It’s Tuesday and that means that it is another game review day. Today, I will be reviewing two games that we like to play with our children. It should be noted here that our youngest is 4 and our oldest is 11. That means that for a game to be enjoyed by all, it must be simple, so the four year old can play, but challenging, so our eleven year old doesn’t get bored. Needless to say, this narrows the list quite significantly. I have already reviewed two games that fall into this category. They are Tsuro™ and Uno™. The two games I am talking about this week are Castle Keep™ and Picteureka™. I am sure you heard of the second, but the first is a little more obscure so we will discuss that one first.
It is rare that a game comes along that is so simple in its design and, at the same time, offers a dynamic game that all can enjoy. The object of Castle Keep™ is to build your castle before the other players build theirs. Each castle is made of nine castle tiles and consists of four corner tiles, four wall tiles, and one keep. Sounds simple enough, but, as they say on TV, there’s more. You see the walls come in three different colors and three different shapes. This means you have to match either shape or color to the adjoining piece in order to continue to build your wall. Still too easy? There is a fix for that. You see, if your opponents can’t play or just want to be mean, they can destroy a section of your wall by matching wall pieces exactly. When they match those pieces all connected pieces of the same color are also destroyed. This means that the wall you have painstakingly built for the last three turns is now rubble and you have to start over. By the way, this is a favorite tactic of my 4 year old. Hands usually last 10-20 minutes and you usually can’t stop at one.
The second game to detail here is Picteureka™. This game is so simple in its rules and game play that the complexity of the design almost escapes you. This is a game that has the added appeal that it can be played individually, in teams, or a combination thereof. This means that it can be set up so that everyone has a chance to win regardless of their age or skill level. Now for the complex part. The game is made up of three decks of cards, two dice (one normal six sided die, and one six sided die with three colors corresponding with the three decks), a one minute timer, and nine square tiles. The tiles are covered with drawings ranging from little flies to entire scenes. These pictures are on both sides of the tiles. The game is set up with the nine tiles forming a square in the center of the playing area with the decks alongside the square. The first player or team rolls the colored dice to determine which deck they are playing from. Guess I should mention the decks at this point. The first deck is blue. This is the all play deck. When the blue deck is rolled the team/player that rolled it takes the top card and turns it over and everyone playing looks for the item on the card. The item on the card is an actual drawing and there is only one of that particular drawing on all of the tiles (it is on both sides of the same tile, just in a different location). The first team/person to spot the matching item points it out and the card is theirs. I should mention that the first person/team to collect 6 cards wins. The second color of the cards is green. When green is rolled, the team that rolled it then rolls the other 6 sided die. They then have to find that many of the item on the green card before the timer runs out. The green card has words or phrases, such as “things that fly”, “Things that need electricity,” “Men with beards,” or “numbers”. If they find the required number before the time runs out, they keep the card, otherwise it is discarded. The final card color is red. When this color is rolled, the card is bid for. Without knowing what is on the card, the players/teams take turns bidding on how many of the item they think they can find. The team that bids the highest gets the chance to win the card by finding their bid before the timer runs out. Sometimes this is easy since a single flower may have ten petals and there are at least seven flowers on the tiles and one of the cards say petals. This could also be a near impossible task as it could be as specific as men with beards. You never know until you get to read the card and start searching. If your kids like the” I spy” books and searching games, they will love this game. Even if they don’t, this game can provide hours of fun. I know it keeps our family on its toes.
I guess the key to what makes these games so much fun is the family interaction. The idea that, even when you are behind, you still have a way to come out on top. This alone keeps you in the game.
Thanks for reading and, as always, have a great day.
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