Over the last several years, Kathy and I have made a concerted effort to find and buy a whole passel (maybe a passel and a half) of interesting board games for our family. At Christmas time, I research which games have won awards and (more importantly) are on sale, and then I buy a whole box-load from my favorite online retailer. This year they were all labeled, “To Rudolph”, since they are considered to be presents to the whole family. Joshua chortled whenever another “Rudolph” gift was discovered, as a pattern began to emerge.

A rare moment when I seemed to be winning.

(I’ve written to my favorite game store, asking them to offer a discount for my readers; if they do, I’ll be sure to post the details of the discount and a link to games I recommend.)

The knights and districts of Saga

Tonight I gathered my two oldest boys and we played a quick game of Saga, in which players compete to capture and retain six kingdom districts. There are only a few simple rules, and it is easy to pick up the basics of the game, but it has unexpected depth in playing strategy. Kingdom districts change hands as the players marshal increasingly large armies of knights, looking ahead three and even four turns to outwit opponents. The game ends when one player manages to get all his knights in play (either attacking or defending), leaving his opponents shaking their heads in consternation.

Several knights and the Castle province

I’ve played the game three times so far, and lost every time — but I really enjoy its deceptive simplicity. Tonight Joshua timed it beautifully, snatching the critical forest-land district from my control as he played his last knight, leaving me with my forces in disarray and an abysmal score. I haven’t been defeated that badly in a game in a long time … it was an exhilarating experience.

It’s been so long since I’ve blogged, I feel quite out of practice. Is there such a thing as Dead Air on a blog? We were traveling yesterday and completely missed posting our weekly Parenting Tip. Some people would have blogs in reserve and wouldn’t let something as trivial as flying across the country cause a slip in posting.

Those people don’t live in this house.

I’m also drawing a complete blank on today’s Works for Me Wednesday post.

Educational computer games.

With five children, a programmer husband, and several computers in the home, you can be sure we have invested money in educational computer games.

Some of Our Favorite Educational Computer Games

Crazy Machines - In this game you build imaginative machines, turn cranks, rotate gears, pull levers, create unique contraptions. You also experiment with gears, robots, explosives, and more in your own virtual lab. The early levels are fairly easy but the game gets progressively harder. All the children have taken a turn at the game, although Joshua is the one who truly enjoys it. He received Crazy Machines 1.5 for his birthday.

Jumpstart Typing - We have gone through several different typing programs in an attempt to master those oh so important typing skills. Joshua and Rachel agreed that the Jumpstart version (although we have a much older one) is their favorite.

Cluefinders - The Learning Company makes a 4th, 5th, and 6th grade level of the Cluefinder game as well as some other versions. The older children especially enjoyed Cluefinder 5th Grade. Amazon describes the game: The adventure begins with the ClueFinder kids shipwrecked on a mysterious island. Two of their teammates are trapped in an underground hideaway, and the ship’s captain and crew are missing as well. It’s up to the rest of the gang to find their friends and get off the island- all before a monstrous volcano blows its top. To solve the mystery and save the day, kids help the ClueFinders complete activities and collect the strange CrypTiles that will unlock the island’s secrets. The ten activities cover math, social studies, reading, critical thinking and science. Sounds like fun to me.

Reader Rabbit - there are probably dozens of Reader Rabbit games, and I think we’ve accumulated almost all of them over the years. We’ve played preschool, phonics, math, 1st grade, 2nd grade, 3rd grade, etc. As the computers advance (shifting from Windows 95 to 98, XP and beyond) we occasionally update our stock of Reader Rabbit games. Recently I had the older children go through our EXTENSIVE collection of computer games, weeding out the ones that don’t work on our current computer or are dull and rarely played. The Reader Rabbit cds remain consistent favorites.

Do you have an educational game your family enjoys? Leave a comment and share titles. After all, Christmas is right around the corner and I need all the help I can get.

For other great ideas, go to Rocks In My Dryer

Kathy

This tip is so basic, I feel a bit sheepish posting it, but I still think it’s worth sharing.

Take the time to play a game with your child.

That’s it.

Ignore the mess in the family room. Let the dirty dishes sit in the sink for an extra hour or two. Don’t worry about folding laundry. Screen calls and allow the answering machine to do its job.

Put on the kettle and make tea or hot cocoa. Pop some popcorn. Turn an everyday, average afternoon or evening into Game Night.

I know it’s difficult to set aside time with dance, gymnastics, and sporting events eating up the week days. And don’t even get me started about homework. What joy, however, to carve an hour out of the day to sit together and play a game. The laughter and time spent as a family will create precious memories and a legacy for your children.

For a great collection of game reviews (complete with pictures and detailed information), go to Callapidder Days. Katrina regularly share games that her family enjoys. I’m planning to plunder her site for Christmas gift ideas this year.

Games don’t have to take hours and hours. Gamewright sells dozens of card games, almost all of which can be played in less than 40 minutes, many in only 20 minutes. The website sorts the games by recommended age and is a wonderful resource of kid friendly games.

We played Citadels this evening, one of Joshua and Tim’s favorites.

Another excellent source for games of all kinds (with categories for card games, children games, dexterity based ones, 2-player games, party games, and on and on) is Newspiel. We have purchased many games from this company over the years and been consistently pleased with their prices and selection.

We are always looking for new and fun games to add to our collection. Leave a comment and share your family’s favorites.

Kathy
Project 365 - Day 281

The children have a new obsession - Webkinz. They heard about this new, exciting entertainment from some friends. It’s as if Beanie Babies married a computer programmer (a gamer, no less). You buy one of many adorable stuffed animals and with it (on it’s sacred tag) comes a code number. This number allows you to log on to the webkinz website and create a world for your pet. You play the games in order to earn money (realistic, I must say, that’s what we all know Tim is doing at work - playing games on his laptop). With the money you buy furnishings and other things for your pet. I’ll have to see if Daniel and Rachel will post a blog about their newfound fun.

I thought this sounded like a fun new game but didn’t give it much thought beyond that as we do not have ANY money in our budget these days for more stuffed animals (even if they do come with cool computer/web access). Lo and behold, we had visitors to our house and what were they hiding behind their backs? Not one but TWO Webkinz animals. One for Daniel and Rachel! Wow! What a huge gift! Thank you, Julee and girls. You are too kind.

So now Rachel and Daniel are extremely motivated to clean their rooms and do other chores as well as finish their school in record time, all in order to get time on the computer. Rachel told me, “I guess I won’t be a chip horder any more, Mom, with this fun game to play.” Joshua, who is NOT a stuffed animal lover and generally eschews these type of childish interests, has been seen helping Daniel with his pet for long periods of time. No doubt just doing a little consulting work on the side, I’m sure he isn’t really interested in the games.

Anyone else in on this craze? I felt vaguely comforted when the women’s ministry’s director of our church came over yesterday and immediately recognized the Webkinz game page. “Oh, do you guys have Webkinz?” She then launched into a long description of one aspect of the game. No doubt, like Joshua, she’s just “helping” her kids play. Nice to see people being so considerate. Lol!

Kathy