Stretch's Random Board Game Thread!

[Stretch616 697]

As part of looking for something to entertain whilst stuck in the house this year, i've really started to get into my board games as part of having something different to do whilst stuck in the house.

The general feel for these have been to either be single player games or decent group games that aren't too difficult to get to grips with so the kids could join in easily.

We've really enjoyed these so far and i thought it'd be good to share the experiences of these games with you all

 

I'll continue to add to the thread as the collection grows as i have no doubt it will!

So here goes!!! @GazzaGarratt - Told you i'd make the thread eventually!! 🤣

 

Edit: To be clear on the Stretch rating, i'm using a proper scale of 1-10 where 5 is an average game not poor

[Stretch616 697]

Bandido

 

 

This is a great and simple card game where the object of the game is to trap the Bandido in the tunnels and send him back to jail.

You do this by building a tunnel network using the cards in your hand to close off the escape routes. Once you've played a card, you then pick another up from the deck and the game continues until you either trap the Bandido, or you run out of cards and there are still open tunnel routes

 

 

So in essence the game is very simple, but it is bloody difficult!! 

I've lost count of the amount of games i've had where i've got the tunnel network down to the last one, but no cards to close them up and then going on a bad run where that 1 open tunnel then proceeded to actually be 7 in 3 cards played time! However, it's such a quick game that there's no real element of frustration or wasted time with the difficulty level and it really gives that "one more try" vibe.

The package itself is smaller than a standard set of playing cards which is great for being able to transport it, but you will need a big space to play this game! It has taken up my entire dining room table on many a time and there were times that it was actually overflowing in one direction as we tried our best to close off the network in that direction!!

 

At just over £10, it's a great game and can be played solo or with a group of people. The only catch with the group play is that you cannot specifically say what cards you have in your hand which does lead to some face palming moments but it's all in good fun.

 

Stretch's board game rating - A solid 7 out of 10 stretches

[Stretch616 697]

Rhino Hero

 

Probably the quickest game to play out of my current collection as it can be over in the space of a few minutes depending on how it goes!

However, there is no chance that you'd play this for only one game, it's just too damn addictive!

 

This is basically the opposite of Jenga, so instead of having to rearrange a pre-existing tower, you have to build this one up from scratch.

It's the method of how you do this that makes this fun and different every time.

There are 2 types of card in the game.

A roof card, which you place on top of the walls and it will show markings on them to show where the next wall structures need to be built:

 

And the wall cards themselves:

 

There are also some roof cards which show the Rhino Hero character's face. On these cards, you have to move the character up to the relevant spot on the roof card whilst also placing the wall cards

You then just continue to build the tower until either somebody makes the tower fall over or you run out of wall cards and you (all) win!

 

 

I can't stress how much i like this game! It's fun every time we've played and it always creates a good atmosphere in the room.

The simplicity of this also means that there is no problem with leaving the kids to have a game and there's no need for a referee to be involved!!

 

There is an expansion pack to this game where there are more complicated structures to build in, but the premise remains the same. I have no doubt i'll be investing in this at some point in time and i'll be sure to add on the review into this thread

 

 

Stretch's board game rating - A Super Rhino 8.5 out of 10 stretches

 

 

[Stretch616 697]

Ghost Blitz

 

 

For anybody that's played Dobble and enjoyed it, this game takes to a whole new level of franticness!

In this game there are 5 pieces:

1. White ghost
2. Grey mouse
3. Green bottle
4. Blue book
5. Red armchair

Then a card is turned over from the deck and it is down to you to decide which piece corresponds with the card and grab it from the table as quickly as you can.

No points here for just shouting out the name! You must physically have the piece in your hand to earn the point

 

Like with Dobble, the card may show an exact match to the piece, however the real curve balls are the cards that do not match anything.

You then have to go through a process of elimination with what is wrong on the card which will leave one option remaining which is then the piece you want!

 

So if we take the picture below as an example:

 

 

The card showing a picture of the grey mouse is an exact match and you need to grab the grey mouse as soon as you can!

However the other card doesn't show an exact match. So the process of elimination would go as follows:

 

• The armchair is the wrong colour, so this is eliminated
• The armchair is white which is actually the colour of the ghost, so the ghost is eliminated
• The book is the wrong colour, so this is eliminated
• The book is green which is actually the colour of the bottle, so the bottle is eliminated
• Which leaves the grey mouse as the correct piece to pick up

 

It's amazing how quickly the brain can begin to process this elimination way of thinking once you're dialled in which leads to some really frantic grabs for pieces.

When you get the right piece you earn the card, then the next card from the deck is revealed and so on until all the cards have been used. The winner is (shockingly!) the one with the most cards once the deck is exhausted.

What is also really good on this game is the fact that age doesn't seem to play a part in this game and kids vs grown ups can be a really competitive affair.

As a point of reference, Etta is (currently) 5 and she is able to more than hold her own on this and also correct the grown ups sometimes!!

 

This has been our go to game this year since we've bought it and spent many, many hours having a great laugh with it.

The box size is probably the size of 2 playing card boxes which means it's nice and portable and you only need a very small playing surface to be able to have a game.

At just over £10 for this, it's an absolute steal and i'm sure this will be at the forefront of my game collection for quite a considerable time

 

Stretch's board game rating - A ghostly 9.5 out of 10 stretches

[Stretch616 697]

No Thanks

 

 

This is a card game based around numbers and the idea being to have the smallest total once the deck is exhausted.

The numbers in play are numbered 3-35. Everybody starts the game with no cards and between 7-11 "pass counters".

The first card is then revealed from the deck and then it will be down to the first person to decide whether to take the card or to play a pass counter (No Thanks!)

Obviously there is slightly more complexity and tactics to the game which is down to 2 factors.

1. When you elect to take the card, you also collect all of the pass counters that have been placed previously. This will then give you an advantage in being able to pass in further rounds.
2. Any cards that you have in a sequence only count to the lowest value. So collecting the 35, 34, 33, 32, 31 & 30 cards would only actually count as 30 points. This is a great dynamic to the game as you then start to think about not only what cards you need to lower your deck value but what cards you could take that would act as "blockers" for your opponents.

 

 

We've found this one a bit more tactical in the thinking and given this it was difficult to get the psychology of the game through to the younger members of the family. Another issue is that the game is best played with a minimum of 3 players and it really is noticeable in the enjoyment when you play as a duo.

I think i'd love to have a bash of this game with a group of adults as i think it'd be a great game, but maybe not as much a game to have an experience of a laugh with.

 

Stretch's board game rating - At the moment, no thanks 4 out of 10 stretches

[G_dub52 559]

Got Mario Jenga for xmas too and I feel Jenga has come a long way now. Its not just stack a tower its beat Bowzer and collect coins etc and the brick have different bonuses too. Really enjoying a few games of that 🙂 

 

I look forward to you bringing some of these when we can camp again dude.

[GazzaGarratt 11,082]

@Stretch616 , great thread and definitely looking forward to seeing more of them!

 

I'm gonna look into Rhino Hero and Ghost Blitz for sure. We love Dobble in the house as we've already got 2 versions of it, so I think this one will be a firm favourite!

[IRaMPaGe 3,265]

Some interesting games. I haven't played board games in years, but I remember a lot of the classics from childhood.

 

Some of my favourites include. Monopoly, Cluedo, Game Of Life, Hungry Hippos, Mousetrap, Payday.

 

Not to mention the ultimate in world domination "Risk" that's a game and a half. 

Great thread Stretch, was a great read!

[Spacedeck 921]

If anyone is looking for a family cooperative board game, I highly recommend Horrified Monsters. Pretty simple to learn, my daughter can play with a little bit of guidance on what moves to make (she's 6) and partner who isn't a board game person can also play fairly easily.

 

I'm more a cooperative gamer as I'm not much of a fan of competition. 

[GazzaGarratt 11,082]

3 hours ago, Spacedeck said:

If anyone is looking for a family cooperative board game, I highly recommend Horrified Monsters. Pretty simple to learn, my daughter can play with a little bit of guidance on what moves to make (she's 6) and partner who isn't a board game person can also play fairly easily.

 

I'm more a cooperative gamer as I'm not much of a fan of competition. 

 

Definitely will take a look at that as I'd rather play co-op than against each other. Great find Harold!

[James 1,628]

Really enjoyed playing King of Tokyo 🗼 the other night we some of the FG Coventrians. We also played Diamant which was really fun. Nice a quick games with hilarious consequences!

 

@GazzaGarratt @Stretch616  @G_dub52 @Macca89 @Findmartin @Antpool84 @TonyAE86

[GazzaGarratt 11,082]

I think Diamont is my next board game purchase. Such a fun and easy game to get used to.