There are many things that make a good game. The first and arguably the most important thing is that the rules must be clear and understandable. Players should be able to get a clear understanding on how to start the game, proceed through it, and win. The mechanics of the game are also important. A good game has mechanics that are easy to understand and execute, unique mechanics also can make for a fun game. A game should also have some kind of narrative or goal to draw the person in and make them want to play or continue playing. Finally a game should be fun or enjoyable for the person playing it. Not all games are perfect and some execute these things better than others *cough* *cough* Monopoly but even games that can be frustrating have an appeal that draw us back. Some people also just like to win.
5 Game Ideas – Collecting
Midnight Snack
Midnight Snack is a competitive card game in which players must collect as much food from the kitchen as possible without waking mom. Players take turns drawing and playing cards. If you wake mom you’re out.
Night Bandits
Night Bandits is a competitive board game in which raccoons must steal as much stuff from the neighborhood as possible without getting caught. The raccoon who collects the most things wins.
Attic Panic
Attic Panic is a competitive card game in which grandchildren must collect all of the items grandma asks for from her attic. Players take turns discarding, drawing, and playing cards. The first person to find all of the items wins the round.
Dragon’s Den
Dragon’s Den is a competitive board game in which knights must steal as much treasure as possible from the sleeping dragon. The knight that brings back the most treasure wins. Players take turns rolling the dice, moving pieces, drawing cards.
Splat
Splat is a competitive team board game in which teams compete against each other to collect the most territory. The teams take turns laying traps and making moves to make spots on the board their team color. This is a paintball warfare type of game.
5 Game Ideas – Lost
Forest
Forest is a collaborative survival board game in which a group of teens must work together to escape the woods while being chased by a murderer. Players take turns drawing and playing cards to hopefully make it out of the woods alive.
Ski Trip
Ski Trip is a collaborative board game where after a skiing accident players must safely make it down the mountain while combating the harsh elements. Players take turns moving pieces and playing cards to survive the nights. WIll you make it to the bottom of the mountain?
Tunnels
Tunnels is a competitive board game in which players must be the first one to reach the end of the tunnel. Players must play cards to move forward or stop other players from reaching the goal.
Zero G
Zero G is a collaborative board game in which a group of astronauts are lost in space. Players must work together to complete tasks and safely make it back to earth.
Daydream
Daydream is a competitive card game in which players must navigate their way through their own imaginations. Players can sabotage other players or get rid of their own cards. First person to get rid of all of their daydreams first wins.
5 Game Ideas – One Sentence
Jewel Thief
Jewel Thief is a competitive board game in which world renown thieves must steal the most jewels from the museum by sabotaging other thieves and navigating through tight security.
Toy War
Toy War is a competitive card game in which kids must gather their strongest warriors of stuffed bears and be the last one standing by launching stuffing attacks and stitching up patches over wounds.
Hooky
Hooky is a collaborative board game in which a group of friends must enjoy their day off from school by avoiding adults and having fun at the arcade.
Insomnia
Insomnia is a competitive card game in which a group of teens are competing to be the last one to fall asleep by drinking energy drinks or trying to lull each other to sleep.
Tower
Tower is a collaborative board game in which a group of warriors must reach the top of the tower to claim their treasure by fighting off monsters and navigating deadly traps.
Pandemic Review
Pandemic is a collaborative board game in which scientists and personnel of the CDC work together to combat a deadly virus by curing parts of the globe and collecting research for the vaccine.
5 Game Ideas – Card Games
Battle of the Gods
This is a greek mythology based card game where each player commands its own army. Each of the cards contain a different god and with that comes an ability. Each player starts with a set number of cards and must use those cards to fight the other player’s army. Depending on the cards in hand the gameplay may change. This is war so there are also various cards that you can play at any time within the round. The goal is to be the last person standing on the battlefield.
Don’t Hesitate
This is a fast paced game of matching similar cards. The goal of the game is to get rid of all your cards from smallest to largest. Each player gets 5 cards. A draw pile is placed in the center of the players. A round of gameplay is started when the dealer turns over the top card of the draw pile. Players then quickly jump in to discard cards of matching number or icon. If you play a wrong card you must draw 2 from the draw pile. The player must discard all of their cards to win. Hesitating in this game can cause you to lose.
Make Believe
This is a card game that revolves around the world of a child’s imagination. The goal of this game is to be able to peacefully go to sleep. Players are given a card that represents the level of their imagination. During each round players can play various cards to ruin the sleep of other people or defend themselves depending on the cards they have in hand. Some cards are themed “monster under the bed” or “the floor is lava”. The first person to get their imagination level to 0 wins.
College
This is a game purely about college students and the pain of student debt. There are debt cards and there are life cards. Players each are dealt 5 debt cards. Each player starts out with $30,000 in debt. Players take turns either using a debt card to sabotage another student or drawing a life that could reduce their own debt. The player that brings their own debt down to $0 wins.
The 7 Seas
This is a pirate based game. There are 7 rounds of gameplay winning each round awards you one step closer to finding the treasure. Players start with 5 cards each, each card contains a different set of rules or gameplay. Players during each turn can play cards to sabotage other pirates. A person is out of the round if they can not play any of their cards. Last pirate standing wins that round and is one token closer to the treasure. The goal of the game is to collect all of the tokens necessary to find the buried treasure.
Love Letter Review
The game of love letter is a game that takes place during medieval times. The story of the game is that multiple princes are fighting for the princesses affection. The way to gain her love is with their letters because they can not speak to her directly. The princes’ goal is to get the letters to the princess by any means necessary. This game is played with 16 cards, 2-4 people can play at a time, and the first person to 4 points wins the affection of the princess. Each of the 16 cards have a designated ability or hindrance. The players must use the card inther hand to either eliminate or hinder a player. The last person left during a round of play gets a point, represented by a token. During the first act of play the players are learning how to play the game by playing the first round. After the first round the players catch on to how the game works. There is not too much of a learning curve when it comes to starting this game. Once you play the first round it becomes easy to catch on. Once you get a basic feel on how the game works and how the cards work then people then start to form a strategy, which moves us on to act 2. In act 2 the players start using their cards and its abilities to their advantage. Within this act players also start trying to read the expressions and gestures of the other players. Now that the players are strategizing the round takes longer to end. Act 2 is the longest of all the acts. Act 3 does not appear until multiple people are on the verge of winning. At this point it is anyone’s game and the push to victory heightens the battle. The satisfaction that comes along with winning is well deserved because of act 2 and the battles within.
Jackbox Game review- Zeeple Dome
I really enjoy a lot of Jackbox games. I always find myself having fun regardless if I am in the audience or not. However watching people play Zeeple dome was not enjoyable at all. It was very frustrating. A lot of the players were not able to hear the rules announced so they did not know that they were supposed to match the colors until the game was almost over. Even though the bag guys were glowing a matching color to specific players it was still hard to catch on unless you heard the rules announced through the TV. Two of the players were also very close in color which made for some more confusion. It was also not immediately clear that you could revive other players by touching them. This is a type of game that you would have to play once first to understand if you did not hear the rules. The character design is very cute and likable however when it comes to the bad guys it was a little hard to notice their colors. This game would most likely be a game that I only play a few times just to see all of the stages and then never really play again. There is a lack of satisfaction when it comes to playing this game.
5 Game Ideas- Social Distancing
Target Ball
Players wear vest with led targets, team members must hit opposing team members targets with soft tennis balls/foam balls. When all targets are hit you are out. The team with the last player standing wins. Can be a group game or individual.
Parachute Toss
People pair off into teams and take turns using a parachute to launch a ball into various baskets. Each basket is worth a different amount. First team to reach a certain score wins.
My Spot
Flat target with various divots is placed in the center of all players. As the start signal all players must roll balls simultaneously and try to get their balls to stay within the holes. The holes are shallow enough where players have the ability to knock other people out. Round of play lasts a certain amount of time and the person with the most points wins.
Zombie
Players must stay away from the infected. Players are given some time to hide and the zombie must find them. All players wear a band on their wrist. The band notifies hiders when a zombie is nearby(6ft). If a player and zombie make eye contact while the band is going off then the hider is now infected and becomes a zombie as well. Game ends when time is up or all hiders are found.
Shhh
Players take turns. On the table there are various items. In the center of the table is a machine/sleeping character. Players draw cards that say various different tasks they must complete. Players are given a certain amount of time and must complete as many tasks as possible without going over the sound limit of the machine. The person who completes the most tasks wins.