This past Thursday (9/11), our
friends Becks and Chris came to see us.
They live in England and are only able to come to the states once or twice a year, so whenever they're able make it “across the pond” we try very hard to get together and just
hang out for a little while. Em and Becks
celebrated their 21st anniversary of being best friends while they were
here...I don’t really how this affects family
game night, but at least you know how we all know each other!
They arrived in the afternoon while Baby Knives (our
child’s middle name is Knives so Baby Knives became an early nickname, just FYI) was
taking her nap (although not sleeping - welcome to the world of 2 year olds).
They arrived, had some lunch and Em decided she wanted to teach them
Takenoko by the fabulous Antoine Bauza.
Just as an aside, I love that my wife now suggests we play games instead
of it just being my idea!
As I’ve explained before, Takenoko is a simple modern
board game where you take control of a panda who wants to eat bamboo and a
gardener who wants to grow bamboo in order to please his emperor. It is a simple and brightly colored game that
uses game mechanics such as tile placement, set collection, and pattern
building in order to obtain your objectives.
This makes for a super-fun, entry-level game that is easy to teach and
fun to play. Becks and Chris had a ton
of fun playing and then even wanted to go for a second round. Becks took the first (teaching) round and Em
won the second.
After we had dinner we decided to play a few more
games (of course). For our second, I wanted to pull
out Hanabi (also by the great Antoine Bauza) and teach it to them. This is a favorite of mine as it is totally
different from any game I’ve ever played.
This game’s mechanics include memory, co-operative play, hand
management, and set collection. What
makes this game totally different from any other game I’ve played is that you
take your hand of cards and instead of looking at them you face them out
towards your fellow players.
You then
take turns giving hints and attempting to score the most possible points (25
being the best) and creating a “crowd-pleasing” fireworks event. While the theme is thinly pasted on, the game
itself is a ton of fun. Beware though,
there is a certain level of frustration that players can have during this game
as you never see your own cards. I love
pulling out this game whenever I can because it isn’t a great two player game
and my wife isn’t a huge fan of it. Becks
and Chris seemed very entertained and I think if we had played a few rounds we
may have hit a very high score! As it
is, we had a perfectly respectable score of 18.
Lastly, we ended up pulling out our third Antoine Bauza
game of the day: 7 Wonders. This is
quickly becoming one of my favorite games as it is so quick and easy to teach
and everyone who has played it really seems to enjoy the mechanisms and
gameplay. This game uses set collection,
variable player powers, and my personal favorite, card drafting as its gameplay
mechanisms. Becks and Chris figured out
the game relatively quickly during our teaching game (where Becks won again!)
and then settled in nicely for another round before they had to leave for the
evening. Em took the final game, edging
me out when Becks played a card I needed to finish a science set!
 |
| Happy Antoine Bauza Day! |
As usual, we had a ton of fun playing games with our
friends and teaching them a whole new side to the boardgaming world. As both Becks and Chris enjoy gaming they
both seemed to have a great time and I look forward to the time they're
back in the states so we can have another prolonged gaming day! Even though this wasn’t a planned “Family
Game Night,” it was just as fun and I hope to have many more “Unofficial Family
Game Nights!” As always, it’s been a pleasure. Until next time, game on!
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