In a world where cable is the norm and dial-up Internet is prehistoric, board games remain stubbornly primitive.
There are predetermined rules. Your competitors must be in the room with you. And if a player has to take time out, you have to wait to continue. In most cases, board games require little more than an investment in time.
Despite updates to familiar standbys, game play hasn’t changed for decades. But companies are churning out new games in an attempt to be the next Monopoly or Scrabble. They all want to come up with the next great device to pull families away from the Xboxes and Blackberries, and put them around the kitchen table. You know, that place where idle conversation sprinkled with laughs can occur.
Listed below are some recent offerings. They’ve been test-driven by a family of four. And, yes, in one case there is still a need for batteries. We’re in the 21st century, after all.
WALLAMOPPI
(Out of the Box Publishing, $24.95)
2 players, ages 7 to adult
Time to play: 5 minutes
Degree of difficulty: Low to moderate
The object of the game: In a race against time, pull “kiwi disks” from a stacked wall and stack them up higher. The last player to successfully stack a disk before a marble drops through the wooden timer structure wins.
What it’s like: Jenga on fast forward
Will your kids like it? Younger ones will find the race against time too difficult – in our game, the marble dropped through the timer in less than 5 seconds. Playing without the timer became dull too quickly.
Will you like it? For the Starbucks-infused, any teetering stacking game is a problem. And be prepared to find kiwi disks all over your house.
MIXUP
(Out of the Box Publishing, $19.99)
2 players, ages 8 to adult
Time to play: 10-15 minutes
Degree of difficulty: Low to moderate
The object of the game: With one player playing shapes and the other playing colors, the players drop tiles onto a grid in an attempt to get four tiles in a row or in a two-by-two square. It’s easy to learn, but while you’re paying attention to your own objective, you can accidentally help your opponent.
What it’s like: Connect Four times two
Will your kids like it? The goal is simple and requires just enough strategy to make it more challenging.
Will you like it? It provides teaching opportunities in pattern recognition, and a sharp-eyed child can legitimately beat a parent at this.
SKULLDUGGERY
(Outset Media, $24.95)
2 to 4 players, ages 8 to adult
Time to play: 60 to 90 minutes
Degree of difficulty: Moderate
The object of the game: As a swashbuckler on a desert island, you travel around a fragmented map collecting booty, but you must beware of dangerous animals and enemy pirates. The island, made up of 36 movable cardboard tiles, is constantly changing at the hands of your opponents and you don’t know which direction you’ll have to head next. The pirate wins by hitting four landmarks and reaching the treasure first.
What it’s like: It’s hard to categorize, but think Monopoly infused with “Yaaar! Ye scurvy dog!”
Will your kids like it? The game is easy – if everyone plays nice – but the fun and challenges increase when play becomes more cutthroat (it’s about pirates, after all). It’s more fun with four players than with two.
Will you like it? Playing the game takes up a lot of space: a regular 4-by-4 card table was almost too small. And like most cutthroat games (Monopoly players, you know who you are), there can be a fair amount of arguing and potential for hard feelings.
SKYBRIDGE
(Gigamic, $26.95)
2 to 4 players, ages 7 to adult
Time to play: 10 to 20 minutes
Degree of difficulty: Moderate
The object of the game: It’s a three-dimensional strategy game; players use different colored wooden blocks to build skyscrapers and take over the city; one block, a “bridge,” will connect your skyscraper to another person’s; if your color is at the top of the building, you own it. The player with the highest number of stories wins.
What it’s like: Building blocks, competition style!
Will your kids like it? There are a few rules to building that can become frustrating to remember for younger children. It’s good for a time or two, but it’s like what Tom Hanks said in “Big”: What’s so fun about playing with buildings?
Will you like it? The pieces are sturdy and well made, so they can’t break. There’s a chance they’ll see life in simple – albeit expensive – block play.
COSMIC CATCH
(Hasbro, $20)
2 to 6 players, ages 7 to adult
Time to play: 5 minutes
Degree of difficulty: Low to moderate
The object of the game: It’s catch, with an electronic component. The ball has a sensor that can tell which player is holding the ball, based on the colored band that each player is wearing on her hand. The ball announces who to throw the ball to next, and it senses when a player has made a mistake, thereby ending the game. There are four games to choose from: Fast Pass, Add One, You’re Out and Code Challenge, which is a “Simon”-style remember-the-pattern game.
What it’s like: Hot potato – batteries not included
Will kids like it? It’s a fun and simple game for most ages, and more fun when there’s a larger group. Perhaps it was due to the blustery weather on our test day, but the kids grew bored of it relatively quickly.
Will you like it? While soft, the ball is on the heavy side, which adds an element of danger when there are younger players.
