In 2014 we dove head first into the world of tabletop games with a purchase that Sarah assured Emily will be “a great two player game like Dominion”, Castles of Burgundy. We had no idea what we were getting ourselves into and couldn’t even figure out how to play from the rulebook. Thanks to some help from a well known two player-centric YouTube channel we were able to learn the wonder and greatness that is stealing ship and animal tiles from each other. And so began our free fall into the world of board games and trying to convince our friends and family that there’s more to board games than Monopoly and the Game of Life. 

In the meantime we got married, popped out a couple of cute little boys, bought a house, and remodeled our basement into the ultimate gaming space. This is our adventure of trying to raise gamer kids while still finding time to enjoy heavy economic and other strategy games. 

Read more about our journey into gaming and the intent of this blog HERE. 

Game Reviews

As part of this blog, we will review games with a focus on playability for 2 players and how well they fit into our full-to-bursting schedule as a family with kids. In addition to a general game overview, here is our approach to rating. For those familiar with BGG, it is very similar to the BGG rating scale:

  • Overall rating scale 1-10
    • 10: Excellent. We will always play if given the chance, and over the years we expect this will always be a favorite.
    • 9: Fantastic. We always enjoy playing and will choose this over many games in our collection.
    • 8: Great. We enjoyed playing, and would be happy to play again.
    • 7: Very good. We will usually choose to play again
    • 6: Good. We will play again, but may choose other similar games first.
    • 5: Average. We would play again, but could take it or leave it. Doesn’t stand out in our collection.
    • 4: Not so good. There was something in the game that didn’t quite work for us, but there might be others who like it more. 
    • 3: Bad. We did not like this game and would not play again. We will not keep it in our collection.
    • 2: Very bad. There are stand-out issues with the game that have a huge impact on playability. We would not recommend for anyone.
    • 1: Abysmal. BGG says it best: so bad it defies description

Here are a few categories we focus on:

  • First play: How easy or difficult was it for us to learn?
  • Rulebook: Was the rulebook easy to use, considering the game’s level of complexity?
  • Re-playability: How was the game after we learned the game? Does the game stay interesting across multiple plays? How does it change once you get more comfortable with the rules?
  • Parent perspective: How do we fit this game into life with kids?