Sometimes it takes me a little while to review a game that’s been on the market for years but I really enjoy.  And even though these games aren’t NEW they’re still worth reviewing because games don’t “go bad” unless they’re trivia based or heavily rely on pop culture or politics.  It’s what makes games so great!  If you pick up a game from the 1950s, odds are very good that it’s still playable (provided none of the key pieces wandered off in the last 60 years).  This week’s game isn’t …

Earlier this month I was at Richard Gottlieb’s “Future of the Industry” conference and someone brought up the issue of packaging.  Given that “green” is a trend; the absence of throwaway packaging is definitely an a-peel-ing part of Bananagrams.  (Couldn’t resist a good pun!)  While this game feels familiar to other crossword games like Pick Two, we all agreed that the adorable zippered banana sack and the hanging merchandiser helped make this item a standout.
The game itself?  I think it’s great!  (FYI – I really like quick word games.)  The …

Earlier today I had an interesting conversation with the owner of the Chicago toy and game store Cat and Mouse about how there are tons of games that ”borrow” the play patterns of other games.  Some even look the same: Bananagrams and Scrabble Apple (both which are similar to Take Two), Yahtzee and Kismet, Connect Four and Toot and Otto to name a few.  Now my mother always told me that “imitation is the sincerest form of flattery,” so I guess that the duplication indicates that the initial product had …

Another dice game that I just love is Cinq-O, from Mattel.  One of the best things about it is that it comes in a handy carrying case that easily clips to your backpack for on-the-go play.  Surprise, surprise, this can also be found in my car, neatly tucked within the Yahtzee box.  This game is a slightly similar to the style of Yahtzee because all players are taking turns with very little player interaction (versus Easy Come, Easy Go which has lots of stealing and retaliation).  In Cinq-O you’re rolling …

I love dice games, really love dice games. Every time I pick up a handful of dice there’s something about the shake and the throw that makes me feel lucky. Fortunately, this passion doesn’t extend into the world of craps; gambling just isn’t my thing, but I digress.
Thankfully, it’s not just me; I think my entire family has a weakness for dice games. Every one of us has at least one well-loved copy of Yahtzee and if you asked, I’d say we probably all have a copy …