More Publisher reviews

 I admit I haven't been as faithful about posting as I thought I would be.  This may be obvious to you, but I get easily distracted.  As I mentioned in the last post, I have a few games and I like to play them.  Luckily, my family enjoys them as well.  This means that a lot of the spare time I do have is filled with games. I am going to continue with my thoughts on game publishers and am going to add my thoughts on a few more.  Here goes.

Lets start with Gale Force 9 Games.  This company tends toward cinematic games (Firefly and Star Trek Ascendancy are the ones I am specifically thinking of).  If you like games that capture the feel of whatever universe, they do really well at it.  Unfortunately, this also means the games can be bears to play.  Take Firefly the board game for example.  The game does a great job of reminding you of the Firefly universe.  The game really immerses you.  Unfortunately this also means that you end up spending a lot of time moving and shopping.  This makes the game take longer than it needs to be.  Add in the random events while moving and it compounds.  Don't get me wrong, if you love the IP then you'll probably like the game - as long as you don't have ADHD.

Next is Restoration games.  This company takes games that have been out of print but were popular and brings them into the modern age (Stop Thief, Dark Tower, Thunder Road, Downforce.)  Their modern implementations tend toward either streamlining or app integration.  Take Stop Thief for example.  The original included a battery operated mini component that controlled the thief.  It gave you sound based clues on how the thief moved.  You had to deduce where the thief was.  Although it had a lot of games in it, it really wasn't randomized since it had to know where the thief was in relation to the board.  This means that eventually, you ended up playing the same game again.  The new version uses an app and modern computing to make the game pretty much endlessly replayable.  Not all their games use apps, but if the game relied on a lot of random decks or computing systems with a lot of upkeep, they tend to use an app to streamline the game to make the game play more enjoyable.  

Finally today, let me talk about Orange Nebula.  This company makes gorgeous immersive games such as Vindication and Unsettled.  The games are wonderfully produced with well thought out game play.  The issue tends to be that the games are not exactly what they appear.  Vindication for instance looks like it is an area control adventure game when in reality it is a Euro game with fancy clothes.  This doesn't mean it isn't good, in fact it's great, it just isn't what it appears to be at first blush.  Although their appearance my not match their game play, they are beautiful, well produced and smooth playing, making for an overall enjoyable experience.

Thank you for reading.

 

 

This week I want to talk about my game collection.  As I mentioned before, my collection has grown quite a bit since I started my collection.  I like to say that it is a carefully curated collection, but it hasn't been culled in a couple years.  I will say that there are only a few games in my collection that I do not like.  I only keep them because someone else in the family enjoys them.  The last time I checked, I had close to 300 games in the collection.  These range from small deck sized games to the larger ones that cover the table when played.

The size of the collection does lead to a bit of analysis paralysis when it comes time to play a game.  Sometimes choosing the game takes as long as playing the game.  I do have my favorites though.  I tend to lean toward the games with little to know randomness (minimal dice rolls or shuffled decks).  That's not to say I don't like randomness, but luck and I have issues.  It doesn't help me and I ignore it.  Either way, games with heavy luck and I don't get along.

That being said I do have a couple game publishers that I follow and have quite a few games from.  Stonemeier games (maker of Wingspan and Scythe) makes beautiful high quality games and I have enjoyed every game of theirs that I have played.  They tend toward straightforward mechanics and solid themes.  If anything, They can oversell a game and make it seem like you are getting more than what is really there.  Take Wingspan for example.  Wingspan looks like an epic heavy game with beautiful components. When it is really a simple tableau building game.  That is not to take away from its beauty and thrill of play. 

CMON games tend toward large over the top miniature games.  While they do have a few smaller games, they tend to have games with lots of expansions and miniatures.  They are known for the Zombicide series, as well as Blood Rage, Massive Darkness, Arcadia Quest, and the Marvel United Series.  The Marvel united series is a game that could have been done without miniatures, but that wouldn't be CMON.  Don't get me wrong, the miniatures are always well done and there are usually a lot.  They also tend to go overboard on their Kickstarters with a ton of KS exclusives.

Alderac Entertainment Group (AEG) is another company that tends toward card based games.  They also tend to the expansions and they usually have a lot of extras.  Again the quality is usually top notch and they tend to have a lot of cards.  They don't have any one game that defines them but they made Love Letter, Mystic Vale, Thunderstone Quest, and Space Base to name a few.

The final company I want to talk about today is Fantasy Flight.  Fantasy Flight tends toward licensed products.  By that I mean things like Star Wars and Dungeons & Dragons.  They do tend toward unique components and mechanics that don't cross over.  For instance, their Star Wars RPG required special dice only available from them.  This may have lead to it being discontinued as most role playing groups don't like having to buy dice that can only be used for one game.  Otherwise, Fantasy flight makes solid games including my all time favorite Twilight Imperium 4.  They also made Star Wars Outer Rim, Star Wars Imperial Assault, X-Wing, and Star Wars Armada.

 That's it for this week.  Sorry about it being a day late, life happens.  As always, thanks for reading.  See you next week.

Where am I?

 Greetings,

So as you can see, I have updated my profile (Long time coming).  Yes things have changed quite a bit.  This week I am going to talk about where I see this blog going and what I intend to do with it as well as where I am now. 

First of all, I want to thank those who actually read this.  As life has changed, so has my ability and freedom to write regularly.  Between work and my desire to spend time with the family, The  blog became a very low priority to the point of almost forgetting about it.  That is going to change.  I have decided that starting next week, I will be posting weekly on Fridays (the first day of my weekend).  This blog will be an amalgamation of my reviews of some of the board games I have played, my current thoughts on the world in general, and perhaps some short stories, depending on my mood.  The last thing I want is for the blog to be a chore, because that will definitely make it go away.  I would also like to hear what you would like me to address.  Any games you want me to review, issues you want to address, or just general questions you would like answered. 

As for where I am now, I am currently working from home and looking forward to getting into the office.  The family is settling in to the new home and I am enjoying the freedom of setting my hours.  I am currently enjoying the life I have and thank you for your interest in this. 

Unfortunately, that is all I have time for now as I do have work to do.  See you next week and as always, Thank you for reading.

Has it really been 9 years since I posted?  Wow.  So much has happened since then. Let me summarize.

I retired from the Navy officially January of 2013.  I then spent a little short of 2 years as a Quality Assurance Inspector for Oceaneering in Bremerton.  I then became a Work Control and testing Coordinator for General Dynamics - NASSCO in Bremerton.  From there I moved up into a Planner/Estimator position for almost 6 years.  I left there to pursue a position as the Director of Purchasing and Logistics at Venus Innovative Vehicle Alliance (VIVA) in Houston Texas, which is where I am now.

 

My kids have grown, I have one in college, One starting a career, and 2 still in school.  The Wife and I now live in Texas and are celebrating 23 years of marriage.

 

As far as the gaming hobby, it has gotten a bit bigger.  Some might say out of hand.  My collection now has around 300 games in it (not counting expansions and card decks) and I am regularly following various publishers.  

 

There is a bit of sad news.  A few years ago, My father passed and it left a mark.  The rest of this Post will be my eulogy to him.  

My father was one of, if not the, gentlest and most sincere men I have ever had the privilege to know.  Although a man’s man, and a large man at that, I never recall him berating anyone.  He always treated others fairly and honestly.  He was an anchor in any storm.  We may have grown up poor in monetary possessions, but we never lacked in love.   Dad never really said it, or gave big gestures, or any regular gestures really, but he made sure he gave us solid footing and was there for us.  We never went hungry, and always had a roof over our head and clothes to wear.  As a father now, I know just how much that takes, especially if you aren’t sure what the next paycheck will look like.  There is so much that my father did that I did not recognize growing up.  From making sure that I had integrity and that, even though I may not have realized it, didn’t want anything I hadn’t earned.  You see, dad taught me so much through his actions that I can only hope that I can teach my boys half as much.  In fact, I credit him for much of how my boys turned out. 

I made a lot of mistakes growing up.  From hanging with the wrong crowd to running from God for so many years, and yet, dad waited patiently for me to return.  I recognize that dad is the man and the Christian that I can only dream about being.  He was self sacrificing, kind, respectful, and loving.  Whenever he heard of someone in need, if he could help, he did.  He didn’t look at his calendar (not that he had one), he didn’t try and figure out if they could or would repay him, he just did it.  There were times when he did a job for someone and took vegetables, livestock, or even promises as payment.  I am not even sure if he ever even tried to collect on the promises, and we had a large garden that we had to either can or give away ourselves.  You see, dad believed in giving people dignity as well (That’s the whole respect thing if you weren’t paying attention).  By allowing people to pay him in any way that they could (regardless of whether he truly needed or used it), he helped the people he dealt with maintain their dignity.  And I guess that was the whole point of it, helping people.  I think that was why dad left a good job at Wellman Dynamics after mom died.  I know he wasn’t that happy there and took it as a way to help pay mom’s medical bills, but he had 4 kids to feed and he could have been the head of maintenance and been paid well.  Instead, he chose to go back to running his own business that had a spotty record of paying the bills, long days, and usually left him covered in stuff that you don’t mention in polite society.  I now understand that decision.  He couldn’t help people as much at the factory.  He wasn’t able to be flexible with his schedule to take care of others.  That was my dad. 

I think that is why he was so good at games.  It was his outlet for his selfishness.  And even then, I don’t think it was, I think he was just competitive and wanted to make sure his kids learned the value of earning the victory.  You see, dad never let us win.  We had to beat him fairly.  I don’t remember if I ever did, but I doubt it.  Allow me to demonstrate.  In 2012, my Grandmother died and it brought all four of his kids together for the first, and so far last, time in many years.  Before we went back to our separate lives, we all gathered around the table for a game with dad, for old time’s sake.  We chose hearts.  Throughout the game, us kids were talking and poking at each other.  Hooting and hollering when we got something by our sibling’s defenses and talking about how badly we were going to beat each other.  Dad just sat quietly playing his cards, every once in while he would quietly utter an OK or yup. He never even bothered to give that lopsided grin of his when he managed to run the table.  The final scores came in and dad’s response was typical.  Just a nod that we tried and that lopsided grin I mentioned.  You see, the final score was Ira 120, Jean 101, Julie 78, I had 76 (although Julie and I may have been swapped I can’t remember for sure, but this is my story so we will stick with that), and dad, yeah, he had 6.  Yes, I said six.  While we were arguing over who was going to give who the most hearts or the queen, dad quietly made sure we all got them and that he didn’t.  He let us talk and throw hearts at each other while he quietly played the game.  He took a heart to make sure we didn’t run the table and kept quiet when he decided to run the table and when dad decided to run the table, he did.  That was dad.  He had no problem sitting quietly while others played the game.  He just made sure that he played the hand he was dealt to the best of his ability and let everyone else do the smack talking.  He just made sure that he did the best he could with what he got.  That was how he approached life as well.  He dealt with what was in his hand and used it the best he could.  He was always giving away his heart to help others and holding back just enough to make sure that he didn’t give someone so much they hurt others.

I may never have said it, but it was my dad who gave me my love for the outdoors.  He took me hunting and fishing when he could.  I have to think I disappointed him a bit with my marksmanship, but he took me none the less.  He took us camping and encouraged me to go regularly, although the fact that it rained every time I went may have had something to do with it.  He told stories of his youth and the camping trips he took with his cousin Andy.  He regaled us with hunting stories and adventures in the great outdoors.  He made sure we got to see some of the great sites in America like Yellowstone and Mount Rushmore.  He took us places that may have seemed odd to others, but became lasting memories for us. 

I could go on and on, but dad also taught us that we should keep it short.  Dad didn’t say much, but what he did say had meaning.  When dad spoke, it wasn’t idle chatter, it had a purpose.  He communicated directly and with intent.  Every once in a while we would catch him in a story, but it usually ended rather quickly.  I remember much of what he said to me, and he didn’t just say it, he lived it.  My favorite saying of his that has stuck with me all these years is, “sometimes the difference between a great job and messing it up is 5 minutes, so take the 5 minutes to make sure it is right.”  It summarized dad’s entire life.  Take the time to do it right.  Slow down and make sure that everything is good.  Take the time to care for your neighbor.  Take a second to listen to others.  Take a minute to see the beauty around you. 

I mentioned that dad was the Christian that I can only hope to be.  I don’t say that lightly.  You see, I left the church when I joined the Navy, but in reality, I had checked out years earlier.  In that I know I was a disappointment to my dad.  It wasn’t his fault, I was the one who made that decision, but I know it wore on him.  I was 35 before I truly came back.  My wife started dragging me to church in 2007 and I recommitted myself in 2009.  Since that time, I have done a lot of growing.  Throughout that process, I kept looking back and nearly every lesson I learned about my relationship with Christ I could point to at least one, if not multiple, instances where my dad had already given me an example.  I never heard him talk badly about another.  I never heard him treat others with disrespect.  I know of many instances where he gave when he didn’t have much to give.  At the time, none of these things made sense or even registered as important to my addled teenage mind, but looking back, they have given me an example to live up to.  I can’t say it enough.  My dad shaped so much of who I am that I can only hope to be half the man he was.  If I am half the father and husband that he was, then I may say I am something.

All that being said, I have to add on the story behind it.  A story I didn’t know the entirety of until my Dad’s funeral.  You see, I had never asked dad for his salvation story.  I knew he was saved not just by his actions above, but because he told me when my mom died, and again when his father died.  I just assumed he had been saved when he was a kid because my grandmother had always gone to church and she told me she took him regularly.  The reality of it makes some of what dad said and did throughout his life make much more sense.  It also made me realize how much some of the things I did as a kid hurt him.  And it explains his reaction to my return to Christ (More on that later).

Just before the funeral, I learned that my dad was saved as an adult.  Before that he was a bit of a troublemaker.  Growing up, I heard stories from when he was a kid of some of the things he did, but they were severely watered down.  I should have guessed from some of the friends he had, but I was oblivious because there was no way the gentle kind man my dad was could have been the hellion he would have to be to do that kind of thing.  I learned at the funeral that dad was the leader of his group in high school.  His group was the group that was the troublemakers, rabble rousers, and tough guys.  It didn’t improve when he joined the air force.  One of my favorite pictures of dad from that era is him standing next to his brand new Hemi Cuda.  I now understand dad’s embarrassment when it comes to that photo as it was from a time when he was still out of control.  Dad met mom at college and they were married.  Neither were saved at the time.  Shortly after they had a son, my older brother, named John. 

Most people don’t know that I had an older brother.  This is because he died when he was 2, before my elder sister or I were born or even conceived.  Mom told me the story of how he died, but not all of it.  Mom told me he drowned while they were on a date.  The babysitter lost track of him and when she found him he was in a creek and drowned.  That was all I knew until the day of the funeral, which is when I learned the rest of the story.  The “date” my mom and dad were on was a drunken bender.  They were tying one on at the local bar in Green Bend, Utah.  I can’t imagine how they learned of their son’s death, whether it was a cop coming into the bar to tell them or a frantic phone call from the sitter to the bartender, or worse the babysitter in tears telling my drunken parents their child was dead, I may never know, and don’t think I want to.  Either way it devastated my parents.   They returned to Iowa for the funeral and didn’t get a lot of support there.  When they returned to Green Bend, they searched for a while and ended up going into a small local church.  Dad told my sister that it was the worst sermon he had ever heard.  This is saying something because I have sat through some horrendous services with my dad.  Anyway, he ended up walking the aisle that night and never looked back.  Mom followed shortly.  Everyone who knew dad before said he was a changed man.  I only ever knew him as I described above.

I also learned a few things that I guess I knew but didn’t pay attention to.  Dad read through the Bible every year.  He got up before us kids and read using one of the many read the bible in a year brochures.  He also prayed and knew the Bible and had much of it memorized.   The pastor at the church dad attended remembered dad not just quoting verses, but correcting him.  We had dad’s bible at the funeral and it was clearly loved and read.  The binding was worn, the pages frayed at the corner, and the ribbon marking the next day’s reading.  Dad knew and loved the lord and it came from one of the greatest tragedies to befall a parent. 

I mentioned earlier dad’s reaction to my return to the Lord.  When I called and told dad I was going to church again and had rededicated myself to God, dad said “I am very happy.”  At the time, it held no significance, it was the expected answer.  The next time I was home, I remember dad’s greeting, not because it was that out of the ordinary, but because it no longer felt forced.  Before that time, whenever I returned home, I got the distinct feeling dad was waiting for the bad news, but that next return it was a genuine welcome and a joy to see me. 

I think dad’s greatest hope was the salvation of his kids.  I believe this is why he was so proud of my younger sister.  Of the 4 of us, she is the one who consistently pursued God and God’s purpose.  My siblings and I referred to her as daddy’s little girl, but in reality, she was the only one who pursued dad’s number one love, God.  I became closer in the last few years as I learned to pursue God, but I never fully understood dad’s pursuit until after he passed.  I thought I would make him proud by following his steps on earth, learning mechanical and electrical things, being good at math and science, and playing the games he loved.  I now know that he would have been much prouder if I had pursued my heavenly father.  I believe that is my greatest regret.  In pursuing my earthly father over my heavenly father, I lost contact with both during my youth.  The strange thing is, I look back and I now recognize that both my earthly father and my heavenly father never stopped pursuing me.  Even when I clearly turned my back on them and on their love, they pursued me.  When I embraced the things they hated, they loved me and pursued me.  When I cursed them and denounced them, they pursued me.  I didn’t deserve it, but they did it anyway.  If I can love half that well, then I will be onto something.

I can only hope that I can continue my dad’s legacy of love.  I have a ways to go, but if I learned anything from dad’s funeral, it is that I need to be more like him in so many ways.  Better a late start than no start.  I wish I could have known all of this while he was alive and that we could have talked, but now I just have to go forward and use what I know so that when I see him again in heaven I can hear him say he is pleased with me.  I look forward to seeing My mom and dad and older brother in heaven someday.  I just hope that I can earn half as nice a crown as my dad’s

 

Thanks for reading.  I hope to post a little more regularly.  See you soon.

Short excuses for not writing.

    This is going to be a short post today.  The reason being that I am involved in National Write a Novel Month.  This means that I am attempting to write a 50,000 word novel by the end of November.  Unfortunately, I am seriously behind and thus need to concentrate my skills on that.  Add to that that today is election day and it makes for some crazy writing.  I also don't really feel like reviewing any games today.  I know, you expect better, but the fact is, I really don't feel like writing today.  That means that any writing I do needs to be on my novel.   Sorry.
    Thanks for reading (what little I wrote) and, as always, have a great day.

Game Reviews: Scategories & The Settlers of Catan

                Today’s games are a mix of old and new.  Ok, the new isn’t that new as it has been around for a while, I just wasn’t introduced to it until earlier this year.  The games are Scategories™ and Settlers of Catan™.  These are games that are definitely for the older crowd due to their nuances.  So let’s get started.

                Scategories™ is a game of creative thinking.  The rules are simple, straight forward, and easily followed.  The game itself is anything but.  The components of the game are a 20 sided die, a timer, a mat (with rules on the back), and six identical cardboard sleeves with pencils, paper, and lists.  The lists are the boundaries of the game.  The problem is they are specific enough to make you think, but broad enough to leave you room for a ton of possible answers.  The game comes with 12 different lists of 12 items ranging from heroes to vehicles, to books, movies, locations, etc.  It is a hodgepodge of items.  The first task then is to select a list to use.  Personally, I use a twelve sided die to select the list to use, but how you chose the list is up to you.  Once everyone has that list ready you roll the 20 sided die (which has letters of the alphabet on it minus some of the tougher ones), to determine the letter.  This is where creativity and the game rules collide.  You have to come up with a word or phrase that begins with the rolled letter that matches each item on the list before the timer runs out.  You get one point for each answer you have at the end of the turn and one point for each word in each answer that begins with that letter.  Did I mention that if your answer matches what someone else wrote, you both lose that point?  This is where creativity is important.  For instance, for the category heroes and the letter B, you could put Bob the Builder, Barney Fife, Barry Bonds, or Bologna.  Wait, bologna?  Yup, Bologna hero is a sandwich.  The category just said heroes; it didn’t say it had to be able to talk.  That is what I mean by creative.  The downside is you have to convince a majority of those playing that your answer fits the category.  That is just how it works.  After 3 turns the player with the highest score wins.  Overall, this is a great game that can lead to some weird answers and some hilarious moments.  Just don’t take it too seriously or you may find that you spend more time arguing about every answer than you do having fun playing the game.

                The Settlers of Catan™ is just the opposite of Scategories™.  Where Scategories™ is broad, creative and sometimes hilarious; Catan is rigid, straightforward, and serious.   In Catan, you are the leader of a group of settlers.  The goal is to build settlements, cities, and roads to have the greatest civilization on the board.  This is accomplished by getting resources.  Resources are gathered based on what tiles your settlements are next to.  Each tile has a number between 2 and 12 assigned to it.  Whenever this number is rolled that tile produces its resource.  The resources are ore, wool, clay, wood, and wheat.  These resources are then used to build roads, settlements or cities.  Or you could buy development cards.  Development cards give the user victory points, added resources, knights, or added events.  This added dynamic gives players another means of winning the game.  Speaking of, how do you win the game?  The answer: by attaining 10 victory points.  You receive 1 victory point per settlement, 2 points per city, 2 points for the longest road (minimum 5 road pieces long), and 2 points for largest army (minimum 3 knights).  Sounds simple enough right?  Not so fast.  There is a hitch in all this.  Should you roll a seven when rolling for resources, bad things happen.  First, no tile produces resources.  Second, if you have more than seven resource cards in your hand, you have to discard half of your hand.  Finally, the thief must be moved into play.  Wait, there’s a thief?  Yup, the thief is moved by the person who rolled the seven.  Whatever tile the thief is moved to never produces resources as long as the thief is present.  Also, the person moving the thief gets to take one card from one player that is adjacent to it.  This is where it gets fun.  The thief is only moved if a seven is rolled or if a person who has a settlement or city on that tile plays a knight card.  This means that if you are winning; expect the thief to visit your most productive tiles.  There is a lot more to this game than I have time or inclination to type.  There are strategies galore and several expansions that add and change rules to make the game more detailed.  This game can be complicated and a little hard to learn, but it is detailed enough to drag you in and keep you coming back for more.  The rule book is thought out in such a way that finding the answer to your questions is relatively simple.  In all, it is a great game if you like a mixture of strategy and luck.

                Thanks for reading and, as always, have a great day.

Game Reviews: Castle keep and Picteureka

                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.