The Family Gamers Podcast

Episode 417 – The Purge: How Do You Know You’re Done?

How do you know when you’re done with a game? Your kids have aged out of it – are you sure? 0:00:00 Fact for 417 Solfeggio frequency 417 hz. Sponsor Message If you want to talk about more ways to teach your children to manage their personal finances, set up a time to talk by going to firstmovefinancial.com/familygamers. 0:05:00 What We’ve Been Playing Flip 7 (our review)Cabanga! (our review)Circus Flohcati (our review)Trio (our review)Floristry (our review)Slay the Spire (over 3 separate days)Draftosaurus (our review back in 2019)Embers solo game (review coming soon)Unmatched Adventures: TMNTIliad (review coming soon) 0:21:55 Monthly Report Andrew: 14 (15?) plays of 10 unique games. H-index: 2 (Trio, Iliad) Anitra: 22 plays of 12 unique games. H-index: 3 (Trio, Slay the Spire, Embers) 0:24:00 The Family Gamers Community Hello to all our new members! You can join the community on Facebook too. 0:24:45 #Backtalk You shared your super powers, your special abilities! With a slight digression to Winter Olympics sports. Andrew wonders what the difference is between different ice-skating jumps. You responded on Facebook and the #backtalk channel of the Discord. 0:34:55 How Do You Know When You’re Done? There’s no easy formula here, sorry! It depends what’s going on with your own life, and also your family and friends. It’s easy to “move on” from kids games when you have other kids in your life, younger than your own kids. Harder if your own kids are really nostalgic. You may regret moving on from some games! That’s normal and okay. Board games are a consumer product, and you can probably replace it if you look hard enough (eBay is amazing). Your family situation will change over time: whether that’s “aging out” of a game, or a change in interests & priorities. We grieve a little bit over losing who our children *used to be* while still enjoying the people they are *right now*. Nostalgia ALONE is not a reason to keep a game! You may be able to find it in another place, or just keep your fond memories. But if nostalgia regularly drives you back to *wanting* to play the game, maybe it makes sense to keep. Andrew suggests “dimensionally constraining” nostalgic / kids items (a box, shelf, or other limited space) to help you focus your collection. Examine your reasons to want to keep a game, if it’s not being played. Examine your reasons to want to get rid of a game. Determine if a game can be played at multiple age & skill levels (aka with B-mods, or games like Kingdomino) Pare down regularly – we recommend 1-2 times a year, and it will get easier with time! Know that it’s hard to sell or trade-in kids’ games. Plan to donate them to friends or schools. 0:56:00 New Backtalk Question Have you purged a game that you later regretted? Or one that you knew was the right choice, but you still feel sad about it? Tell us on the #backtalk channel on our Discord, or in our Facebook community. Find Us Online: Facebook: @familygamersaa and thefamilygamers.com/communityTwitter (X): @familygamersaaInstagram: @familygamersaaTikTok: @familygamersaaBluesky: @familygamersaaThreads: @familygamersaaYoutube: TheFamilyGamers 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. PLEASE don’t forget to subscribe to the show, tell your friends about the show, and leave us a review at Apple Podcast or whatever your podcast subscription source is. We’re also on Amazon Music, TuneIn, and Spotify. You can also now find us on YouTube Music! So pull it up and give us a listen while you’re toiling away at work :) Music for The Family Gamers Podcast is provided with permission from You Bred Raptors? The Family Gamers is sponsored by First Move Financial. Go to FirstMoveFinancial.com/familygamers to learn how the team at First Move Financial can help you pile up the victory points. The post Episode 417 – The Purge: How Do You Know You’re Done? appeared first on The Family Gamers.

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. Sponsor Message What do you do with your tax refund? Do you get a refund at all? If you want to talk to First Move about habits you can build to take the next step toward your goals, go to firstmovefinancial.com/familygamers to schedule a call. 0:04:05 What We’ve Been Playing Floristry (our review) – looking forward to trying the update!Flip 7 (our review)Trio (our review)IliadFight 5Animal Rescue TeamDice 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. Find Us Online: Facebook: @familygamersaa and thefamilygamers.com/communityTwitter (X): @familygamersaaInstagram: @familygamersaaTikTok: @familygamersaaBluesky: @familygamersaaThreads: @familygamersaaYoutube: TheFamilyGamers 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. PLEASE don’t forget to subscribe to the show, tell your friends about the show, and leave us a review at Apple Podcast or whatever your podcast subscription source is. We’re also on Amazon Music, TuneIn, and Spotify. You can also now find us on YouTube Music! So pull it up and give us a listen while you’re toiling away at work :) Music for The Family Gamers Podcast is provided with permission from You Bred Raptors? The Family Gamers is sponsored by First Move Financial. Go to FirstMoveFinancial.com/familygamers to learn how the team at First Move Financial can help you pile up the victory points. The post Episode 416 – Growing As a Family with Board Games appeared first on The Family Gamers.

Episode 415 – Room to Grow: Card Games

Looking for some card games for your family to grow into? We’ve got you covered. 0:00:00 Fact for 415 The racing tall ship Amerigo Vespucci holds the record for the largest maximum crew complement: 415 sailors. Sponsor Message If you’d like to talk about other ideas to help pass on your financial values to your children, schedule a time to talk to First Move by going to firstmovefinancial.com/familygamers today. 0:04:25 What We’ve Been Playing Compile: Main 2 (very much like Compile: Main 1)Logic & Lore – review coming soon. Check out the Kickstarter!IchorIliadCarnutaDice Throne: Marvel X-menTidal Blades 2: Rise of the UnfoldersVerdant ArizonaDice ClashEmbersTag Team 0:29:00 January Monthly Report Anitra: 42 plays, 23 unique games. H-index: 3. Most played: Trio Andrew: 23 plays of 14 unique games. H-index: 2. Most played: Trio & Verdant Arizona 0:31:00 The Family Gamers Community Welcome to our newest members! You can join the community on Facebook. We also cover some “for science” emails from listener Mallory. Would you be interested in hearing us try recipes “for science”? 0:35:15 #Backtalk We asked about your New Year resolutions: any that have to do with board games? You responded on the Facebook group and on the #backtalk channel of the Discord. 0:41:30 Room to Grow: Card Games Our goal with Room to Grow is to bring your kids – or your family – through a series of games that grow in complexity. Normally, we take a beginner game, an intermediate game, and an advanced game (and some honorable mentions). They offer a plan for growth for players to get comfortable with that mechanic, and all are family-friendly. What is a card game? For the purposes of this podcast, we’re defining it as: A game that uses only cards (plus maybe a few tokens or a scoresheet) Can be played with more than 2 players Rewards paying attention to what is going on around the table (not just your own hand/tableau) Beginner: Flip 7 There are several games we could pick as a really easy starting point. But this one is the most like conventional card games, so we think it feels the most approachable. Young kids can play this and enjoy it as long as they have basic numeracy. They might not get the statistics, but they can understand that there’s only one 1 and a lot of 12s, and they don’t want repeats. See our review of Flip 7. Intermediate: Fantasy Realms or Marvel Remix This is pretty much the same game with two themes: Fantasy Realms is medieval-ish fantasy, and Marvel Remix is obviously Marvel super-heroes and villains. Turns out, there’s a third one called Star Trek: Missions! Build a hand of cards that combo well together to get the most points. Each turn, you will add a card to your hand and discard a card from your hand, trying to get a little better each time. All cards get discarded to a central area, which also becomes the pool to draw cards from (in addition to the deck). The rules do get a little more complicated with two players, but it’s still do-able. Advanced: Res Arcana or Race for the Galaxy or San Juan Another set of three games with very similar mechanics – probably because the same guy (Tom Lehmann) designed two and had a heavy hand in the development of the third. Res Arcana is fantasy themed, Race for the Galaxy is sci-fi, and San Juan is loosely themed around colonizing the Americas. In San Juan, you build buildings from the cards in your hands, paying other cards from your hand as the cost. Each turn, the current player chooses a “role” – everyone gets to do an action based on that role, while the chooser gets a bonus. Race for the Galaxy is somewhat more complicated. Everyone secretly selects an action, then simultaneously reveals. All of the actions that were picked will be performed in a round. You’re still paying out cards to play other cards, which interact in all kinds of ways in the different phases. This one has victory point & power chips to help you track values as the game goes along. Res Arcana is along the same lines: collect “essences” to be able to claim abilities & cards. Work towards ten victory points to win the game. This was a Kennerspiel Recommended game in 2020: A hobby game, but not overly complicated. 0:54:30 New Backtalk Question What should we talk about next? Is there some board game topic you are curious about? Or… what boardgame would you write a valentine to? Tell us on the #backtalk channel on our Discord, or in our Facebook community. Find Us Online: Facebook: @familygamersaa and thefamilygamers.com/communityTwitter (X): @familygamersaaInstagram: @familygamersaaTikTok: @familygamersaaBluesky: @familygamersaaThreads: @familygamersaaYoutube: TheFamilyGamers 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. PLEASE don’t forget to subscribe to the show, tell your friends about the show, and leave us a review at Apple Podcast or whatever your podcast subscription source is. We’re also on Amazon Music, TuneIn, and Spotify. You can also now find us on YouTube Music! So pull it up and give us a listen while you’re toiling away at work :) Music for The Family Gamers Podcast is provided with permission from You Bred Raptors? The Family Gamers is sponsored by First Move Financial. Go to FirstMoveFinancial.com/familygamers to learn how the team at First Move Financial can help you pile up the victory points. The post Episode 415 – Room to Grow: Card Games appeared first on The Family Gamers.

Episode 414 – Top Games of 2025

This week, we examine our Amazon Affiliate statistics. What games are the most popular buys among our listeners? Then, we compare our own lists of favorite games of the year. 0:00:00 Fact for 414 The 414s – a group of teenage computer hackers from Milwaukee (the 414 area code) in the early 1980s. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_414s Sponsor Message To schedule a time to talk to First Move about other ways to take control of your finances, head over to firstmovefinancial.com/familygamers to set up a free initial 15 minute call. 0:05:30 What We’ve Been Playing Animal Rescue Team3 ChaptersShadow Ninjas (w/4 players)Cabanga! (our review – still great)GuildlandsThat’s Not a HatMetro X (our review – still great)Cozy Stickerville demoPaleoVerdant ArizonaLogic & Lore 0:32:00 Monthly and Yearly Reports In December, Andrew played 15 unique games 23 times. H-index: 2. Most played: Leaders, Jungo. In December, Anitra played 18 unique games 46 times. H-index: 4. Most played: Leaders, Tag Team, Lands of Amazement, Jungo. Nearly all of our games were played at home, and at just two players. In 2025, Andrew played 111 unique games, 299 times. H-index: 8.16 games played 5+ times, 4 games played 10+ times. Trio is his most played, followed by My City, Floristry, and Lorcana. In 2025, Anitra played 162 unique games, 507 times. H-index: 10.More and more of her games are played with Andrew – this year, she played with Andrew far more than with any other person. 0:38:00 The Family Gamers Community Welcome to our newest members! You can join the community on Facebook. #Backtalk We asked about what game was the highlight of your holidays. You responded on the Facebook group and on the #backtalk channel of the Discord. 0:46:30 Our Top Ten Amazon Links These games were ordered the most through our affiliate links this year. Links are to reviews/recommendations we wrote for each game. My First Castle Panic Outfoxed Monza Dragon’s Breath Doomlings Green Team Wins Dragomino Zombie Kidz Evolution Happy Salmon (tied) Sushi Go (tied) 1:01:00 Our Top Five? Ten? Thirteen? of 2025 We each picked the seven games we enjoyed the most this year. We thought we would overlap to about ten games total. We were wrong. Our top game of 2025: Floristry Floristry (the only game we both chose!) Leaders Creature Comforts Chit Chat Duel for Cardia Odin Ink Person Do Thing Logic & Lore Obelus Flower Fields Lorcana Gateway Paint the Roses 1:20:20 New Backtalk Question Do you have a New Year’s Resolution that is board game related? Tell us on the #backtalk channel on our Discord, or in our Facebook community. Find Us Online: Facebook: @familygamersaa and thefamilygamers.com/communityTwitter (X): @familygamersaaInstagram: @familygamersaaTikTok: @familygamersaaBluesky: @familygamersaaThreads: @familygamersaaYoutube: TheFamilyGamers 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. PLEASE don’t forget to subscribe to the show, tell your friends about the show, and leave us a review at Apple Podcast or whatever your podcast subscription source is. We’re also on Amazon Music, TuneIn, and Spotify. You can also now find us on YouTube Music! So pull it up and give us a listen while you’re toiling away at work :) The Family Gamers is sponsored by First Move Financial. Go to FirstMoveFinancial.com/familygamers to learn how the team at First Move Financial can help you pile up the victory points. The post Episode 414 – Top Games of 2025 appeared first on The Family Gamers.

Episode 413 – Five(ish) Games That Are Just Plain Fun

We’re going to talk about games that are just plain fun, no matter the group. 0:00:00 Fact for 413 La Roue – a silent movie, with a full run time of 413 minutes. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Roue Sponsor Message For expert help applying some of the same principles that help you take down your friends in Agricola, head over to firstmovefinancial.com/familygamers today to schedule a call. 0:04:45 What We’ve Been Playing Update – from the really cool Asmodee demo room at PAX Unplugged this year:First Giants – looks heavier than it is. Great for families! (coming in May)Carnuta – coming Februarydnup – like Scout or Jungo, with card-flipping as you pick up cards you beat. coming May/JuneSplendor Kids – uses a board instead of cards to buy. Already out! Spring – similar to WinterTag Team – deck-programming duel with the SmashUp approach to the source deckShadow NinjasLeaders – there are a few errata to deal with. But this is a fun duel full of asymmetric powers.Enthrone – more on this one soon.FloristryUnmatched – we used Moon Knight & ShakespeareDice Throne: X-Men – we used Cyclops & RogueLands of Amazement 0:38:30 The Family Gamers Community Welcome to our newest community members! You can join the community on Facebook. #Backtalk We asked about your favorite kind(s) of video games. You responded on the Facebook group and on the #backtalk channel of the Discord. 0:45:45 Just Plain Fun In no particular order, we picked five different kinds of games that always bring the fun. Trio (from Happy Camper) You never thought a memory-and-deduction game could be so much fun! This hits the table super quickly, as long as you have at least three players. The set-collection element is part of what keeps everyone engaged, along with the revealing of information to deduce where certain sets of cards are. It’s our family’s favorite game. Check out our review of Trio. Cabanga! (from Amigo / Hasbro) Now available as Snailed It! from Hasbro, this game always gets our table yelling as we cause players to take penalty cards. Play a card into a color area, and try to minimize the gap between that number and the other number in that color… or other players could throw out cards that fit in that gap and cause you to take penalties! Read our review of Cabanga! Super Mega Lucky Box (from Gamewright) This is the “most complicated” game on the list… but it’s basically bingo plus bonus combos that add some strategy. Fits well in either high-energy or low-energy situations. But always fun, and works at any player count, including solo. Check out our review of Super Mega Lucky Box. Green Team Wins (25th Century Games) Even people who don’t normally play games will (usually) enjoy this game. Ask a question; everyone tries to pick an answer to match with the most people around the table. Green Team Wins is unusual among party games. It works great among friends & family, but just as well with strangers as an icebreaker – or even combined groups where some people know each other well and others do not. It is our favorite party game. Watch our review of Green Team Wins – and the Green Team Wins: Holiday Party expansion. Spaceteam (from Stellar Factory) A high-energy “yell-y” game. We don’t play often, but it’s great if you’re ready for stress, a timer, and yelling. Cooperate to “fix your spaceship” by passing tool cards around the table to each player that needs them for specific tasks. As you fulfill tasks, discard them and find the spaceship parts. There are more cards in the mix that break expectations. And it feels so great when you can win! Find out more at PlaySpaceteam.com. Bonus: Red Letter, Yellow Letter (also from 25th Century Games) Another great party game, but a little lower energy than Green Team Wins. And since this is a game of “be the first to shout out an answer”, you can join mid-game. We find that it starts slowly, but then slowly warms up as people get used to the slowly-changing letters and “things”. And it always leaves us appreciating other players’ cool answers. Read our review of Red Letter, Yellow Letter. 0:58:30 New Backtalk Question We had a lot of games we played in the holiday week: what was YOUR board game of the week? This could be a gift you received for Chanukah or Christmas or whatever you celebrate, or it could have been something you got off the shelf of opportunity because you had some downtime. When I ask what your board game of the week is, what is it and why? Our son’s highlights are Hercules and The 12 Labors, and Slay the Spire (the boardgame). Anitra hopes that Paleo can finally get off the shelf of opportunity. Tell us on the #backtalk channel on our Discord, or in our Facebook community. Find Us Online: Facebook: @familygamersaa and thefamilygamers.com/communityTwitter (X): @familygamersaaInstagram: @familygamersaaTikTok: @familygamersaaBluesky: @familygamersaaThreads: @familygamersaaYoutube: TheFamilyGamers 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. PLEASE don’t forget to subscribe to the show, tell your friends about the show, and leave us a review at Apple Podcast or whatever your podcast subscription source is. We’re also on Amazon Music, TuneIn, and Spotify. You can also now find us on YouTube Music! So pull it up and give us a listen while you’re toiling away at work :) The Family Gamers is sponsored by First Move Financial. Go to FirstMoveFinancial.com/familygamers to learn how the team at First Move Financial can help you pile up the victory points. The post Episode 413 – Five(ish) Games That Are Just Plain Fun appeared first on The Family Gamers.