Episode 416 – Growing As a Family with Board Games

We’re going to talk about what it’s like to grow up in a gaming family!

0:00:00 Fact for 416

The largest chocolate bar by area measured 416.34 square meters, achieved on 2 December 2024.

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0:04:05 What We’ve Been Playing

Floristry (our review) – looking forward to trying the update!
Flip 7 (our review)
Trio (our review)
Iliad
Fight 5
Animal Rescue Team
Dice Throne: Marvel X-men – review coming soon

0:25:00 The Family Gamers Community

Welcome to our newest members! You can join the community on Facebook.

0:25:30 #Backtalk

We asked about more topics… and your silliest #boardgamevalentine (see our TFG valentines).

You responded on the #backtalk channel of the Discord.

0:29:00 Growing as a Family with Board Games

We started The Family Gamers Podcast when we had three kids, age 7 and under.

Back then, we were really just playing with the oldest and trying to find ways to include the preschooler.

We started playing very simple games with our oldest when she was probably 3 years old. We did play some CandyLand, but we mostly played simple “family” games rather than kids’ games. We were often trying to rule-shift or play games that were very simple (like Zombie Dice, which we mention back in episode 1!), in part because our oldest started reading at a very young age. So we didn’t need games that avoided reading. She also really enjoyed the adult attention she got from doing “adult” things.

And then our middle child got old enough to want to join in the games. Unfortunately, we discovered many “family games” don’t work well with multiple children when at least one can’t read yet.

That is when we first realized that when gaming with very young children, games need to be short, with very simple decisions, no reading, and limited symbols & counting.

We were barely aware of HABA games and other games geared towards very young children, but we learned! (Episode 36)

Teaming Up: Playing with Multiple Children

We also would “team up” a parent with a kid. The job of the parent was to present and explain the available decisions, without forcing the kid into any specific option.

We recommend using house rules or variants, as long as everyone agrees how to play! It’s OK if small children just want to use the game pieces to play “let’s pretend”. If that bothers other children playing (or you as the parent), you need to clarify this with the kid – it’s not right or wrong, just have a plan for how to handle it. Maybe it means finishing this game and coming back later to play with the kid-generated rules.

“You want to say ‘yes’ as much as possible.” – Andrew

As the kids got a little older, we noticed that our younger children were trying to emulate their older sibling(s). (This is still an issue with teenagers, by the way.) This made it even more important to emphasize being a gracious winner and avoid being a sore loser. But it also means that you have to find ways to include the younger sibling(s) even as the older children want to graduate away from “kids games”.

We looked for ways to handicap games, but also looked for games that would play to our younger children’s strengths, so they would not ALWAYS lose.

It’s Different Now

In 2026, we would recommend BoardGamesForAllAges.com. Tom has created “B-mods” which are handicapping rules to allow players of different levels to really be able to play TOGETHER. The structure encourages kids to keep leveling up, with fewer and fewer handicaps.

We are also now in a phase of life where board gaming as a family looks very different: our kids are all in middle & high school now. And their interactions with games are different. It’s no longer about leveling the playing field, it’s about honoring the ways that each of them want to interact with board gaming. Our oldest loves conventions, but it’s not about playing games; it’s about being with people. Our middle child loves playing and teaching games and will try almost anything, anytime. Our youngest needs a theme that really grabs him.

Now that they are older, their gaming is no longer driven by their ability. Now it’s all about their interests and their free time.

It’s OK if board gaming is not the best choice for your family activities right now!

1:00:10 New Backtalk Question

People train their whole lives and put it all on display in their specific sport once every four years at the Olympics and we all marvel at it.

So, what’s your superpower? What is the weird talent that you have? Just know that we’ll talk about it on the show if you share it.

Andrew’s is maple syrup making. Anitra’s is singing.

Tell us on the #backtalk channel on our Discord, or in our Facebook community.

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or join the Family Tabletop Community on Discord! thefamilygamers.com/discord

Or, for the most direct method, email us! andrew@thefamilygamers.com and anitra@thefamilygamers.com.

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Music for The Family Gamers Podcast is provided with permission from You Bred Raptors?

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