Pass the Pigs

So, continuing with this theme of mainstream games, we are going on to a game about throwing pigs (no, not actual pigs you idiot) that has been a family classic for many a generation, so lets go!

To start the game one player takes the two miniature rubber pigs and throws them, with different combinations of landings scoring you different points and then they have a decision to make, should they push their luck and take another throw or play it safe and guarantee what points they have but also end their turn. Now, this is a vital decision to make, because if you throw a certain combination of pig positions (which comes up quite often), then your turn ends and you lose all your points. The first person to reach 100 points wins.

This is a pure and simple push your luck game which is tense and exciting at every roll, while remaining simple to teach and learn. It is always funny when your friend is going for one last roll and then loses all the points they scored on that turn, and this threat of losing your points makes this game, a game.

But saying this, the luck element which lets this game work also means that on some turns you take your first toss and your turn ends. Nothing you can do about this, as you watch everyone else actually get to do something.

Next, a minor complaint is that someone has to add up the scores ,taking them out from the game to do mental maths, I can tell you, we do enough maths at school, I don't need more practice.

Finally, I have to address the elephant in the room, or the pig if you want, you are throwing pigs!   My sister absolutely loves them, and I like them to -although hippos are better, just saying- but I do feel like the novelty will wear of and then that will reduct a major part of the fun in the game.

To wrap this up, pass the pigs is a ok push your luck game which is good for young people, due to the simple rules and the pigs, but for anyone but a family with small children the entertainment might wear thin after a while. I would give this a 5 out of 10.

Bananagrams

So, we've all played Scrabble right, you know that word game that takes forever, is tricky to score and incredibly frustrating as you try and fit words on to a grid to score the most possible points. Well, what if I told you that there was a game that took about a quarter of the time to play, had no dull scoring process but still gave brain hurting quality as you try and make words with letters that seem to hate you! If that sounds good, come on in.

In Bananagrams, the aim of the game is to be the first to use all of your letters and there to be none in the central pile either. To do this you try and make a personal grid of interlocking letters in real time -you don't take turns in this game - that form words with (to start of with) 21 tiles. Once someone finishes all their letters, then they must shout 'peel!' and everyone takes an extra face down tile from the dump' one of your letters for three other random ones, sometimes saving you from a pickle but other times just worsening the problem.
middle, however finishing those last few letters is not always easy with those awkward letters that often pop up. To mitigate this, you can '

First things of, let me just say that this way better than Scrabble: you don't have to wait ages for other people to finish their turns (as you are working on your own board), it is quicker and easier to transport (fitting inside a cute banana shaped pouch) and you are more likely to be able to get young children to play this than it's old and slow counterpart. The ability to get rid of hard letters and to not have to worry about how much a word scores makes it possible for primary school goers to join in.

On the other hand, this isn't going to be the game that will suddenly make you love word games if you don't all ready, it is really just a streamlined version of scrabble with less hard thinking. You are still arranging words in different ways in a crossword like creation, that is still the same but in a more pure version if you like. The outer skin has just changed, not the concept behind it.

The component quality is nice and the rule book is clear and easy to read, all coming within a cool banana shaped pouch (isn't that the coolest thing ever, I mean a banana) that neatly stores them away. The tiles are strong, and you will not have to worry about breaking anything when some one inevitably'by accident'.
drops the down the stairs

Overall I would say it is a solid word game that I would play with 8 year olds and upwards because you still need a solid understanding of words to have a go at it. Though I know that some people out there will absolutely love and some hate it, I walk the line between the two, but will still always prefer to play this than Scrabble. I am going to give Bananagrams a solid 6/10 and suggest you word aficionados go out and play it.

Why should you play board games?

So, after what I reckon has been 3 years of doing this site (also know as nearly a quarter of my life), I thought, hey wouldn't it be a great idea to remind myself and all you people about why we play games. So, lets do that now.

Reason 1!

They make you laugh(normally, I wasn't laughing when my sister betrayed me in Risk), now you may think, how's laughter king to help me in life? The answer to that, is in many ways. First of all, laughing helps increase endorphins in your blood which in turn lowers your blood pressure. Having a low blood pressure means you are much less likely to get artery damage, heart disease and a stroke.  Tell that to the people say staying cooped up in your room all day playing board games is not healthy. 

Reason 2!

Board games also help with you problem solving skills and other cognitive stuff, and stop cognitive decline (you only really need to worry about this when your old, so this issue isn't exactly on my radar).  This reduced cognitive decline also reduces your risk of things like Alzheimer's and dementia, making board gaming like one of the most healthy things around! In fact, it is so healthy, I think we should
scrap PE (Physical Educacion) and bring in a healthy two lessons of board games a week!

Reason 3!

For me this reason is one of the most important reasons of all, board games let me spend time with my friends and family. With a Dad who is always away doing science talks and a Mum who works her back of in a university trying to get academics to do what they said they would in grants (it's like herding cats, but harder) I enjoy the time I get to spend with my family. Also, board games are a good way to socialise with friends, I play Jungle Speed (you can find a review of here) regularly with friends in the library and have introduced one of them into Magic the Gathering (which you can also find a review of here).

So there you have it, three great reasons to play games and some cool facts to show your parents if they complain about your time-consuming hobby.

Things to look out for!

So, I'm back. Yes, after what must have been months (and what a few horrible months those would have been), I'm back. Now, must of you will be crying 'Where have you been George?' and those of you who aren't should. One word, tests.

But seeing as I have a short respite, lets get started on my top things to look out for in the up-coming future.

1, Kung Fu Panda, the board game

I. LOVE. KUNG FU PANDA. I mean, come on, who doesn't. So you could imagine my excitement as I realised that a cooperative miniatures board game was coming out (a bit like mice and mystics if you know what that is) based entirely on it! It is going to be made by Modiphius a producer of quite a few big hits and should becoming out soon on kick-starter (a place where most young games start). Although when I said 'soon', I probably meant that it might come out this year… possibly. They say the delays on its arrival are being caused as they have to check everything with dreamworks, but I am still pumped about it, delayed or not. If you want to more about this but-kicking, fists-flying and death-defying game, go here.

2, Amonkhet, Magic the Gathering

As part of the constant cycle of new cards pushed out for Magic the Gathering (if you don't know what this hugely popular game go here) a new set is coming out, Amonkhet. It has an Egyptian style theme, which I adore (I am a bit of a history junkie), and the story behind it promises to be good. Like history, I love a good story. For more information, go here.

3, The Harry Potter Miniatures Game

Well, I'm not sure what really else to say, the title does it for me. My personal reason for being excited, is that hopefully, I can use this to get some of my friends and even maybe my sister into war games. Also, I am crossing everything I've got that there will be a expansion based round the new 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them' , I mean, who doesn't want to control an army of cute magical monsters that could tear your throat out in a instant. 

4, the UK Games Expo

Now, I know that this is not a games, but I do have to say, I am more excited about this than anything else on this list. It is where I will hopefully buying most of my games to review and play for the next year and I encourage you thoroughly to go to it. If you want to see my account of last years show go here and the website for this years go here.