Time's Up! Party Game Review (age 12+) Sent by Asmodee

Time's Up! Party has been sent to us by Asmodee for review, and it's another game which is great for a party or larger group, but it still works for 4 of you. Suitable for 4-12 players aged around 12+, in 2-4 teams.

It is familiar as this is a party game which is far older than you or I, but it's a genuine classic reworked, and guaranteed to create more than a few laughs... 

The game is well packaged in a really sturdy box. It's not far off single-use-plastic-free, and a great size and shape for storage. Inside the box you have a sand timer, 220 cards, rulebook, biographies book and a pad of scorecards - and a drawstring cloth bag to keep everything in. 

This is a really quick-fire game, with a very short timer, and it leads to quite frantic gameplay at times. It's played over 3 rounds, and on each round you can answer as many cards as you can manage. (We are not doing as well as this implies, 3 is our current record!). 

Telestrations Party Guessing Game (age 12+) Sent by Asmodee

Telestrations is the latest game sent to us by Asmodee, the independent games specialist, for review. This will be somewhat familiar to most people, as it's a relative of Chinese whispers, or the telephone game - but with added drawings. It's instant play, no complicated rules, and it's definitely good for a laugh. Suitable for 4-8 players aged 12+...

Inside the box is everything you'll need for up to 8 players. 8 x dry-wipe booklets, 8 x dry wipe pens, 8 x cloths, 60 second sand timer, dice and instructions. The dry-wipe booklets are really nicely made and work incredibly well in practice. 

There are also gameplay cards with over 1,700 different words or phrases. It'll keep you going for a good while before you get a repeat - and amusingly they are double-sided, with This Side, and That Side. Each round everyone takes a card and one player throws the dice to decide which number word you'll all use.  

Century: A New World Family Game Review Age 8+(Sent by Asmodee Board Game Club).

Our latest review for the Asmodee Blogger Board Game Club is Century: A New World, which has been sent to us for review. Suitable for 2 to 4 players aged 8+, this is a tabletop strategy game which is the 3rd in the very popular series by creator Emerson Matsuuchi, and can be played alone or with either or both of the other Century games (Spice Road and Eastern Wonders).

A New World sees players take the role of explorers travelling the land, trading and collecting goods... and it's all done beautifully, with gorgeous illustrations and wooden playing pieces, including tiny tiny people.

Inside the box are 6 Double-sided Location Boards, 4 Player Boards, 48 Wooden Workers, 56 Cards, 10 Exploration Tiles, 25 Bonus Tiles, 4 Bowls, 105 Wooden cubes and 4 rulebooks (depending on whether you play standalone, or with 1 or both of the other games).

Takenoko Family Game Review (Age 8+) Sent by Asmodee Board Game Club

The latest game we've been sent to review by Asmodee for the Blogger Board Game Club is Takenoko, a competitive game for 2 to 4 players aged around 8+. Our younger boys are 10 and 11 and very experienced gamers, and we played 4 player with them.

The aim of the game is to grow bamboo and feed the pandas. You have to care for the bamboo at different stages of growth, develop irrigation and maintain supply. You're a farmer and an ecologist!

Inside the box you have absolutely tons of parts: Rules, 28 Hex Tiles, 90 Plastic Bamboo Sections, 20 Wooden Irrigation Channels, 55 Cards, 4 Individual Player Boards, 8 Wooden Action Tokens, 1 Weather Die, 1 Panda Figurine, 1 Gardener Figurine

It's a good sturdy box and the contents are almost entirely wooden or card - with a big plastic insert. It is good for keeping everything safe during storage, but it'll be nice to see it replaced with card.

Maki Stack Family Game Review (Age 7+) Sent by Asmodee Blogger Board Game Club

Our first Spring game review for Asmodee's Blogger Board Game Club is Maki Stack, and we were sent this to take a look at last week. A mildly physical team game for 4-6 (or more) players aged 7+, which requires dexterity and co-ordination, but you remain sitting in your chair.

All players have to do is recreate the stack of delicious sushi shown on the card. Think it sounds too easy? Did I mention the blindfold, and the 2 person chopsticks?

Inside the box are beautiful wooden playing pieces representing different sushi meal items, plus blindfolds and instruction leaflet. The Earth-friendliness is spoilt a little bit by a big plastic insert, but it isn't single use. It could easily be updated to cardboard instead though.

The rules are simple. Shuffle and stack the game cards on the table. Each has an image showing whether it is an individual challenge Blindfold Round or a two-player co-operative Chopsticks Round.

The Werewolves Of Millers Hollow Game Review (age 14+) Sent by Asmodee

The Werewolves Of Millers Hollow is what is commonly referred to as a party game because it suits a large group. In this case a massive 8-18 players, aged 14+ (and add-ons are available to take that up to 48). Each game will normally take less than an hour, and it's very easy to play. The format is a little like the classic party game 'Murder In The Dark' and it's very intuitive. You just need a little organisation to get the crowd together.

The town is overrun by Werewolves who are eating the Townsfolk and must be stopped. Players are either on the side of the Townsfolk or the Werewolves, and the aim is to rid the village of your opponents so that you can live in peace...

The Werewolves Of Millers Hollow is stored in a tiny box 10cm x 10cm, and inside are just the instructions and 24 different cards. No waste, very little single use or unnecessary plastic, and easily transported and stored.

One Key Family Game Review(age 8+) By Libellud, Sent by Asmodee

This month Asmodee have sent us One Key from Libellud to review for the Blogger Boardgame Club. A co-operative game for 2-6 players aged 8+, players work together to find the Key Card by eliminating wrong answers. Once only the Key is left, you win the game.

There are lots of exciting box contents and you'll need 5 minutes to press out tokens before first play. No batteries to find or excess plastic, Christmas morning-friendly.

Libellud games are notable for their artwork, One Key is no exception. It's gorgeous and very different. There are 84 specially shaped illustrated clue cards with random scenes full of detail.

Trapwords Family Party Game Review (age 8+) Sent by Asmodee

This month's independent game review sent to us Asmodee is a word-guessing game for 4-8 players aged 8+. Trapwords is a fast-paced game where two teams battle it out to guess the most words, and like a lot of independent games, it's beautifully presented and really quite special.

Inside the box are lots of components: a game board made up of 7 different 'room' tiles, 5 monsters, 2 team figures, 4 books, 50 word cards, 10 curse cards, 10 monster cards, 2 torches, sand timer, pencils and a pad of trapword list sheets.

You'll need 5 minutes set up and 5 minutes more before first play to press out the cardboard elements. Unlike other word guessing games, Trapwords is played with a board (made using 5 tiles from a set of 8) and as you progress it gets harder.

Crazy Eggz Family Game Review (Age 7+) Sent by Asmodee

Crazy Eggz is an active family game for 2-4 players which involves holding colourful rubber eggs without using your hands. Fast-paced and at times a little contentious, you have to hold up to 5 eggs without dropping them in order to be able to win the game...

The packaging is excellently designed - a cardboard egg box! Inside are 9 bright orange rubber eggs and 1 heavier blue egg, as well as a red Action Dice, white Body Dice, egg stand and instructions.

Dice Academy Family Game Review (Age 8+) Sent by Asmodee

This month for the Asmodee Blogger Board Game Club we've been sent a great family dice game for 2-6 players. Portable, easy to learn and fun to play, Dice Academy is all about thinking and acting fast, knowledge isn't always an advantage.

Dice Academy is housed in a very small and sturdy box with a magnetic closure. It arrives shrink-wrapped and inside has a plastic insert to keep your 10 special dice safe between play, but everything is kept neat and small. The only game components are the dice, which are all different.

Pandemic Family Board Game Review (Age 10+) Sent by Asmodee

This month Asmodee have sent us Pandemic Board Game to review for the Blogger Boardgame Club. Although I didn't own a copy, I have played Pandemic in the past, so before we even opened the box we knew we'd have a good evening.

Matt Lacock's multi award-winning game Pandemic was first released by Z-Man Games in 2007 and is so popular that it's spawned a host of different editions. The aim of the game is simple, prevent plague from infecting all of humanity and ultimately save our species from extinction...

Gen7 Crossroads Storytelling Adventure Game Review (Age 14+) Sent by Asmodee

Gen 7 is a mainly co-operative 'crossroads' game, where players decisions affect the outcomes and change how gameplay and the storyline progresses. Made by Plaid Hat Games, we've been sent a copy to review for the Asmodee Blogger Boardgame Club, and it's brilliant.

Suitable for 3 to 4 players aged 14+, you are the 7th generation to exist aboard a huge colony ship fleeing Earth for a fertile new home planet. The journey is around half way through and everything has gone well so far, until now. The entire mission and lives of everyone on board are threatened and it's up to the crew to find the clues, solve the puzzles and save humanity.

There are more elements included in the Gen7 box than just about any game I've played. It makes it seem very exciting, but it also seems much more complicated than it actually is. The secret nature with lots of hidden information adds to the anticipation.

Blue Lagoon Family Game Review (age 8+) Sent by Asmodee.

This month's review for Asmodee's Blogger Boardgame Club is the gorgeous Blue Lagoon. We were sent this family strategy game a few weeks ago, so we were able to play with one of the big kids who was home for Easter. Suitable for 2 to 4 players aged 8+, the aim of the game is to spread out and colonise as much of the board as possible and then collect the resources necessary to keep your population happy.

Inside the box are lot of different elements, including 1 board, 4x5 wooden 'villages', 32 wooden resources, 4 x 30 settlers tokens, score pad, instructions and a little drawstring cloth bag for storage of resources.

This is a gorgeous game and it feels lovely to play with. The resources are wooden shapes that are not entirely obvious at first, but that's half the fun. Left to right: Coconuts (food), Precious Stones (money), Water (H2O), Statuettes (religious icons) and Bamboo (shelter).

Timeline Science Museum Game Review (Age 8+) Sent by Asmodee

The latest game to arrive at our door courtesy of Asmodee is Timeline: Science Museum. We love Timeline games and this special Science Museum edition has quickly become a favourite. Simple and quick to play, they bring out the competitive spirit in everyone and any game is full of shouts of "no waaay" and "I'd never have believed that".

Everything is stored in a really neat compact metal tin which will last forever and is completely portable. It also looks great on the shelf and is instantly recognisable.

Shadows Amsterdam Family Game Review Age 10+ Sent by Asmodee

Shadows Amsterdam is a really different game for 2-8 players aged 10+. Players split into 2 opposing teams and each team takes the role of a detective agency trying to solve a crime first. Play is 'real-time' and a two team race to the finish. We've been sent a copy to review and I particularly love this one, even though a lot of the time your results come from pure guesswork rather than skill or intuition!

The game is housed in a gorgeous sturdy, small scale box and almost everything is made from stiff paper or card, so it's very earth-friendly. You can see from the box that illustration is a huge part of this game and all of the images are gorgeous.

You'll only need 5 minutes to press out a handful of parts before first play, after that set up takes 5 minutes each time.

Choose Your Own Adventure House Of Danger Family Card Game Review Age 10+ (Sent by Asmodee).

Asmodee and the Blogger Boardgame Club have sent us House Of Danger to review this month. A really brilliant choose-your-own-adventure card game, suitable for 1 or more players aged 10+. All players work cooperatively, taking the role of a troubled amateur detective and psychic investigator. You've been having nightmares and believe the visions you see really mean something. It's the players job to find out what the cause of your nightmares is and what the visions mean...

This is a compact and neatly boxed game, which is entirely made from printed card and very Earth-friendly. You can start to play through the first mini-chapter immediately using the quick start guide, which worked very well for us. We were instantly hooked!

Unlock: Escape Adventures Game Review (Age 10+) Sent by Asmodee

Our latest review for the Asmodee Blogger Boardgame Club is the very exciting collaborative card game, Unlock: Escape Adventures. This is along a similar format to escape rooms and requires the players to cooperate to solve lots of clues and puzzles, in order to escape before the timer runs out. There are 3 full 1 hour scenarios in the box, as well as a 10 minute taster game to get the hang of how to play.

Unlock: Escape Adventures is stored in a beautiful box which is a little big for purpose and very strong. The game is entirely played using a set of cards and a free to download app. The cards themselves are gorgeous, but you have to wait to see them as looking at them will spoil the game. DON'T LOOK AT THE CARDS until it's the right time...

Set Family Game Of Visual Perception Review for Blogger Boardgame Club (age 6+)

This month the Blogger Boardgame Club have sent us Set from Asmodee to review. Suitable for 1 or more players aged 6+, this is a fast-paced card game which really challenges your visual perception. Stay alert and you might have a chance of winning...

Inside the box are the instructions and the pack of 81 cards. Each card has 1, 2 or 3 symbols, in green, red or purple. Each symbol is clear, partly shaded or fully shaded, and each card has symbols that are ovals, squiggles or diamonds. No 2 cards are the same.

Dixit Family Game Review (age 6+) for Blogger Boardgame Club (Sent for review)

This month's review for the Blogger Boardgame Club is Dixit from Asmodee and Libellud. Suitable for 3 to 6 players aged 6+, this is a family board game which we all really enjoyed and it's utterly beautiful.

Very easy to play as well as fun and funny, this is a great one for late into the evening when you don't fancy being physically active and want to calm the bigger kids (and grown ups) before bed. It's also a fascinating insight into everyone else's head!

Inside the box are 6 sets of press out cardboard voting tokens, 84 large Story Cards, 6 wooden rabbit player score markers, instructions, and the game board. There is very little waste packaging from the cards, the game is plastic free and the box is brilliant storage for your game afterwards. Full marks and Christmas morning friendly.

Who Did It? Family Game Review for Blogger Boardgame Club (age 6+)

This review for the Blogger Boardgame Club is Who Did It?, a family card game from Blue Orange. Suitable for 3 to 6 players aged 6+, this is a game that really appealed to my 8 and 10 year old boys and has turned out to be excellent fun for everyone. The premise of the game is simple  - get rid of your animal cards to pass the blame on and prove it wasn't your pet who pooped on the carpet.

I've raised 5 boys, I'll be honest, I've heard all of the poop jokes many times over. I was worried I'd be a bit 'yeeuch', but actually it's just funny, fast paced and there isn't time for many poop jokes.

Inside the box are 36 cards (6 animals in 6 colors), 13 poop tokens and a rule booklet. The box is brilliant. Thick card and a magnetic closure, plus it's tiny and will hardly take up any storage space - nicely done.