First Looks: Family Talk
I just learned about a game called Family Talk, published by Around the Table games. It’s an extremely simple concept and really can only loosely be classified as a game. The game consists of cards attached to a ring (really more like a carabiner). Each card has a question written on it and then the whole family can discuss it.
Here are some example questions:
- “If your house caught on fire, how would you escape and where would you meet once outside?”
- “What was dinnertime like when you were young?”
- “What is one thing about each of your family members that makes you proud?”
- “What makes you feel the most welcomed when you come home?”
While the concept as a game might seem a little bland, I actually love the general concept of having a set of questions to spark a conversation. My wife and I own a book called The Book of Questions which is essentially the same concept, but the questions aren’t necessarily focused on the family. Instead they often are outlandish questions that are entertaining in and of themselves. For example, “For a person you loved deeply, would you be willing to move to a distant country knowing there would be little chance of seeing your friends and family again?” We love to pull out this book while traveling or on vacation and start discussing them. It’s a great way to get to know someone better and we always have an enjoyable time.
The great thing about the Family Talk game is that it gets your kids to talk. I’ve heard that with teenage kids, there’s often a feeling that the parents have nothing in common with them. This could be a great way to start up conversations that are non-threatening and could help to open up the lines of communication.
This could also be a great game for road trips since it requires no board or pieces. It can be played virtually anywhere.
Around the Table Games actually has several versions of this game; for friends, camping, teens, and grandparents. They also have a second edition of the core Family Talk game.
Family Talk retails for $9.99 and is available at Amazon.com or the publishers website. The other games in the line can be found at the publishers website.
Family game night popularity increases; Games improve kids’ math skills
Here’s an interesting article published by the Pittsburgh Post Gazette on Sunday. It highlights the ability of board games to bring families together. At the end of the article, there’s a snippet that mentions a study conducted by a Carnegie-Mellon professor that shows that board games can improve math skills. Certain number skills increase as much as 40%. Just one more reason to get your family board games on.
Board game sales up 10%
From time to time we like to update our readers as to the state of the board game industry in general. Recently Market Watch reported that U.S. board game sales are up 10% in the first six months of 2009. The data was collected from the NPD research group.
This helps to confirm that board games sales tend to thrive during a down economy. The value you get out of a board game, particularly in terms of hours of entertainment, far outshine most other entertainment products. Board games are a great way for the family to get together for quality, interactive entertainment on a tight budget.
I expect that board game sales will continue to grow over the next 5 years quite dramatically. The new breed of Euro-games have yet to really penetrate the mass market. When they do, growth rates should spurt.
Read the original Market Watch article
Color Scheme: Great idea, bad execution?
Board Game News recently posted a review of the game Color Scheme published by Educational Insights. When I read this review I LOVED the idea of this game. It’s like Connect Four where you try to match several colors in a row. The unique twist of this game is that the color tiles are translucent and you can play multiple colors in one spot so that the COLOR CHANGES! What a great concept and a great way to teach kids about color basics.
I was sad then to read this review and learn that the game play and game construction were lacking. Most people don’t really realize or appreciate all the play testing that often goes on before a game is released to insure the rules work well and create an enjoyable gaming experience. It sounds like our friends at Educational Insights didn’t do enough game testing. Hopefully they’ll learn their lesson and republish this great idea down the road with the needed improvements.
Color Scheme retails for $34.99, but can be purchased new at Amazon for $23.45
Have any of our readers played this game? What did you think?
I LOVE CRANIUM
I finally found a game that my sisters will play with me. Enter CRANIUM! YAY! We’ve played the original Cranium and Turbo Cranium and both are fabulous board games for families that allow 8 or more players. Now I just have to convince them to start on some euro-games. That will be a tougher sell 
