Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader?

We all enjoyed playing this game. It's basically a bunch of trivia questions, divided into gradeschool categories: math, science, English, Social Studies, and even PE. They range from easy (first grade) to relatively difficult (fifth grade) and include some true/false and multiple choice questions. 

We all found out that none of us are smarter than a fifth grader. I mean, who would have guessed that the telephone was invented before the radio? (Yeah, we should have known.) Or that the place where Ponce de Leon thought he had discovered the fountain of youth was . . . Florida?? That's not the type of mythical thing one would usually associate with the Sunshine State. Although . . . maybe that is why all the retirees want to move there . . .

Verdict: this game is a keeper.

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe game

This is a game that looks really great but kind of isn't. It was obviously created only to ride the movie's coattails and make more bank for Disney. 

Getting set up and reading the rules for the first time seems pretty complicated and drawn out, which would be fine if gameplay were worth the effort. But, unless you’re a big fan and you want to read all the details on all the cards and imagine yourself into the story, it turns out that this is just a simple game of luck, racing to the finish line, with no skill or knowledge involved. And if you’re playing with people who aren’t Narnia fans, they tend to skip over all the details on the cards, so in the end it's hardly better than Candyland. Except that in Candyland you can't intentionally sabotage your opponents, unless you cheat and stack the deck.

Verdict: I would probably get rid of this game except for two things: first, I love all things Narnia; second, apparently Finn had a blast playing this game and now wants to play it all the time. 

Cranium

I regret to inform you that Sam hated this game. Which is especially unfortunate, because I have always loved this game. One of his complaints about it was something I think makes it great fun: this game takes little bits from all kinds of other games (like charades, Pictionary, and “name that tune").

We had to get a bit creative with gameplay, having only three players. It would have been less confusing with at least four (two teams of two), but we made it work. 

Another drawback was playing with a child who doesn't know all the necessary pop culture. He's heard of James Bond, but doesn't know how to act like him. He knows the tune for Take Me Out to the Ballgame, but thinks it's actually something about . . . going to the bathroom? And he didn't know what a convent was (even after I explained it to him). 

So I would say this is still one of my favorite games, and I really enjoy playing it, but it should be reserved for a group of at least three other adults . . . none of which are Sam, I guess? Unless he either changes his mind or forgets about his experience with it this evening.

Verdict: I would never want to get rid of this game, I like it so much. Not sure when I'll ever play it, though.

The Hollow Woods

Here’s a game we have had for several years, but we’d never actually played it before. I think we half-heartedly tried it once, but we must not have been feeling especially creative at the time, or we’d been expecting a more game-y game, or both. 

There are several ways to play this "storytelling card game" (note that the emphasis is on the "storytelling card" portion, not the "card game" portion) but none of them really involve much competition or any point-earning. The game consists of about two dozen large-format cards, decorated on one side with the same green vines and on the other side with dark, gothic artwork in the style of Edward Gorey. Each card is unique and is meant to be used as a prompt in telling a story.

They way we played was to all tell the same story, each taking turns with one card at a time. We didn't play every single card because our table isn't long enough. But it was more fun than I expected it to be, and Finn loved it. 

Verdict: Despite never having successfully played this game before, I was always loath to get rid of it because it's a very nice box and the cards are interesting to look at. Now that we've played (and Finn enjoyed it so much), I think we'll definitely keep it, although I don't imagine we'll play it very frequently.

Cranium Whoonü

This game is a lot like Oh, Really (with ranked choices) but there are some differences: here, there is one Whoozit for each round, and all the other players give the Whoozit a certain number of word cards, aiming to select the words they think the Whoozit will like the most. The Whoozit ranks the cards they received, then turns the cards over one by one (starting with their least favorite) and the other players get points according to how much the Whoozit liked their cards. 

Playing with 3 people, we were supposed to each take four cards and give two to the Whoozit, who then had four cards to rank. We soon found it was more fun (and less of a chance of a tie score) to take six cards and give three each to the Whoozit, who then had six cards to rank.

Verdict: Oh, Really! is a better game, but we do like the tin that Whoonu comes in, and the game tokens. 

Chutes and Ladders

This is one of those children's games (apparently with Snakes instead of Chutes in the UK?) that is all luck and no skill and really only fun for the very young. You basically spin a spinner and move the number of steps indicated. Sometimes you get to jump ahead (by climbing a ladder) and sometimes you fall behind (by sliding down a chute), but the ultimate goal is to hope you get to the end before the other players. (I say "hope" because in this game, hope or hope not, there is no try. There's nothing you can actually do in order to win.) Sam and I were pretty bored by gameplay, but Finn loved it. 

Theoretically you can also learn morals or values from this game. At the bottom of each ladder, a good choice is depicted, and at the top you see a reward. At the top of each chute, a bad choice is depicted, and at the bottom you see its consequence. As we played, we learned not to be greedy and eat too many apples, or we would get a tummy ache.

Verdict: I like this specific game because it comes in a cute tin. And it's nice to have an alternative to Candyland (which is a relatively equivalent game, but with colors instead of numbers) to play with the grandlings. Or better yet, for Finn to play with the grandlings.

Taboo

Yet another guessing game (are you sensing a theme here?) but one in which you have one word to describe, and a short list of related words that you must not say. I've had a blast playing this at parties, with one specific memory of a friend starting one round by saying, "It's this thing in Europe," and me immediately shouting out "the Eiffel tower!" and being right, to the amazement of me and my friend and everyone else playing the game (some of whom also accused us of cheating). 

Anyway . . . Finn did not really enjoy this game. He had a hard time with it, whether he was the one guessing or the one giving clues. Again, this game is better with a longer timer (3 minutes instead of 1), but even when we gave Finn 6 minutes it was still a bit difficult and frustrating for him.  

Verdict: I love this game, but we should probably let Finn get a few years older before we try to make him play it again.