Tile Placement: Game Mechanics 101

Welcome back to game mechanics 101! Today's topic is tile  placement. It is a broad subject since the essence of the mechanic is that you have tiles that you place to construct some thing. We have had a lot of tile placement games over the years. Even though they utilize the same mechanic, they feel very different.

Square tiles are very common in these games. Carcassonne,  our first hobby board game, uses the tiles to build a map with cities, roads, and cloisters. Glenmore II is similar but each person makes their own individual map and it is combined with a rondel mechanic. In Alhambra, the tiles for your city must be purchased.

Between 2 Cities is another city building game but it doesn't only use squares. It changes things up with some rectangular tiles and building with teammates. Castles of Mad King Ludwig has a variety of shapes to construct your castle. There is even a mash up of these 2 games, Between 2 Castles of Mad King Ludwig.

With Tetris style tiles, Baren Park brings tile placement into the puzzle realm. The pieces build your zoo but they need to interlock efficiently to win the game. Patchwork is another of these type of games but adds a little economy as you need to make money to buy tiles.

Share with us your favorite tile placement game or one you are interested in trying. I for one am interested in trying Cottage Garden. Join us next week for roll and write games.

An Interview with Weird Giraffe Games

Today we have a special interview with Weird Giraffe Games. Thank you, Carla, for taking the time to visit with us. You have a new game coming out, Tumble Town, about the old west. As a bonus for our readers, we have put together a board game based unit study (featuring Tumble Town) that we will make available for free, for everyone, on our Patreon page. More information about the unit study will be at the end of the interview. What did you love about the initial Tumble Town pitch enough to sign the game? It wasn't a formal pitch for Tumble Town, but playing prototypes with friends. I was just getting to know the designer Kevin and so far we had gotten along great. I loved the dice stacking to create the buildings and the Western theme, as I'm all about themes that aren't out there as much. Those two facts, coupled with thinking that Kevin was a person I could work well with, made me offer to sign and publish the game. I hope everyone else falls in love with Tumble Town as fast as I did! What is the game about?

In Tumble Town players are rolling dice, constructing buildings, and competing to make the best town in the West. To do this, players are drafting building plans and dice and trying to construct buildings based on the plans. Each plan requires a certain type and value for the dice and if you can construct it, you'll either get a power you can use every turn, an instant power, or a new scoring condition for you at the end of the game. After two dice supplies run out, the game is over and players finish the round, then tally their scores. What game mechanics are featured in the game and why? There's set collection, hidden objectives, dice manipulation, engine building, and a spatial puzzle. For the set collection, it was added to give players an easy direction to go in the game; simply go for the style icon that gives them extra points. I always like games that have some hidden aspect of scoring, which is why the hidden objectives are in the game. It's always sad to know that you're losing, so I'd prefer if players only know that for sure at the end of the game and at that point, it's over and they can play again, if they want. Dice manipulation was added to give players more agency, as players are rolling dice and sometimes dice rolls are not in the favor of the player. If player's get enough dice manipulation powers, they'll be able to construct any building that they wish. Engine building is in the game to give players some different strategies to go down. They can focus on manipulating dice, getting more dice, gaining more scoring objectives, or any combination of the three. The spatial puzzle aspect of the game was added in last and it was added in to give additional things for the players to think about and to appeal to players interested in spatial aspects of games. What challenges did you encounter in developing and preparing to Kickstart Tumble Town? Figuring out the end game of Tumble Town took more than a year and a half to decide on. Kevin Russ, the designer, originally had the game end after a specific number of rounds. I prefer games endings where you don't know the exact number of turns that you're going to get as then you can't completely math out the game. At one point, the game had dice mines where players could take dice with specific values and once two dice mines ran out, the game end would be triggered. I ended up getting rid of the dice mines as players got confused about what dice to roll and what dice not to roll and I don't like confusing players. The next game end was triggered when players would run through the two of the three building plan decks. This worked for most players, but some beginner players would run out the level 1 deck, then go to the level 2 decks, and cause the game to end before getting to the level 3 deck. Switching to when the dice supplies ran out kept the player agency where a player that knew what they were doing could end the game early, but new players would not. Who, in actual wild west history, most fascinates you and why?

I wouldn't say there's any particular person in Wild West History that fascinates me, but I am kind of in love with the ring tailed cat that lives out in the West. I didn't know about it until I was researching more about the West, but as soon as I saw it, I was so fascinated. It's a member of the raccoon family, but looks kind of like a cat crossed with a lemur. I definitely want to include it in Tumble Town somewhere, but it's looking like it'll be in the animal expansion.

Photo from livescience.com

You are launching Tumble Town on Kickstarter soon. Why do you choose to use Kickstarter? Are there pros and cons to this method? It's not so much of choosing Kickstarter as I wouldn't be able to make games without Kickstarter. It requires a lot of money to manufacture a game and doing so without knowing if the market is there for the game would destroy most small companies. Kickstarter lets me see if people are interested in the game enough for me to do a full print run. As far as cons, running a Kickstarter is super stressful and I hope to get to the point where I can go straight to retail with a few games but I feel like that will be far from now, as the pros of Kickstarter far outweigh the cons. Where can people go to make sure they get a copy of Tumble Town?

http://weirdgiraffegames.com/TTKS25

Where can our readers find Weird Giraffe Games online?

Twitter: https://twitter.com/WeirdGiraffes Website: http://weirdgiraffegames.com Facebook: https://facebook.com/weirdgiraffegames… Instagram: https://instagram.com/weirdgiraffegames/… Reddit: https://reddit.com/r/WeirdGiraffeGames/

If you want to learn more about the wild west you can check out our wild west unit study here. All of our units studies feature a board game and Tumble Town is the featured game for this unit. I have included alternate games for those that want to start the unit right away.

The study covers language arts, history, science, and art. Along with playing games, you will be reading some great books, drawing maps, and even constructing a replica old west town in Minecraft or diorama form. I hope you have a blast learning along with us!

Click here to get the free unit study!

Why You Should Gameschool With RPGs

First things first, What is an RPG? RPG stands for role playing game. This still might not sound familiar if you haven't played one, think Dungeons and Dragons. Most people have heard of D&D, whether they have played it or not. It was the one that started them all. That's right, all! There are a lot of them to choose from. They range from very simplistic with a paragraph of rules to complex with tomes of rules, backstory, and information.

So, you are on board with using games to teach your kids, but this sounds like a bit of a stretch? Let me explain. RPGs are story based games. One person is the GM (game master). The GM runs the game and plays as all the people, creatures, and things that the PCs (player characters) encounter. The other players in the game are the PCs. Now that you have the very basic idea, let's dive further.

For the PCs the first task is to create a character. This varies by RPG type, some taking an hour and others taking just a few moments. This can require a lot of math but they all require some intentional choices. The players will be playing with this same character over the course of many game sessions. Once in game they will want to role play these characters and make their choices based on who the character is and not simply what they want.

The GM has the big job of establishing the story and the world that will be played in. They create it, but don't control it. Ultimately the GM and PCs build the story together as the game is played. If the teacher is the GM there is so much they can add to help with intentional learning. Let me give an example.

One year we were learning about the pilgrims and their later relationship with the native peoples. To give the lessons a bit more life, we played Roll for Shoes, an quick and simple RPG. My son did not create his own character for this one. I set the scene with descriptive detail and he looks at me with the most incredulous look possible and says, "Am I a turkey?!" Yes, yes he was. He got to be a fly on the wall to some of the events that happened. By the end of the game he had saved his turkey flock, stopped a war from breaking out, and pulled some pretty sweet ninja turkey moves. He had a blast doing it, once he got over the fact that he was playing as a turkey.

The beauty of RPGs is that you are basically playing a game of pretend in any setting you like. You can give the players problems to solve, situations to figure out, and give them the chance to put themselves in someone else's shoes. The game can be set in any time and place. You can even add a little extra language arts time by having your kids write out the story of what happened in the game. This can result in a lovely book of memories over the course of many gaming sessions.

Are you sold yet? I hope so! There are a lot of options to choose from in the RPG genre. I already mentioned Roll for Shoes. It is a free system that requires few supplies and you can find it here: https://rollforshoes.com/. Dungeons and Dragons or Pathfinder are very immersive and rules heavy games. They can be expensive and time consuming, but also very engaging. There are many RPGs based on movies and TV shows too.

We recently had a chance to try out Animal Empire from Half-Monster Games. It is scheduled for release next month and it is fantastic! Character creation is simple and the game is not heavy on rules. The book has great information for GMs about how to create a story and locale. It has some starting story ideas and even a ready to go story to play. Animal Empire allows for a lot of creativity while also not having to come up with everything on your own. The mechanics of the game can easily translate into a realm of your own creation too, historical or fictional. This is our new favorite, for sure!

Have you played RPGs for school before? We would love to hear your stories. Share them in the comments.

8 Board Game Apps

Board games are expensive! They also take up a lot of space. If you are low on cash and/or space, you may want to check out these 8 board game apps. Some of them are free and some are frequently on sale, so keep an eye out! Also, these are all available on Android. There are many more apps out there. These are our favorites because of game play and cost effectiveness.

Carcassonne

This is a tile placing game of building cities and farms. Carcassonne was our first board game and fittingly our first board game app as well. You can play solo against AI or with multiplayer pass and play.

Onirim

This is a solo card game. It is a puzzle game that can be hard to beat. The basic game is available for free, so it is definitely worth a try.

Onitama

If you like Chess, this is a great game to try. Onitama is similar to chess but with variable movement types . This is another free game to download and play. You can play it solo against an AI or play pass and play with a friend.

Potion Explosion

In Potion Explosion players are collecting ingredients to make potions. Choosing the right ingredient can cause a chain reaction that gives you many more. You can play solo against AI or with multiplayer pass and play.

Lanterns

This is another tile placement game. In this one you are placing lanterns in the water for the lantern festival. The lanterns you collect are used to make dedications for points. This is one of my favorite apps. I like that, in solo mode, there are achievements you can try to attain. It keeps the game play fresh. You can play solo against AI or with multiplayer pass and play.

Castles of Mad King Ludwig

In this one you are trying to build the best castle. The room tiles come randomly and have to be purchased. You can play solo against AI or with multiplayer pass and play. It also has a campaign that you can play in solo mode. It's tough but a fun challenge.

Suburbia

City building games are all the rage and Suburbia is a classic. The app allows play with the original tiles and the new, gorgeous tiles from the very expensive collector's edition. It also has a campaign to play through in solo mode. You can play solo against AI or with multiplayer pass and play.

Kingdom Builder

This is a light game of placing settlements on the board. The game play is simple and easy to learn. Beating the AIs is a tough thing to do though. The game gives many options for game play. You can play solo against AI or with multiplayer pass and play.

Whether you are trying to save some space or some money, or just wanting a game to play at work or on the road, I hope you found a game or a few that you want to try out. Let us know what your favorite board game app is in the comments so there are more loved apps to share!

Board Game Spotlight: Dreams of Tomorrow

Dreams of Tomorrow has spent a lot of time on our table since we brought it home a few weeks ago. I was originally drawn to it because the artwork is just gorgeous. Our 12 year old son has really enjoyed the artwork too. There are a handful of images and sort of duplicates of them. He likes to compare them and see how they change over the series of each picture.

The theme is about constructing dreams to send to the past to save the future. The central focus is a changing rondel. The rondel is not an often used mechanic and the rondel for Dreams of Tomorrow is done very well. Players can activate abilities that allow them to rearrange the spaces in the rondel.

This week we have been potty training our 3 year old. As we cycle through break times for each of us, we have been getting in some solo plays of the game. The solo bot comes in 3 difficulty levels. In all of them, the bot causes changes to the rondel and it is ultimately a race to build the best dream sequence you can as fast as you can. This has got to be my favorite game to play solo as it is fast to set up and play is challenging but not impossible.

Dreams of Tomorrow is easy to set up, easy to learn, and small too. The tiny box holds a lot of game and many options. We haven't even had a chance to play with the night mare yet, maybe after potty training. We have really enjoyed the game and we're looking forward to seeing more from Weird Giraffe Games!

Board Game Spotlight: It's a Wonderful World

It is a wonderful world and this is a delightfully simple game with a lot of depth. At it's core, It's a Wonderful World is a drafting game, like we learned about yesterday in our game mechanics 101 class. It adds in a little bit of resource management and engine building as well. Let me tell you about our first game.

The cards that you draft in the game are duel purpose. You need to choose which ones you will build to gain future resources and points and which you will recycle into immediate resources. Adam was very efficient, building very few cards and gaining oh so many resource cubes each round. I was hyper focused on the points the cards could gain me and had a veritable mound of cards under construction. It would have worked too, if the game wasn't a mere 4 rounds long! Adam nearly doubled my score because I was busy playing the long game in a game that isn't long at all.

It's a Wonderful World is fairly easy to learn. Due to the drafting mechanism, each game will play differently. You will need to work with what you have and remember that it is not a long game.

Have you ever gotten so into a game that you forgot that it would be ending soon? I would love to hear your story! Share in the comments.

World War II: A 7 Week Unit Study FREEBIE

Since we firmly believe in the importance of studying World War II, we are providing this unit for free. This unit study covers language arts, history, science, math, and art. You will be doing a variety of hands on activities as you work your way through World War II for kids. You will be reading a book about the Holocaust, watching some great videos, and playing through a campaign of Undaunted Normandy. It is geared toward grades 5, 6, 7, and 8  but can be adjusted for higher or lower grades.

You can find this unit on our Patreon page here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/33735782. 
If you like our blog or want to access more of our unit studies, become a patron!

3 Games for Studying World War II

Today we are sharing 3 games for studying world war II. It can be a tricky topic to cover given some of the atrocities that occurred during that time. It is so important to learn about though. Each year brings the war further from memory and that increases the likelihood that history will repeat itself. So, study this topic! To help, tomorrow we will bring you a free unit study curriculum for world war II. In the mean time, here are our 3 games.

Undaunted Normandy

This is a 2 player deck building game in which you will be playing through battles that occurred at Normandy. The game contains a book of scenarios to play through. Each scenario is a separate battle between the Germans and Allies. The cards available to build your deck with are based on what was actually available to each side in that real life battle. It is an immersive war game that is very accessible. It is also the board game that will be in our board game based unit study tomorrow.

Captain Sonar

U-boats were a big part of the war and this game simulates that experience. Captain Sonar can be played with 2-8 players. Each team has 4 roles to fill. The captain will be navigating the sub through the waters. The first mate readies systems so the captain can fire missiles or use sonar. The engineer will be trying to keep the sub from breaking down. Lastly, is the radar operator, who will be tracking the movements of the other team and trying to pin down their location. It can be played turn by turn or in real time. Real time has teams playing constantly, is chaotic, but also more realistic. There is also a family version that is great for 2-4 players.

Secret Hitler

This game has had a bit of controversy around it. It is such a good game though, for play and especially for learning. We have never played a game of Secret Hitler without explaining the election that brought him to power. Most people we have played with have questioned our playing it. After discussion about how Hitler gained power in the first place, everyone wants to see if they would have elected him too. We would all like to think that we wouldn’t have, but this game helps us remember that we are looking at the situation with 20/20 hindsight. If we want to prevent a future “Hitler”, it is important to know how the first one gained power. There is also a free print and play edition available here: https://www.secrethitler.com/.

There are so many games about WWII. Which one is your favorite? Let us know in the comments!

9 Board Games to Supplement Sonlight Grades 3-4 Curriculum

Gameschooling takes many forms. For some, games are the curriculum. For others, it is an intentional supplement to bring their studies to life. Today we are sharing 9 games that that can supplement your Sonlight grades 3-4 curriculum. The curriculum packs are D and E. We are not suggesting you add all of these games to your collection, but if you find 1-2 that you want to add to your school day, great! Have fun with whichever game(s) you choose.

Discoveries: the Journals of Lewis and Clark

This game is about the creation of the nature journals that Lewis and Clark made over the course of their trip. Players use dice to complete portions of the journey. This allows them to add the portion to their journal. The art in the game is beautiful as well.

Mobi

If you have played Bananagrams, this is basically the same game with math. Players create what is basically a crossword puzzle of math equations with the number tiles that they have. It is a great game for practicing addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Since the function of the equation is chosen by the players, kids can choose what they are comfortable with or parents can encourage playing with newly acquired skills.

Karuba

Karuba bring the players into the jungles of the Americas. They will be searching for hidden temples and the treasures within. It is a tile placement puzzle game. The tiles are used to cut paths through the jungle to reach the temples.

Catan Geographies

These are scenario sheets that require the normal version of the game to play. They feature various regions of the USA. The sheets have pre made tiles and numbers on it as well as facts about the region. Even the basic game can be great as your students learn about colonization and natural resources.

Timeline Americana
Timeline is a very simple game to play. Players take turns trying to fit their events I to the timeline. Repeated play will help bring the dates and events into the students' memories.

Agricola
This game is about farming. It would be a perfect addition to learning about settling the west, as many were farmers. It is a worker placement game. Players will be growing crops, raising livestock, and growing a family as well.

Planetarium

This space game has players take a hand in developing planets. The features of the planet's will be dependent on the resources they find as the planets orbit. The art was made in cooperation with NASA and is just stunning. The cards also have facts about the features they add to the planet.

Whistle Stop
This is a train game. Players are adding tracks to the board and moving their trains toward their goal. The tracks are like a maze, making it hard to work your way across the board. With trains being a big part of western expansion, this game is a fun supplement.

Bang! The Dice Game
The wild west was a bit crazy. In this game players take on various roles in an old west showdown. It does require 3 players. It is a quick dice rolling game. If you can play Yatzee, you can play this and probably have more fun doing it.

Writing Prompts for Bananagrams

Periodically we post writing prompts based on board games for our patrons on Patreon. This week our prompts are for Bananagrams. It is a great way to bring a bit of language arts to your gaming and draw out the learning from the fun. If you want to add writing prompts to your gameschool day, consider becoming a patron. It supports our blog and patrons at any level gain access to writing prompts and board game based unit studies on our Patreon page.

Is there a particular game you would like to see prompts for? Let us know in the comments below!

Become a patron here: https://www.patreon.com/gameschooling

3 Games for Studying Fairy Tales

Today's 3 games video is all about fairy tales! Fairy tales are a wonderfully enjoyable topic to cover. They give great insight about the values of the culture them come from. So, here are our 3 suggestions.

Gingerbread House

In this game you are the witch from Hansel and Gretel. Fairy tale creatures keep coming and eating your gingerbread house and you are tired of it. You are going to lure them in and trap them so you can build your house in peace. It is great to talk about the characters that come up. What story are they from? Are they from a fairy tale or a movie? It's a fun puzzle game filled with fairy tale people and creatures.

Similo Fables

Similo is a quick cooperative deduction game. One person gives clues to help the other players guess which of 12 cards is the fairy tale creature that has been selected. This is a super small game as it is a deck of cards. Similo History is also available if you like the concept but not the theme.

Fairy Tale

It is a fun game of drafting and set collection with fairies, knights, and dragons. The cards interact with each other making for big bonuses at the end of the game.

Which fairy tale is your favorite? What fairy tale based games do you like? Share your favorites in the comments!

Coming Soon: Game Mechanics 101

We will be launching this video series in February. You will find it on our YouTube channel on Thursdays and will, of course, share them here and on our social media pages. There are so many reasons why it is good to learn about game mechanics, and we will share them in our introductory video. This is going to be great for your young game crafters and anyone wanting to learn games a little more quickly.

8 Games to Supplement Sonlight K-2 Curriculum

Gameschooling takes many forms. For some, games are the curriculum. For others, it is an intentional supplement to bring their studies to life. Today we are sharing 8 games that that can supplement your Sonlight K-2 curriculum. The curriculum packs are A-C. These games are going to be great for all 3 years and so will give you more bang for your buck. We are not suggesting you add all of these games to your collection. If you find 1-2 that you want to add to your school day, great! Have fun with whichever game(s) you choose.

Similo History
Similo History is a cooperative deduction game with cards. One player gives clues to the others to help them guess which historical person on the board is the selected card. It has historical characters from ancient Egypt to Marie Curie. It is a short game and can add a touch of overall history.

Cardline Animals
Cardline is another small, quick card game. In this one, you each have a hand of animals and you are trying to place them in order in the center of the table. You can order them by height, weight, or lifespan. It is a versatile game and we play it with our 3 and 12 year old often because they both love it.

Kingdom Builder
This is a game about building your kingdom. You are placing settlements in the terrain type your card shows. The goal is to build near castles and accomplish various goals that change each game. The game is simple enough for younger kids and can be modified easily if needed. It has been a hit with everyone I have played it with from small children to elderly seniors.

The Quest for El Dorado
El Dorado is a deck building game. Each person has their own deck of cards that they play through and add to. The cards allow players to traverse the map of the jungle in a race to find the lost city of gold. This one is simple but with great depth.

Imhotep Duel
This game uses a tic-tac-toe type placement to acquire pieces to build monuments and pyramids. It is very easy to pick up and works well with any level of gaming experience. This one is for 2 players and is actually on our "to buy" list. We played it at our local game store and just love it!

Word on the Street Jr.
This is a team word game. Each team will get a topic and need to come up with a word to go with it. The letters in their word will move toward them till they get far enough to be claimed. It is like a letter tug of war. The jr. edition includes all of the letters, which will help early readers and spellers. You can also make your own topic cards based on what you are currently learning.

Carcassonne
This is a board game classic! The players place a tile each turn to build medieval cities, paths, cloisters, and farm land. At the end of the game, the table looks like an old map. It looks different every time. This was our first modern board game and it is still in our collection.

Planet
Planet is a very light game of planet construction. Each person has a 3 dimensional planet that they add terrain tiles to. The goal is to gain animals for their planet based on what terrain they like.

So, those are our 8 games. We are planning on sharing picks for other years of Sonlight curriculum as well. Is there a curriculum that you would like us to give suggestions for? Let us know in the comments below. You could also keep the conversation going by sharing some of the games you have used with Sonlight k-2. Our list is by no means exhaustive after all!

3 Games for Spelling and Vocabulary

Gameschooling Without a Collection

Gameschooling is fun and highly beneficial, but it can get expensive quick! If you want to gameschool without a collection, it is possible. here are some options for adding games to your homeschool without maintaining a collection.

Board Game Cafes

This is a low cost choice with many gaming options. Our local cafe costs $3 per person and have over 500 games to choose from. We went last week and had a chance to play some games we were considering, some games we couldn't find, and some that we were just curious about. They were all fun, but we took all of them off of our buy list because they are not quite what we want. It was great to get the chance to play them before buying them. Plus we get to use them for learning without having to store them or maintain them.

Local Game Stores

Our favorite local game stores have demo games to try. Their collection of playable games is considerably smaller than the game cafe, but it is FREE! Even with our large collection at home, we still go play games at the game store. It is fun to try something new that we don't have. We have built a great relationship with our favorite game store (The Dice Owl in Montreal) and they always do what they can to keep us updated with upcoming games, events, and finding games they don't have in stock.

Library

Some libraries have board games to either play or check out. The library we had in Michigan had some for kids to play within the library. All the libraries we have been to in Quebec have had a collection for check out. This is a great free option to play games without laying down cash or finding a place to store them.

Gaming Friends

Borrowing, trading, and playing together are all great ways to play more games with less cost. Doing game trades with other people does require that you have games in which to trade, but the other two are completely free. What is better than bringing two or more homeschool families together to learn and play? Knowing that the other families have got the games covered. If you have good friends with a great game collection or even a small one, playing together builds that relationship stronger and fills your gameschooling needs. If they are willing to borrow games to you that can be helpful too.

Gameschooling does not have to break the bank. We hope these tips will help you get more gaming into your homeschool experience. 

Have fun learning!

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3 Games for Studying World Culture

3 Games for Studying World Geography

3 Games for Studying Animals