May 2010

In our last issue, we looked at two new card games and two international games. This month I asked my wife to choose four of her favourite games for our whole family to play. We have children aged from seven through to teenager, so the games are suitable for all ages. We hope you enjoy trying them out with your family.

Everest

Everest is a simple board game for all ages that uses three dice. Each player could draw a diagram (the numbers 1 to 12 listed twice, in two rows) on a piece of paper each time you play, or you could make a permanent set from cardboard and decorate them before covering them with plastic and using an erasable felt tip pen.

1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12
12	11	10	9	8	7	6	5	4	3	2	1

Players take turns to throw all three dice. They can then cross off any number from either row of the table. For example, if they threw a 1, 2 and 5 they could cross off any of those numbers or they could cross off 3 (1+2), 6 (1+5), 7 (2+5) or 8 (1+2+5). However, players can only cross off one number from either row, but not from both rows. That is, any ONE number (1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7 or 8) can be crossed off each turn.

If they have no number they can cross off on their turn, they forfeit that turn and the next player has their turn. For example, a player may only need to cross off a 4 and both 10s. If they threw a 1, 2 and 5 (as above), they could not cross off any numbers and would forfeit that turn. The first player to cross off all their numbers wins the game.

For more details, see the full rules for Everest on our website.

Aces in the Pot is another game for all the family using two dice. Each player also needs two counters (for example; buttons, matches, coins, etc.)

Player One throws both dice. If you throw an Ace (a 'One'), you must put one counter in the middle of the table (which is called the 'pot'). If you throw two Aces, put two counters in the pot. If you throw a six, pass one counter to the player on your left. If you throw two sixes, give the player on your left two counters. Other throws do not count.

Play continues in a clockwise direction. If a player loses all their counters, they are out for the rest of the round. To win the game, the last player left in the game must throw both dice three times. If there are no sixes in those three throws, the player wins the pot and the game. If the player throws a six, the dice are passed to the player on their left, who then throws both dice three times, and so on until finally one player wins the pot. The overall winner of Aces in the Pot is the first player to win the pot three times.

These rules have been simplified to make it easier to play. The full rules are slightly more complicated, especially for winning the pot. For more details, see Aces in the Pot on our website.

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Table Story is one of our family's favourite games. The idea is simply to create a story where each player adds a few new sentences to the story so far.

The first player starts a story on any subject with about 2-5 sentences. For example; "Harry and Mildred drove their little, old car to their local shop one morning. They bought some tea and sugar, and a packet of sweet biscuits for morning tea. Although they had visited the store every morning for three years, they realised something was different today." The second player then picks up the story and continues it for another few sentences before the third player takes over the story, and so on, round and round the table. Each player can add to or change the direction of the story but it must continue to make sense. A story about princes and castles may suddenly have aliens arriving for dinner or an enemy using a bulldozer to break down the castle wall!

The story can finish whenever the players have had enough of the story. For children, it may be reasonable to finish after 2-3 rounds, while adults may like to continue the same Table Story for half an hour or more. The last player should provide a good ending, preferably tying together all the ideas from the story.

For more information see Table Story from our website.

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Crazy Eights is a card game for 2 to 6 players that is similar to the commercial game UNO™ but using a standard deck of cards.

Deal out cards to everyone playing. If two people are playing deal out seven cards each. If three or more people are playing then deal out five cards to each player with the remaining cards (the pick-up pile) in the centre of the table face down. Take the top card from the pick-up pile and place it face up next to the pile, becoming the discard pile.

The player to the left of the dealer can choose to either put a card on the discard pile or take a card from the pick-up pile. In order to place a card on the discard pile it has to be either the same suit or the same number as the card at the top of the pile. For example if the card on top of the discard pile was the Five of Diamonds then you can put down any Five or any Diamond. If you cannot put down any card then you need to pick up a card from the pick-up pile. A card that is picked up cannot be put down until the next round.

The four Eights (8♠ 8♣ 8♦ 8♥) are wild cards that can be placed on any number or suit, hence the name Crazy Eights Card Game. The player who plays an Eight can nominate the suit as play continues. For example, the player who put a wild card on the discard pile chooses Clubs as the suit, so the next player must put down a club (or another Crazy Eight) or pick up.

The first player to get rid of all their cards wins the game.

For more details, see the full rules for Crazy Eights on our website.

As we have mentioned in our last few newsletters, we hope to have a number of family game e-books coming out later this year. Your favourite games from Family Games Treasurehouse along with many, many more games in an easy to print book form.

If you signed up to this newsletter a while ago, the free e-book you received now has a new, more colourful front cover and some extra graphics inside. Check out https://www.family-games-treasurehouse.com/family-games-newsletter-subscription.html to see the new cover. If you would like a copy of the updated e-book, you DON'T need to subscribe again. Simply send us a short message at newsletter@family-games-treasurehouse.com and we will send you the link for the free download. We'd also love to receive any comments about the e-book that we can use as testimonials on the website. Thanks!

Finally, click on the image/link below to find out how you too can break the '9-to-5' routine by starting your own website that can earn you money and give you more time to enjoy with your family.

Until next time,
Andrew Low
Family Games Treasurehouse