Looking for a non-boring family game that will heal us.

Arcadia Quest might be fun for them, It has an anime theme and a campaign. Seems like good, light fun. There is some PvP in the game which might be a problem if your kids don't like attacking each other.

quozl wrote: Twister

Ha ha, I thought this was Black Barney at first.

I am going to get a Dixit expansion, and maybe a game for myself. Thanks for the good, wise advise. I need to quit trying to force games on this poor family.

The thing is, when college son is visiting, the 12-year-old will ask him to play a board game, and she crushes us at Ingenious. I did a poor job of describing my kids and their attitudes towards games.

I really like some of Days of Wonders offering for family style stuff. Mystery of the Abbey is a fun one that always works well when I have family-style game night. Deduction games in general seem to be good for this...probably another reason why you thought to look at Sherlock Holmes. Word of caution about Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective, it's a great game, but don't expect to do well at it. The few times I played it with the wife we were like full on trying to crack the case. Three hours of really digging for clues and trying to figure it out. NEVER did we come close. We did laughably bad! Still we had a blast though.

Bohnanza is a highly interactive game that once learned really tends to hook people. It's very interactive with the non stop trading. You just have to get them past the whole "can't mix up the cards in your hand" and you need to play your rightmost card. Once you leap that hurdle the rules melt away and everyone is haggling for beans. Good stuff.

If they already like Dixit then you absolutely should track down Mysterium. It's another game that uses big tarot sized cards with weird beautiful art. It's an awesome game that would work perfectly in a family environment. I highly recommend it.

What about good ol' hide n' seek like Nuns on the Run.

Wetworks wrote: Arcadia Quest might be fun for them, It has an anime theme and a campaign. Seems like good, light fun. There is some PvP in the game which might be a problem if your kids don't like attacking each other.

That looks like a really fun, light game with cool minis. I'm just not ready to drop $90 on it is all. I guess I could sell Space Hulk.

craniac wrote:

Wetworks wrote: Arcadia Quest might be fun for them, It has an anime theme and a campaign. Seems like good, light fun. There is some PvP in the game which might be a problem if your kids don't like attacking each other.

That looks like a really fun, light game with cool minis. I'm just not ready to drop $90 on it is all. I guess I could sell Space Hulk.

It's $64 on Amazon

www.amazon.com/Cool-Mini-or-Not-AQ001/dp...ywords=arcadia+quest

It's only $35 here-

www.mindoddity.com/3610-Arcadia-Quest-Core-Game.aspx

Michael Barnes wrote: It's only $35 here-

www.mindoddity.com/3610-Arcadia-Quest-Core-Game.aspx

Says out of stock, good deal to those who got it.

I'll second Settlers of Catan.

Also look into Evolution (simple to teach, family favorite over here), Mission Red Planet (Citadels with area control), Survive: Escape from Atlantis.

For 5, Alan Moon's Airlines Europe would also fit the bill.

Just get Sherlock and play the heck out that. Any number of players can play. If somebody comes in late they can jump in. Great for all ages. If you play through Sherlock, their will be a Arkham version that Will Knyon worked on I think it Investigators of Arkham.

Dominion plays well with 2-6. Creating an efficient VP engine may appeal to a couple of the kids. It can be non-confrontational if you leave certain cards out. The rules are well done and the cards work pretty seamless together, so rules arguments are few. You could work into drafting cards for the kingdom setup so that each player feel like they have an influence on the game from the start.

every suggestion gets a thank you except mine!!

Black Barney wrote: every suggestion gets a thank you except mine!!

I couldn't tell if you were serious.

Fun fact about Dominion: Jay Tummelson (?) brought it to SLC's "A Gathering of Strangers" and demoed it to us. We were hooked, and when he told us about all the expansions the author had, I said "It'll be like printing money!" and he got a big smile on his face.


Fun fact about my son and my wife: Yesterday my wife was going to take him kayaking, which he really wanted to do. He had his phone with him, and told him to leave it home because water, or it could get stolen out of the car, and he got in an argument because it's his phone and she's a control freak. He was livid, (I was downstairs napping) and she came downstairs to tell me she was calling the whole thing off. He left his phone sitting on the kitchen table untouched to make the point that it isn't about him being addicted to his phone but it has to do with us not trusting him to make any decisions. He gets really sarcastic, and then my wife flips out.

So this dynamic comes out when the games come out. Our previous family game fight occurred on Father's day, when we were playing a card game and my son was in the hole and didn't realize there were multiple rounds so he said he was just going to mess with us rather than play to win.

We obviously need some family therapy. Also, a friend told me that my wife has something going on, like a little Asperger's. I had her take an online test once though and nothing came up.

Too much information, I know. I'm just trying to figure this out. Teen son will be moving out in two years, and my daughters are pretty well adjusted. Of course, I am leaving out everything that makes me look bad.

I'm the only one that tried to address your family's dysfunctionality!!

it's totally normal for your wife and son to be skirmishing like this. don't let it worry you. it's a very common struggle that families have

Black Barney wrote: I'm the only one that tried to address your family's dysfunctionality!!

it's totally normal for your wife and son to be skirmishing like this. don't let it worry you. it's a very common struggle that families have

I went back to your post and consulted the judges and gave you the much deserved "thank you." I'm pretty promiscuous with "thank yous" and social media "likes," so it was obviously a cruel snub to deny you the recognition that you both earned and crave

I think as DAD in the family, I need to intervene more quickly when teen son says something sarcastic to prevent the wife flipping out.

Teen son has withdrawn and is working furiously on his home made DDR pad. I think it would help if he could bring himself to call friends from school and do something, but he says it would be weird and won't do it. His sisters are at Lesbian Wiccan camp*, so he's by himself this week.

*This is how many residents of Utah view the non-LDS Girl Scouts. We are big supporters in my family. My daughters come back from camp confident, happy, and bursting with song. So. Many. Songs.