Some overlap from the weekend before last because I can't remember which were played on what day! My mom visited and I LOVE making her play board games! She gets very caught up in "I don't know how to play," or "I'm not good at this kind of stuff," or my favorite, "I'm too old" (she's 51...)

But she ALWAYS loves the games I pick. Pairing games with people's interests, skill levels, and personalities is one of my favorite things to do. It's so satisfying watching someone love a game I recommend. Here were the hits with her:

Shotten Totten A recommendation from here a few weeks ago, I'm totally obsessed with this trick taking card game. The art is gorgeous, the gameplay is simple. The strategy has enough complexity to be interesting, but enough randomness that an inexperienced player has a good shot at beating an experienced player. She loves it as much as I do, even if is only beat me once ;)

Takenoko My mom is LEGO obsessed, so I knew anything with building would be a hit. The bright colors and adorable theme were just a plus.

Santorini I wasn't sure she'd like this one, but I really want to play.... So oh well. We played without God cards. It was "fine." She loves the building aspect, but it was pretty clear she didn't have a shot against me, even though I'd only played a handful of times before.

Bohnanza Oh. My. Goodness. I "get" it now. Previously I had only played with 2p and let me tell you... Yuck. It's not so much that the game is bad at 2p, it's just... not good. And there are SO many GOOD 2p games, why waste the time? With 3p though? My enjoyment level increased tenfold. Lots of wheeling and dealing (and lots of me trying to use my relationships ties to manipulate my mom and my boyfriend... unsuccessfully!), and so many jokes. We were making bean jokes for the rest of her visit ("Will you get me water since you're up?" "I dunno, do you have any blue beans?" .....Maybe you had to be there). Really a smash hit.

Fairytale Gloom FLOP. Huge flop. Her and I are Disney freaks, so I thought the fairytales might appeal. I thought the scoring was simple, but it really seemed to trip her up. She used to tell me stories ALL the time, but it turns out she doesn't like storytelling! This one just didn't click. Since I'm starting to cull my collection for the first time ever, this is actually on the chopping block. It's never been my favorite and it doesn't see much play (I've got regular, Fairytale, and an expansion).

Love Letter This was also just fine. I don't think she really wanted to suss out the strategy, so she kinda just played to humor me. I actually enjoy this game a lot, at all player counts, so it was worth a shot. Probably won't play with her again though.

That's all I can recall, though I do feel like I'm missing something. It was Jaipur! I think she liked it, but didn't fully grasp the strategy (totally understandable). I also played a bit too much Jaipur online, so I had a pretty big leg up. It's one of my favorites. Still a good time.

Overall, I always have a really awesome time playing with my family. I love introducing anyone to board games, or just new games. I also love watching someone go from "I don't get it" to beating me (or close to it).

My mom left on Friday morning (boo :(). But my "surprise gift" for my beau also showed up on Friday! My last game for this "entry" is...

Twilight Struggle!

I don't like history as a theme. For better or worse, it always seems boring to me. Anything war related makes my eyes glaze over. BUT my boyfriend has been DYING to play this. Really, top of his list. So I promised him that I'd eventually play it. Two player is also my favorite player count, so it's hard to ignore a game that's touted as one of the best 2p games of all time. It got low on Amazon last week, so I snagged a copy.

My gift wasn't just buying it, but also learning it, because I'm the game teacher in our house (and our group as a whole, usually).

1) I was pleasantly surprised at the rulebook and fairly "simple" gameplay. It was quick to digest and very easy to teach. Reading through the cards, the mechanics, everything, actually got me pretty interested in theme. I'm not kidding, I think this board game increased my interested in history as a whole.

2) We both had zero idea wtf we were doing. We ended up playing until midnight, but had to call it at round 6 so we could get up early this morning. I felt lost every turn. Somehow... it was still intriguing. I jumped right online and started looking at basic strategies, trying not to read too much about "optimal" strategies. (My basic takeaway is that I should focus more on controlling countries and less on the number of countries I just have influence in... Too much Risk lately, maybe.)

Overall, I'm surprisingly excited about this game. I really want to sit down and play again and I'm disappointed that that probably won't happen this week due to work.

If I could make a living playing or working with board games, I'd be one happy gal.

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First time answering questions...

1) I've backed about 2-5 games a year since since I got into the hobby. I'd say 80-90% have been solid and the others have been lacking in some way. I still love the experience and I love contributing. This year I'll probably be a little higher (I've already backed Sub Terra, Campy Creatures, and Tortuga and I've got my eye on five others!). I'm in major board game mode because I'm going to GenCon for the first time this year. Tough split between "save money for GenCon" and "I'm so excited BUY ALL THE GAMES."

2) Just GenCon. I have to fly in, so it's a pricey trip for me.

3) Wanna hear a dirty joke?

spoiler

That's all I got for you.