I got the better end of the deal!

Last weekend I received a voice mail from a neighbor asking if I had any extra jars of the Apricot jam I had given away at Christmas because her daughter had decided it was her FAVORITE. And if I had some, what payment would be desired?

I knew I had some remaining jars, but couldn't remember if they were peach or apricot, so I called back to let her know I'd received the message and would look when I got home.

I was pleasantly surprised, when I did look, to find that most of the remaining jars are apricot (because it's my favorite too), and phoned the neighbor back with the news that I had a jar available. When she asked me what I would charge for it, I had my request ready -- dinner or a game night with her family (they have 5 children ages 14 down to 3). "DONE!" was her reply and we scheduled for tonight.

So, in exchange for a half-pint of apricot jam, I got a great dinner tonight with a very fun family AND we played a game (Pictureka of course!).

I definitely got the better end of that deal!

Snorta

I was introduced to a new game tonight (new to me anyway), Snorta, made by the game company "Out of the box" (the "Apples to Apples" people)

What a hoot! Literally! The recommended age range is from 8 on up, but there are some younger kids who could probably hold their own.

The premise is that each player chooses an animal from the set that comes with the game. It's the usual barnyard variety (cow, horse, rooster, etc.) with a few extra (snake, owl). You get to choose the sound your animal makes (it does need to be recognizable as that animal)

After you do show-and-tell with your animal and demonstrate your sound a couple of times, your animal is hidden away in your own personal barn.

As you are playing the game, when you and another player turn over matching cards, you have to:
1. Remember which animal represents that player
2. Make the animal sound designated by that player

And you want to do this before he remembers YOUR animal and sound. The one who loses gets to add the turned-over cards to his stack. First one out of cards wins.

Sounds simple, but when you are looking at matching pig cards and your opponent's animal is a donkey, it is hard to remember to bray rather than oink!

We were playing with kids, and the pace was friendly. I can imagine with an older crowd the pace picks up and is quite frantic. This could be almost as fun as my brother's Monty Python Fluxx game!

Home again!

I've just returned from a lovely visit with most of my family (we were missing the Texas branch). As mentioned in my previous post, I played games with the nieces and nephews, and even one brother and one sister-in-law.

The favorite games this year were Pictureka and Lego Creator (which I think is now out of print, but Amazon has some used ones). My brother got a Monty Python version of Fluxx for Christmas, which we tried out at a Saturday game night. It was VERY entertaining! Fluxx is a card game where the rules and the requirements for winning are constantly changing (i.e. in flux). One of the rules was that you could play an extra card if you spoke with an outrageous accent during your turn. My brother and his wife embraced this rule with gusto, as did their 12-year old. I love it that we can all cut loose and be silly together.

Tonight I introduced some neighbors to Pictureka, and it was well-received. If you live in my area and want to try it out with your family, invite me for a game night! :-) The age range is 6 and up, and it can easily be played as teams or individuals. We had 7 people playing as individuals tonight and it did not seem to take too long to complete. It gets faster as the players become more familiar with the tiles that form the game board, yet remains challenging.

My 7-year old nephew will now be referred to as "Gameboy" in future posts! (I haven't settled on a name for his older brother quite yet.) Gameboy and I tackled several games while I was home, starting with Pictureka and Lego Creator. The others were Racko , Battleship, Stone Soup , Blockus, SkipBo, and a Mario game on his new Nintendo DS. (He and I played the same game on the DS and traded the unit back and forth each time one of us lost a life.)

Good times!

Christmas Eve Eve

Ok, so it isn't Christmas Eve quite yet, but my family gathered tonight for our Christmas Eve dinner since my nephews will spend tomorrow with their mom. In past years, the meal has been an extravagant affair that nearly matched Thanksgiving, but this year we kept it quite simple. My brother, GrillMeister, made chicken divan and rice, his wife made spinach salad, my brother Yevi brought ice cream, and his wife made pineapple pudding (which I LOVE!). I made rolls and brownies, and mom prepared a veggie tray and crackers and dip as appetizers. I also put together a large plate of homemade candy, which seemed to go over quite well. Oh, and Yevi's MIL brought meatballs. Yum!

My favorite part of the evening was playing games with the nieces and nephews and my brother Yevi (The only other adult who would play tonight). The hit game of the night was Pictureka which a friend gave me for my birthday. The kids couldn't seem to get enough of it, especially my 7-year old nephew. He is an amazing game-player and learns new games quickly. After a rough losing spell last March, he announced to his mother, "Aunt Holly does not 'let' me win".

You bet I don't. He is smart enough to win fair-and-square!

I'm hoping for a game night at Yevi's house later this week. They are a fun crowd to play with too. I've been experiencing board-game withdrawal in recent weeks due to a very busy schedule, so it is nice to kick back and play games. Ahhh.... I love holidays!