Quickie Contest:
Guys, let's just do this right now. Why don't you write me the name of the board/card/family game you want in the comments here (it doesn't have to be one I recommended, but it has to be not electronic in any way, because I'm a pain in the ass like that), and on Monday at midnight I'll pick one and send it out. I'll post the winner here, and you'll need to check back and send me your address if it's you. That way you can get it in time for the holidays, if the holidays isn't Chanukkah. Which you'll get it after.
Also, speaking of Chanukkah: don't forget last year's latke recipe. They really are kind of insanely good.
More soon, darlings. xo
Clue. I can't believe we don't already have this game.
ReplyDeleteSorry. My kids are still pretty little - I think they're ready for this classic (and I wouldn't get bored to tears with it like I do with Candy Land and Chutes and Ladders!)
ReplyDeleteI'd love to get Husker Du which was a family favorite at my Gramma's when we were growing up. Love that game!!
ReplyDeleteI'd love to try Zooloretto! Only because my kids are younger. I can't wait until they're older and we can get into these more complicated games.
ReplyDeleteApples to Apples! Always wanted it. Such a fun game
ReplyDeleteModern Art just sounds incredible!
ReplyDeleteSettlers of Catan!
ReplyDeleteYea! I definitely want to try out Carrcassonne (did I include enough double consonants there?) Hunters and Gatherers.
ReplyDeleteMORPHOLOGY--a game that was invented by a student at the Dartmouth business school up here. Think Pictionary with small objects. Great fun.
ReplyDeleteI definitely want to try out Carcassonne Hunters and Gatherers!
ReplyDeleteBut, I recently entered a drawing for a free 1/2 hour personal trainer session and won. Such a bummer, because now I'll never win the thing I really want!
My little ones would love the Fairytale Spinner Game recommended by Angry Chicken.
ReplyDeleteClue. The whodunit games are so much fun. And my oldest is getting old enough to play now.
ReplyDeleteRummikub. Your description that it was a good quick game for everyone won me over. We love playing Settlers of Catan, but that is a time commitment!
ReplyDeleteZooloretto, since I already purchased "Ticket to Ride" and "Carcassonne Hunters and Gatherers" as Christmas gifts for the kiddies after reading your recommendations.
ReplyDeleteTicket to Ride, please! Aren't you in the holiday giving spirit! I think my two boys would love this game.
ReplyDeleteTicket to Ride. I've wanted that one for ages.
ReplyDeleteWould love to get Carcasonne's The New World ... we love Settlers of Catan and I'm betting would love that too. Kids a just old enough for strategy :).
ReplyDeleteOooh! I would love to have Carcassonne Hunters and Gatherers. Or Settlers of Catan. Or even Boggle, which we used to have, but somehow the pieces have slowly disappeared. What a fun contest!
ReplyDeleteSo many of them sound so fun, but I guess I should start with the classic Settlers of Catan!
ReplyDeleteHappy Holidays!!
Scrabble
ReplyDeleteRummikub. One of my all time favorites!
ReplyDeleteZooloretto!
ReplyDeleteWe'd love to try Zooloretto. WE already ordered Ticket to ride. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteMy kids would love Zooloretto. I already bought Rummikub, and I can't wait to play!
ReplyDeleteI'd like Blokus, but the one for 2 people, not 4.
ReplyDeleteWe would love Carcassonne Hunters and Gatherers, pretty please!
ReplyDeleteQuoridor Kid has been on my list for a few years -- the one with the little wooden mice. It looks so cute and fun!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the giveaway Catherine! This is very generous of you.
Settlers of Cataan or Zoolaretto. I'm so ready to move past the standard board games we play!
ReplyDeleteTicket to Ride - I've heard so many people say it is a great game! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteTicket to Ride for me, please!! ;-)
ReplyDeleteand thank you, thank you, thank you for that previous post. I need to try these games. I think I'll order one of them for Xmas (but, maybe I'll win! ;-)
in any case, I think the hardest thing about it is to decide which one to get. Oh, two more things, we already have Rumikub and... I was disappointed to hear that the you think the medieval Carcasonne game is boring -- I've always dreamed of visiting the actual city and that might be an interesting way to get the boys interested in it too -- if the game were fun. oh well!
Zoolaretto sounds like a lot of fun - I think my daughter would love the animal theme. Thanks for a fantastic list of games!
ReplyDeleteI want Carcassonne Hunters and Gatherers -- it looks amazing!
ReplyDeleteSettlers of Catan! I keep hearing great things about it. Thanks for running this contest.
ReplyDeleteBananagrams. How do we not have this game yet?
ReplyDeleteDicecapades. We played this with friends recently and it was really fun.
ReplyDeletesettlers of Catan! or Zooleretto... shichever is your most favorite of the two..
ReplyDeleteI'd love to try Zooloretto!
ReplyDeletethat Carcassonne Hunters and Gatherers game sounds amazing!
ReplyDeleteBananagrams! Please! Though my son would likely want some of the European ones that you thankfully explained - he plays those at game nights with the chess club.
ReplyDeleteI would love to try Hunters and Gatherers! We love family board games here, and all of those sound great (even though they may be a bit much for our youngest at age 5).
ReplyDeleteTicket to Ride. I really want to play it. I think my sons would like it, too. Thanks for a fun giveaway and also for the fearless bread recipe from long ago…we've been making it for almost a year! And haven't bought loaves from the store since!
ReplyDeleteOh man, how about any of the following: Ticket to Ride, Modern Art or Zooloretto!
ReplyDeleteWould love to try Zooloretto! We have and love to play many on your list, so I just know we'd like this one, too!
ReplyDeleteYou make them all sound like so much fun... but I would love to try Ticket to Ride.
ReplyDeleteYou've sold our family on Ticket to Ride!
ReplyDeleteOH! We LOVE Taboo. And Boggle. (although in our family, Boggle is pronounced with a Spanish Flair - 'BOW-Glay'. And somehow is issued in a challenge format a la, 'Dad...I hereby challenge you to a game of BowGlay'
ReplyDeleteDutch Blitz looked like my kids might like it best!
ReplyDeletebananagrams yay!!
ReplyDeletei ordered farkle & rummi..something for the kids this year. a friend has bg & the adults have just as much fun with it! thanks for that game post last week!! loved it.
Man I love games! Zooloretto is one I've been interested in trying. Great suggestions on your earlier post!
ReplyDeleteI've hear raves about the Settlers of Cataan (although not so many raves that I haven't already bought them--I actually did use your post as a straight-to-the-ecart shopping guide for the boyz in the family.)
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry to say we don't own Sorry! Thanks for the community you create with your words!
ReplyDeleteI think the new National Park Monopoly looks really neato!
ReplyDeleteZooloretto! I'm so intrigued by your ringing endorsement, and my kids love anything with animals :)
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ReplyDeleteHi..thank you for your blogs. Love your writing so much, wish you wrote more..always checking and it seems only one entry a month..boo hoo, but always excited when there is a NEW post.
ReplyDeleteEspecially this one! Feel less intelligent, but game I would like is called "Walk the Dogs". I just think my kids would LOVE it as it comes with this bag of tiny various breeds of dogs. (Am interested to see what they would do with them, as they have taken brown backgammon pieces and incorporated them into Candyland as chocolates and invented their own set of rules.) Love your list of games, but have you seen the over $60 price on Zooloretto at Amazon?! That's too outrageous.
So, of course if you choose "Walk the Dogs" for us, we would be most happy to keep you posted with our reviews and the kids ideas for play.
PS LOVED the sugared cranberries at Tday and only a few left, I put them in small dish in frig overnight and they were cold and still very yummy next day..will be making them every year! thanks for the new tradition...my kitchen was covered with sugar, but the kids had a blast :)
I'd have to say Zooloretto looked pretty fun and we need to shake up our game selection a bit.
ReplyDeleteTHANKS!! By the way, my holiday table was very pretty from our sugared cranberries.
I'm always thrilled when you post!!
ReplyDeleteI think that my boys would love to try Zooloretto. Thank you for your blog.
I would love Settlers of Catan. It sounds right up my kids' alley. I made your chex mix last night- I added a smidge too much hot sauce which had the benefit of keeping the kids from eating it all.
ReplyDeleteTicket to Ride is currently sitting in my Amazon cart--waiting for purchase before the holidays, thanks to your post. Would love to win it! Your enthusiastic description of the games has prompted me to insist that my family add an offical 'game night' to the week. An early New Year's resolution!
ReplyDelete"Hey, that's my fish!" looks like fun for my family!
ReplyDeleteI'm having so much trouble making up my mind. Okay - Hunters and Gatherers! We've never tried a European style game - this looks like a good introduction.
ReplyDeletei've been eyeing 'orchard' on amazon for months. we saw a family playing it once and we were crazy with jealousy! thanks for all the years of writing...
ReplyDeleteI would love to have Orchard to play with the little kids. Love all the game recs-- thanks so much!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the games roundup last week--we ordered Bananagrams and Dutch Blitz for the holidays. And thanks too for the contest! We'd love Hunters and Gatherers.
ReplyDeletemy kiddos would love Blokus!
ReplyDeleteThey ALL sound so much fun. However, I think I would go with Ticket to Ride.
ReplyDeleteSettlers of Catan.
ReplyDeleteJust asked for board game suggestions in my facebook status. Many of the suggestions I got matched yours.
Dutch Blitz sounds great!
ReplyDeleteScrabble - fun for the competitive parents, fun for the learning-to-read/write kids.
ReplyDeleteOh, oh, oh, Hunters and gatherers please... we have a hobbit version of the tile laying game - boy this is one of our absolute favorites, but it being in German we have to forever translate the rules... cannot wait to try this one.
ReplyDeleteCarrcassonne! because it sounds so fun to pronounce - reminds me of macaroni, which we love and I absolutely love the list of games you provided. Thank you so much for all the ideas!
ReplyDeleteCarcassonne (good god, I'm sure I spelled that wrong . . . how many consonants can one word have?) Hunters and Gatherers sounds really cool. (So does Rummikub--okay who comes up with these names?--but since I have to choose one, I'm going with the lovely meadows and rivers.)
ReplyDeleteEvery one is your favorite! I'll say Zooloretto because my kids are younger - but I'll understand if you knock Canadians out of the running to guard against shipping headaches!
ReplyDeleteKiller Bunnies. I have a friend that RAVES about it, but we don't have it yet. Oh, or maybe the kids' version Kinder Bunnies... if I were to happen to win, you can choose. ;)
ReplyDeleteI'm loving the Hunters and Gatherers suggestion. Seems like the kind of game my 7 year old would like.
ReplyDeleteZooloretto! The name, the animals, and the fact that Birdy likes it!
ReplyDeletewow! you are so kind to offer a give away like that...and i love seeing the options in the comments - we've never played Zooloretto or Ticket to ride...I guess either would be fabulous if there is one you like. we just bought harry potter lego game and found it very fun.
ReplyDeleteI'd love to try Ticket to Ride - my oldest is not quite 7 yet but he loves trains. P.S. My husband and I LOVE Settlers of Catan and always recommend it to people - can't wait until my kids are old enough to play it!
ReplyDeleteApples to Apples. This is a game that everyone in my family will agree to play with me.
ReplyDeleteI would love Blokus or Zooloretto to play with my kindergartener.
ReplyDeleteCarcassone: Hunters and Gatherers! How fun...a game of chance for a game. :-)
ReplyDeleteDutch Blitz, please! Thanks for all you do.
ReplyDeleteZooloretto! It sounds wonderful.
ReplyDelete:)
Loved the sound of the game Dixit. Thank you for the depth and detail of your games post. It was so great to learn of games "off the beaten path"!
ReplyDeleteCarrcassonne
ReplyDeleteCarcassonne hunters and Gatherers! We just moved back to the USA from the Middle East. We made lots of British friends that we are missing a bunch! Maybe this would help!
ReplyDeleteZooloretto sounds great; we'd love to try it.
ReplyDeleteI'd love Apples to Apples. We played it at a girls' weekend with a bunch of friends, and it was so much fun.
ReplyDeleteI would like to try Ticket to Ride! My children love strategy games. I've added it to my Amazon wish list.
ReplyDeleteWow - thanks, Catherine! Zooloretto is my choice. I ordered Dutch Blitz thanks to you!
ReplyDeleterummikub and thank you for the give-away!
ReplyDeleteHi Catherine, I've been reading since your babycenter days and I'm feeling a bit sheepish that it took the prospect of a free game for me to de-lurk. Anyway, Ticket to Ride looks great! And I will definitely try your latke recipe this year...by the way, I make your plum cake all the time & have lost count how many times I've given the recipe out (with credit to you & your fantastic blog, of course). Chag Sameach!
ReplyDeleteWow. Such a hard choice, so I'll go with your first recommendation: Hunters and Gatherers.
ReplyDeleteMille bornes, which I had forgotten and that a reader of yours reminded me of in the comments section. THANK YOU !
ReplyDeleteI really want my own Zooloretto. That games looks perfect for my family.
ReplyDeleteSettlers of Catan - played it before kids were born, and now my Ben is old enough.
ReplyDeleteZooloretto!!!! I know that my daughter would love it, and my son will say that he loves it because his big sister does!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much!
I think New World would be great to try. My ten year old son is obsessed with early american history and this looks like fun
ReplyDeleteI would love to try Drumis. We love Blokus and I think that one would be great too. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteTicket to Ride sounds awesome. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteDutch Blitz sounds goot.
ReplyDeleteScrabble. The kids are too young for it but hubby and I used to play it for hours at coffee shops before they came along (sigh).
ReplyDeleteBananagrams. Just because it's funny to say 'Bananagrams'. And I like the banana bag. Very clever.
ReplyDeleteWe'd love Carcassonne - Hunters and Gatherers!
ReplyDeletesettlers of cataan! :)
ReplyDeleteI know my 7-year-old son would love Zooloretto, and I would too, because I'm tired of having him kick my butt at chess! (Also, it would be awesome to win a gift for him, since the "money for gifts" purse is tiny this year.) Thanks for the list and the contest!
ReplyDeleteZooloreto would be fab! I ordered Hunters and Gatherers and Ticket to ride -I'm excited to have some new games in the house.
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the reviews of the games - that was just what I needed.
After seeing your list, I ordered 3 games from Amazon. Goblet, Dutch Blitz arrived during the week. But I haven't had the concentration to figure out how to play Dutch Blitz yet (embarrassed to admit the rules seem complicated). We might bring it to our next trip to learn to play it without distraction. But Goblet is a big hit with my 5 year-old, who can play it, but without strategy just yet. I liked the sturdy box and classy looking pieces. Thanks for the ideas to play board games again- reminds me of my childhood...
ReplyDeletewhat do I do without your blog!!
Jing
(amateur-mom)
Dutch Blitz. My husband is a board game collector, and I would be thrilled to give him something that isn't in our 100+ collection that looks like so much fun!
ReplyDeleteRummikub sounds like it would be a great addition to our house from your description.
ReplyDeleteZooloretto is on my Amazon wish list, so I'll go with that. Thanks for the giveaway. We love board games! And your recommendations!
ReplyDeleteI pretty much wishlisted everything you recommended in your last post...so it is hard to pick! I have heard a lot of buzz about The Settlers of Catan, so I'll go with that one!
ReplyDeleteZooloretto sounds fun! We've been looking for some new fun board games, so thank you for the recommendations, and the fun contest!
ReplyDeleteOh my, the Dixit game someone mentioned sounds right up my story-loving family's alley! I am from Canada also, so possibly disqualified from the giveaway? No matter, I love to read you wherever I find you.
ReplyDeleteZooloretto. It sounds like something we could all enjoy. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI hear Blokus is great!
ReplyDeleteYahtzee -
ReplyDeleteI don't have a google account but my name is Kristin :)
Carcassonne Hunters and Gatherers
ReplyDeleteBecause I have a 6 1/2 year old that LOVES those kind of games.
Apples to Apples! And we'd love a post about the games you USED to play--our oldest is 4 and into Guess Who, but the rest are too old, and if I play Candyland too many more times.......
ReplyDeleteOoh, I'd love Zooloretto for my animal loving guys! Thanks for all your great reviews. After boring myself to literal tears playing all the regular board games, I'd really enjoy branching out.
ReplyDeleteRumis sounds great! We already have Blokus and love it, so I think we would like Rumis, too. Thanks, Catherine!
ReplyDeleteOoo, fun! I'm going with Carcassonne Hunters and Gatherers cause it looks like fun and hey we could use it for "game night, date night" until the kids are old enough to join us! thanks!
ReplyDeleteOoh, it's so hard to choose. It is between Zooloretto, Settlers of Catan or Carcassonne. Whichever you think would be best for a 9 year old who is new to these kinds of games. Awesome post as always!!
ReplyDeleteMy son loves board games! We play Cranium all the time and it's so fun. I just bought Cadoo for him for Christmas, but I know he would love Ticket to Ride also.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the suggestions, Catherine!
I think Zooloretto sounds amazing. I only wish Soren were a little older. He does okay with Monopoly, but the attention span can wane and then the pieces go all over.
ReplyDeleteZooloretto would be my choice. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteHunters and Gatherers! Or Zooloretto!
ReplyDeleteCarcassonne Hunters and Gatherers! Sounds wonderful!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for all the game recommendations! Just asked my parents for Settlers of Catan (based on your recommendation) as a Christmas present and I'm pretty sure/hopeful we'll soon be playing that one so I'm going to put down Modern Art here. I was a major Masterpiece fan as a kid and this game sounds like more intelligent, grown-up version of that!
ReplyDeleteGuess Who, please -- I have a 4 year old.
ReplyDeleteLoved your games post. Many I wishlisted for later. Our kids are 3 and 5 and we LOVE playing games together. I think we'd all love Guess Who, or Sorry and I have to say Zooloretto looks amAZING! We love zingo and are thinking of other games by the same manufacturer for Christmas too.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I make your potato/leek soup weekly and we absolutely love it!
Zooleretto!
ReplyDeleteBananagrams
ReplyDeleteYou've got me curious to try Zooloretto. We have Coloretto and really like it, Zooloretto sounds like something the kids would like better. =)
ReplyDeleteWe'd love to win Carcassonne Hunters and Gatherers--based on your descriptions it sounds like a great game for our family!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the chance Catherine!
We'd love to try Hunters and Gatherers. Oh, and guess what? I finally realized that I can never find my copy of Waiting for Birdy because I didn't own a copy. Oops! Well, I do now! Really wishing for another book at some point....
ReplyDeleteI think Farkle looks fun!
ReplyDeleteSettlers of Catan sounds great!
ReplyDeleteCarcassonne Hunters and Gatherers This sounds like alot of fun and we have been looking for it all over!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your fantastic blog!
Carrcassonne Hunters and Gatherers looks great!
ReplyDeleteOoo, I would like Zooloretto or Gobblet. Happy Chanukkah!
ReplyDeleteZooloretto! I got so excited that I went to eBay to buy it, only to be foiled by false advertising. Even though the picture was for the original Zooloretto, I was actually sold the Zooloretto expansion. What am I going to do with that?!
ReplyDeleteCarcassonne. Catherine, you're too generous!
ReplyDeleteOooooh. I would have no idea how to choose one, they all sound so cool. Ticket to Ride? You're such a sweetheart to do this.
ReplyDeleteDutch Blitz! Crazy Aunt Robin already purchased Settlers of Catan for our Christmas gift.
ReplyDeleteCatherine, you are the best. Enjoy the season to its fullest!
I've been wanting Dutch Blitz ever since I read your last post! Thank you, by the way, for putting up that great list of your favorite board games.
ReplyDeleteCarcassonne Hunters and Gatherers! Made the latkes, and they were indeed delicious.
ReplyDeleteABALONE. I played it once and I've wanted it since. It takes about 1 minute to learn and is really fast paced. You can win or lose in a split second and even if you lose you are sure you can win the next one, so you just keep playing.
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ReplyDeleteZooleretto! I want my family to love board games, but they are still little, so I haven't tried much. This might be just right for my 7 year old. You are sweet to do these contests. They are so fun! --Cathy K
ReplyDeleteI'd love the Carconne Hunter and Gatheres,...in fact I think I'm a gonna order it now and the if I win, give it as a gift!
ReplyDeleteKristin E.
Settlers of Cattan. My sister plays with friends all the time and I am jealous! I think my oldest kid would love it!
ReplyDeleteThanks!
Zooloretto... did I even spell it right?
ReplyDelete@Hunters and Gatherers!! I had not heard of this before reading your post and am very excited to try it out.
ReplyDelete:)
Zooloretto! I also have younger ones ... Thanks for doing this!
ReplyDeleteCarcassonne New World. My two boys are 11 and 8 (my 11 year old is also named Ben!). We love games and we try to have "Friday ight Game night" as often as we can!
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the great descriptions!!
"She's got a Ticket to Ri-hide, she's got a Ticket to Ri-hi-hide." She's making me jealous so I would also like to have Ticket to Ride. I know, I'm a dork. I hope you and your beautiful family have a wonderful holiday. Thanks, Catherine!
ReplyDeleteI want to teach my daughters Boggle. They're only 6 and 4, but even the little one can read fluently and they are both into word puzzles and games like Hangman. I think Boggle is the next step!
ReplyDeleteDefinitely Dutch Blitz. How can you pass up a Vonderful Goot game??
ReplyDeletePictureka!! It looks like so much fun though I'm sure I will get whooped by my 6 year old.
ReplyDeleteI would love to play the game Aquire, that you mentioned in your post, with my kids!
ReplyDeleteThanks for blogging!
I don't have Chinese checkers yet! And my daughter is 6. What's wrong with us?
ReplyDeleteOops! I think I entered on the other post =) Would love to try Zooloretto! Sounds right up our alley!
ReplyDeletei'm too late, but i would like MUNCHKIN or MASTERMIND please.
ReplyDeleteTicket to Ride sounds perfect to me!
ReplyDeleteSettlers of Catan! :)
ReplyDeleteCarcassonne. I think we are ready to graduate to something like this and I love your enthusiasm about it!
ReplyDeleteDid I make it? It's not 12 here yet! We are currently wanting Pandemic! Happy Holidays!
ReplyDeleteAm I too late? It's Tuesday here but I think it's still Monday for you.
ReplyDeleteI have ordered Carsaconne from your recommendation already.
So Ticket to Ride.
Carcassonne Hunters & Gatherers, please!
ReplyDeleteTried to order on Amazon, but they won't ship it overseas...