I come from a big family and some of my very earliest memories of family gatherings include games. I learned to play challenging card games at a very young age and remember joining in very
We have several old favorites but are always on the look out for great family games!
So when I saw that North Star Games had set up shop in the hallway at Blogalicious I was very curious to see what they were all about.
I played a few rounds of Say Anything (and enjoyed it!) but the game that really caught my attention was Wits and Wagers. If I could pick any two words to describe the perfect game for my extended family they would be "trivia" and "gambling." And those are the two words that describe Wits and Wagers!
I took the game home over Thanksgiving and played it with six other adults. It was proclaimed a hit! The only grumbles came from my sister (also our biggest Trivial Pursuit hater!) but the funny thing is that she came in a VERY close second place. Even though she didn't love it, she was really good at it. Silly girl.
A few highlights:
1. It's fast-paced. We finished a game in less than 30 minutes.
2. You don't have to know the answers to win! Family members who don't have much to offer during those intense games of Trivial Pursuit have just as good (sometimes even better!) chances to win at this because of the wagering. My sister often had crazy guesses (way off!) but consistently bet on the right answers. My aunt often had the correct answer (or closest to the correct answer!) but never bet on herself so didn't really leverage her correct answers.
3. A large number of people can play, up to seven as individuals but you can even play in teams. That's great for a big family.
4. We liked the dry erase answer boards.
Suggestions for improvement:
Only one: include eraser tips on the dry eraser marker caps! Really, that's all we could come up with as room for improvement!
I received a complimentary review copy of Wits & Wagers from North Star Games but all opinions are my own. You can buy Wits & Wagers at Target or Toys-R-Us or, if you're local, head over to Labyrinth on Capitol Hill or Child's Play in Chevy Chase and patronize a great small business!
GIVEAWAY!
Win your own copy of Wits and Wagers for your next family gathering! Leave a comment on this post by Friday, December 16, at midnight eastern time with the word or words that best describe the perfect game for your family (or group of friends). Make sure to include your e-mail address! I'll notify the winner on Saturday and you must get back to me with your mailing address by Monday, December 19, so we can ship the game right away (hopefully to arrive in time for Christmas, but definitely for your New Year gatherings!). Good luck!
Original post by Smiling Mama. Thanks for reading!
We like Cranium, but also have enjoyed Apples to Apples. Last year we played Fact or Crap which just made my mom laugh every time we said the name of the game.
ReplyDeletei definitely like fast paced games that can be played with a large group. I recently played Loaded Questions which was a lot of fun!
ReplyDeleteWe're also a gaming family, and tend to prefer card-based games since they're small and easy to bring on trips. My 11yo is a Mile Bornes fiend!
ReplyDeletePlease don't enter me in this contest, but I wanted to say: I would have liked the game better had my family not made so much fun of me when my answers were so wildly off base. :) If you play with a kinder group of people, you will surely like this game. ;)
ReplyDeleteI love anything that's going to make us laugh! When I was younger (high school, maybe) my big family would play Balderdash, and we would howl with laughter at the ridiculous definitions folks would come up with. Fun times. :)
ReplyDeleteThe perfect game for my family can be described with the word: Fun
ReplyDeleteWe play a lot of games and don't take ourselves too seriously, in fact often times we don't keep score at all.
My family plays cards - specifically "Up the River, Down the River". It's so fun. We all work to try and beat my dad who usually has the highest score.
ReplyDeleteSmartAss--awesome new game Mom bought us last year and definitely describes a few of our family members.
ReplyDeleteRight now we love games like Jenga,where even my littles feel like they can succeed.
ReplyDeletecrazy!
ReplyDeleteykatrina at hotmail dot com
I've never heard of this game but it looks like a lot of fun! It really doesn't take much to entertain my family anyway when we're all together. Just a suggestion for you all ( since I missed the deadline for the giveaway ) my husband and I purchased Lottery Wheels to do trivia games with the kids and it also helps with homework and studying. A beneficial investment for all the mothers out there. Happy holidays!
ReplyDelete