Great Games to Play with Your Family During the Holiday Season

Poo

Here’s a game that is sure to please your family, even if on first glance it seems really gross. Poo is a card game that applies the mechanics of, you guessed it, flinging poo at other monkeys. The rules are simple: fling poo at the other monkeys and try not to accumulate 15 poo (if you do, you’re out of the game). It takes about 15 minutes to play and you can play with anywhere from 2 to 8 players.

Poo is available from Amazon for $12.99.

Munchkin

If the notion of Poo is making you queasy or you’re just not digging the poo flinging, then might we suggest a friendly game of Munchkin. Only, Munchkin is rarely friendly. After all, the whole point of the game is to backstab your buddies all the way to victory. There are a plethora of flavours when it comes to Munchkin. I recently discovered the joys of Munchkin C’thulu.

If you’re just starting out with Munchkin, I suggest trying some of the less rules-intensive versions like regular Munchkin (without its various expansions), Munchkin Fu, and Space Munchkin. The full-list of Munchkin spin-off games is quite interesting.

Munchkin is available from Warehouse 23 for $24.99.

Dominion

This game is the mother-lode. Dominion is a mash-up of a collectible card game and board game but is greater than either. Although the rules can get quite complicated, especially when you throw in the many expansions, it is a game that anyone can pick up by playing a couple of games. The aim of the game is to build the most valuable deck, which represents your Kingdom. You can create this deck by buying useful cards from the 17-20 resource decks or buying up land/titles.

Depending on the cards available, turns can be lightning quick (buy stuff, end turn) or players can chain Action cards for more powerful attacks or deck upgrades. The very nature of the game is unpredictable so even if you’ve played this game many times before, the combination of cards makes highly improbable that you’ll be able to try every combination available.

Dominion is available from Amazon for $44.99.

Apples to Apples

Apples to Apples is a favourite holiday game within my family of gamers. The light-hearted and hilarious nature of the game makes it easy to pick up and enjoy. One player (the judge) draws a green apple card that has an adjective written on it. The players then look through their deck of red apples to choose the most appropriate/interesting/hilarious noun or gerund to match with the adjective.

Judge flips through the players’ choices, chooses his/her favourite, rinse and repeat often to create side-splitting results.

Apples to Apples is available from Amazon for $26.99.

Dixit

Dixit has been on my wishlist since PAX, when I first heard about it. The beauty lies in the game mechanics, which aren’t traditional mechanics at all. This is a game of storytelling. The more creative you are, the better you’ll do. And, from my understanding, this is the kind of game to play with kids that love to tell stories to encourage even more creativity.

Dixit is available from BoardGameRatings.com for $25.95.

Best Games to Buy for Board Game Lovers

Arkham Horror

This is not a game for the faint of heart or the short on time. Arkham Horror is a Lovecraftian board game, bent on destroying players through various means. Unlike many board games, this is a game of co-operation where players pool resources and put their heads together to come up with a plan to avoid the awakening of The Old One. The complex nature of the game means that you’ll be investing anywhere from four to eight hours (yes, you read that correctly) in a single game. All in all, however, the game is a lot of fun to work through (albeit a bit frustration).

Arkham Horror is available from Fantasy Flight Games for $59.95.

Space Hulk

This is the kind of game that people dubbed “Warhammer Lite”. It’ll get you good and hooked on playing tabletop war-games so that when you have the great epiphany to play Warhammer 40K, Games Workshop will be there to hook you up. Joking aside, Space Hulk is an excellent introduction to tabletop war-games without the investment required to start a full on army.

A two player game, Space Hulk takes place on a derelict giant spaceship (known as a space hulk) and pits Space Marines against Genestealers. In order to attain victory, you’ll have to be fast on your feet and make decisions quickly.

Sadly, Space Hulk was a limited release and is now only available through eBay.

Hecho

Hecho from Glowfly games is an all ages, everybody plays at once, game of chaos and fun.  The goal of the games is to build as many buildings as possible.  When the game starts, everyone has 5 resource cards in their hand (resources help you build buildings and consist of: metal, plastic, concrete, wood, brick and glass) and the rest of the cards go in a giant messy pile in the middle of the table.  There’s six stacks of building cards, and the top building on each stack flips over at once and the game begins.  Then it’s a mad dash to try and match the resources you have with the buildings on the table that are available to be built.  It requires a bit of quick math, but you don’t have to be exact about it.  There’s a few other special cards in the mix too: a specialist that lets you use one resource as another (let’s build a glass building out of metal, because our metal specialist is that awesome) and wild cards that can stand in for any of the six resources.

You can play in rounds – as soon as one of the six building stacks has been completely built, that’s the end of a round and then the winner after three rounds, wins the game.  Each building has a point value, so it’s not about how many buildings you’ve built, but what they’re worth that gets you the win.  Games are quick, usually less than 5 minutes per round and are typically sort of madness that’s perfect for family gatherings where everyone can join in on the fun.  Also worth mentioning is that the cards are all in Spanish (with English translations) so Hecho (Made) is also a little bit about learning — but you don’t have to tell the kids that.

Hecho is available from Amazon for $14.95.

Globalization

Globalization by the Brothers Knudson, brought to you by Closet Nerd Games, is a competitive game of world domination, one corporation at a time.  It’s a little like Monopoly, but instead of moving around a board building on spaces, you’re buying up companies in regions on the map.  The best part of globalization (besides outbidding your opponents for companies) is the names and descriptions for the companies themselves.  The whole game is rife with puns and in-jokes.  If you’re a fan of Monopoly because you like making money and hording it so that you can make all the others pay for their crimes against humanity their insolence, then this is the perfect game for you.  There’s a lot of money management involved (obviously) so it’s not necessarily great for younger players.  But if you’ve got a bunch of Wall Street fancy-pants coming to your house for the holidays, then break it out and watch them go insane.

No fancy pants investment bankers or stock traders in your family?  Globalization is still a good time.  Build your multi-national corporation by buying up businesses and trying to figure out the best ways to monopolize regions and industries.  And stick it to the man by blocking your opponents by building their own global corporate empires.  Just make sure you block out enough time to play; time flies when you’re trying to amass a billion dollars.

Globalization is available from Amazon for $39.99.

For the RPG Fan on Your List

D&D Red Box

Welcome to the new hotness in D&D boxed sets, The Red Box. If you have a gamer on your list that has never played Dungeons & Dragons (let alone any other kind of pen & paper RPG), this is the perfect gift to introduce him or her to the game (without overwhelming them with rules). The Red Box comes with all of the tools necessary to start up a game of D&D: an introductory version of the D&D 4th Edition rules, dice, dungeon map, and an adventure.

The Red Box is available from WalMart, Target, and Amazon for $19.99.

Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay Boxed Set (or Dark Heresy)

Depending on whether or the gamer on your list is interested in fantasy or sci-fi, there are two games that actively satisfy their (potential? resounding? all-encompassing?) love of Games Workshop: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay (WFRP) and Dark Heresy.

WFRP is in its third edition and has completely revamped the rules from a d10 based system to a custom dice system that makes it really simple for anyone to jump into the game at any point. The Boxed-Set (although pricey), much like the Red Box, has everything that a player needs to get started: dice, four rule books, character cards, power cards, and card holders for the characters. The setting is much as the game suggests; it’s set in the universe of Warhammer Fantasy. Your adventures take place anywhere from The Moot to Reikland.

Dark Heresy is, well, dark. It takes the universe of Warhammer 40K and tosses it in the hands of RPG players. Unlike WFRP, this is a true roleplaying experience that utilizes the same d10 system that WFRP used in its earlier editions. The lore is juicy. The writing is crisp. And, best of all, this is an engrossing universe full of opportunities to maim, destroy, and be all kinds of treacherous. Or, y’know, be a goody-goody Inquisitor. Whatever floats your boat.

Both games are available through Fantasy Flight Games. WFRP Box Set is available for $99.95. Dark Heresy’s Core Rulebook is available from $59.95.

Dread

Here’s a game you might not have heard of. The first time I heard of it was during a PAX Panel with Geek Nights called “Beyond Candyland”. Dread is an unusual RPG that doesn’t use dice. Instead, it uses Jenga. Yes, Jenga. At first, I was perplexed. And then I thought about it. Jenga requires a steady hand, an agile mind, and a lot of planning. When combined with the likes of Dread, you get a game that is no longer just about moving blocks. It’s about running from zombies. Or a serial killer. Or a horde of angry villagers after you accidentally set their town hall on fire.

Dread rewards proactive thinking. If your party is about to wipe, you can be the hero (because once someone knocks over the Jenga blocks, that person dies). Knocking them over on purpose means that you die, but you die like a hero; you could throw yourself into the angry mob and save everyone.

Oh yeah. Heroics are awesome.

Dread is available through Tilting at Windmills for $24 (Jenga is extra).

Well, maybe.

Blood Bowl (the shiny new game edition) is based off the wild board game by Games Workshop. It’s playable in real-time or turn based; a mixture of strategy and sports.

Strategy and sports? Can such things co-exist in a video game?

Listen up, wimpy manling: this is a brutal game of Warhammer meets American football. No holds barred. Want to use that snotling as a ball? Go for it. Crush the prancing elf with your club? YES. Have a mighty need to play football in the snow? Hop on, grotboy.

11 new playable races join the 9 races already available in the 2009 edition: Undead, Amazon, Ogres and 9 other races enter Blood Bowl’s tournaments. Much like Warhammer itself, each race has their unique playing style, tactics, and skill-set. In addition, there are shiny new stadiums to pummel your competition. Play in a crypt? Sure! Hang out in snowy stadiums with the Norse? Why not!

Blood Bowl: Legendary for PC drop-kicks snotlings at the end of this year.

But it’s the young guys that ask me the same question over and over again:

“Why do you play war-games and other gamer girls don’t?”

Clearly, we war-games babes exist.

If I had a nickel for every time I heard that question… I’d have a lot of nickels.

And yet, when I look around at my local Games Workshop or hobby store, I’m often the only chick. Heck, I’m also often the only one in their twenties. It’s either the younglings whose parents have more money than sense or the middle-aged dudes that resemble my dad’s friends back home.

It begs the question: where my girls at?

War-games – Warhammer 40K, specifically – have a serious lack of female players. It’s an intimidation factor from both sides. As a chick, walking into an all-male arena with one’s army of (stellar) Witch Hunters, I feel like a cliche. Of course I’ll play the all female army.

Although my intimidation is completely unfounded (I’ve never been made fun of by a guy for playing Warhammer), it makes me think: if this is how I, a seasoned vet of ten years, feels while walking into a hobby shop, how much more intense is it for the new femme gamers, especially if they don’t know a soul? At least for me I’ve got a husband and a brother to fall back on if I start shaking in my little space boots. Even then, I don’t generally throw down unless I know the person outside the hobby.

What if you want to get started but don’t know how?

Common issue with any war-game: you want to get started but have no idea where to start. The best place to start is by asking someone who plays. Or by reading about it online. Some of the best forums on the hobby have plenty of information about how to get started, where to go, and how much money you’ll need for start-up. Games Workshop war-games are notoriously expensive and are only getting more so. After a major price hike in the US and a minor one in Canada, GW is continuing to peddle its wares to the affluent.

If you’re looking to get started without a lot of cash, best place to start is on craigslist and eBay. My own Witch Hunters army (then known as the Sisters of Battle – third edition, woo!) is an eBay purchase.

Ladies: a call to action

If you’ve ever been interested in war-games (be they through Games Workshop or Privateer Press) and have been intimidated in the past, here’s my challenge to you: walk into your local hobby shop, ask questions, and shadow a game. Check out the miniatures, how they’re painted, and how the game is played. It’ll give you insight into whether or not this is the kind of game you want to invest in. Because believe you me, this is an investment. And well worth it, ten years later.

Saint Celestine - holy snap, I painted that!

First thing’s first, take a deep breath and remember that you are not required to have the best painted or best converted army right out of the gate. This will require three things from you: rudimentary knowledge of colour theory and lighting, as well as a lot of patience for both yourself (you’re learning) and the process (it takes a while). It will also require you to pick up the following materials from your local hobby store:

• Plastic cutters, to separate the pieces from the sprues and to snip chunks of flash off of your metal miniatures
• Super glue and/or plastic glue
• Modelling putty aka. Green Stuff (use the GW (Games Workshop) stuff, if possible, as I’ve found it to be the most pliable)
• Exacto knife with some extra blades (use with caution!)
• A set of small files to get rid of flash and flash lines
• Black Primer, from GW
• ‘Ardcoat, from GW
• Paintbrushes: one for base-coats, for medium detail, and fine detail
• Paint (use Vallejo or GW)
• Cup and saucer for the mixing of the paint

Find yourself a large table to set up shop and tell anyone and everyone in your house (including your pets) to stay away for fear of your wrath. I made the mistake of leaving my miniatures out around my dog when he was a puppy. He thought they were toys. I lost a squad of Space Marines to his tiny, gnawing teeth. Set out your shiny new tools and bust out the box that your army came in. You ready? Let’s get started.

Definitions You’ll Need to Continue

• Sprue – all of your plastic and metal bits that are attached to one another, due to the crafting process
• Flash – extra bits of model that are left over after you extract them from said sprues
• Flash lines – ever present on your models, since no models are made in one piece. These lines really detract from the finished product, so make sure you get rid of them!

1. Assembly: Green Stuff, Super Glue, and Your Fingers

We’re going to make this into a basic tutorial so we won’t go into how to convert your miniatures into customized pieces of awesome. We will, however, go over how to assemble your miniatures and not have them fall apart before you have a chance to prime them for painting. Let’s go over how to assemble your basic plastic mini before getting into the complexities of metal assembly.

For plastic minis:

1. Cut the required pieces off of the sprue, using your plastic cutters, being sure not to cut the actual piece itself. Believe me, this is more difficult than it seems.
2. Slice off the extra bits of flash left over from your extraction process, being careful to cut away from your body and towards the table. As my good friend Nathan once said, “The hospital doesn’t sew flaps, just super glue your finger back together.” Super gluing one’s wounds is not a pleasant process. Lesson here is to not slice your fingers open.
3. Using a round file, gently file off the flash lines until it looks like the mini was always supposed to be one piece.
4. Use conservative amounts of plastic glue on the pieces that need to be put together. Careful not to get much (if any) on your fingers. If you do… don’t be foolish and try to wipe it off on your pants or tissue or whatever. Chances are, you’ll stick to everything. And that hurts.
5. Once your mini looks something like the picture, you can take a breather and wait for it to dry. I’d suggest at least an hour, but it’s best to let it set overnight before you get onto the priming process. Repeat the process for however many miniatures you need to assemble.

For metal minis:

1. Check “Plastic Minis” Steps 1-3.
2. Mix your green stuff: slice a small piece of the blue and yellow and start working it together between your fingers. You will need to use water from your cup (make sure it’s clean) to keep it from being to sticky. Set it aside. You’ll need it in a few minutes.
3. Check “Plastic Minis” Step 4, substituting Plastic Glue for Super Glue.
4. Grab that green stuff you set aside earlier and apply it to the seams of your previously glued bits. Smooth it down, using the flat side of your Exacto knife. Don’t use too much, or too little. Too much of it will look too bulky and too little won’t hold it in its place. Slice off the excess and allow the green stuff to dry overnight. No exceptions!
5. For all of the miniatures you’ve assembled, make sure that you’ve glued them to their bases by using Super Glue/Plastic Glue. This is a source of debate amongst hobbyists, but I suggest it only because it’s easier to hold onto your miniatures once you’re ready to paint them.

2. Priming

Root around your house/apartment for some spare cardboard, gather up the miniatures you’ve put together, and bring them and your primer outside with

you. Why outside? It’s ventilated and you won’t spray a piece of furniture/wall by accident. Or, in the case of my first bout of priming, your father’s face. No, really, it happened, and his eyes were only saved by his glasses. We were happy for his terrible eyesight that afternoon, let me tell you.

Why black? Black does not show the imperfections in your base-coat. If you fail to paint a miniscule piece of your miniature and you’ve primed it black (as opposed to white), it will blend in and go virtually unnoticed.

Place the cardboard underneath your minis and spray in light bursts, not in a full-on blast. The light bursts will allow for a thorough coat that’s not too heavy in any one place. Once you’ve finished priming your minis, make sure you let them sit for thirty minutes. Don’t try to pick them up before then or you’ll smudge your priming job and you’ll have to re-do it… plus fingerprints.

3. The Base-coat

Get your colour scheme together and gather your paints. When doling out your paints onto your saucer/paint mixing container, make sure that you’re adding water to it. In my experiences, it should be “the consistency of cream”. Too watery and it won’t apply properly. Too thick and you’ll lose the detail. It takes practice to find that balance so don’t be frustrated if you don’t get it the first time.

Some people never go beyond the base-coat, as GW tournament rules only states that you need 3 distinct colours, to be considered a model that is ready to be fielded in battle. But you’re going to go beyond this, as scary as it may seem. Make sure that when you’re applying your base coat that you’re not over-painting (painting far beyond the boundaries of what’s being painted: ie., pants, shirt, etc.) or under-painting (not painting all the way to the boundaries). Instead, don’t panic if you go over but try not to. It takes a lot of patience and practice!

Let dry for an hour and then we’re ready to move onto the wash/ink/drybrushing.

4. Washes vs. Ink vs. Drybrushing

A wash is watered down pigment of any colour. An ink is watered-down, concentrated pigment. Drybrushing is a technique used by hobbyists mostly for terrain painting and fur textures. For our purposes, we’re going to use a wash, because it’s much less concentrated than the inks. I would recommend GW’s new Citadel Washes, not just because they’re name brand but because they’re the most amazing washes that I’ve ever used, including my own concoctions.

For this, you’re going to have to experiment with colour theory to determine what would be the best wash for your purposes. Remember to get the wash right into the crevasses – don’t be shy to use too much wash, as you’re going to be highlighted it back up anyway!

Drybrushing requires you to take a shoddy brush that has the bristles all pushed down and mangled. Dip your brush into the paint, take a piece of tissue and rub almost all of the paint off. Then proceed to rub the brush all over the parts of the miniature you want to paint with that technique. It’s an excellent technique to use for beginners but don’t get too attached to it. It doesn’t yield the best results all the time.

5. Highlighting

Take your base-coat colours and apply it to all of the parts on your miniatures that fall under the normal range of brightness. Mixing highlight colours from there is the tricky part. There are many techniques for painting the different colours and I won’t go into them here. I’m hoping to write an advanced painting article for those of you who want to know the secrets of mixing the perfect palette. For now, just add white to your base colour and continue to highlight your model, using your fine and medium detail brushes.

Don’t be afraid to highlight up through the whites but don’t get too liberal with the paint, otherwise you’ll have to re-wash it and try again. Keeping a steady hand is difficult, so balance the miniature either on the table or on your tummy (as silly as it seems).

6. Ardcoat! Or, “Let’s Play with Aerosol Lacquer!”

Once you’re satisfied with your paint job, the next thing to do is protect your miniature from the elements. There are two ways to make sure that your miniatures don’t suffer an early death: ‘Ardcoat or Extremely Careful Handling. The former is done by spraying ‘Ardcoat in the same manner as you did the primer. This will act as a lacquer and protective coat for your paint job, which means the paint will last longer and won’t chip as easily when you bring it to tournaments or your buddy’s basement.

Let dry overnight.

The latter means that you must have foam protection around your miniatures any time you transport them to play in a game or tournament. This is pretty standard across the board but you’d be surprised how often some people forget this.

7. Storage and Future Protection

When storing your miniatures, make sure you put them in a place where children or pets can get to. Either put them in a china cabinet or a cupboard with doors. If you’re a really hardcore hobbyist, like my Dad, get yourself a custom-made cabinet with lighting and fancy glass shelving. Might be pricey. Failing that, just put ‘em up on a bookshelf and dust them regularly, if you’re not playing all the time. For transportation, get yourself a proper case with foam lining that cushion the miniatures.

8. “Dunking” a Botched Mini

Let’s say the miniature got completely screwed up, somewhere along the line. Your next best step is to “dunk” the little guy and try again later. To strip the paint off of your metal miniatures, use a combination of Pine Sol and water (3/4 Pine Sol, 1/4 water) in a plastic container. You can do the same with your plastic model, but don’t leave them longer than overnight because the Pine Sol will begin to eat through the plastic and you’ll lose the detail. For plastic miniatures, I would suggest brake fluid.

Take an old toothbrush and scrub the miniature under running water until its stripped of its previous colour.

Important Note: WEAR GLOVES.

The one and only time I didn’t wear gloves, I lost a layer of skin from overzealous scrubbing. Not pretty. Ow.

At the end of the day, this is a long process that will take you many, many hours to learn the basics of. To learn advanced techniques, you’ll need even longer. Don’t give up on yourself if you’re not like the guys from White Dwarf right away. Have patience, trust in the process, and have a blast.

As the armies of Destruction continue their war upon the civilized lands, the Raven Host of Chaos is poised to march upon the Empire of Man in an unstoppable tide. To ensure victory against the Emperor’s Order of the Griffon, an elite party of Chaos warriors is tasked with the quest to find the Spear of Myrmidia and fully unleash the power of the Winds of Chaos. To work such awesome magic, the marauder Kormak must dare venture into the Bastion Stair, portal to the Realm of Khorne, and defy the Blood God’s wrath. However, the warriors of the Raven Host are not the only ones with an interest in harnessing the powers of Chaos; Treacherous Dark Elves and brutish Orcs each look to seize the power for themselves, while a desperate Imperial army races to deny all of their foes the dreaded might of Chaos.

“With the first two Warhammer Online novels, Empire in Chaos and Dark Storm Gathering, we saw the Realm vs. Realm conflict from the besieged viewpoint of Order,” said Jeff Hickman, Executive Producer for Mythic Entertainment. “Forged in Chaos provides readers with their first look into the dark, megalomaniacal minds of the forces of Destruction. Rife with internal conflict, shifting allegiances, and a never-ending lust for murder, we see firsthand how this unholy alliance of Destruction is just as deadly to each other as they are to the armies of Order.”

Forged in Chaos is slated to be released later this fall online and in retail stores. Keep your eyes on Gaming Angels and The Black Library’s website for more info!