Dexterity/ Party Game recommendation

Boardgames
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I like to get a game for the family for Christmas that we can play that evening (and beyond, games aren’t just for Christmas you know!).

Stuff that we own and love range from Crokinole and Carrom to Happy Salmon and That’s not a Hat.

I also have Doodle Dash (which is ace, but generally I don’t like drawing games), Anomia, Just One, *So Clover, Monikers/ Times Up and the usual Decrypto and Codenames (maybe I have too many party games). Skull King and Mino Dice also fit. I also own Pitch Car

Any recommendations please? Is Table is Lava any good? Should I just buy Pictomania or Lama Dice?

Something that’s easy to learn, fast to play and will end up with us shouting and laughing.

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I think these all fit your criteria:

  • Rhino Hero
  • Stomp the Plank
  • No Llamas
  • Klask 4
  • Impact
  • Kluster
  • Yogi
  • Bananagrams
  • Ghost Blitz
  • Papayoo

Are some of these aimed at small children? Yes. Does that matter? Not really :laughing:

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You know my level!

Have Rhino Hero and Klask and both are great. Will search the others, thank you

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If you don’t mind a VERY noise dumb game, I suggest Pit. And always get a good laugh out with Telestrations

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Have them both, great games!

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On the easy to learn side of things, two games that have a status of “you already know how to play, but there’s a twist” are Concept and Trapwords.

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Thanks

Have owned and sold Concept. Don’t know Trapwords

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I don’t know if it’s any good but I saw this sort of Cthulhu/Twister mash up called A writhe

I don’t have a clue if it’s good.

There’s also panic mansion/shaky manor which I like (it only plays four with one box but has great toy factor)

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Don’t get Pictomania (which we love) if you don’t really like drawing games and already have Telestrations anyway!

Hardly an out-of-left-field suggestion, but have you got Dixit? That can be a lot of fun for families.

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Wavelength?
Spyfall?

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I’m afraid you’ll need to buy Men at Work. The player count isn’t great, but it’s so good (an can be gamey, but could also just be fun).

If you can find it, Yura Yura Penguin is Uno mashed together with Rhino Hero and it has cute penguin meeples (pengueeples?)

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You can use it to play slightly more players than it says. You can use coins or other tokens to be certificates etc.

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So I already mentioned dexterity games, let’s look at party games, something I haven’t done in a long while!

I’ll +1 some previously mentioned games: Telestrations and Wavelength

  • Bring Your Own Book: this is best played with A) a specifically selected set of prompt cards and, most importantly B) a collection of specific, short books; kids books work best because of general familiarity, family-friendliness, and they are short and easy to skim to find a good match. Get a collection of kids’ Christmas books and cherry-pick some prompts and it’ll be a riot. I also recommend this, specifically, for baby showers.

  • Wits & Wagers: good-ish party game that combines trivia and wagering. Can be played as teams, as well, for very high player counts.

and, of course 18OE: On the Rails of the Orient Express plays up to 8 and a game can be knocked out in 12 hours or less (with experienced players). Sure to delight all those 19th century european business moguls in your family.

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I’ve played this with someone who was using a travel guide to Copenhagen. Surprisingly effective!

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BYOB was an amazing game to play back when I attended a regular game night at a bookshop.

@pillbox is right that children’s books work well. It’s doubly funny when you get something inappropriate from such an innocent source.

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I bought Stomp the Plank for my daughter and can wholeheartedly recommend it. It only plays 4, but it’s fast and a fun watch for others at the table too.

It’s a great kids game and a fun game for adults too.

I should also note, while I don’t really drink anymore I bet Stomp the Plank would make an excellent drunk/drinking game.

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I second Men At Work - huge fun and tests the dexterity.

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I can only heartily agree with everyone who’s recommended Bring Your Own Book - it’s great fun.

We find it works best with books that have lots of easily accessible short sections: so yes, children’s books and travel guides are both ideal, but 19th century novels a bit less so.

(YMMV of course - maybe Proust, Dickens or Zola will be perfect for your group…!)

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Bring Your Own Book sounds right up my street.

Does anyone have experience with Print and Play? The files are free, and I could print on paper and laminate them but I think they’d still look a bit naff.

Are there any online services that do this sort of thing?

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I’ve got a Game Wright edition of the game, nanDeck installed, and a desire to see the game in more hands. If someone recommends a custom-card printer, I’m sure we can get something put together.

It appears that the “official” PnP cards are:

  1. from the original Kickstarter files and not updated to either the final Kickstarter version nor the English Retail version (North American only, I believe)
  2. Oddly sized at 50.8mm x 88.9mm (maybe that’s supposed to include the bleed? I can’t figure it out)
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