8 Favorite Board Games – Brooke
Our next favorite board games list is Brooke’s.
In looking over our video reviews, Brooke has done the most. When there’s a game she loves playing, she’s always quick to ask to do the video review of it.
One thing that was interesting to note in looking over Brooke’s list is that half of the games on her list are also on Mom’s Favorite Board Games list.
But lest you think it’s a case of “like mother, like daughter”, notice that other games on Brooke’s list are ones that mom can’t stand playing.
And only one game from Brooke list from 3 years ago is on her list again this year (sort of). If you’d first like a quick look at her original list, check out her 10 Best Board Games from 2012.
Brooke’s 8 Favorite Games:
Cash & Guns
Ages: 10+, Players: 4 – 8, Time: 30 min
Who would have thought that our sweet daughter Brooke would love a game called Cash & Guns? But she does! She gets a big kick out of the game.
Cash & Guns is about mobsters splitting up the loot of their big heists. Of course, since they’re mobsters, they don’t trust each other and can’t agree on the split. So players point foam guns at each other over 8 rounds and try to bluff their way to victory.
Since she loves the game so much, she was quick to be the one to do our video review.
See our full review of Cash & Guns.
Clue & Harry Potter Clue
Ages: 8+, Players: 3 – 6, Time: 60 min
Mom and daughter think alike in this regard – they both love Clue and Harry Potter Clue. Over the years, Brooke has probably asked to play Clue more times than any other game we own combined. And it’s hard to argue with her pick because with 6 people in our family, it really has been a good fit.
We’ve played a number of other versions of Clue over the years, but the basic version as well as the Harry Potter version leave the others in the dust.
Our full review of Harry Potter Clue will be coming soon.
Dimension
Ages: 8+, Players: 1 – 4, Time: 30 min
Dimension is a game we just received last month and it quickly jumped onto Brooke’s favorite board games list.
It’s a puzzle game of stacking colored orbs in a pyramid fashion while trying to keep the changing rules in mind. Players score points for the number of orbs in their pyramid. But every round, 6 different rule cards are placed face up that players must comply with or they lose 2 points.
For example, Green orbs must touch Orange orbs, or Blue cannot touch White, or must include 2 and only 2 Green, or Black cannot be under any others.
See our full review of Dimension coming soon.
Duplik
Ages: 9+, Players: 3 – 10, Time: 45 min
Duplik is another game that we just got recently which immediately hit both mom’s and Brooke’s favorite board games list.
Duplik is a drawing game where you don’t have to be a great artist to win. One person looks at a drawing and must describe as much of the drawing as possible before the timer runs out. All the other players quick draw what’s being described. Then the announcer reads off ten statements about the drawing and if your rendition includes that element, you get a point. An example statement would be “The chicken on the table is looking right.” You would have to have a chicken on a table looking to the right to score a point.
Everyone we’ve played it with so far has had a great time playing.
See Brooke’s video review of Duplik.
The Resistance: Avalon
Ages: 13+, Players: 5 – 10, Time: 30 min
If we weren’t listing these games in alphabetical order, I believe The Resistance: Avalon would be the #1 game on Brooke’s list.
Should we be concerned that she loves bluffing games so much? Two of her eight favorite games (1/4 of those on her list) are bluffing games. But The Resistance: Avalon takes her top bluffing game spot.
The Resistance: Avalon takes the same game play as the original Resistance game, but with a Camelot / King Arthur theme. Players are divided into secret teams and must determine who the “good guys” and the “bad guys” are in order to successfully complete quests. Of course, the “bad guys” win if the quests don’t succeed.
It’s a game that you can never play just once. The bluffing and intrigue in one game will for sure carry over into game 2, 3, and 4 as players banter about who they can or can’t trust.
The Resistance one of our most-played games for both family and friends. And since we bought the Avalon version, that’s the version that gets played every time. But it’s also a game that mom won’t join in on. She says she’s happy to watch, but won’t ever play again. Brooke on the other hand can hardly wait to play again.
(This is the only games that appears on both of Brooke’s lists. The original Resistance game made her list in 2012. But since getting Avalon, that’s her “go-to” Resistance game.)
See our full review of The Resistance.
Get a copy of The Resistance: Avalon
Scotland Yard
Ages: 10+, Players: 3 – 6, Time: 45 min
While not a game of bluffing, Scotland Yard is a deduction game of hidden movement.
In Scotland Yard all but one of the players are detectives trying to capture the elusive Mr. X as he or she try’s to escape through the streets of London using taxis, buses, and the Underground. It’s a fun deduction game of 1 vs. the rest. And of course, the big debate is at the beginning of the game in who gets to play Mr. X because everyone prefers to be the one eluding capture.
We haven’t done so yet, but we’ve though about keeping a log in our game of who plays Mr. X so we can make sure to keep a little fairness in who gets to be Mr. X next.
See our full review of Scotland Yard.
Telestrations
Ages: 13+, Players: 4 – 12, Time: 30 min
It may not come as a surprise to see Telestrations on Brooke’s list as well. Telestrations is one of those games that everyone loves. If you’ve got a big group of people to play a game, Telestrations is always a hit.
Telestrations is also a great game to introduce to people who say they don’t like playing games. While they may be reluctant in the beginning, they’ll quickly get pulled into the fun as games of Telestrations always end with laughter when the results are revealed.
See our full review of Telestrations.
Here are links to the rest of our 2015 Favorite Board Games lists:
- 12 Favorite Board Games – Mom
- 9 Favorite Board Games – Caleb
- 10 Favorite Board Games – Jaden
- 7 Favorite Board Games – Trevor
- 20 Favorite Board Games – Dad
