Games- Trying out the Christmas Games

I Sea 10 is a math game. Each player flips two tiles. If the numbers revealed add up to 10 the first player to shout, "I Sea 10!" gets them. The unused tiles are left face up and the next player flips two more. The only thing we did not like about the game was if the shark is flipped the player loses all tokens. So we changed it to lose a turn.

Of course, Sabrina can add to 10, but I thought this would be a fun way to improve her speed. (Math is not her favorite subject right now.) I can also easily change the game to practice adding whatever tiles are flipped or subtracting to get 3 or any other number less than 9.

Tabletop Shuffleboard is a game I talked Sabrina into getting Frank as a gag, but actually it is fun. Players slide their disks across the table to try to land on a number. It is not as easy as it sounds. The player who goes second can also hit the first player's disks and knock them off of a number.

Octopus Garden is a tile laying game. It is not confrontational; points are added at the end. However you have to buy the entire row which sometimes has things you do not want. The starfish is worth 5 points, however if it is on or near the sea worm then the sea worm loses points only to regain them when the starfish has moved away. The starfish also moves one place closer, each turn, to oysters which he eats. Oysters produce pearls which are money.

The only thing we did not like was the wait time between turns. So next time we will immediately replace tiles we bought so the next player can start while we design our garden and pay ourselves.

Crab Stack is a game I have wanted for a while. I really like Blue Orange Games, so I was disappointed that the board was warped coming out of the box. When we tried to straighten it out it ripped. We played it anyway, but I don't think we totally understood the rules. I am hoping for a replacement. We have thoroughly enjoyed all of the other Blue Orange Games we own, which is close to ten. Based on our prior experience with this company, I think the warped board was a fluke.

 

Star Wars X-wing Miniatures isn't a new game to the guys, but they did get expansion sets for Christmas that they had to try out.

Apples to Apples Freestyle is not a game we got for Christmas, but rather one I had for a while and waited until I thought Sabrina might be interested. Our box was damaged and the instructions are missing, I guess that was why it was on clearance. There were several ways to play online. We took turns reading the sentence then we all filled in the blanks. Sabrina loves this game!

Marie-Anne