5 Minute Initiative: Gravwell

Almost four months after Gen Con, Gravwell is finally out for purchase at various outlets. Marty and I have been talking about the game for some time and realized that we have not done a 5 Minute Initiative for this great game. We have corrected that with today's posting. The game was designed by Corey Young and this is his first entry into the gaming world. He has mentioned in his tweets that he is working on other games for 2014 and we look forward to his sophomore offering. Gravwell can be purchased for  $23.99 online with a MSRP of $35.00. In the box you will find:

• 1 Game Board
• 30 Game Cards (26 play cards and 4 ship/emergency stop cards)
• 6 Spaceship Miniatures 
• 1 Round Tracking Token (the white pawn)
• 1 Rulebook

The full rules can be downloaded here.

Give our 5MI a listen on Gravwell and just know that we really like this great filler game. Oh, Corey if you reading this and need playtesters for your next game, let us know :)

Was that to much of a shameless plug...

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Episode 29: Looks like we made it!

That is right, one year ago this month, Marty got us to sit down and begin the podcast show Rolling Dice & Taking Names. The plan was to just have fun and really just talk about gaming. Thanks to all who have listened to the show, given us some feedback along the way, and even participated in the show. We look forward to 2014 and hope to keep bringing you game information, news and just thoughts about this great pastime/hobby.

In this episode, Marty tells me all about the game Francis Drake which he got to play at our local game club. We discuss the game Coup and after playing, Marty was right, it isn't another Resistance, thank goodness. I actually like this one even though there is player elimination. We have put some of our favorite highlight clips in the show from past episodes. I am sure there are better ones out there, but these make us smile. Finally, we have a solid At the Table segment on what people are hoping to receive this year from the game club and our BGG forum.

Intro	1:30
Francis Drake Boardgame	5:30
Coup Card Game	28:00
Highlight Segment 1	37:18
At the Table - December	40:10
Outro	54:00
Highlight Segment 2	1:04:00

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Episode 28: Money For Nothing

As you all know if you have listened to some older episodes, Marty and I really started getting into the gaming world with Decipher's Lord of the Rings TCG. During that time, we signed up for the online version of the game developed by Worlds Apart in hopes it would give us some more opportunities to play the game that we enjoyed. It really didn't catch on with us, but we tried online card games again by delving into Magic the Gathering Online. I still have an Xbox version, a PC version and even purchased Ascension to add to my collection of card games that I can do online. I play every once in awhile, but not that often.

So where am I going with this? In this episode, we share an interview with Corey Jones, President and CCO of Cryptozoic, and he talks to me at Gen Con about HEX. Some of you might have backed HEX, you know, the Kickstarter that got $2.3 million. Corey gives a high level overview of the game and answers some of my questions about how they plan on maintaining fairness and handle trading of the cards. Because it is a MMO TCG, I might find myself involved in another online card game, at least for a brief amount of time.

Marty and I also got to play Robinson Crusoe and as you know, we have been chomping at the bit to play. Therefore, we share our thoughts on the game and then get on our Soap Box, sorry about that, and we later learn the lack of supply should be somewhat remedied in mid December. One last thing, I sat down with a fellow Dice Tower Network podcaster, Chris Norwood, and we discussed a game he designed that is currently in the hands of Game Salute. 

Robinson Crusoe Discussion	6:00
Soap Box about Zman	19:30
Corey Jones Interview	24:55
Discussion on Hex and iOS games	42:00
Chris Norwood Interview	54:00
More Eldritch Horror Discussion	1:03:30
We are out of here	1:08:30

Enjoy the show and thanks for listening

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Episode 27: As God as my witness, I thought turkeys could fly

So as far as the best comedy TV shows go, Marty and I agree that one of the best was WKRP in Cincinnati and the Thanksgiving episode ranks up there as one of the funniest shows ever done. So in  honor of that show, we use one of the great lines to title our episode. If you have never seen that episode, listen to our show and then go watch that episode, you will thank us.

So what do we have for you in this episode, it goes something like this:
MACE Con discussion - 0:00
Eldritch Horror thoughts - 2:45
War College with Todd and Alex - 21:06
At the Table: Biggest Turkey Game - 46:40

Enjoy the show and be sure to send us your At the Table for December, what game are you looking for under the tree.


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MACE 2013 Video: Avery, Burke, and McClung Oh my...

We have entered into the world of video again and Marty has put out on Youtube video of our adventures at the local con called MACE. It was a great weekend of gaming and meeting people. We spoke with area designers and fellow podcasters during the weekend. We were lucky enough to get Steve Avery and Robert Burke on film to talk about their current games. Robert McClung, who has been on our podcast talking about Con organization, also took time from his busy schedule of running the event and shared with us the success of MACE over the weekend. MACE grew in attendance for it second year in Charlotte by almost 40%. The hotel was at capacity and I am sure the wedding reception that was near our event enjoyed having the various cosplayers about. We had a great time running two Eldritch Horror demos this weekend and Marty got some video of the board for you to view. You will also see Steve Avery playing Nothing Personal with convention goers and "letting" someone else win so that they could really enjoy the game.

We apologize for the quality of the recording, they were setting up the Charity Auction when we did our filming and it was a bit noisy behind us. We also did not anticipate doing any filming of interviews, but we grabbed the brass ring when it presented itself. Head over to YouTube to check it out

Batman Contest has come to an end

For those that happen to make it to the end of Episode 26, we had a contest announcement in the closing outtake. This contest is over and we thank all those that sent us an email with BATMAN in the subject line. In the episode we release this week, we announce the winner.

Episode 26: Marty's Other Brilliant Idea

This episode is unlike any other episode we have done. Basically, Marty had an idea that we should play a game and then discuss our strategy while recording. I will support any idea that allows me to play a game. So, Todd (who you have heard many times on the show) and Alex (Mr Game Club) came over to Marty's to play Lords of Waterdeep and it only took three months to schedule. We play the game and then record a show on how it went. Man, the birds were very loud that night.

There aren't many segments to this show, so I am going to forgo the usual times for the segments but I do want to point out an important announcement from The Geek All Stars about their Charity event around the 4:15 mark of the show. You can find out more information at the website.

Enjoy the show


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31 Days of Tabletop Gaming

For the month of October, Vanessa will be a part of the 31 Days of Writing challenge sponsored by The Nesting Place. Follow her as she takes you on a journey of her experiences in tabletop gaming and its positive effects on her family life.

Day 1: Introduction
Day 2: Why Tabletop Gaming?
Day 3: Party Games
Day 4: Gateway Games
Day 5: Strategic Games
Day 6: Sunday Morning Coffee and Chit Chat #1
Day 7:  Collectible Card Games
Day 8: Deck Building Games
Day 9: Co-Op Games
Day 10: Roleplaying Games
Day 11: Miniature Gaming
Day 12: Worker Placement Games
Day 13: Sunday Morning Coffee and Chit Chat #2
Day 14: Dice Games
Day 15: Fantasy Theme
Day 16: Sci-Fi Theme
Day 17: Steampunk Theme
Day 18: Historical Theme
Day 19: Literary Theme
Day 20: Sunday Morning Coffee and Chit Chat #3
Day 21: Strategy Games for Children
Day 22: Why I Was Reluctant to Play Games
Day 23: Gaming Leads to Painting
Day 24: Gaming Leads to Writing
Day 25: Gaming Leads to Costuming
Day 26: Local Gaming Conventions
Day 27: Sunday Morning Coffee and Chit Chat #4
Day 28: Origins
Day 29: GenCon
Day 30: DragonCon

Day 30: DragonCon

     So as we approach Halloween DragonCon is the perfect convention to talk about because it is a GIANT costume party! DragonCon is held in Atlanta, Georgia over Labor Day weekend. This year there were an estimated 52,000 people in attendance. DragonCon is a 24 hour a day costume party! There are also discussion panels, film festivals, and a celebrity hall! There is a gaming room for gamers to play a RPG or other pick up game. But the main focus is Cosplay.

     Some traditions people look forward to are the costume parade through downtown Atlanta on Saturday morning, the 501st legion which is a group of stormtroopers from all over the US, DragonCon TV, and costume contests! Five hotels in downtown Atlanta host the event. This was our first year going to DragonCon. We attended panels and took a lot of pictures! We had so much fun looking at costumes and watching people that we missed out on some panels. One thing that was different at DragonCon is you just show up for the panels. At GenCon, Origins, and local conventions you have to sign up ahead of time, in some cases you have to pay a fee depending on the panel and if materials are needed. Now let's make some costumes!

Day 29: GenCon

     July 2010 my family packed up the car and went on a road trip to a gaming convention in Indianapolis, Indiana. We didn't know what to expect. We didn't sign up for anything ahead of time. We bought our passes and basically showed up. WOW! We were overwhelmed! We played games all day for three days straight. We walked the vendor hall for three days straight. We didn't realize until it was time to leave that we were only in one part of the convention! We were such nerds! So, of course, we had to go the next year in order to see and do everything!

     GenCon is a huge gaming convention with  49,058 attendees this year! It is really overwhelming and hard to describe. Rows and rows of vendors and publishers with old favorites and new release games. Mayfair games has a huge area and this year set a world record for number of players in a game of Catan with 922 players! Freebies and give-aways are everywhere along with endless discussion panels, painting classes for beginners-advanced, costuming, jewelry making, the list goes on and on. People play pick up games in the hotel lobbies and anywhere they can find a spot to sit. There are tours of the city. We went on a ghost tour of Indianapolis. There are film festivals, dances, costume contests, and SO much more! Oh, and watch out on Friday night for the Zombie Walk!

      GenCon also has a lot to offer the non-gamer. There panels and sessions for non-gamers. A crafting room is available for non-stop knitting and crafting. There are jewelry making sessions and even yoga and workout sessions.  There is a mall connected to the convention center for shopping!

     For us GenCon was a turning point in how we gamed as a family. We really do game together more often and found that we have a lot of common interests that we didn't know before! We didn't know we liked painting, writing, and possible costume making! If you are a gamer and have not been to GenCon I urge you to go. If you think that the GenCon crowd is too big then try Origins. Even if everyone in your family doesn't game, there is something for them to do. Chances are they will find a game they like!

Day 28: Origins

     I talked about our local conventions yesterday. Today I want to start talking about the national conventions we have been to. We have been to Origins, GenCon, and DragonCon.

     Origins is held in Columbus, Ohio. The dates vary but it is generally around mid June. This year there were 11,573 attendees. It is held in the convention center which is located downtown near the popular North Market. North Market is a wonderful venue with fresh food from all around the world. A great place for gamers to eat!

     Origins is a great family gaming convention. There was a children's area where you could pay per hour to play video games with supervision or a tabletop gaming area. There is also a giant sized Settlers of Catan to play.  If you attend with non-gamers there are a lot of family activities in Columbus to check out.

     There are numerous discussion panels on game design, writing, Christianity and gaming, crafting, and many more! Too many to name! Of course, we played games all day every day. We even tried a LARP (live action role playing) session. We played as the skeletons and villains. Confession, I didn't like getting hit. I don't know if I will do that again! We would also walk the floor, find a game that looked interesting, and sit down to play it. We played Star Wars X-Wing as a family. Even though there are over 11,000 people we kept running into people we played with all weekend! There was also a great vendor hall. Lots of costumes, jewelry, t-shirts, books, games, gaming accessories, and DICE!!!

     One of the highlights of Origins is the gaming library. They have a huge room with a wall of games available for check out. You pay a $20 fee to check out unlimited games to play throughout the weekend but you get a free game when you register!

       Restaurants and hotels were in walking distance from the convention center. The city was very friendly and welcoming. Origins is a large convention with a small town feel, very relaxed and slow paced. Lots of gaming fun. We definitely want to go back. We hope it works out for us to attend next year. We may have a graduation issue!

   

Day 27: Sunday Morning Coffee and Chit Chat #4

   One thing I was pleasantly surprised to find at gaming conventions is a worship service on Sunday morning. I don't know why I was surprised because gamers are an accepting and generous group. Everyone is welcomed in gaming and everyone is welcomed at a gaming worship service.

     Fans for Christ is an organization that coordinates and promotes web sites and worship services for gamers. I like the name fans for Christ because it covers any sort of fandom. You can be a fan of gaming, anime, steampunk, sci-fi, and be a fan for Christ!

     We have attended services at MACE, SCARAB, ConCarolinas, Origins, GenCon, and DragonCon. It is exciting to attend a service with people who share not only a love for Christ but also the same hobby. It is also pretty neat to see Darth Vader in a service!

P.S. I need to make a correction from yesterday. I guess I had superheroes and Spiderman on the brain when I called the food area The Green Goblin. It is The Grinning Goblin! Sorry MACE!

Day 26: Local Gaming Conventions

     I have mentioned several times about going to gaming conventions. Conventions are a great way to see a new city, sit in on some panels, meet celebrities, and play games, play games, play games! There are three local conventions that we attend SCARAB, ConCarolinas, and MACE. SCARAB is held in Columbia, SC and both ConCarolinas and MACE are at the University Hilton in Charlotte, NC.

      SCARAB is held every year over the Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday. Last year was our first year attending SCARAB.  It is a small convention with about, I am totally guessing here, around 300 attendees. We had a wonderful time at Scarab! Travis started Pathfinder at Scarab and played his heart out! There were games/tournaments that you had to sign up for ahead of time.  There were also classes of knitting, jewelry making, and chain mail. I also liked the library of games. You could check out a game and try it out. SCARAB also had the freebies! Every few hours they would draw names for free games. They also had a swag bag! If you registered early you received a super swag bag. There was a drawstring knapsack filled with a book, large d20, card games, and more! The super swag bag was a great bonus to attending. This convention is gaining in popularity and it is moving to a new location in 2014. They have a facebook page and website so check them out if you live in the area.

     ConCarolinas is more of fan convention but there is gaming! There is always gaming! ConCarolinas is held the latter part of May. In 2014 it will be May 30-June 1. ConCarolinas is known as a sci-fi convention but they really welcome any fan! There are a lot of costumes and fun at ConCarolinas. The costumes range from sci-fi, steampunk, super heroes, to just about anything. ConCarolinas really has something for everyone there is gaming, guests of honor (2014 will be George R. R. Martin!), discussion panels, music events, and costume contests! They also have a great vendor hall! You can also see the Ghostbusters Mobile and Mystery Machine, like groovy man!

     MACE is held in November and will be the 15th-17th this year. Last year about 600 people attended. MACE is billed as The Carolinas' Best Gaming Con! Mace focuses on playing games! If there is ANY type of game you are interested in Mace has it! There are tournaments around the clock it seems like! Rooms and rooms of gaming! Mace is a great time to meet game designers and publishers! There is nothing like learning a game from the designer! There are also discussion panels and other events, but gaming takes center stage! The food area is called The Green Goblin and is a fun place to grab coffee, doughnuts, pizza, and other fast foods. Our boys have already asked about the Green Goblin. I am hoping the diceball machine lady is there again! That is another great thing about local conventions, the tradition and familiarity make them a very comfortable place to be and play games.

     Both ConCarolinas and MACE are community oriented and have charity events. They are also located in a great area. If your spouse doesn't game there are local shops and restaurants. There is also a great outdoor play area for young children. There is also a Kid Track area where children can play games. ConCarolinas and Mace definitely strive to be family oriented.

     Another thing conventions have in common that you may not think of is church services on Sunday morning of the convention. That will be our topic for chit chat tomorrow, Gaming and Christianity.

   

   

Day 25: Gaming Leads to Costuming

     In high school I made good grades in every class. Well every class but one, Home Economics. I thought how hard can it be to cook and sew? It was hard for me! I could barely thread the sewing machine. My sewing project was disastrous. I walked out of that class and forgot about sewing. I mean never to think of it again. Until...

     When we go to conventions there is one thing besides gaming that they have in common, costumes! Super heroes, pop culture characters, steampunk ladies and gents, and so many unique characters!  Do you like thinking of a costume for Halloween? Getting all the accessories and just right pieces is fun. Think of doing that all year! Voila! Cosplay! We have seen some amazing costumes! Suddenly I found myself daydreaming about costumes. Okay, I daydream a lot.

     We went to one convention this year and the whole family dressed up. There was no sewing involved but there was painting! Next year there will be sewing because I am getting a sewing machine for Christmas!  As much as I could not stand the thought of sewing in high school I am super excited about learning now! I can't wait to get my hands on a machine and attempt to whip up some costumes. It sounds like fun to me now, especially since there are self-threading machines! Maybe next year will be 31 days of sewing costumes!

Extra Life - How to Pledge to our team (and play some games with us)

As we said in Episode 25, we will be taking part in the Extra Life campaign this year at MACE and it is not beneath us to use opportunities like playing Eldritch Horror or game with Stephen Avery (designer of Nothing Personal) to help our contributions. Marty has the page set up, so if you want to reserve a spot at the table for $5 minimum, head over to Extra Life and click on the Donate Now link at the top, search for Rolling Dice page, and then click on the Donate Now button or follow this link. When donating, include your name and write a message saying which game you want to play Eldritch Sign (Nov 16th. 9am - 1pm) or Nothing Personal (Nov.16th 2:30-5:30)

If you are interested in being on our team, we would be more than happy to have you join us just go to our page and follow the instructions. Marty set a goal that might be a slight challenge being new to the podcast world and our first year doing Extra Life. Thanks in advance for your contributions.

In pictures:

Day 24: Gaming Leads to Writing

     I have mentioned our trip to GenCon several times. I am going to devote an entire post to GenCon next week because, yes, it was a game changer for us! (see what I did there?) Best trip EVER! The second year we went to GenCon we signed up for a family RPG. We played a Wilderness Kids RPG from the Hollow Earth system. It was a great game for all of us, age 9 through, ahem we won't say! :) When you have children with a seven year age difference it is hard to find something they both like. We discovered RPG's was the way to go!

     When we returned from our trip we started looking for Role Playing systems. We played Dungeons and Dragons, Savage Worlds, Iron Kingdoms, and Pathfinder. As we played different systems and campaigns our boys wanted to start writing their own campaigns. There are pre-written scenarios or open campaigns where you write your own story. Our boys have always enjoyed English class and do well writing papers, but it's not like they would wake up on Saturday morning and say "Oh, I can't wait to write to an essay today!" But honestly they do now say "I can't wait to write a new scenario". Adam has written an Iron Kingdoms scenario titled 'Merry Cryxmas'. We had a great time playing! It is now a Christmas tradition. We can't wait until December! He has also written and been Game Master for his friends. They would play more but senior year activities keep getting in the way!

     Adam isn't the only one writing. Travis, our middle schooler likes Pathfinder and has written scenarios for his group of friends. I love to see him sitting in the recliner just a writing away on the laptop. Travis is also the rules guru. His Christmas list is Pathfinder rule books!

     Our youngest son Brett is 10 years old. When he sees Adam or Travis writing he of course wants to be like them and will pull his writing notebook out and start a short story. I can't even count how many he has started but not finished. But, hey, he is writing.

     I think it is cool that just because we started playing a particular type of game as a family that they wanted to write just for fun. You really don't know what other interest might come from playing a game. Another reason to gather the family around the table and play! (or paint, or write!) Umm...I might pull out Brett's notebook and start something of my own!

   

Day 23: Gaming Leads to Painting

     I mentioned earlier in the month how gaming has sparked other interests for us as a family. It isn't just about playing our game once a week. Gaming has introduced us to new hobbies we never would have considered. Once you start playing games and try new games you find that you develop other interests. One hobby my family has started is painting.

     Now I NEVER would have thought that anyone in my family would have the desire to paint. They showed no interest in painting at all. They liked paint by numbers and watercolors when they were young but that is as far as it went. Now when they saw the game Warmachine by Privateer Press it was like a light shining down and heavenly music playing. It was Liz Lemon saying "I want to go to there"! They wanted that game bad! They wanted to collect figures and build their faction. They wanted to paint people! They jumped right in and studied types of paint and painting techniques. They spend hours painting small figures. It isn't just my family though. Our friends also paint miniatures. People who haven't thought about painting suddenly talk about shading, dry brushing, and washing. You see the goal isn't just to use the miniatures in the game, but to have the best looking faction! When they go to tournaments they enter their figures in painting contests then play the game. Special cases have been ordered to store their figures in. We also have a curio cabinet just for figures! Oh, and my son did win third place in a painting competition!

     We have also taken a painting class as a family at one of the conventions we went to. While I don't paint miniatures, mainly because I cannot keep my hand steady, I do like to paint waterguns, nerf guns, binoculars, etc.  for steampunk costumes! Three years ago I would have never thought of painting. Then my family started  and I thought if they can do it I can too! And guess what? We are doing more things as a family besides playing a game.

     It is exciting when young people try new things and discover hidden talents. That goes for grown ups too! Shake things up and try a little painting!

     PS...for those of you who have left comments, Marty and I have been trying to respond but for some reason it does not post. I am sorry! Mike, if you're still there, Eminent Domain is the way to go! It is not head to head warfare. That is just one way to acquire a planet. Your wife will like it!

Day 22: Why I Was Reluctant to Play Games

     This post is for those of you who may be strategy gamers but for some reason your significant other isn't. For years Marty played strategy games with his friends but I never joined in. Through the years I have been able to pinpoint specific reasons why I didn't game.Today I am going to tell you some of those reasons. Boy, I wish I had started sooner!

     Reason #1 - The length of some games. Some games are 2 or more hours. The thought of that used to stress me out. I would say that I didn't have time to play a game with him. I had too much to do. I was looking at it at the wrong way though. I would often say we don't talk enough, we need to go a date, etc. You know what couples say. Little did I know that gaming with your spouse for 2 hours is good communication time! We talk, laugh, work through situations in the game. Gaming is a great way to spend time with your spouse! Now it does help if everyone works to make sure that chores etc. are done!

     Reason #2 - Gamers are a secret clique with a secret language. I thought, "They don't want me to play because I don't know what they are talking about.". I was embarrassed to say that I had no idea what they were talking about! They would throw out terms while they were playing and I had no clue. Well, busted! Gamers WANT to tell you what  terms mean and want EVERYONE to play. Just ask! I have never been around a more open and welcoming group. No matter where I go local gaming clubs, local conventions, even national conventions, everyone is friendly and encouraging. As far as the secret language, everything is acronyms. It is too much to constantly say Role Playing Game or Analysis Paralysis (overthinking rules...I do not suffer from this) so RPG and AP are used. Just ask what the acronym means. There are no embarrassing questions in gaming.

     Reason #3 - I am not competitive. I would hear Marty and his friends constantly letting each other have it because somebody put a spell on somebody, took over territory, or fought over a planet. I am not competitive so that was not appealing. Solution, we started playing cooperative games. It just so happens that we really enjoy playing co-op games. I prefer games where I do not have to "attack" someone directly.

    Reason #4 - I didn't understand the rules! Sometimes I couldn't even concentrate when Marty was explaining the rules because it seemed like there were 100 steps and I would say forget it before we even started. For me, and maybe for some others, it is much easier to play a  practice round as we go through the rules. Skip trying to explain every detail and run through a round. Now that I have been playing a while I am better with the rules, but practice rounds are always good. A friend of mine says that the story is what grabs her. So instead of telling the steps of the game tell the story of the game. What are you trying to accomplish and what is needed to accomplish it.

    These are just a few things that may prevent someone from playing. Rolling Dice & Taking Names will post a podcast today and a friend of mine and I will be talking about some of these reasons and more. I want couples and families to game together and some of these ideas may help.Marty and I have shirts that say Couples Who Game Together Stay Together. So true, unless he tries to take my territory. :)

 

Episode 25: Invasion of the Body Snatchers

They're here...

This is our Halloween episode and we have the ladies returning to the show. I am not saying that their return is scary or the segment will give you nightmares, but the episode was released near Halloween thus it is our Halloween show. I am also not hinting that the title of the show is any reflection on marriage, just thought it would fit with the time of year, that is all. Now that those clarifications are out of the way, let's talk about the show.

MACE Convention activities, find out how to play Nothing Personal and Eldritch Horror is discussed. Casey and Vanessa (first appearance in Episode 11) give their thoughts on how to get your significant other involved in gaming and really do give some great advice. Marty and I discuss for our own benefit what is Spiel, Essen and the Spiel des jahres and the games we have looked into that will be at the show. We also have our Halloween 'At The Table' and the results from our request for you to send in your answers. Finally, if you haven't seen the post over at BGG, we got a new contest running, but it ends 10/25 @ 7pm, so act fast if you are interested in the prize.

A bit of whinning	2:20
MACE Convention	10:30
The Ladies	20:00
Back to the us	48:30
At the Table (Halloween)	53:15
Essen	57:30
RDTN Contest	01:13:30

Enjoy the show!



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Day 21: Strategy Games for Children

     I hope you had a great weekend and maybe played a game with your family. The games we have talked about so far have been for at least age 8 and up. I was wanting to give some ideas of games for younger children.

     An oldie but goodie is Perfection. In Perfection players have 60 seconds to fit 25 pieces into the corresponding hole. The board is pushed down and after 60 seconds it springs up causing the shapes to fly around. Perfection is for ages 5 and up. It is very addicting! 

     Blokus is a good game that was published in 2000. It is also recommended for ages 5 and up. Players use transparent colored tiles and take turns laying their pieces so that at least one corner touches their color. Play continues to no one can place a tile. The last one with a tile wins.

   


Cranium Cariboo is good for children ages 3-6. Children learn colors, shapes, numbers, and counting. It is a cooperative game where players draw cards and open treasure hunt doors that coorespond to their card. Once the door is open they look for a ball. When a six balls are collected they win! This game was published in 1998. I hate that we missed this one!

     Farmyard Bingo by Fisher Price is good for the really young! It is recommended for ages 2 and up. Our son got it for his first birthday. We played it for MANY hours! Players pull a lever and a chip comes out of the barn with a fun boing noise! Players match the chips (farmyard animals) to their card. The first with three that match wins. It is never too young to start playing a game. 

     There are many great educational games online for children. But there really is no substitute for sitting down together and playing a game. The laughter and lessons taught are priceless. These kids games almost make me want another baby! Almost :)