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Last fall, I wrote a post about some board game recommendations for Christmas gifts hoping to help readers—especially those in my homeschooling community—discover some new board game gems. Little did I know then that I would be the one to discover the greatest gem: a new friend!
As a direct result of that post, I became friends with a fellow CC Challenge director and board game enthusiast, Renee. In the months since, she and I have shared countless messages across the miles detailing our latest board game discoveries and sharing homeschool-related resources and advice. She has become a dear friend to me (writing board game reviews here herself) even though we’ve never met in person. In tribute to the power of board games not only to entertain but also to create and strengthen the bonds of friendship—even when those friends are separated by hundreds of miles—Renee and I are excited to give away to one lucky reader a copy of one of our favorite games: Orleans!
I was introduced to this game by Renee, who counts it among her top favorites (believe me, that’s saying something). About 30 minutes into my first game, I could tell why she loves it so much. There’s a fairly huge luck component in some of the game mechanics, which constantly challenges you to develop new strategies when things don’t initially work out the way you’d hoped they would. There are many routes to victory using different strategies and a wide range of ages will enjoy playing it. We chose this game in particular because we both enjoy playing it and also because it’s set during the Middle Ages, which is exactly the time period we’re studying in CC this year.
I decided not to write a review of Orleans here but there are several resources you should check out if you want to learn more. A YouTuber named Rahdo does game runthroughs that allow you to actually see board games being played. This is enormously helpful if you’re a visual learner and my husband and I often watch these runthroughs before we ever even buy a new game. You can find Rahdo’s Orleans runthrough here. This review is also quite thorough—and I have to particularly agree with his conclusion.
So, how to win? In order for your name to go in the drawing, please leave a comment on this post answering ONE of the following questions:
- What is your current favorite board game to play and why?
- What does the perfect family game night look like at your house?
- What’s the farthest you’ve ever driven to spend the weekend with a friend?
Renee and I will sort through the answers and randomly pick a winner on September 7. Look for the announcement here and good luck!
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P.S. We really, really love this game. Two of my nieces just left for college and we gave them this each a copy of the game to take with them. I think you’ll love it, too!
Our current favorite board game for family game night is King of Tokyo. It’s a lot of fun for us because everybody likes rolling the dice and deciding if they want to be in Tokyo or not. It’s also a game my 4 year old can somewhat join in on because he can roll the dice.
Hahaha!!! Renee has introduced us to so many new games! I love the ones that are history related! What was that castle game??? My boys are 10, so game night looks like TICKET TO RIDE right now. How far would I drive for gaming? That totally depends on the company I get to keep! 🙂
Castles of Mad King Ludwig! Wasn’t that a fun game? I adore it.
Our favorite game right now is Carcasonne. But when we have a family game night it is usually an Eye Spy game or the Sneaky Squirrel to get the youngest involved. The longest I drove to spend a weekend with a friend was from Columbia, SC to Washington DC. I even attended a wedding of her sister-in-law and was simply adopted as the long-lost cousin.
The ideal game night at our house would be for the baby and two year old to be asleep so we could actually play a game with our 5, 7, and 9 year old. I am sure dessert would be involved.
We need to get in on this board game action! Growing up, neither my hubby or I spent much time playing. My favorite game was Guess Who and my kids really like that one. You have given me some really great ideas! We do have a great Bible a Trivia game, but that exhausts my list!
Our perfect family game night involves our friends the Johnsons! (I came here to pick up an Amazon affiliate link 😉
Well I have to admit that I don’t play board games very often so my repetoire of stock games is low and somewhat boring. I can’t say I have a favorite since the ones I have are ancient, ie monopoly, checkrrs, clue, bingo, etc. I do live quality fun time with my family and friends though.
The longest drive to see a friend for the weekend was probably 250 miles.
Quelf is currently a family favorite. Not for strategy or luck but for sheer laughter. Family game night is treasured now more than ever as #1 of my 6 is married and 2 are in college and 1 works a lot, so time spent together is precious and should be filled with laughter. The furthest I’ve traveled to spend time with a friend is a little more than 1000 miles, and I’d do it again, she is worth it.
We love any of the Dominion games but really my favorite oldie but goodie is Scattergories and Taboo. 🙂
I’m always excited to try new games – GMT’s COIN series, for example – but a perennial favorite I always enjoy is RACE FOR THE GALAXY. The hard but meaningful decisions, action-drafting mindgames, immense replayability, and superb player-count scaling cement this game’s place on my shelf. The gorgeous art and subdued sci-fi theme just put it over the top.
My favorite board game is Castles of Burgundy. I really love that it scales well weather it’s a 2, 3, or 4 player game. I also really enjoy the choices in the game. It really feels like you could take many paths and still win instead of having one obviously best choice every turn.
I like that quality of Stefan Feld games – that you have multiple paths to victory. 🙂 It means I can switch my strategy mid-game if the cards or dice aren’t going my way, and I would still have a shot at winning.
We are really enjoying Viticulture right now. We really enjoy worker placement type games and this one has good variety in the various steps and is a lot of fun.
We bought Viticulture while on vacation this summer and it’s one of our favorites right now, too. The expanded Tuscany edition is on our wishlist: http://stonemaiergames.com/games/tuscany/tuscany-essential-edition/. Other worker placement games we love are Puerto Rico, Caverna, Ora & Labora, Le Havre and Fields of Arle (we love anything by Uwe Rosenberg!).
I would say the favorite right now is Settlers of Catan. My son even requested a custom t-shirt that said, “Got Catan?” Not sure it is supposed to happen this way but the laughter and fun that comes from this game is over the top. Of course with 8 kiddos the laughter is generally over the top no matter the gathering :):):):).
Hello! 🙂
-My favourite game is The Castles of Burgundy. Maybe because it is so well balanced and i think it is a very fun, deep game.
-My game night is always very fun with family and friends, it´s more like a family\friends gathering and we play all kind of games.
-To spend the weekend with a friend i actually don’t remember how many miles i made, maybe around 100 miles
Currently I’m always ready to play Power Grid. I guess I’m attracted by the balance the game has and the deep playing it brings, dispite its rather simple mechanics. Great games don’t age.
My current favorite board game is Terra Mystica. This game is so beautiful, exciting and strategic.
I haven’t ever played Terra Mystica, but it looks really interesting! I almost bought it for my husband around Christmas, but I opted for Caverna instead.
My current favorite board game is Scythe, because it’s exactly what a modern game needs to be and most important we have fun and continue to have fun playing since it’s so challenging.
Lucky! Were you a Kickstarter? We plan to buy it as soon as it’s available. It looks like so much fun and we’ve heard nothing but good buzz! We discovered Viticulture over the summer, which has become a favorite, and it’s by the same game designer.
I’m *very* intrigued by this game. I attended a board game convention this summer, and Scythe was constantly in play the entire week. The players were using the double boards for a huge set-up and the upgraded bits from Stonemainer Games. The artwork is breathtaking, and the components are simply stunning. The buzz surrounding the game and how quickly it moved up the rankings on Boardgamegeek speak volumes. I hope to have the opportunity to play it soon!
We love to play Skipbo (card game) as a family as we have littles AND bigs. But my 9 year old and I are loving Ticket to Ride!! It is a great game to learn strategy and good sportsmanship and it’s loads of fun! 🙂
You can’t go wrong with Ticket to Ride! 🙂
Ah the perfect family game night, as we head into fall and the crisp wet breeze filters through our screened in porch is:
Gathering around our porch table, wrapped in our favorite blankets sewn by dear friends, sitting in our comfy chairs with a hot cup of tea or cocoa and a big bowl of lightly salted popcorn. We play whichever game is agreed upon, (Mexican train dominoes, trash, skip-bo, sequence, rack-o, etc.) light heartedly, filled with conversation from the day’s events, whackily absurd what-if scenarios, and plenty of jolly, belly aching, tear-filled laughter. Jeez, such great memories, I think I’m going to move up game night this week!
I want to come to game night at your house, Jill! 🙂
The perfect family game night at our house is a game night with no tears or meltdowns! 🙂 Doesn’t really matter what game we play.
I can so relate! 🙂
My husband and I enjoy playing Dominion. As a family, it’s a toss-up between Pandemic and Catan Jr. Thanks!
We went through a big Dominion phase: I think we bought the base game plus about 5 expansions within the course of a few months! One of our sons really loves the negative cards: Sea Hag was one of his faves! It’s such a great family game because of all the variation. We like Pandemic, too (there’s a short review of that here on the blog).
We are a game family so we have many favorites! A current favorite for the older kids is still Settlers of Catan. The younger kids enjoy Sorry and Sequence. We love finding new games, thanks for the giveaway!
We have kids ranging in age from 9 to 13 but what works well for us as a family are question games like the 5 second rule. We are able to modify the questions so all can play along and have great fun. Thanks!
My favorite game to play is Dominion. Whenever my parents come for a visit, we spend a lot of time playing that game.
We’re big Dominion fans, too! 🙂
Our favorite board game at the moment is Settlers of Catan. My adult children try to keep their father from winning EVERY time they play. Much fun and many wonderful memories!
Currently, our favorite homeschooling games are Clumsy Thif and Money Bags.
My family really enjoys playing Pandemic. It took a little getting used to but the cooperative aspect is great! We are all for competition but sometimes it’s nice to work together toward the same goal!
Yes! I agree that cooperative games are great for family game nights. We enjoy Pandemic, too, but haven’t played it in a while. I wrote a review of it here on the blog and that *may* have been the last time we played it. We should get it out again!
My family of 4 loves Settlers of Catan and Ticket to Ride. We play games with friends, or just us! We would love to find a new favorite, too.
Our family games nights begin with a family meal then either card games, Apples to Apples, Disney Scene It. We received Ticket to Ride as a gift and hoping to tackle that this week! With our big family it’s loads of fun and laughter!! My parents enjoyed games, thankfully my kids play them esp in free times.
You will love Ticket to Ride, Pam! It’s an easy game to learn and a lot of fun for all ages. We have Scene It but I didn’t realize there was a Disney version. My boys always enjoyed their Disney DVD Bingo!
My favorite game to play right now is Code Names. It’s just very satisfying to try to create the perfect clue or solve the puzzle by guessing correctly.
I’ve heard a lot about Codenames but I haven’t ever played it. Sounds fun!
Picking just one favorite game is hard!! My family LOVES Blokus! We are somewhat mathematically inclined so strategic games like Blokus appeal to us. No mercy to my 9 year old son, but when he DOES beat me some day, his victory will mean something bc he had to work for it! 😉
You might enjoy Uwe Rosenberg’s game, Patchwork, Rachel. It’s a bit like Blokus in that you are piecing together quilt pieces that have Tetris-like shapes. There’s strategy in how/where you lay your pieces on your game board. I started playing that game through the online app (https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/patchwork-the-game/id1075851197?mt=8), but was given the actual board game by my husband for my birthday. I enjoy both. It’s an easy game to learn, plays fairly quickly, and is satisfying when you see your quilt at the end! 🙂
In high school, I would drive 4 hrs to spend the weekend with a friend. This summer, though, we traveled (plane) to Pennsylvania from California to spend time with friends. It was totally worth it.
Favorite game is hard. We have been on a bit of a 7 Wonders run lately. We particularly enjoy that everyone plays at the same time. The ideal game night is when there are enough extra people around to entertain the 3 yr old so the big kids and adults can play something he can’t.
This game looks fabulous! Now I just need unlimited game storage space! How do you decide when it’s time for some games to move on?
(Fellow Ch B director)
Games move on?? 😉 Ha! Seriously, once I purchase a game, it becomes a beloved family member that I don’t know that I could part with! I just keep finding more corners that I could hang a shelf or a nook I can put a bookcase. I think our collection is over 60 titles now, and I’m still looking at new games coming out, which I know is insanity! It’s an addiction. 🙂
My boys LOVE 7 Wonders! It’s hard to get them to play anything else most days. You may be interested to know that Orleans is very much like that as far as people taking their turn at the same time. There are *some* things where order is important, but for the most part, everyone is doing the same thing at the same time during a turn. Unfortunately, I can’t answer your question about when it’s time for some games to move on. We’re compulsive game-buyers and so we have many, many that have sat on shelves for longer than I’d care to admit. Yet, we can’t get rid of them because of that *ONE DAY* that we might pull them out and play them again. Can you relate?! 🙂
I can SOO relate. 😉
I love to play Settlers of Catan. We have various expansion sets for the actual board game, as well as peripheral games like Catan dice and the card game Rivals of Catan. My kids like it but they never want to play as often as I do. They really enjoy the card game Munchkin. Some of the cards are a bit salty so we’ve had to edit them, but it’s still a really fun card game too.
Settlers is in a regular rotation at our house, too, because of cousins that we introduced the game to. To keep it more interesting for my husband and myself, we always play with an expanded board + Seafarers and fishing. We also use the “Friends of Catan” and generally one of the fun maps from catanmaps.com (I love Krakatoa with volcanoes!). If you don’t know catanmaps.com, you may want to check it out! {P.S. My boys have Munchkins and some of the add-ons so I understand the “saltiness”! LOL}
I once drove to Charleston to see my friend. We used to be neighbors, worked together, went to church together, lived life together. Then we move. Then they moved. One day she called me on Thanksgiving morning and asked what we were doing. “Getting ready to put his bird in the oven, ” I said. “Why don’t you put your bird in a cooler and come on down here?” So my family of 6 spontaneously decided to immediately drive to Charleston, SC to spend the weekend with our dearly loved and desperately missed friends. We cooked all kinds of food and ate a huge dinner and talked about all we were thankful for, but especially enduring friendships.
This gave me goosebumps, Donna. What an *awesome* story and testament to the power of friendships! I can only imagine how much fun was had that weekend! I’m a spontaneous road trip kind of gal so I love hearing these kinds of stories!
current fave board game is one i’ve been playing for years and years… but its a goodie…. mille borne!
I’ve heard of Mille Bornes but I’ve never played it!
Right now our family loves playing Ticket to Ride Europe and trying to pronounce cities in their own languages and not “cheat” by using the American name. 🙂 Would love to check out this game next!
I’m sensing a theme here with Ticket to Ride…always a great choice! 🙂
We have a few educational games that get pulled periodically – a bone and a grammar game by Learning Resources, as well as Ancient History Go Fish. Nowhere to Go is a quick strategy game that all three of my elementary kids enjoy. Monopoly, Battleship and Clue are staple games too.
Although it is not a board game we really enjoy playing Tenzi. We love that the game is different every time and that it is fast paced. Everyone from grandma to the toddler enjoys playing.
I was introduced to Tenzi by one of my 8th grade students last year. LOVED it! And it’s so easy to take along if you travel, too!
Our favorite is carcassone with all the expansion packet we can get. I perfect game night is with good snacks and good friends. We travel to Colorado from Texas to see friends every year.
We love Carcassone at our house, too! What’s not to love about a game that features a CATAPULT! 😉
My husband and older children love Settlers. My younger ones like Qwirkle. I’m a Ticket to Ride gal, because that’s about all the strategy I can handle. 🙂
All 3 of those are games my family knows and loves, too. You just can’t go wrong with Ticket to Ride!
My favorite game is stratego. It’s a fun strategy game that’s been around for a while (original version is over 100 years old) Each time you play, the game is unique because you get to choose where you place your men.
Our perfect family game night is when other family member come over, we play team games like family challenge and we also play cards, dominos, eat yummy snacks, laugh and have fun! We love board games!
Your family nights sound perfect, Angela! Family challenge sounds especially intriguing! 🙂
My current favorite board game is Monopoly. It never gets old!
An oldie but goodie! 🙂
My family currently enjoys Machi Koro. A fairly quick game that we all enjoy from ages 11 to 50+.
Margie, I’d never heard of Machi Koro so I had to check it out last night when I saw your post. I watched a gameplay video and it looks like a lot of fun! I have a feeling my Pokemon Go-loving son would especially love it! We tend to play lots of medium weight board games at our house and the boys sometimes aren’t interested in joining in because “they take too long.” This looks like it would play fairly quickly. May have to add it to our list! 🙂
12.4 hours…..the longest I have driven to see a friend for the weekend. She didn’t want me to come, she was recovering from surgery and fiercely independant. Adamant that no one change schedules because she was FINE. But there was something in her voice that was off…….so I hopped in the car with an overnight bag and drove! It was the start of our journey together while she battled cancer…….and WON. We played games, read books and painted nails while solving all the problems of the universe that weekend. And 17 years later we still Skype to play chess with each other……we take pics of our boards each time we sign off so we can make sure no one it cheating!!!!!! I have had a love of board games since that weekend, which was followed by many others playing to escape or to celebrate small and large victories.
This is all kinds of awesome, Kristen. Everyone needs a friend like you! <3
My kiddo is only 2.5 right now, so our favorite board games are modified peaceable kingdom games 😉 growing up though, we played (pretty run of the mill, eg. Monopoly) board games everyfriday night with my family. These were great times together as a family, and I look forward to branching out and exploring new (to us) games into our repertoire.
Dixit – my whole family can play, even the non reader. It encourages imagination and we always end up talking about the interesting art after the rounds are over.
I don’t know Dixit, Angela. Will have to check it out!
We currently enjoy Ticket to Ride. Our young children have only recently acquired an appetite for real board games and that one is simple enough for them and interesting enough for the adults.
As long as my whole family is around the table and are happy, it’s great evening for me.
I once drove 3 1/2 hours one way to visit a couple hours with old friends then back home in the same day. It was well worth the trip!
“As long as my whole family is around the table and are happy, it’s great evening for me.” TRUTH. I completely agree.
My favorite game is Ticket to Ride because it is a great gateway game for new people, it has high replayabilty and although it is a gateway game there is still a good amount of strategy involved!
Totally agree! Really great gateway game!
Our perfect family game night looks like: everyone joining in playing a game (with no distractions), LOTS of laughing….like sometimes till we’re in tears, and lots of yummy snacks 🙂
Yummy snacks…definitely a MUST for game night! 😉
Our family favorite board game right now is the Ticket to Ride series. We have 3 of them. We are wanting the China version because it is a team play. We love them because they are fun, simple enough for the entire family, and involve some strategy. Players can also purposely block other players and we love that aspect.
Blokus
Lots of laughter and taunting.
12 hrs.
We have several Ticket To Rides, too, Wendy. I love introducing new families to that game because it’s so easy to learn and fun. And bonus that it’s educational for geography, too! I love that they have so many different versions.