Kamis Kamiński, known for his recent nomination for a Golden Geek Award with Tiny Mini Golf, has shared his latest board game creation, “Tide & Tangle.” This new game invites players to step into the role of Californian sea otters navigating the shifting waves of the Pacific Ocean in search of sea treasures.
“Tide & Tangle” incorporates a dynamic modular board where wave tiles move to mimic the ocean’s unpredictable nature. Players must carefully time their moves to avoid powerful wav
Kamis Kamiński, known for his recent nomination for a Golden Geek Award with Tiny Mini Golf, has shared his latest board game creation, “Tide & Tangle.” This new game invites players to step into the role of Californian sea otters navigating the shifting waves of the Pacific Ocean in search of sea treasures.
“Tide & Tangle” incorporates a dynamic modular board where wave tiles move to mimic the ocean’s unpredictable nature. Players must carefully time their moves to avoid powerful waves and the coast while deciding whether to dive deep for treasures or float and relax. The game emphasizes both strategic planning and the opportunity to cooperate with other players, enhancing its social play aspects.
The visuals of the game are crafted by Claire Lin, a California-based illustrator, whose colorful and playful artwork aims to bring the aquatic environment to life, matching the game’s lighthearted and engaging theme.
The game is designed to appeal to DIY enthusiasts, offering a print-and-play format that ensures easy accessibility and setup. “Tide & Tangle” supports 2-4 players and features gameplay that balances strategy with a push-your-luck mechanism, challenging players to make wise choices about where and when to dive.
Tide & Tangle is scheduled for a Kickstarter launch later this year. As the launch date approaches, interested parties can visit the game’s Kickstarter pre-launch page to be notified of the launch.
In October, Pandasaurus Games is set to release three new board games, each offering different gameplay experiences to suit a variety of players. These games include a reprinted classic and two new titles, each featuring unique gameplay mechanics.
Finca: Classic Game Returns with New Features
Finca, known for its nomination for the 2009 Spiel des Jahres, is being reintroduced with updated artwork and revised gameplay. This game is designed for 2-5 players, suitable for ages 10 and up,
In October, Pandasaurus Games is set to release three new board games, each offering different gameplay experiences to suit a variety of players. These games include a reprinted classic and two new titles, each featuring unique gameplay mechanics.
Finca: Classic Game Returns with New Features
Finca, known for its nomination for the 2009 Spiel des Jahres, is being reintroduced with updated artwork and revised gameplay. This game is designed for 2-5 players, suitable for ages 10 and up, with an average gameplay time of 45 minutes. Set on the island of Mallorca, players collect and deliver fruits using a mancala-like mechanic. The game discourages resource hoarding and includes two mini-expansions for advanced play.
Codis Naturalis: Strategic Card Layering Game
Codis Naturalis is designed for 1-4 players and offers a gameplay duration of 20-30 minutes. The game involves players assembling a manuscript of various forest species, using a card layering mechanic to manage the tableau of cards. It features a straightforward gameplay loop where players play a card and then draw another, aiming to reach 20 points. The game, priced at $19.95, won the 2021 Tric Trac de Bronze.
Boxtop Pinball: Haunted House transforms the game box into a pinball machine and is designed for 1-4 players with a quick playtime of 15 minutes per game. Players flick dice to score points by hitting targets within a haunted house theme. This game is intended for family play and is priced at $24.95.
Casual Game Insider magazine, a go-to source for news, reviews, and insights focused on casual board games, has launched its Kickstarter campaign for its 13th year. This campaign offers fans the chance to support the magazine while securing benefits such as exclusive deals on lifetime subscriptions and sponsor perks. Additionally, a PDF of the Summer 2024 issue is freely available during the campaign, providing a preview of the content readers can expect throughout the year.
Since 2012, C
Casual Game Insider magazine, a go-to source for news, reviews, and insights focused on casual board games, has launched its Kickstarter campaign for its 13th year. This campaign offers fans the chance to support the magazine while securing benefits such as exclusive deals on lifetime subscriptions and sponsor perks. Additionally, a PDF of the Summer 2024 issue is freely available during the campaign, providing a preview of the content readers can expect throughout the year.
Since 2012, Casual Game Insider has been a key resource for casual board game enthusiasts, offering beautifully designed, quarterly issues. The magazine focuses on light, easy-to-learn games and the people behind them, featuring exclusive interviews with designers and creators, coverage of conventions, informative reviews, and explorations into the board gaming hobby.
Each issue also includes a playable print-and-play game, ranging from roll-and-write games to microgames, catering to both solo and multiplayer experiences. This Kickstarter campaign aims to ensure that the magazine can continue delivering the content that has made it a valuable resource for the casual gaming community.
Supporters of the campaign can visit the Kickstarter page to access the free Summer 2024 issue and consider pledging their support. Highlights from the past year include insightful articles, eye-catching layouts, and compelling graphics, providing a comprehensive look at the world of casual board games.
Archon Studio recently revealed that “Heroes of Might & Magic III: The Board Game” will be featured on Gamefound with three new expansions. This announcement follows a successful initial Kickstarter campaign that garnered support from nearly 27,000 backers, accumulating €3,834,885.
In response to high demand and the closure of the late pledge option post-Kickstarter, Archon Studio has opted to launch a subsequent campaign on Gamefound. This move aims to provide access to the original game
In response to high demand and the closure of the late pledge option post-Kickstarter, Archon Studio has opted to launch a subsequent campaign on Gamefound. This move aims to provide access to the original game along with the new expansions: Stronghold, Conflux, and Cove. These expansions are set to be released simultaneously, broadening the gameplay options for all backers.
Interested individuals can visit the campaign page early to secure a special “Crag Hack” bust, adding a unique item to their collection.
The expansions introduce diverse gameplay elements. Stronghold focuses on power and fortitude, Conflux emphasizes magic and elemental control, and Cove brings navigation and tactical maritime engagements. Additionally, the gameplay will feature new mechanics such as underground areas accessible through specific passages, and portals that facilitate rapid movement across the map.
The team at Archon Studio shared their personal connections to the game, which has influenced their development approach. Michał Tukan, the project manager, noted his longstanding engagement with the game dating back to his first computer in 2000. Alex Kubiak, responsible for solo campaigns, discussed the challenges and rewards of crafting a narrative that remains true to the original game’s essence. Kamil Białkowski, expressing his enduring passion for the series, highlighted the importance of community support in maintaining the game’s relevance.
Board games are a great social activity that brings people together by disconnecting everyone from their screens. But what if your favorite stories and worlds from the screen could be a part of board game night too? With these ten great board games based on video games, it’s now possible to enjoy your favorite digital titles in an exciting new tabletop setting.
1. Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim- The Adventure Game
Image via Modiphius
The iconic adventures and exploration of Skyrim await you in
Board games are a great social activity that brings people together by disconnecting everyone from their screens. But what if your favorite stories and worlds from the screen could be a part of board game night too? With these ten great board games based on video games, it’s now possible to enjoy your favorite digital titles in an exciting new tabletop setting.
The iconic adventures and exploration of Skyrim await you in the game’s excellent tabletop adaption. As opposed to the classic video game, Skyrim- The Adventure Gameis a cooperative experience for up to four players, which affects both the combat and dungeon loot systems. Each player’s character is suitably unique, and the strategic decisions you make throughout the game’s two campaigns can trigger exclusive story outcomes as well.
The Fallout Board Gamedoes just about everything right in adapting this classic video game franchise. An unknown post-apocalyptic world awaits you outside your vault, along with deadly enemies and warring factions. The art style is most faithful to the series’ more recent adaptions, and the storylines are appropriately thematic and recognizable to anyone who’s played Fallout before. Interactions between players are semi-cooperative; while everyone has their own objectives, they also need to work together to prevent any one of the non-player factions from taking over the wasteland.
Kingdom Rush is a classic tower defense game in which you place archers and other troops to defend against waves of oncoming enemies. Whereas the original video game is a fast-paced race, Rift in Timeinstead features more calculated, strategic gameplay. The game comes with a booklet of scenarios that you can play against, which makes it easy to adjust the difficulty. In addition, the miniatures look great and are fun to paint.
Establish your kingdom, expand your territories, and build the great monuments of man in Civilization: A New Dawn, the most recent tabletop adaption of Sid Meier's Civilization. Though the original video game draws its roots back to a 1980s board game, the video games that followed have evolved significantly. A New Dawn utilizes many of the newer technology and city upgrade options from the most recent titles. Playtime is thankfully shorter than the 2010 edition of the board game, and to top it all off, the game tiles are gorgeous.
Small World of Warcraftis a WoW-themed adaption of the popular board game Small World. Players take control of the major races in Azeroth, including everything from Orcs to Worgen, and attempt to conquer as much territory as possible on the game’s various islands. Once one of the races you control is overextended, you can take charge of another to continue the conquest and hopefully have the most points by the end of the final round.
With its outstanding deck-building and strategy elements, Slay the Spire feels like the perfect video game to bring to the tabletop environment. Contention Games has done just that via Kickstarter, with the recently released adaption gathering nearly four million dollars worth of pledges. All the best elements of the original title are here, including, of course, the absolutely iconic six-eyed whale Neow. The biggest change here is the cooperative multiplayer, but it's a welcome change that's more befitting a board game.
Survival is the name of the game in This War of Mine: The Board Game, which does a fantastic job of bringing the war-torn surroundings and impactful storylines of the original video game to the table. During the day, you’ll build up your shelter and gather the resources you need to scrape by. During the night, you’ll have to fight off bandits to protect what little you have. The mechanics of exploring new locations work really well, with risks and rewards to be found in every corner of the war-torn city.
Dead by Daylight: The Board Gameleans heavily on hidden movement mechanics to represent the Killer’s stalking presence and the four Survivor’s attempts to escape. All the basic elements of the video game work surprisingly well in the tabletop environment, and there are also plenty of props and other tools that the Survivors can use as they work to stay alive. Most importantly, the competitive thrill of the original remains.
The cozy confines of Stardew Valley come to the table with immersive, cooperative gameplay and faithful attention to detail, though the board game does have some key differences from its source material. The players have a set number of turns in which they can complete their goal cards and rebuild the community center, but if the season cards run out, the players lose. Thankfully there’s still lots of farming, fishing, and mining fun to be had, along with plenty of interaction with the Valley’s most recognizable inhabitants.
God of War’s most iconic characters come to the table in style in the God of War card game. You’ll need to complete a series of scenes and quest cards to survive Ragnarok and win. It’s primarily a deck-building game, though you’ll be up against a set of randomly selected monsters and bosses rather than the other players at the table. It’s a must-have collectible for fans of the God of War franchise. We're also looking forward to finding out if the upcoming God of War Gamefound project will be an even better tabletop adaption than this one.
The shifting sands of Arrakis are home to the most precious substance in the universe: spice. As the leader of one of the Great Houses in Dune Imperium: The Board Game, you’ll need to conquer the desert planet, win skirmishes, and expand your influence with factions like the Bene Gesserit and the Fremen if you hope to claim victory. In this article, we’ll be looking at the different editions and expansions of the game and answering some of the most common questions about this modern tabletop c
The shifting sands of Arrakis are home to the most precious substance in the universe: spice. As the leader of one of the Great Houses in Dune Imperium: The Board Game, you’ll need to conquer the desert planet, win skirmishes, and expand your influence with factions like the Bene Gesserit and the Fremen if you hope to claim victory. In this article, we’ll be looking at the different editions and expansions of the game and answering some of the most common questions about this modern tabletop classic. Let’s start by looking at the two core versions of the game.
The Dune Imperium board game essentially has two different versions of its core game: Dune Imperium and Dune Imperium Uprising. The gameplay in the two editions is largely the same, with each centering around deck building, agent placement, and desert combat. However, there are several key differences between the original Imperium release and Uprising. To start, Uprising features an all-new set of Dune Imperium leaders, with characters like Feyd-Rautha, Lady Margot Fenring, and Princess Irulan all entering the fray. In addition, many of the board spaces have new functions. To top it all off, there is also a new six-player mode in which the players will be divided into opposing teams.
In terms of new game mechanics, Dune Imperium: Uprising has a lot to show for itself. It drops the Mentat token from Imperium, which originally allowed you to purchase an additional agent for a turn. It also drops the foldspace cards, which made it much easier to level up your standing on the game’s four influence tracks. In exchange, Uprising adds spy tokens that you can place between board spaces in order to draw cards or unlock adjacent locations that are already occupied by enemy players.
The newer edition of the game also adds sandworms to combat, which doubles the rewards you earn for winning a round’s conflict. This mechanic makes fighting more important than ever and might change up your favorite Dune Imperium strategy, though all of the combat cards have been edited appropriately to make the game less swingy. Uprising also adds contracts, which essentially function as single-use board spaces that give substantial rewards when you send an agent to them. The intrigue cards are also altered to match the new gameplay mechanics.
Should You Buy Dune Imperium or Dune Imperium Uprising?
If you’re just getting started with Dune Imperium, then Uprising is a great place to start. However, there are no bad options here. If you already own and enjoy Dune Imperium, Uprising can still be a great pickup if you’re a big fan of the game. However, you might want to prioritize expansion content first since it adds even more mechanics than the changes from Uprising.
Dune Imperium Expansions
Each Dune Imperium expansion adds more cards and dramatic new gameplay elements, along with additional board space actions that open up new pathways towards conquering Arrakis and claiming victory. Below you’ll find details about each addition to the game, listed in our suggested purchasing order.
The Rise of Ix Expansion for Dune Imperium expands the game board with new game-changing board spaces that allow you to purchase technology, boost your shipping and smuggling efforts, and obtain the coveted dreadnought units. The dreadnoughts add three combat power to your side and can temporarily hold territory in your name, which ups the stakes in each conflict. There is also a new selection of powerful yet difficult to master house leaders that are perfect for more experienced players. If you’re going to get one of the expansions, Rise of Ix is definitely the best choice.
The Dune Imperium: Immortality expansion adds an additional board to the play space that represents the players’ interactions with the Bene Tleilax and their genetic advancements. The expansion also adds graft cards, which allow you to combine the cards in your hand into a single action for more powerful effects. These cards are definitely fun to use, though not as much of a game-changer as the Bene Tleilax board or the components of the Rise of Ix expansion. Immortality also includes a family atomic token for each player, which is an underrated addition that allows you to clear out the cards available for purchase from the Imperium deck and draw new ones.
If you love Dune Imperium and just can’t get enough, you can upgrade your game experience with a beautiful selection of miniatures that replace approximately sixty of the game’s more basic-looking tokens. Unlike the other two expansions, this pack is entirely cosmetic. However, the visual upgrade it provides is substantial, especially if you enjoy painting the miniatures. There’s also a Rise of Ix Dreadnought Upgrade Pack available through the Dire Wolf store that offers similar cosmetic benefits but for the expansion’s components.
Can You Play the Dune Imperium Expansions With Uprising?
Every Dune Imperium expansion is compatible with both the original release of the game and Dune Imperium: Uprising. However, when adding the expansions to Uprising, there are a few cards you might need to remove, such as the Rise of Ix conflict cards, in order to maintain a balanced game. Further directions on these changes are available at the back of the Uprising rulebook.
Board games are a fairly robust and universal source of fun. People of all ages can enjoy them, and most importantly, you can play them with others, making them more of a social occasion than sitting down to play a video game solo.
However, not all board games are appropriate for every age, and that becomes a problem when you've got kids, young relatives, or friends with children who need to be entertained. Board games are a minefield because they need to be more complicated than card games
Board games are a fairly robust and universal source of fun. People of all ages can enjoy them, and most importantly, you can play them with others, making them more of a social occasion than sitting down to play a video game solo.
However, not all board games are appropriate for every age, and that becomes a problem when you've got kids, young relatives, or friends with children who need to be entertained. Board games are a minefield because they need to be more complicated than card games used to help babies learn about shapes and colors, but they can't be so complex that all the rules just go over their heads. In this article, I'm putting all my knowledge at your disposal because I've been playing board games with my nephews for over a decade.
The best board games for 7-year-olds
Below, I've listed the best board games for 7-year-olds that I've played with my nephews and nieces over the years. While they're older now, I've played these games with 7-year-olds and some of their relatives who were even a little younger at the time. You'd honestly be surprised at how much they can understand and want to engage with the game being played.
I've ranked these board games with the best at the bottom of the list and the worst at the top. However, all of them are great and worth a try if there's a 7-year-old you need to entertain and you don't want to stick them in front of a screen.
Pop Up Pirate is a pretty simple game that 2-4 people can happily play together. The pirate goes into the barrel and is set in place until someone puts a sword into the wrong hole. Every player takes turns to place swords in the holes in the barrel and hopes they're not the ones to trigger the pirate to launch out of it.
This game is loads of fun to play with children and adults alike. I've played multiple games where we've all been incredibly cautious and tactile and have reached the end of the barrel with one slot left. At that point, it's like watching the final player walk the plank, and it's always hilarious.
We've all played Snap in a pinch. It's a game you can make with two decks of cards if you've got absolutely nothing else, but it works better with a dedicated product that includes it. Most sets include at least a few games, and you can make your own up after you're done with Snap for a while.
For anyone who doesn't know, Snap is a simple card game where you and each player place cards down face up from a pile until you see two in succession that match. When that happens, you must shout "snap" and slam your hand down on the pile to claim it. Each player loses as they run out of cards.
7-year-olds are at just the right age when they're good at Snap, and they love that. It's an easy game everyone knows, and they're the masters. Giving them a game they've got an advantage in will help it go on for longer and feel better by the time they're finished because they've probably won most of the rounds.
Cheat is a game you can play with one standard deck of cards. Everyone takes seven cards and goes around in a circle, saying what their card is as they place it next to the face-up card in the center. Their card must be the same suit or one number higher or lower than that card.
At the start, this game is easy because you can cheat, and no one can call you out on it. But as it goes on, it becomes incredibly difficult not to laugh as you lie about the card you're placing down. You have to call another player's bluff to get them to pick up the pile of cards that are amassed on the table, but if you get it wrong, that pile is yours.
This game is fantastic for 7-year-olds because it gives them the ability to lie without hurting anyone. It's cheeky fun but still restricted to the board game itself.
Uno is an absolutely fantastic board game for 7-year-olds because, like many in this article, it can go on forever. There are a few different game types you can play with a single deck, but the most common uses colors and numbers, requiring you to place your cards, switch the direction of the rounds, or block someone from making you pick up more cards or skipping a turn.
This game is hilarious for 7-year-olds because they think they hold all the power. To be fair, they do. They know the game better than anyone and can ruin your day by placing a blocker or skip card just as you think you're about to place your last card and win the entire game.
Connect 4 is a classic board game you can play for hours with people of all ages. But 7-year-olds just have more stamina for it. This is a game they know they can beat you at, and they're going to make you play again and again until they're on a losing streak and want it to end.
The goal of the game is simple: get a line of four counters in your color. I've had to play this game for almost a full day while my nephews, niece, and my own kids rotated through playing against me. It's a winner for any rainy day or just when you need a board game to break up the hours.
Kerplunk never gets old. It's a structure through which you must poke dozens of sticks before pouring marbles over them and getting them stuck. Then, and only then, does the game start. You take it in turns to pull sticks out and collect marbles, and you want to get the best sticks possible so you earn the most marbles on your turns.
This game teaches strategy and a little bit of deception. It's loads of fun and only requires a few minutes to set up for each round. The random way the marbles fall is what makes it so engaging for a 7-year-old, and because it feels different each time, it can be played over and over for hours.
Guess Who? is a great game to play with any 7-year-old. Each player has a board of characters and must choose one as the character that their opponent has to identify by asking questions about their appearance. It sounds simple, and it really is, but the fun is in how you ask the questions.
I've had the best time with younger family members asking about hair and eye color in the strangest way possible. If you lean into the silly side of the game and have fun with it, this can be a true banger of a game that keeps on giving.
Battleships is a classic game I've been playing since I was a 7-year-old. Each player has one side of the game and must place their ships around the sea. You then take turns firing shots at various places on that ocean, trying to score a hit on your opponent's ships.
This game makes you feel like some sort of naval strategist as a 7-year-old, and you feel pretty great when you nail a hit as an adult as well. What I like about it is that everyone is on even ground. A 7-year-old knows the shapes of each ship and is out for your blood in this game. It's brutal.
I've played the normal version of Settlers of Catan with a 7-year-old, and it's been fine, but I have to recommend the Junior version just in case this is your first time with the title. It's a simplified version of the game that will prepare young people for the complexity of the full version.
The Junior version of the game is essentially the same, but it's a bit faster-paced to better keep everyone's attention. If you're a family who loves the base game, I can't recommend this enough because it will mean you get to play Catan for years to come.
While the recommended age for The Game of Life is 8+, if you've ever played it, you know that you can grasp it at 5 years old. This is an incredibly simple board game that's about as linear as it gets. You go from one end of the board to the other and make choices based on dice rolls along the way.
The idea with this game is to get your 7-year-olds used to playing board games at all. It's easy for them to win, and there are enough variations for each run that make it feel new each time you play. This is the preparation game for more complex things to come.
Monopoly needs little introduction. It's a game in which everyone starts with a set amount of money and must buy up property as they move around the board to, hopefully, charge other players and increase their rent by adding to those properties over time.
The best part about this game is the metagame that forms between every player as it goes on. You can end up becoming a property mogul and charging your dad or your uncle a fortune just to keep a roof over their heads for the night. It's fantastic fun, but you need to know when to let the game end before it sparks an argument.
The Garden Game is an oldie, but it's pure gold. It's a unique board game with gorgeous artwork and an incredible boar with polystyrene gardening plots that you must play to plant your seeds in. Each type of plant adds pints to your score, but some add more points if planted with others.
The game is almost educational in the way it teaches you about plant pairing, but it's also a fun game. Cards will wash out your plants and ruin your day or give you some serious growth, depending on what you get. It's great fun for all ages, but it's a game you're going to have to pick up a second-hand copy of from eBay. they pop up all the time but are well pout of print at the time of writing.
Chess is a startlingly simple game, but one that few people have a decent boxed copy of in their homes. It doesn't take much to learn the rules, but mastering them is a lifetime's work. Some people can make a career out of the game if they're good enough.
I think this is an essential game to play with any 7-year-old because it teaches them the basics of a board game they can love for the rest of their lives and go on to play with anyone in the world. There's no way you can sit down at a public Chess corner without knowing the game, and being part of that feels like a rite of passage for everyone.
Draughts is a board game that's a bit simpler than Chess, but it can be no less strategically advanced. The idea is to take all of your opponent's pieces still, but there's a layer of extra play you can add with various rulesets that see you gain pieces back for reaching the opposite side of the board.
As with Chess, I think this game is essential for anyone to learn as young as possible. It teaches you a game you can play forever and one that pretty much everybody can interact with. It opens doors in the future and it's a game you can use to pass the time even if all you have is rocks and some sand.
Blokus is the ultimate game to play with 7-year-olds because they can see strategies you'd never notice. Every player picks a color and must place their tiles across the board. However, you can't place a tile unless one of its corners touches the corner of another already set piece.
This gets really difficult by the end of the game, with the board becoming a mosaic of multiple colors of tiles. The thing I'm always impressed by with my nephews is how they manage to thrash me with ease. Once they get it, they can see the way to set every tile they have before you've worked out your next move.
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