Dragonwood Review and Why I'm Taking a Closer Look at Gamewright's Games

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This sounds like something I could get my 9 year old daughter to play. She and I have been playing lots of Jaipur & Takenoko, but she hasn't been very interested in Lost Cities. I think this is because the archaeology theme doesn't compare favorably to her other favorite: Thebes. Dragonwood, on the other hand, has some imagery that might compel her to play.

I've played several of their games, and I have yet to play one that I dind't enjoy. They're also very generous and kind when it comes to review copies, so if you ever want to explore their catalog, you can contact them and see about getting some copies to review.

Terzetto is a very fun abstract that's great for kids.

Sleeping Queens is a well worn classic at our house.

Qwixx is a great filler that still gets a lot of play in my game groups. See also: Ring-o Flamingo , Loot/Korsar, and Turn the Tide.

Sleeping Queens, Aunt Millie's Millions, There's a Moose in the House, and Quests of the Round Table were in heavy rotation with my kids when they were younger.

Re-reading this and I'm sold. Buying a copy this month. Gonna look for 'Moose in the House' as well...

Forbidden Island / Forbidden Desert are steals at their prices. $15 for Island and $20 for Desert. Sushi Go at $10 is cheap, too.

So, which is better: Forbidden Island or Forbidden Desert?

Moose in the House is plenty light, fair warning. Also dirt cheap so it's not much of a risk.

One of the arguments I have on BGG is about rating kid games, and how they should be considered. When you boil it right down you can't place a rating on something from an inappropriate perspective. It makes no sense. So games like Dragonwood need to be considered from the perspective of their target audience.

All that said, Loot by Gamewright is an excellent game as well, one that has Knizia's magical fun-for-the-whole-family touch to it. Simple enough rules-wise for any age to understand quickly, significant enough from a strategy and social intelligence perspective to grow with your children. Also dirt cheap.

S.

These are to be played with a 5 year old girl and an 8 year old boy.

They'll be rated highly in our house.

I've considered Loot, but already have Letter of Marque for a very light shipfaring, treasure taking card game. Maybe Loot is better?

Mr. White wrote: These are to be played with a 5 year old girl and an 8 year old boy.

They'll be rated highly in our house.

Exactly, because you're mature enough to step out of your bubble and understand what's working for your kids. This kind of review brings valuable information to parents, because it's willing to speak to both sides of the coin. I look for three things when I'm reading a review for a kid game -- 1) do kids like it, 2) do adults like it, 3) does it need parental supervision for kids to play it. A game can knock it out of the park in any one of those three questions and be of interest to me.

How about this Cube Quest thing?
boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/137330/cube-quest

Cube Quest is an extremely silly 2-player dice-flicking game that lasts 5-7 (?) minutes. I prefer Ring-o Flamingo with >2 players.

Forbidden Desert is better than Forbidden Island, but - with water rationing and ever-piling sand - it's more unforgiving. I like the clever grid system for finding the ship-o-copter pieces.

Forbidden Island might be better with younger kids. (???) Neither one is particularly easy, though, so be prepared to LOSE HARD.