Summoner Wars & Sentinels of the Multiverse

Started by Hartford688, February 12, 2012, 12:40:06 PM

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Hartford688

Since deciding board games is a way for me to share my gaming with my daughters (9 & 12), I was looking at adding potentially some of these card games I read about  :)

Two that seemed to get good reviews ar Summoner Wars and Sentinels of the Multiverse - anyone here ever played them? Any good?

I considerd Lord of the Rings (I'm watching the movies with my oldest at weekeds just now) but from what I read may be too difficult.

Capn Darwin

We have Sentinels and it looks very cool. We've just not had a chance to play it yet. My girls are 11 and 13 and we've been gaming for a few years with them. Dominion, Ticket to Ride, Kung Fu Fighting, Tiki Mountain, Incan Gold, and Catan are all good family games. If Longblade see this he may have ideas too. He has two girls who do some gaming.  8)
Rocket Scientist by day, Game Designer by night.

Arctic Blast

I've done a lot of board gaming with nieces and nephew in the last year...they range from 4 to 8. Forbidden Island is a good one, especially if you know/like Pandemic. It's by the same designer, and is basically a stripped down version of Pandemic. Survive! Escape From Atlantis is a fun game around a race from a sinking island to safety, with everyone taking each other out with sea monsters, sharks and whales. Also a good game to play with the usual group over a few beers. Flash Point Fire Rescue went over pretty well last time as well...good co-op game with the players as firefighters. There's also an advanced game and a more difficult second board to try. Finally, Wrath of Ashardalon, though probably any of the D&D based board games would work out fine. I kept the monsters from view until they appeared...I thought my 6 year old nephew was going to lose his mind when I put that gigantic red dragon out there on the board.  ;D

Sure, the 4 year old needs some help with most of them (and the 6 year old from time to time), but we all end up having a good time.

Hartford688

Thanks gentlemen!

I have found what looks a good site in Belgium that'll ship at not too extravagant a cost. So I'll have a look around there.

Anyone reckon "A few acres of snow" is suitable to play with a 9 year old  ;)

son_of_montfort

Quote from: Arctic Blast on February 13, 2012, 11:48:36 PM
I've done a lot of board gaming with nieces and nephew in the last year...they range from 4 to 8. Forbidden Island is a good one, especially if you know/like Pandemic. It's by the same designer, and is basically a stripped down version of Pandemic. Survive! Escape From Atlantis is a fun game around a race from a sinking island to safety, with everyone taking each other out with sea monsters, sharks and whales. Also a good game to play with the usual group over a few beers. Flash Point Fire Rescue went over pretty well last time as well...good co-op game with the players as firefighters. There's also an advanced game and a more difficult second board to try. Finally, Wrath of Ashardalon, though probably any of the D&D based board games would work out fine. I kept the monsters from view until they appeared...I thought my 6 year old nephew was going to lose his mind when I put that gigantic red dragon out there on the board.  ;D

Sure, the 4 year old needs some help with most of them (and the 6 year old from time to time), but we all end up having a good time.

Really great suggestions here. Survive is the natural shoe-in for younger kids. I like Legend of Drizzt a little bit better than Wrath of Ashardalon, but only a little bit.

I hear GREAT things about the game Castle Panic, particularly for the younger crowd. It is co-op and easy to learn and teach. Check it out.
"Now it is no accident all these conservatives are using time travel to teach our kids. It is the best way to fight back against the liberal version of history, or as it is sometimes known... history."

- Stephen Colbert

"The purpose of religion is to answer the ultimate question, are we in control or is there some greater force pulling the strings? And if the courts rule that corporations have the same religious rights that we humans do, I think we'll have our answer."

- Stephen Colbert

Arctic Blast

Quote from: son_of_montfort on March 04, 2012, 07:00:15 PM
Quote from: Arctic Blast on February 13, 2012, 11:48:36 PM
I've done a lot of board gaming with nieces and nephew in the last year...they range from 4 to 8. Forbidden Island is a good one, especially if you know/like Pandemic. It's by the same designer, and is basically a stripped down version of Pandemic. Survive! Escape From Atlantis is a fun game around a race from a sinking island to safety, with everyone taking each other out with sea monsters, sharks and whales. Also a good game to play with the usual group over a few beers. Flash Point Fire Rescue went over pretty well last time as well...good co-op game with the players as firefighters. There's also an advanced game and a more difficult second board to try. Finally, Wrath of Ashardalon, though probably any of the D&D based board games would work out fine. I kept the monsters from view until they appeared...I thought my 6 year old nephew was going to lose his mind when I put that gigantic red dragon out there on the board.  ;D

Sure, the 4 year old needs some help with most of them (and the 6 year old from time to time), but we all end up having a good time.

Really great suggestions here. Survive is the natural shoe-in for younger kids. I like Legend of Drizzt a little bit better than Wrath of Ashardalon, but only a little bit.

I hear GREAT things about the game Castle Panic, particularly for the younger crowd. It is co-op and easy to learn and teach. Check it out.

What were the changes from Ashardalon to Drizzt, SoM? I'm kind of interested in it, but only if it seems like a significant enough change to warrant a new purchase.

son_of_montfort

Sorry I missed this question!

Not a whole lot, but they added a competitive mode and a "traitor" mechanic which is sort of cool. The biggest difference is in the monsters, characters, and treasures. I'm fairly certain that, although they are supposed to be compatible, the heroes in LoD would wipe the floor with WoA and CR's heroes. And the monsters would be fairly unbeatable. One of the random draw monsters, the Troll, is as hard or harder than boss monsters in WoA. It just seems that the game is a tad more dynamic, the stakes are higher, and the hero powers are cooler. It also might be that the monster just look awesome (driders and a mind flayer).

WoA was quite good, but I think LoD has a little more character.

For the older kids (13+), you might look into Gears of War: The Boardgame. It is a co-op like WoA and LoD, but set in the Gears universe (with guns and the Locusts). Pretty fun and hard as can be!
"Now it is no accident all these conservatives are using time travel to teach our kids. It is the best way to fight back against the liberal version of history, or as it is sometimes known... history."

- Stephen Colbert

"The purpose of religion is to answer the ultimate question, are we in control or is there some greater force pulling the strings? And if the courts rule that corporations have the same religious rights that we humans do, I think we'll have our answer."

- Stephen Colbert

Arctic Blast

Quote from: son_of_montfort on March 06, 2012, 11:01:04 AM
Sorry I missed this question!

Not a whole lot, but they added a competitive mode and a "traitor" mechanic which is sort of cool. The biggest difference is in the monsters, characters, and treasures. I'm fairly certain that, although they are supposed to be compatible, the heroes in LoD would wipe the floor with WoA and CR's heroes. And the monsters would be fairly unbeatable. One of the random draw monsters, the Troll, is as hard or harder than boss monsters in WoA. It just seems that the game is a tad more dynamic, the stakes are higher, and the hero powers are cooler. It also might be that the monster just look awesome (driders and a mind flayer).

WoA was quite good, but I think LoD has a little more character.

For the older kids (13+), you might look into Gears of War: The Boardgame. It is a co-op like WoA and LoD, but set in the Gears universe (with guns and the Locusts). Pretty fun and hard as can be!

Hmmm...I'll have to consider whether to grab it or not.

I've already got Gears of War. Good game, tough to win, but not to the same level of difficulty of Ghost Stories. That game hates whoever plays it.

son_of_montfort

Ghost Stories goes by the name "Cast Iron B#$ch" in most circles I know. That is why I love the iPad version - no set up or clean up after you lose in 5 minutes.
"Now it is no accident all these conservatives are using time travel to teach our kids. It is the best way to fight back against the liberal version of history, or as it is sometimes known... history."

- Stephen Colbert

"The purpose of religion is to answer the ultimate question, are we in control or is there some greater force pulling the strings? And if the courts rule that corporations have the same religious rights that we humans do, I think we'll have our answer."

- Stephen Colbert

FarAway Sooner

May be too late, but for that age, I think it's all about being accessible, and being more random.  For a lot of kids, co-op games are better than competitive ones--spares the sibling bickering thing, if that's a concern and you're trying to get them started out enjoying the games before you get them to competing against each other later.

Along those lines, I've also heard good things about Castle Panic, although nobody would confuse it for a wargame of any sort.  Pandemic would be a winner, but if there's a slightly simplified version of that for younger kids, that'd also be cool. 

All the D&D boardgames (CR, WoA, LoD) are cool, but a bit more complicated in terms of game play.  One other game that might capture kids' attention for Co-Op stuff is Defenders of the Realm.  It's a fantasy-themed Pandemic with flashier components and a fantasy theme (and costs more $$$).  The game play isn't quite as intricate, but it's still fun to look at and does a very good job with atmosphere.