Review of Commissioned from Chara Games | #ChristianBoardGames #StrategyGames

We are a game loving family and love adding new games to our collection. We have been playing Commissioned from Chara Games for several weeks now and are excited to tell you all about it! We would highly recommend it and it would make a wonderful Christmas gift for any game loving family!



First of all, this board game is not like any I have ever seen before. What made it totally unique for us was the fact that the game piece players are apostles, missionaries, and church people and their goal is to spread God's Word all through out the land to grow the church. The game takes you through early church history while you are playing the role of the Apostles. However, you do not need to know any church history or theology to play. 

 
The game is for 2-6 players and takes approximately 1 hour to play. Recommended ages are 14 and 

up. My 13 year old, 15 year old, and myself all played on many occasions. 

Pieces included:

Double sided game board, 5 double sided scenario cards, 6 player boards, 96 faith cards, 27 trial cards, 4 wood missionary meeples, 75 wood church member cubes, 1 Elder's staff, 6 wood player (apostle) pawns, 30 stop tokens, 5 candle snuffer tokens, 1 converted city leader's token, 1 Roman Legion token, 1 die, a rule book, and a themed appendix.  

Pieces come in a sturdy box that is pretty compact considering what is included inside. 

 

At first glance, the game seemed complicated to me to play but I knew my board game loving son would find it a great challenge and I was not wrong. As soon as the game arrived, he headed off with it to the dining room table and began to set it up for play. He was intrigued right from the start. He's also lover of history but again none of that is required to play.

The object of the game is to grow the church through the regions (seen above in various colors) and also to collect the books of the New Testament. Along the way, the Apostles, missionaries and churches face trials and persecution but if you can successfully grow and build new churches in each region and collect all the books before the five candles (top left) are snuffed out you win. 

 
We found that to be a lot easier said than done. Fortunately, there are easier levels for beginners and once you get the hang of that, you could move on to a more difficult level as well as 5 different scenarios to choose from too. For instance, in one of the harder levels if the numbers 1-3 are rolled on the die players are not allowed to talk to one another. We really found ourselves thinking about the difficulties and frustrations that the Apostles must have faced as they carried forth the gospel. 

 
We played several turns at first without the die and took out the harder trial cards. After playing a few rounds, we began to get the hang of the mission. Each player takes a turn being the Elder so the staff is passed to each player after they go through the 3 phrases of play: ARM, LIVE, and MATURE (as seen on the player card below). The LIVE phrase is repeated depending upon the number of players, and the rule book breaks that down for you clearly.

Here you can see the examples of the trial cards. Each card is marked by difficulty. The blue water drop cards (Disciple) are easier to deal with than the red fire cards (Martyr) so when we first began we took the easy route which wasn't all that easy!

Each player also has faith cards and their actions vary as well depending upon the Apostle chosen and are sorted by faith points in the top left corner. These cards help to counteract some of the trials faced in the Trial Deck.

This is just one of those games that it is best to dive right in to and play. The rule books gives great details and instructions as well as the video on how to play but we found the easiest way to learn was to just play and play!

Commissioned became a regular fixture on our dining room table for weeks. We really love challenging ourselves just a little more each time. I especially love that the actions involved to play are named pray, share, move, and grow. What a great reminder to all Christians! So go forth, you have been Commissioned!

Chara Games has also produced a new card game that has just been released, 3 Seeds. We are looking forward to reviewing that one soon too! 

Chara Games is a fairly new company whose mission is to bring joy to households through their games. Chara is the Biblical Greek word for unshakeable joy. You can find out more about them by visiting their website, Facebook, and Twitter.  

Review of Tenzi Dice Game and Card Deck

Anyone taking a break for the summer? Are you looking for a fun summer activity? Then the Tenzi Game and Card Deck from Timberdoodle might be just what you're looking for! We have been enjoying hours of fun with this simple yet limitless game! This game is recommended for ages 7+. One pack comes with 40 dice which is enough for 2-4 players. One pack sells for $13.95 and the Card Deck sells for an additional $9.95.
There are so many different games and options available to play Tenzi especially when you add in the card deck.  The original way is for each player to receive 10 dice.  Everyone rolls at the same time on the first roll.  Then each player continues to roll as fast as they can to try to make all of the numbers on their dice match.  The first player to match all ten of their dice wins the game!  So simple yet so much fun!

We loved reading the names of the games as well each having its own "zi" suffix.  For example in Splitzi, Halfzi, and Pyramidzi just to name a few.

A lot of the games do require speed and great hand-eye coordination but there are also options included that are not speed games.  Games could easily be adjusted for younger children too.

To sneak in some fun learning, there are also many options available to add this fun game into your educational curriculum.  You can make a game of adding, learning states, capitals, subtracting, sorting, odd numbers, even numbers, and even make up some on your own!

The dice are bright and colorful and we found them very easy to roll which comes in handy during speed rounds.  Here is a video showing some of the fun we had playing Tenzi!

We are having a graduation party this weekend so I have laid out both sets for people to play with.  I can't wait to see what our family and friends think.  This game is definitely fun for adults too as you can probably tell by all the laughing I did in the video!

The Tenzi Game and Card Deck are also included as part of the Math portion in the Timberdoodle 2nd Grade Curriculum Kit. 

**I received a free copy of this product through Timberdoodle in exchange for my honest review.  I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.  All opinions I have expressed are my own or those of my family. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC Regulations.

Review of Archery Dice

We love games in our family, especially games that connect learning through fun! So, today I’m reviewing Archery Dice, one of four of new releases from SimplyFun. 

SimplyFun offers over 100 award winning options for families and teachers specifically to meet the needs and skills of children.  If you are looking for a game that covers a special skill or interest, it is easy to search through what they have available.

The crew will be reviewing 2 of the four new games and both of them have a medieval theme.

I chose Archery Dice because it sounded right up our alley.  I'll admit that my "mommy vision" automatically envisioned dice flying through the air, hitting walls, eye protection, etc.  Does anyone else have these "mommy visions"?!  Well, in case you do, let me go ahead and put your mind to ease.  Part of the rules state that if your dice fly off the table or hit another players dice and knock them over, it is considered a foul dice and no longer in play. Phew!

After opening our box, I was impressed right away with how sturdy it was and the organization compartments it contained. The game includes 16 targets, 12 dice (3 of each color), 4 wood disks, and a colorful instruction booklet.  It is for 2-4 players, recommended for ages 7 and up, and sells for $26. It is not recommended for children under 3 since it contains small parts that could be a choking hazard. Skills focused on are eye-hand coordination and strategy skills.  

Setup and Play

The instructions are very clear and give great color diagrams of how the set up area should look.  Basic setup includes each player taking their 3 dice and stacking them up vertically on top of their wooden disk.  3 targets are placed in the center of the table creating a triangle.  

Each player then takes turns flicking their dice to try to land on the center targets with the ultimate goal of trying to hit a bull's-eye in the center or be the highest dice on the target. The player must immediately call bull's-eye if they do make it and they can then bank that target and no one can steal it.  

One round is over after each person has flicked their die. When flicking your die, you can aim for the center target or any opponent's targets won that have not been banked. 

After each round ends, if any player has landed on a target, the one with the highest number die or dice gets to put that target under their stack of dice and disk.  At that point, other players can try to steal those targets.  As I mentioned earlier, if your die goes off the table, hits another player's dice, or flies off the stack without rolling, it is considered a foul die. 

During the second and third round of play, if the dice rolled creates a double the player can call double to regain a die to use again.  The first player to get 4 targets wins.  You can also just play until all the targets have been claimed for a longer game.

We had so much fun playing this game.  It has got to be ranked as one of our all time favorite games we have played ever!  We get loud, we get competitive, we strategize, we knock each other off the board, but more than anything we have an amazing amount of fun!  Listen in as we play a little bit for you.  

Total warning: This game is extremely addicting.  Not a day has passed since we opened Archery Dice that it hasn't been played.  The first time, we played it for hours until we were all hungry and had to stop. After supper, we went back and played some more!

You can find out more about SimplyFun on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and their blog.

To find out more thoughts on Archery Dice and The Climbing Knights be sure to click the banner below.

Review of USAopoly

We love to play games in our family. Fridays usually lend to game day as our school work load is normally much lighter. So, we were so excited when our 2 games came in to review from USAopoly!! We were sent Wonky: The Crazy Cubes Card Game and Tapple: Fast Word Fun for Everyone to play with our family.

If you have never heard of USAopoly like me, they have been making popular games with a twist since 1994 under the license of Hasbro. Some familiar names you may recognize are Connect 4, Jenga, Yahtzee, and more.

The game of Tapple: Fast Word Fun for Everyone was a blast to play. It is recommended for ages 8 and up and retails for $19.95. It can be played by 2 or more players. Children need to know the beginning letters of words to play.

The contents of this game include a portable Tapple wheel, 36 category cards with 144 different catergories, and instructions. Just add in 2 AA batteries and you are all set up to play. The portable wheel has a storage compartment underneath to store the category cards. That is genius and makes transporting and storing this game a breeze.
The game is simple to play. The object of the game is to win at least 3 rounds earning you 3 category cards. The first player to accomplish that goal is the winner.
How To Play:

1. Pick a category card. The cards include categories such as farm animals, countries, pizza toppings, etc.  Once you pick the card, you press the timer and the timer gives you 10 seconds on the clock.
2. You then say a word related to the category card.  For example, if the category card was pizza topping.  You could say, "pepporoni". Then you tap the letter that your word begins with which would be the letter "P" in this case.  The next step is to tap the timer and pass the Tapple wheel to the next player.
3. If the timer runs out before the player says a word, they are out for that round.  The last player remaining wins the round and the category card.  First person to win 3 category cards wins the game.

The tricky part of the game is, as turns continue to be taken, the letters decrease making it difficult for you to come up with a word to fit the category. The timer ticking away unsettles nerves and sometimes you even mash the wrong letter of the word or completely draw a blank altoghether. We enjoyed this game and I think it would make a great game to review countries, states, and capitals. It causes students to use their creativity, imagination, and memory skills as they try to beat the timer. You will hear lots of laughter and "oh man" while playing this game. The best part is learning is happening and no one even realizes it.

The next game sent to us was Wonky: The Crazy Cubes Card Game. This was our favorite game of the pair. It is also recommended for ages 8 and up and retails for $19.95.  It can be played by 2 or more players. 

The contents include 9 custom Wonky cubes, 54 strategy cards, and a storage bag making clean up super simple.

The object of this game is to be the first player to play all of your cards as you successfully add blocks to the tower. Sounds simple enough, doesn't it? But wait, those Wonky blocks are actually cubes with 3 flat sides and 3 curve sides making the towers you build extremely Wonky!

How To Play:

1. Play a card - the cards included come with block cards telling you which block to place on the tower. There are also action cards allowing you to Pass and Reverse the game play. Finally, there are combo cards where you can pick any color or size block of your choice and make the next player draw a card or reverse the game. If you do not have a card that is playable, you must keep drawing cards until you get one.
2. Add the block to the tower. The strategy here is to add a block that is likely to make the next players tower tumble without tumbling the tower yourself.

To win the game, you have to be the first play to have no cards in your hand at the end of your turn. If you successfully stack all 9 blocks, you can also win no matter how many cards are in your hand.

Our family has not been successful in that feat as of yet. We've made it as high as 7 blocks so far. There are a few other rules like only using one hand and counting to 3 after you place your block on top of the tower. We waited with bated breath as each player added their block to the tower. It's amazing how much fun you can have with 9 little Wonky blocks!

Our family would highly recommend both of these games to all families!

Both games came be purchased at various well known retail stores. You can also find out more at USAopoly, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest.

Review of Out of the Box Games

Our family has a love affair with games - card games, board games, video games....games! Today's review brings you a guaranteed hilarious family fun time! Out of the Box Games has produced a sly and witty award winning game called Snake Oil. It's slogan says, "It cures what ails ya."


Snake Oil is a quick game to learn and retails for $19.99. It contains over 289 wild word cards and 70 character cards. It can be played by 3-10 players.

This game is easy to set up and only takes minutes before you are laughing hysterically. Each player takes a hand of six Word Cards. You will also select one player to be the Customer for the 1st round.

Playing the Game

1. The Customer takes a Customer Card from the center of the box, reads it aloud, and places it in front of him or herself. The Customer takes on the role printed on the Customer Card for that round. Some examples of roles are cowboys, teenager, ninja, etc. 
2. The other players have 30-40 seconds to combine two Word Cards from their hands to create something for the Customer. Players place their two-card items face down on the table. In clockwise order from the Customer, players turn over and “pitch” their item to the Customer. The Customer can cut o ff any pitch that goes over 30 seconds. 
3. After each player has made a pitch, the Customer picks the best item and awards the Customer Card to the player who created that item. 
4. The Word Cards that were played are then discarded and players take enough Word Cards to bring their hands back up to six. 
5. The player to the left of the current Customer becomes the new Customer and play continues following steps 1-4 until each player has been the Customer once.

Winning the Game
After each player has been the Customer once, the player with the most Customer Cards wins!

It's just that simple! Snake Oil is best for ages 10 and up. It does take some critical thinking skills to come up with a quick advertisement for your Customer. Your children would need to be able to read the words on the card to play effectively or have someone there to help as well. Only having six word cards to choose from for your advertisement could sometimes be a difficult task to come up with quickly. The words do not necessarily fit together easily - words like dream, bacteria, glasses, prayer, sleep, rubber. Selling something made of any of those two items would take some great marketing skills! That's what makes the game take on twists and turns which creates loads of family fun. We were not real sticklers for the 30 second time restraint.

This game also went along perfectly with our American History studies as we imagined ourselves as real snake oil salesman! Real snake oil did exist and was introduced to America during the building time of the Transcontinental Railroad. Jeff Ochs, Teacher and Inventor of Snake Oil, actually came up with the concept of the game to use in his own classroom as they were studying a unit on the wild west. Here are more ideas on using Snake Oil as a part of your classroom studies.

I think this would make a wonderful game to gather around after Thanksgiving dinner. It is definitely a new favorite among our game shelf!

Other places to find Out of the Box Games
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OutoftheBoxGames
Twitter: https://twitter.com/OTBgames
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYAQiV5S9ZQ&feature=c4-overview&list=UUTEAg1uDVwq0LNxFAwM7N5Q