Catan is a great game”, you probably must have heard many people make this statement. But, when it comes to board games, the words great or fun hold little value because in the digital world, board games for many have sentimental value. Settlers of Catan is one such family board game that holds sentimental value because a large number of special “party-time” and “family-time” is associated with it. Settlers of Catan is game that many people say got them into playing board games. Now, this is a good way to describe the greatness of a board game. First a little overview The game is based on a fictional island of Catan. Players play as a settlers who want to establish their settlement on the island. To do that, players have to compete with each other and collect bricks, lumber, ore, grain etc needed to build the settlement. The standard game can accommodate four players and it be expanded upto six players. Let’s hop on to why this classic game should be in everyone’s game closet It’s really easy to learn If you have friends or family who are hesitant to play board games because they are difficult and requires a lot of time and effort to actually understand and begin playing then, Catan is the best game to start with. It is easy to learn and accommodates a wide variety of skill levels, hence, it’s the best for a game night. This game is for everyone The Catan board game is easy to learn and accommodates a blend of strategy, luck and interesting choices, hence, can be played by both young and old alike. The best thing about the game is that it keeps everyone engaged throughout. Rather than sitting and waiting for someone to take their turn, people can engage and gather resources even if it isn’t their turn. Players don’t get eliminated here, so it keeps everyone hooked until the end of the game. Its straightforward The game is pretty straightforward. You roll/collect resources and then utilize those resources. The goal is to spend the resources to get a total of ten victory points. However, even with a simple game play, it is quite challenging. It starts out easy but eventually gets competitive when trading starts, players compete for resources or when there’s a shortage of resources. The game is interactive The Catan board game does a great job at getting people to interact. To win you have to interact and trade, in a way the whole set up of the game takes you through a great segue which is creative and thrilling. Trading gets creative, tension is ratcheted and it really gets players to play together. It’s a bestselling board game The settlers of Catan first appeared in 1995 and ever since, its popularity has only grown. It has highly been rated by critics and sincere board game players absolutely love it! Various editions have also grown out from the success of the first game – Catan family edition, Catan traveler edition, Settlers of Catan Star Trek version and many more. In a way, Catan has evolved with time and have catered to what’s in vogue. Final Thoughts If you are new to board games, Catan is the best place to start. Once you try it, you’ll come back wanting more. No collection is complete without it.
Top 10 Best Board games that will instantly make you fall head over heels
The real gamers and the game aficionados were born not when videos games were created, but they were born even before gaming technology showed its face. Board games have created this wonderful race of gamers and game enthusiasts. Board games have entertained people for centuries. They were the best highlights of a get-together or a party and even today continue to be so. Board games have evolved with time. With the advent of fascinating fiction and change in designing trends and expectations of players, boards games today have drifted towards story driven experiences which have thinned the boundaries between fiction and reality. Below is a list of 10 board games that will surely get you hooked 1. Catan 5th edition Settlers of Catan has been updated with a new name and a revised rule book. The name has been shortened to just “Catan” and the revised rule book features clarified rules that make sense of edge cases and ease the entry of new players into the game. Catan has been a gamers’ favorite for 20 years and in these 20 years, it has been sold in 30 different languages! In Catan, the strategy is to be the dominant force of Catan (a fictional place) by building your own settlement, roads, and armed force. It is like Age of Empires but only better. This game of strategy, tactics, warfare and luck, will blow your mind. 2. Codenames Codenames is an instant crowd-pleaser. It is a team based word game with a simple premise. It includes words but it is nowhere close to the mainstream word games. Its challenging game play creates an atmosphere of mystery and competition, almost making you feel like real life agents. In the game, two teams compete to see who can make contact with all their agents first. Spymasters give clues and their team mates try to guess the words on the board while avoiding those that belong to the opposing team. 3. Arkham Horror LCG Arkham Horror LCG will make you feel like you’re living in the world of your favorite TV show (consider stranger things). The story is mind blowing and it is filled with twists. Once you start playing Arkham Horror, you will find yourself slipping much deeper into its grip. The story goes like this – The year is 1926 and people are celebrating the end of all wars. But just then, there’s an alien invasion. The aliens are writhing at the gates between the worlds and it is upon us to save our world against the invasion. 4. Eldritch Horror Eldritch Horror LCG is a cooperative game of adventure and terror. One to eight players play this game but the best feature about this Fantasy Flight Game is that, each player in the game is an individual investigator. Every player is a globetrotting investigator working to solve mysteries, finding clues, fighting ghoulies and protecting the world against the alien invasion. 5. Betrayal Betrayal at House on the Hill is a game of suspense, horror, surprises, excitement and heroism. Here, players explore a haunted mansion of their own design, encountering spirits and other horrors and overcoming them at every step. Horror is a sweet thing. Even though you risk your heart beat, you still like experiencing horror. This is exactly how the game is, once you have experienced Betrayal at House on the Hill, your eyes will dilate with excitement even at the idea of running back to the haunting mansion. Verdict? Must play, must own! 6. Ticket to ride Ticket to ride is one of the few games which can be played at family parties involving children. It is easy to learn and has a simple game play. The game is fast paced and engaging. Each turn goes pretty quickly and requires fact responses from the players, which is why it is the best game for parties. The gameplay goes like this- each player tries to build the most well-rounded network of railroads that connect various cities together. The longer the routes, the more points you earn. Elegant, quick and super fun! 7. Star Wars Rebellion Star Wars Rebellion is board game of the epic conflict between the Galactic Empire and Rebel Alliances. It is one of those conflicts which we actually enjoy and want them to happen again and again. And unlike other war games, Star Wars rebellion doesn’t make you in charge of a few war heroes, but puts you in command of the whole galactic war! Both the parties – the rebels and empire have different missions, and different strengths and weaknesses but the same aim – to be victorious! 8. Terraforming Mars No other game is as progressive and futuristic than Terraforming Mars. The strategy is simple – make Mars habitable! The game takes place in the future and ends with Mars having vegetation, oceans and people. The gameplay goes like this – There are many organization in the future, trying to make Mars habitable and you are one such organization. You work together for the terraforming process but compete to win victory points or terraforming ratings. The organization with the highest terraforming ratings wins! This is your chance to be a Martian! 9. Scythe Scythe is set in an alternate history 1920s period. The underlying theme is – it’s the 1920s and the great war has just ended. The capitalist city known as “the factory” has shut its doors. Players represent countries who are trying to earn fortune by attempting to establish themselves around the mysterious factory. It is not a war game, while combat does feature, Scythe is a game of building and establishing. Players conquer territory, enlist new recruits, reap resources, gain villagers, build structures, and activate monstrous mechs. 10. Charterstone Charterstone is a competitive legacy game with multitude or secrets, twists and surprises. The game makes you feel like you are the characters of a mythical fable and you have great responsibilities on your shoulders. Charterstone is a series of 12 games and each game is a cliffhanger right up to the final game. The theme is what makes the game so intertwined – The forever king has chosen six citizens of Greengully to start a new village away from the eternal village. Your task is to build the village from the ground up and bring glory to the king. Thus, you start off with simple choices and few workers, but soon you have a bustling village with dozens of possible actions. Gameology is one of the most popular online game stores in Australia. You will find the best board games here, from the classics to the most recent international sensations. The aforementioned best board games are available at great prices on Gameology. Visit Gameology and make them yours!
Cards Against Humanity – Game Review
We’re playing “Cards Against Humanity” this weekend at a Games Day and we thought we’d give a shout out to this game here at Gameapalooza. If you are the more mature gamer (over 18 years) and you haven’t tried “Cards Against Humanity” yet (or CAH as it’s affectionately known), it’s a great game. Easy to set up, simple to play and most importantly a LOT of fun. You do need to have a high threshold for vulgarity, since the aim of the game is to play your cards and be the most funny / vulgar / horrible person you can with the options you have (and your options are probably vile). We chose the least offensive, just so you know. So how does it work? Every player gets 10 white cards with various politically incorrect words / phrases on them. One black card is drawn, you fill in the gap(s) with the one (or two) of the cards in your hand, generally the one you think is funniest / most vulgar. The person who drew the black card chooses the one they think is best (usually based on overall guffaws / response of all players) and that person keeps the black car, then judging passes to the next player. Simples yes? Cards Against Humanity the more polite cards We can safely say we’ve turned more people into tabletop gamers with “Cards Against Humanity” than almost any other game (Loonacy perhaps just pips it). The magic of “Cards Against Humanity” is just how utterly wrong it is and yet, oh so right. Seeing your friends / acquaintances play really morally corrupt cards, really brings you all together, it also makes you laugh a LOT. Game Build QualityRegular retail version: Nice quality box, nice quality cards, nothing negative to report. You can also get the Bigger Box (sold separately) which holds every card and then some (thus far), which is nice. Ages Adult ONLY3 to 20+ PlayersSetup Time a couple of minutes #Reblogged from Gameapalooza
Drunk, Stoned or Stupid - Game review
Which of your friends is most likely to….“Drunk, Stoned or Stupid” is a party game where every round begins with that very question. Funded through kickstarter, “Drunk, Stoned or Stupid” is in a same vein as other simple adult party games like “Cards Against Humanity”. Setup and GameplayThe great thing about this game is that it’s very simple. All you need to do is shuffle the deck of questions, then you’re good to go. The group chooses a starting player to be the judge (every round has a new judge), they then draw the card and read it out loud. Some sample questions include: Which one of your friends is most likely to… “Pay you back later”“Pee outside when the bathroom is open”“Shamelessly snapchats” Once the question has been asked then the player to the left of the judge will nominate a person in the group who they think fits the question the best, then the accused person tries to defend themselves. Everyone in the group has a chance to offer who they think is guilty of this trait however the judge has the final say. The guilty party gets given the card which means they lose a point, any player that gets to 7 points is the automatic loser. Because of the simplicity (and theme) the game flows fast and welcomes a large amount of laughter, ideal for any party game. Are your pals Drunk, Stoned or Stupid… find out with this party game. Game Build QualityThe only components in the game are the cards, which are sturdy and simple which suits the theme of the game play fantastically. The box is small and compact which makes it great for traveling, it’s also quite sturdy and the cards fit nicely inside. Gameapalooza House RulesIf you want to speed the game up a little, try getting the judge to accuse a player, instead of letting each player around the table make an accusation. Once the judge has accused someone then that player has the right to defend themselves and point the finger at someone else.Also if you’re worried some of the cards might be taken “too personally” take them out before the game starts. Overall“Drunk, Stone or Stupid” is an adult party game with a real bite! If you enjoy “Cards Against Humanity” then chances are you’ll probably enjoy this game too, there are a few things to be aware of with this game though. Firstly this game can be a little nasty, so you’re going to want to make sure your friends aren’t the kind of people who take things too personally. An example of this could be a question such as “Which of your friends could do better?” or “Which of your friends is most likely to be cheap?”, whoever gets accused might take some of these questions very personally.Another thing to mention is that this is a game that relies heavily on playing with people you know, the game has provided a rule variant where you can play with people you’ve never met, but playing with friends is where this game really shines.This party game can play a crowd (you just need a minimum of 4) which is always a giant bonus, and there are always so many laughs flowing. Overall this is a fun little adult rated party game with a bit of a twist. 4+ PlayersAges: 17+Setup Time: Under a minute #Reblogged from Gameapalooza http://gameapalooza.com.au/
Tabletop Gaming: Exploding Kittens – n00b Look!
We’re back with another “n00b Look!” our semi-regular article here at Gameapalooza Australia in which we subject a unsuspecting sap friend of a friend – who isn’t a regular tabletop gamer – to play a modern tabletop game, or in this case, card game. We then get said sap to send us notes on their experience and their thoughts of the game (we also jot down anything they say during the game we think is interesting / fun). Why? Well because it’s cruel fun of course. Also sometimes the saying “out of the mouths of babes” is very apt, because it is when the innocent try something new that their unsullied thoughts can bring forth points we might otherwise miss as veterans of tabletop gaming. This weeks victim shall henceforth be known as “Jo” and we sat her down for a game of “Exploding Kittens” by The Oatmeal, a Kickstarter game the rest of us love. Here are some of her random thoughts / verbalised feelings from playing her first game: Exploding Kittens – For this exercise we just went with the regular version “I’ve seen this guy on Facebook, the guy who drew this did the Tesla comic” “So other than don’t draw the Exploding Kitten, I don’t really understand what you mean so maybe we should just do the game” (This was a good idea and is generally a good idea with n00bs – Ed.) “So the nope card stops everything? I reckon they should have had a Yup! card to f-ck with the nope card players, rather than multiple Nope cards” “DEFUSE!! HA!! DEFUSE CAT!! DEFUUUUUSE CAAAAAT!!!!!!” (Honestly, no description will express the excitement and this shows how good this game is, even for total n00bs – Ed.) “When you’ve got no defuse card in your hand and you know that exploding kitten is really close to the top and you draw the card real slow like that makes a difference”. “When you guys were explaining the rules and you kept going, it’s easy honestly, I was all like, I am never going to get this. I felt like a dumb ass, but it was really easy to get the hang of after a couple of rounds. It’s made me more interested in other modern card games that’s for sure”. “Just wanted to thank you guys for letting me play Exploding Kittens Card Game with you on Saturday, had a great time and the game itself was purrfect, see what I did there, now BURN!! ;-p” Exploding Kittens is a lot of fun, even for a total n00b! Many thanks to “Jo” for taking part in multiple “Exploding Kittens” games and also dropping us an email afterwards and letting us share her thoughts with the tabletop gaming world. Who will be our next n00b Look victim?!Stay Tuned. #Reblogged from Gameapalooza http://gameapalooza.com.au/
