Looking for something new for family games night that won’t have your children fighting with each other? Try cooperative games from Family Pastimes.
Disclosure: We received two games from Family Pastimes to try out and review.
The company sells many, many cooperative games. We tried out two but I also already own two others.
We tried out Round-up and Choices.
Round-up
Roundup is a game for ages 5-7 although my 9 year old loves it very much. But you definitely CAN play it with younger easily. Even a 3-4 year old could play with help.
It’s for 1-8 players which is nice because my child can play it by herself sometimes too if no one is available to play. Of course it’s not technically cooperative without multiple players.
You are trying to get the horses into the corral safely while dealing with rocks in your way. Use binoculars to peek under pieces and ropes to remove rocks.
It’s super easy to understand, learn and play.
As I said my 9 year old absolutely loves this game. Here we are below playing it as a family.
As you can see you start with all the pieces mix up and face down on each square (except the corral).
On your turn you flip over a piece. If it’s a horse and there is a free path to the corral, you move the horse. If it’s a rock you find the matching number piece and move it there face up.
In the image to the right, the horse can’t go to the corral because the rocks are in the way. Someone needs to find and use ropes to move the rocks first.
Binoculars let you see under rocks to the blank piece below to see if it’s worth moving even if it’s not in the way.
I highly recommend this game for all young families. I’d rate it 5/5 stars. It’s a great first game so no one feels left out as a loser.
Choices
Choices is a game for ages 12 and up about moral dilemmas. It’s for 4-24 players. This game is faith based which I didn’t realize at first but we still enjoyed a good discussion about it.
You move through life from birth through to returning to God (death). You travel through Childhood, Adolescence, Middle Age and Old Age.
You read moral questions based on the age group you are currently in. Examples of questions include:
Your family dines out. The food is good. The service is so-so. 1. You leave an okay tip. 2. You leave no tip. 3. Other.
What’s neat about the game is for bigger groups of 10+ you don’t just answer the question. You pick which answer is yours and move into groups with others who said the same answer. So all the 1’s go here, all the 2s go here and all the 3s go here (after sharing what they’re answer would be.) Then each group picks a new question. You use the die to determine if each person can answer individually or if each group has to reach a consensus.
In a smaller group, you just stay where you are and answer the questions within your group. This is what we did.
What I didn’t like about the game besides not realizing it was faith based was the old fashioned-ness of the game. Those game players in old age might not appreciate the stereotypical grandma image on the board and cards. One of the questions says “old bum” instead of homeless guy or something better. I also wish the board was more board like and less like a folded piece of cardboard.
Overall though I’d give the game 4/5 stars if I were to rate it.
Check out Family Pastimes to see more.
Speak Your Mind