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My family loves to play games together. It’s something we’ve tried to keep as a tradition since they were all little! Even the adult children still get together to have game nights as their children play together in the other room. I love it! And while some games stick around forever, we also like to refresh our selection with new games to keep it interesting. So with the help of North Star Games, I am going to stock the family game closet this year for the holidays!
About North Star Games
We make board games like Wits & Wagers (history’s most award-winning party game). Our games are always fun, simple to learn, and bursting with personality.
Our mission is to bring people together through exciting and memorable experiences. We aim to inspire laughter, cheering, creativity, and communication amongst friends and families through games that engage and enrich your mind.
Products:
- Happy Salmon – A great card game which gets players moving too! Players with matching cards complete the shown action and discard their top cards. First player out of cards wins the game!
- Funky Chicken – Players each call out the “action” on their card. Any players with a match must complete the action (think wing flapping and dancing) to discard their card. The first player out of cards wins the round!
- Monster Match – Roll the dice and find the matching monster that has the features that the dice set! Each correct match earns you donut points but each incorrect match means you lose points. The player with the most points wins!
- Say Anything Family Edition – Players take turns being the host and asking a question. Each player writes down their response and the host picks their favorite one. The other players then guess which one the host will pick to earn points.
- Burble – Flip over a card and all the players name a word that starts with the same letter as the picture without using a proper noun, number word, or a word with three letters or less. It’s harder than you think!
- Clubs – A sibling to the Hearts and Spades games! There are two ways to win: earn 50 points by either collecting club cards or earning bonus points for using all the cards in your hand first.
My Review:
You probably know by now that my family loves to play games together. We start playing games as soon as they can sit in a chair and start learning the basics! And we enjoy all sorts of games from trivia to card games, and science fiction to crime solving! We will rotate games out as the kids grow out of them or if they start to fall apart. And games are always on the gift lists for birthdays and holidays. And normally, if we find a game making company that carries several titles that we enjoy, we will usually check out their other options when it’s time to refresh the game closet.
Because the kids vary in age from just starting school all the way up to college, we try to keep the family games something most, if not all, of us can play. Even if that means the younger ones have to pair up and work together with an older player, so we can all be involved. And it also helps if the rules aren’t too complicated and game play can be picked up within a round or two of playing. That’s why games like Happy Salmon and Funky Chicken are a big hit for my crew! Not only is it a table game, but you also have to get up and move around too! Doing funny dance moves or acting like a salmon or chicken would act, it cracks everyone at the table up while you try to win the game! These are great choices for cold nights or snow days when outside play time is not an option.
Monster Match is another fun option, especially for the younger kids. It suggests that the starting age is 6, but I think with help you can definitely play it with a younger child. And it’s great as a 2 player game or up to 6! And the players have to make fast decisions, whether to match any monster or look for a matching monster that has the higher point value. And all this time, the other players are doing the same thing as you are!
Say Anything Family Edition has been the cause of much laughter and joy as we answer questions and let the host pick the one they like the best. Then the other players have to wager which one the host is going to pick and earn points. Sometimes the answers are crazy and there are other times you can tell who knows another player very well. This is another game from North Star Games that works well for us even divided into teams.
Burble is more challenging in that there’s no set answer or response; you just have to make sure you follow a few basic rules and be faster than everyone else. This game can get loud as everyone is trying to be heard over everyone else, but it’s still a ton of fun. And I’m always amazed at how many words I forget suddenly when I’m in the middle of playing this game!!
If you enjoy card games like Hearts and Spades, then I’d definitely suggest checking out Clubs. It’s in a similar style as those other card games with a different twist. You want to earn 50 points to win. You either collect the club cards OR earn bonus points on the hands you do take. Clubs won’t do you any good if you’re the last player holding cards though, so you have to use some strategy and logic to think a few moves ahead. This is intended for players ages 8 and up, and it should take about 30 minutes to finish a game.
I love all of these games from North Star Games for two main reasons, besides having fun: Few rules to follow making it easier to pick up and play, and also being able to download the rules in a PDF form should we ever need to replace the instruction booklet. While there may not be a lot of rules to follow, if it’s not a game someone is particularly familiar with, instructions can be handy to get the game started. All in all, games are a great way to spend time together and even pass cold winter days when the kids are out of school or can’t go outside to play. Be sure to pick up any or all of these titles to stock the family game closet with North Star Games today! Consider giving them as gifts to other friends and family members too for the holiday season.
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We’ve added North Star Games to our 2018 MEGA Merry Christmas Gift Guide! Check it out here!