Board Games.

I mentioned that I do the shopping for my mom for Christmas.  Honestly, I'm glad she lets me do it.  It's my favorite part of the shopping.  From us, the kids ask for a specific list of things and they usually get those things.  It's checking-off-a-list shopping and it is about as much fun as grocery shopping. But, from my parents, they'v always gotten surprises, things they haven't expected, didn't ask for and didn't know that they wanted, in other words, some of their best gifts ever.   My Dad always had a rule that any money that he gave me for the kids did not go to video games and I am going to continue to follow that guideline.  I don't really enjoy shopping for video games anyway.   I'd rather get something that promotes family bonding, rather than having each person go off to do their own thing. 

So, this year, I went with board games.  Oh, it was so much fun to shop for and buy all of these board games that I've wanted to get the kids for a long time as well as discover new ones.  We've had a good time this week trying them out.   Here are the ones I bought.



Labyrinth Card Game:  This is one that I haven't actually played yet.  One of my sons said it was fun and the other said he didn't really care for it.
























Fluxx - We had to replace our version of this because it got wet in a dishwasher flood.  I am not sure what it was doing on the floor.  The new version is even more confusing in a fun way.  At one point you cannot win unless you  have a radioactive potato.


Mille Bornes - We played this one for the first time yesterday.  It's pretty fun.  I liked it even the first run-through, which is unusual.











Chrononauts. My youngest son LOVES this game.  It has a solo version, so he can play it alone.  I think the rest of us will like it more once we get used to it.  It teaches history, as an added bonus.   We've only had 1 run through and will need a few more to be comfortable with the rules.









Ticket to Ride:  This one is fun and it will be even more fun if any of us can ever beat my husband at it.  It is a good combination of luck and strategy.













 Blokus - Simple to learn, but a good strategy game.








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Think Fun Rush Hour Traffic Jam Game - This one surprised me by being a 1 person puzzle game, but it's very fun.









Last but not least, Word Pirates.  My daughter and I like this one very much.  It levels the playing field between us on word games, by throwing in the luck of the roll of the dice and the ability to block opponents and build bridges to the treasure.  The boys aren't as crazy about word games as I am, so this isn't their favorite.