The Tooth Fairy Game Blog Review

With 3 little girls, some things tend to lose their "specialness" as time goes by.  When the first child loses a tooth, its a HUGE deal.  By the time number 3 begins losing teeth, you've seen a LOT of teeth come and go.  But I don't ever want my youngest to feel like her milestones aren't still milestones.  That's why I was so glad I discovered The Tooth Fairy Game, by Petersen Games! 

Sagrada Game Expansions Review

 One of my absolute favorite games is Sagrada, by Floodgate Games.  Its an absolute masterpiece!  First of all, it's INCREDIBLY BEAUTIFUL!  Secondly, it involves rolling dice.  Lots of dice!  And I love dice games! Lastly, its both simple and complex.  Its simple in the fact that it's an easy game to learn. It's not an overly complex game to learn to play.  But the strategy is fantastic.  Its also a game that my hubby enjoys playing.  He's not as "game obsessed" as I am, but he still really enjoys Sagrada!  So I knew I had to jump at the chance to review the expansions!

Saboteur: The Lost Mines and No Thanks Review

 I reviewed games for Amigo Games before and I've always loved them.  (You can check out my past Amigo Games reviews HERE and HERE.) So I was thrilled to try a couple more! The wonderful folks at Amigo were kind enough to send me two fantastic games to try!

First up is Saboteur: The Lost Mines -

Incubation and Crazy Tower Games Review

 The wonderful folks at Synapses Games games were kind enough to send me a couple of games for review.  And I'm so glad they did!  These games are fantastic for family game nights!  Let's check them out!

1.) Incubation - If you have a dragon loving family member, Incubation is the game for you! Become a dragon breeder and make your fortune! This game plays 2-5 players.  I love that!  As a family of 5, I'm always a little sad when a game only plays 2-4 players. Don't get me wrong.  We have plenty of those and enjoy them.  But its wonderful to be able to play together as an entire family without anyone having to play on a team!  

Shady Pets Card Game Review

 I'm always looking for fun games to play with my family.  And with 3 kids, animal games are very popular in our household!  So I was thrilled to review Shady Pets!

Shady Pets is a game for 2 to 5 players, agers 7 and up!  In Shady Pets, you're trying to figure out which pets are "shady."  (It's similar to Clue.) 

Bosk Board Game Review

I'm just gonna say it.  I'm a total sucker for a pretty board game!  Colorful games ALWAYS draw me in - like a moth to a flame!  But sometimes they turn out to be pretty but not a lot of fun.  Boo!  Thankfully, Bosk, by Floodgate Games is both incredibly beautiful and tons of fun!  Woohoo!

Dino Party Board Game Review

 I have a little girl who is OBSESSED with dinosaurs.  She dreams of becoming a paleontologist when she grows up.  So i'm always on the lookout for dino-themed games!  And we own several.  One of our favorites is Draftosaurus, by Ankama Games. With its adorable, colorful dino meeples, it's definitely a hit!  So when I saw that Ankama had introduced another dinosaur game, I was so excited!  Enter Dino Party! 

Lord of the Chords Music Theory Card Game Review

If you follow my blog or my Instagram page, you probably know that I'm always on the lookout for new and interesting games!  I'm especially intrigued by games that teach or reinforce educational concepts that aren't easily found in games.  Math is an easy concept to reinforce with games.  Even if a game isn't billed as "educational," there's probably some sort of math concept that's reinforced by scoring.  But music theory isn't an educational concept that I've found in many games.  That's why I was so excited to learn about Lord of the Chords: The Geekiest, Punniest Music Theory Card Game!

Pigasus and Logic Cards Kids Game Review

 At the beginning of the year I reviewed several games from Brain Games and Luma Games.  My family really enjoyed those - particularly ICECOOL!  So I was thrilled to review another couple of games from them!  

Pigasus is for ages 7+ and plays 2 to 8 people. In the game, you try to match incorrectly matched animals with their opposites.  For example, an animal with a pelican's head and a gorilla's body would match a card with a gorilla's head and a pelican's body.  Whoever recognizes the pair of matching cards first will try to grab the "pigasus" toy and 

Here's what I love:

1.) The pig!  - Seriously!  How cute is this little pig with wings?!? And when you squeeze it it makes a grunting pig noise!

My Little Scythe Pie In The Sky Expansion Review

At the beginning of this year I reviewed an INCREDIBLE game called My Little Scythe.  My Little Scythe is a junior version of the popular game Scythe, by Stonemaier Games.  I'm usually sceptical of junior versions of popular games.  It's often just more practical to buy the original version.  But My Little Scythe is so fantastic that it completely holds up as its own game!  That's why I was so excited to find out that they'd produced an expansion - Pie In The Sky! 

Great Educational Games from Looney Labs

Those of you following my blog have probably noticed how OBSESSED I've become with games lately.  It's a serious addiction!  Haha!  But I've recently realized how AMAZING games can be as educational tools. - And that's for the kids AND me!  I've learned a lot from gameschooling!  So I thought I'd share some great educational card games from the fabulous Looney Labs!

Big Bad Fables Kickstarter Campaign

I recently came across what appears to be a really fun game on Kickstarter and I really wanted to share it with my readers! I don't usually blog about games I haven't played yet, but this one is time sensitive, so I wanted to get a post out ASAP!  It’s called Big Bad Fables and it’s currently running a Kickstarter campaign!  I don't usually write posts about games I haven't played yet, but this one is time sensitive.

New Games for 2020 from Indie Boards and Cards

As a gameschooling mom and blogger, I love sharing great games with my readers and followers.  But one thing that's SUPER SPECIAL is getting to share newly released games or even games that haven't yet released!  So I was so excited when the AWESOME folks at Indie Boards and Cards sent me a box full of games - and many of them are releasing THIS YEAR (2020)!  Woohoo!!!  I'll share more about some of the other awesome games I received in a later post, but I wanted to go ahead and share these new releases so that you can keep an eye out for them, because there are some fascinating and unique games in this bunch!  So let's go ahead and jump in!

Kodama 3D (Release Date: February 2020, Ages: 14+, Players: 1-4)

Skyjo Card Game Review

I'm just gonna say it.  Again.  I'm a sucker for a good math game!  I love gameschooling of ALL  TYPES!  We have science games, history games, art games, English games, geography games, and so on.  But math games hold a special place in my heart.  I think it's because math has always been a bit intimidating to me.  Games lesson that intimidation.  Sometimes kids don't even realize they are learning! That's why I was excited to review Skyjo, by Magilano!

Red7 Card Game Review

I love big, board games that have lots of components.  They're definitely fun.  But sometimes I just want a nice, fun card game.  Card games are fantastic because they're usually easy to learn, take up little space, are easy to set up, and are very portable.  So I was excited to try a new card game that I'd never played before: Red7, by Asmadi!

Great Games from Indie Boards and Cards

I recently posted a review of some new games from Indie Boards and Cards.  Well, the fine folks there also sent some of other popular games for my to share with my readers!  I was really impressed with the wide variety of games I received!  So let's check them out!

Second Chance, by Stronghold Games - (Release Date: 2019, Ages: 8+, Players: 1-6)

Second Chance is a flip and write game.  These are similar to roll and write games.  But instead of rolling dice and filling out a paper, you flip a card and fill one out.  My family really enjoyed this one!  And as a Tetris player during my childhood, I loved it too!

What I loved:
1.) It plays up to 6 players! - I've mentioned it many times, but I LOVE a game that can accommodate all 5 of the people in my immediate family!
2.) It can be played solo! - Sometimes I'm the only one who wants to play a game. (*Sad.*) This is a great solo option!
3.) It gets you thinking! - You have to really think and plan to get all those shapes on your page. And you have to be able to flip the shapes in your mind sometimes to make them work.  I love that this game makes everyone think!
4.) It's "artistic." - Everyone enjoyed drawing and filling in their blocks in their own unique style. I chose to just use one color for mine.  The kids all did a rainbow of colors.  My husband used black and lime green.  (His looked like something from Minecraft.  Haha!)  But every single person enjoyed it!
5.) Its family friendly! - I love a game that we can all enjoy together and this one definitely fit that bill!

Conflicting Legends - (Release Date: June 26, 2019, Ages: 14+, Players: 3-6)



This game is literally a historic game of Rock, Paper, Scissors!  Every person plays "persona cards" (famous people in history) and tries to earn "realm cards." The first player to gain 10 stars from their realm cards wins.



What I Love:

1.) The illustrations! - I was IMMEDIATELY attracted to this game because of the amazing illustrations of historical characters, like Napoleon, Frieda Kahlo, Albert Einstein, and Joan of Arc!

2.) Rock Paper Scissors!!! - Seriously!  This is such a stinking fun idea!  You literally play Rock Paper Scissors to resolve conflicts during the game!

3.) Its fairly simple.  - I read the instructions - which weren't long at all - and understood how to play pretty quickly.

4.) The game moves pretty quickly, which I enjoy.  There isn't a ton of down time because everyone just performs one action on their turn.


Kokoro: Avenue of the Kodama - (Release Date: October, 2017, Ages: 14+, Players: 1-8)



This is a path building card, where you're trying to connect a certain sanctuary to caterpillars and flowers on your player board.  This seems to be a continuation of their popular Kodama-themed games.  As I mentioned in my previous review, Kodama is a mythical tree "spirit." It's sort of the Japanese version of a dryad.



What I love:

1.) The game is small and fairly simple.  Although this is not a roll and write game, it had that same feel to me.  Not a ton of components, simple, yet fun!

2.) Its a 15 minute game! - I love these!  They're great for evenings when you might not be able to handle a long, super complicated game.

3.) It has a single player option! - I love games that have a single player option for those times when you're alone or can't find a playing partner.

4.) It plays up to 8!  Most games of this type usually play up to 4, 5, or 6.  Most are just up to 4.  So it's great to find a fun game like this that plays up to 8!  That makes it great for family gatherings too!

Kodama Duo - (Release Date: January 9, 2019, Ages: 14+, Players: 2)



Kodama Duo is a two-player game in their popular Kodama series.  Kodama Duo can also be used as an expansion for Kodama that adds an extra player!  That's a super neat feature.



What I Love:

1.) Its a two-player game! - I'm always looking for two-player games that my hubby and I can play after the kids have gone to bed!

2.) It plays in approximately 30 minutes! - This also makes it perfect for playing with hubby after the kids are in bed.

3.)

Ecologies Card Game Review

One of my favorite things about Gameschooling is how it takes subjects that can seem difficult and really make them easy to grasp. Digging into a game and using information you learned about a subject to solve a problem in the game really helps you delve deeper into what you're studying!  And that's what I love about Ecologies!

My Little Scythe Review

As I've been on this gameschooling journey lately, I've found a few games that my husband and I love, but are a bit too complicated for my younger kids.  It's always great when I see that a "grown up game" has a kids' version.  But the test is always: is it fun or is it just an oversimplified version of the original? I'm in several gameschooling social media groups and I'd heard repeatedly that My Little Scythe, by Stonemaier Games, was a great kids' version of their popular Scythe game.  But I'm a person who needs to see it and try it for myself.  After all, one person's favorite game can be another person's nightmare. Haha! So I was excited to get my hands on a copy and check it out for myself - using my 3 kids as little game playing guinea pigs!

Metaphor Dice Review

Creative writing is such an important subject to me.  I adored my creative writing courses in high school.  And one of my absolute FAVORITE college courses was a poetry writing course. It's such an amazing thing to put your thoughts on paper and have them validated - to have other people read your words and be touched by them.  But I'll be honest.  I often feel tremendous writer's block.  It usually happens at the beginning of the writing process. That jumping-off point at the very beginning can be harrowing.  So I was thrilled to find Metaphor Dice!

North Star Games Review

I recently discovered North Star Games.  That's one of the fabulous things about gameschooling!  You realize just how many quality board and card game companies there are that you may have not heard of yet!  So when I had the chance to review a few of their titles, I jumped at the chance!  They sent me a family/party game and 2 card games and they are pretty fun!  Let's check them out!

Absolute Zero Math Games Review and Discount Code

As we continue on this gameschooling journey, I've found so many benefits.  One of the greatest benefits I've seen is math practice.  There's just something perfect about pairing math with games.  Math is inherent to games.  From number recognition to scorekeeping, games involve math.  And math is one of those subjects that often intimidates both students and parents.  So putting everyone at ease through a game is a great way to make math practice more appealing!

That being said, I've been on the lookout for good math games!  And that's how I discovered Absolute Zero Card Games!

Dolphin Hat Games Review - Santa Cookie Elf Candy Snowman and Over Under Ostrich

A few months ago I reviewed a couple of fun little games from Dolphin Hat Games.  They were both HUGE HITS with my family! Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza is a quick, fun, hilarious game that always has my family laughing.  And Frog Pig Pug is a fun thinking game with adorable animals!  Because their first games were such huge hits with my family, I was thrilled to review 2 new games from their company. And I was not disappointed!  Dolphin Hat Games has hit it out of the park again!

"Cheese Quest: The Quest For Cheese" Game Review

One of the most exciting things about the board game "Renaissance" that seems to be happening these days, is the benefit of Kickstarter to help bring a game to fruition.  This allows for so many wonderful game ideas to come about.  And this is where Cheese Quest: The Quest For Cheese got its start!  Avoid snap traps, glue traps, roaming cats, and other obstacles as you play a mouse attempting to capture cheese and bring it back to your nest!

Fabulously Frosty Games from Brain Games

Have you heard of ICECOOL?  It's a fabulous game from Brain Games!  It's incredibly fun and has won tons of gaming awards - including the much-sought-after Kinderspiel de Jahres (Best Children's Game) 2017!  So I was super excited when the Fabulous folks at Brain Games and their North American distributor, Luma Games, offered to send me a package to review!  But they sent more than just ICECOOL!  In fact, they sent five games in all!  And I was pleasantly surprised to find out that IceCool isn't the only game from Brain Games that my family needed!!!

More Great Games from Amigo Games!

A few months ago, the wonderful folks at Amigo Games sent me several games to review.  (You can find that review here: Great Board and Card Games from Amigo Games Inc.) My family and I really enjoyed those games! And I felt that they were made of quality components as well! So I was THRILLED when Amigo Games sent another box of games!

Fantastic Games by Czech Games

If you've been reading my blog regularly, you know we've been really diving into gameschooling lately! Its such an amazing way to to challenge us and help us all learn in a way that's fun!  Today I'd like to introduce you to some fun games from Czech Games Edition that a great for gameschool!!!

First up is Letter Jam -