First Game reviews.

        I came to the realization recently that I have a wide variety of games at my house.  I can't help it.  I see a new game that sounds interesting and I just have to get it.  I love games of all kinds.  Games that are easy to learn, but hard to master tend to be my favorite.  I also tend to enjoy games that require the players to work toward a common goal.  With all this in mind, I have decided to review a game I have every once in a while.  I have two that I would like to review today.
       The first is a game call Tsuro.  I first heard about this game on the web series, Tabletop.  This game calls itself "the game of the path," and that is accurate.  The objective of the game is to be the last player with their game piece on the board.  This is accomplished by playing square tiles with lines or "paths" on them on a 6 by 6 grid.  You may only play to affect your own tile.  In other words, where you end up is up to you...mostly.  Because of the size of the grid, you will eventually end up adjacent to one of your fellow players and thus b at their mercy.  Did I mention that up to eight people can play this game at the same time?  What I really love about this game is its simplicity and speed.  The box says it is for ages 8+, my four year old son has managed to figure out how to play and how to win.  This is most definitely a game that brings luck, strategy, and fun to the gaming table and I highly recommend it.  It can be found at Barnes & Noble for about $30.
         The next game is one that I bought because it sounded fun and interesting.  I have to admit that it was kind of fun the first time I played it.  It is a game called Furt.  While the name is interesting in and of itself, the game is anything but.  The goal of the game is muddled in the mechanics and is more about silliness than about any kind of strategy, skill, or even how well you roll the dice.  It all boils down to how well you convince others that you aren't playing and how silly you are willing to make yourself look.  Allow me to explain.  The game is played on a spiral board.  As you move around the board, you enter zones where you are required to act a certain way as long as you are in that zone.  These actions could range from talking like a pirate to shouting I got it every time some says a certain phrase which guarantees that that phrase will be said repeatedly as long as you are in that zone when you play with younger kids.  The way you advance your tokens is by completing tasks which you get from cards.  These tasks range from drawing a word or phrase to acting silly.  Then there are the challenge cards.  These cards contain challenges that have to be completed before your next turn and this is where the game really fails.  Everyone knows you have this challenge and thus you will be ignored as most of the challenges require that you get the other players to say or do something.  In other words, drawing a challenge card means that you get to do something silly or off the wall for everyone's entertainment and no use to you.  This is one of those games that sounds fun as you read the description, but loses its appeal after the novelty wears off, which was after the first game for me.
             These are just two of the games I have at home and have played.  I obviously recommend Tsuro; I give it 4 out of 4 stars.  Furt gets 1 star based solely on the initial fun with the kids.  It is most definitely not recommended.
           Thanks for reading and, as always, have a great day.