Rio Grande Games – Games for Summer!

Rio Grande Games has such a variety of games they literally have something for every type of gamer! When you’re looking for something fun to do together this summer, check out one of these fun games!

 

Monster Factory – Fun with Kids

I LOVE board games! Like truly, I would just play board games every night if I could. However, there aren’t many games that I can really enjoy playing with my young boys as I prefer playing games with some strategy and with interesting components to play with. One of the new games from Rio Grande Games that we were able to try has given our family just that – a game that is a blast for my kids and something I can enjoy playing along with them. Monster Factory lets you compete to build your monster with just a few simple rules on how the different tiles can be placed. Once your main monster is completed, you can continue to build minions until all players complete their main monster. Then, you add up your monsters for points to find the winner. The rules are simple enough that both my 4 and 6 year old boys easily understand how to play. My two year old, though, hasn’t grasped how to match the purple or green sides to make a match yet. We all end up laughing while we play while we create unique and hilarious monsters with all sorts of funny combinations. This is a great game to play with kids and our latest favorite to play together!

 

Cinque Terre – Strategy Board Game

My favorite category of board games is strategy board games. Games where you have to plan out your moves and think a bit about what you’re going to do on your turn instead of games based purely on luck. Cinque Terre was a really fun game to add to our collection that has the strategy element but isn’t too complicated and overflowing with rules. It is really simple to learn and to teach and there are a variety of different strategies you can try to win the game. We had a great time playing Cinque Terre! It feels a bit like Ticket to Ride as you have a “route” type of element to the game where you can compete to collect the right resources in the right city to claim one of the shopping order requests. Most of the game plays like a buy and sell marketplace game where you move along the route collecting your resources and trying to sell them for the best variety or highest prices – depending on your strategy. I loved how colorful the game was with eight different colored resources and with the variation that comes into each game with the roll of the dice giving you variety to each game.

 

Those Pesky Garden Gnomes – Card Game with a Twist

Those Pesky Garden Gnomes starts as a basic trick taking game such as Rook or Spades. But, the game changes from turn to turn with the addition of goals. You will receive a random goal that you have to match to your hand and try to get as close to your goal as possible. The further from the goal you get will give you points that will work against you in the game. Scoring is similar to golf – lowest wins! So, aim for your goal, avoid points, and stick your opponents with extra cards and points if you can figure out their goal! The game is really unique but is also pretty confusing at first. It’s hard to figure out what everyone else’s goals are which means sometimes you can work against yourself by helping rather than hurting them towards their goal. The cards are also a little bit tricky to remember since each suit has a different number range and only certain cards with positive and negative point values on them. That means, the game gives you lots of different elements to think about, plan for, and play with which almost gives off a feeling of chaos but makes for a unique and different game. If you love card games, this is unique one to try!

 

Spin Monkeys – Game for a Group

Spin Monkeys is a board game that can be played with up to 8 players at the same time. That is really unique aspect as most games play with only 4-5 players. In Spin Monkeys, you play as a monkey in a bumper car spinning wildly about the board collecting fruit along your way and spinning out on banana peels, should you hit one, that change up your direction of travel. It’s a race to try to collect the best fruit on the board to score the most points. We played this game with just three players and thought it was really fun and definitely a unique game. The rules are really simple which makes it fun to enjoy even with those that aren’t that into games. We loved trying to crash into each other and spin the other player away from where they were planning to go which kept the game competitive and fun. I can’t wait to try this game with 6-8 players! I think it will be chaotic and fun, all at the same time!

 

Which of these games looks the most fun to you? You can find these games, and other unique and fun games, through Rio Grande Games!

I received copies of the four games reviewed in exchange for this post. The opinions expressed above are my own. Any claims should be verified on the sponsor’s site.