Games for Kids

Munchkin Review

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munchkin board game

Basic Information

munchkin board game review

No of Players: 3-6

Age: 12+

Time: 1-2 Hours (although I have had games that go for 40-50 minutes)

Pricing: $35 USD, $50 AUD

Introduction

A munchkin is a person who tried to win a fantasy game through collecting the best weapons and loot. Munchkin, the game, takes that concept and uses it in its satirical take on the fantasy genre in this ridiculously fun card game.

How to Play Munchkin

Munchkin, in its basic form, is a card based game that requires players to collect and use items in order to defeat enemies and level up. Each round players battle monsters in order to level up and gain loot. Other players may help as defeat the monster, but will demand some form of payment for their services. On the flip side, players can also add monsters for the active player to fight from their hand and make it even harder for them to level up. These mechanics make munchkin both cooperative and very competitive since someone who helps you early on can turn on you without any warning. The end goal of the game is to reach level 10 and defeat the final monster.

Notes on Munchkin

I love munchkin, as it is a great fun and quick game to play with friends. I personally prefer to play with a board since that makes it easier to see the progress of yourself and your rivals. You must be careful to read the fine-print of your items since they can become confusing at times and can lead to some “un-intentional” cheating. There are many variations of the munchkin base game, such as: Adventure Time (which I own), steampunk, walking dead, Rick and Morty etc. These games essentially all play the same, and you can even combine these different games to create a bigger deck of cards to play from. I highly recommend it for the casual gamer who doesn’t want to read too many rules and just wants to fight some monsters. For these players I highly recommend the board for the game as well.

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Sequence Review

Matt Board Games For Kids, Classic Board Games , ,
sequence board game

Basic Information on Sequence

sequence board game review

No of Players: 2-12

Age: 7+

Time: 30 minutes

Pricing: $15-20 USD

Introduction

Sequence is a strategy based board game where you want to place your marker 5 in a row, similar to connect 4 but more complex. When you play with more than two players you form 2 or 3 teams with the end goal being to create sequences before the others.

How to Play Sequence

With 2-3 Players, you sit around the table with the board in the middle. When played in a team, you sit alternating people so that no team-mates are sitting together. Each player is dealt a number of cards which they use to place down their team tokens on the board. Jacks are considered wild card in the game, and the joker cards are no to be included at all. You go around the table, and the player choses a card from their hand and places a marker on the corresponding tile. You cannot verbally communicate with your team mates about which direction you are aiming your sequence, they must simply try to play off the clues you have given with your decisions. The played card goes into the discard pile and then play goes to the next player. You win the game if you/your team make a certain number of sequences, the number varies based on the amount of teams playing.

Notes on Sequence

This is a less visually appealing game to younger players, however has fairly basic mechanics and is fairly easy to pick up. Its equal parts strategy and luck when it comes to the cards you pick up and how you place them that determines who wins that game. In theory, even a younger less experienced player could defeat and older more experienced one (which happened to me when I played it).

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Hasbro Candyland Board Game Review

Matt Board Games For Kids , ,
candyland board game

Basic Information

candyland board game review

No of Players: 2-4

Age: 3+

Time: 30 minutes

Pricing: $10-15 USD

Introduction

Candyland is a fun simple board game where you are trying to find the lost king of the candy kingdom. This is a great game to play with young kids who are learning to count since it has very simple game mechanics and a fun color palate.

How to Play Candyland

This is a basic linear board game with one track that players move around until they reach the end. Instead of rolling a dice, you pick a card off the top of the deck and the color on the card is the color that you move to. Removing the numbers from a dice roll is what makes this game so accessible to younger players and can help teach them other lessons with colors. In that stacked deck there are also cards with two colors, and cards with named locations to which your characters moves to. To win the game you want to land on the final square which is the Candy Castle.

Notes on Candyland Board Game

This version of the game by Hasbro has a spinner instead of a stack of cards. It essentially functions the same, however I have had some issues with the spinner. My larger hands can’t seem to get a good spin whenever I play. In saying that, my niece doesn’t really care and happily will spin the thing all day if I let her. The game has a super fun atheistic with many fun characters and is a great first game for anyone wanting to get their kids into board games at a super young age.

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Giant UNO review

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Giant Uno Review

Basic Information for Giant Uno

Giant Uno Review

No of Players: 2-10

Age: 4+

Time: 1 Hour

Pricing: $25-35 US

Introduction to Giant Uno

Giant UNO plays exactly the same as regular UNO but with giant cards. It’s almost impossible, even for adults, to hold these huge cards in your hand but that just adds to the fun!

How to Play Giant Uno

Much like regular UNO, the official way to win is to be the first to reach 500 points by winning a number of games with extra points given from Wilds. Every player starts with seven cards in their hand, and play, matching up colors or numbers to the pile in the center. You keep placing, or picking up cards, until one person has one card left, at which they yell UNO before any other players. When that player (or any other player) finally gets rid of their last card they have won that round.

Notes on Giant UNO

Giant UNO is the version that I personally own and I can tell your first hand that the Giant cards add to the energy and passion. The added difficulty of hiding these comically large cards from your opponent as well and organizing them and playing them certainly makes this game more challenging from a physical aspect. Kids respond well to the giant sized cards, even with their smaller hands. Certainly well worth it if you have an UNO loving household.

Guess Who? Review

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Guess Who Board Game

Basic Info

Guess Who board Game review

No of Players: 2

Age: 6+

Time: 20-30 minutes

Pricing: $10 US, $25 AUD

Introduction

Guess Who? is a game where two players try to guess each other’s chosen character based of asking simple yes or no questions. This is a fairly simple game, great for young kids, and is fairly quick to play. Guess Who? Is a stable of children’s board games and still holds up to this day.

How to Play Guess Who?

Each player has a board in front of them with 24 faces, each with easily describable features. In turns, each player asks the other yes or no questions trying to narrow down their pool of potential suspects by flipping down the faces of people who were eliminated from the questioning. The player to be the first to guess the other’s character wins.

Notes on Guess Who?

Much like UNO, Guess Who? is a fairly old game that has been updated through the years. The current editions for instance have more diversity in their characters and try to be more inclusive. Guess Who?, like monopoly, also has many branded editions with licenced characters from popular shows and franchises. It’s a fairly cheap game, but unlike other games only caters for two players.

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Uno Review

Matt Board Games For Kids, Card Games , ,
Uno Review

Basic Information for Uno

Party Games

No of Players: 2-10 (4 Players is what I usually play with)

Age: 7+

Time: 1 Hour (I have had some games that go for 20 min, and then others for two hours!)

Pricing: $5 USD, $7 AUD

Introduction to Uno

Uno is a fast paced card game with the goal of the game being the first to get rid of all your cards. This game is great for all ages and has very simple rules that anyone can pick up quickly. It’s a classic card game that is great fun for the whole family!

How to Play UNO

The official way to win is to be the first to reach 500 points which is done by winning a number of games plus wild cards and draw fours give extra points. I have actually never played with this rule and generally play until someone wins 3 games. Every player starts with seven cards in their hand, and play, matching up colors or numbers to the pile in the center. You keep placing, or picking up cards, until one person has one card left, at which they yell UNO before any other players. When that player (or any other player) finally gets rid of their last card they have won that round.

Notes on UNO

Like a lot of classic games there are house rules that you can add to the game to make it more fun (and arguably more confusing). For instance, some players play the rule if you play a seven, you swap hands with someone else. There is also the rule of when someone plays a zero, everyone’s hand moves to the person on their left or right (depending on which way the play is going). There are also heaps of variations with UNO, such as UNO Attack, UNO Junior, Giant UNO, and so on. They can have a slight variation on the standard rules but usually play is the same.

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