I’m Game For Playing Games

Day 345

And this is just HALF of the Game Closet!!

My family is really devoted/fanatical when it comes to games: board games, word games, but in particular card games. As far back as I can remember my family has been playing games. For some of us (like me) it is fun just being together, enjoying one another’s company; for others (also me) it is highly competitive, feeling energized to face off against others and above all WIN!! I try to be a good sport, but when it comes to word games or movie trivia games I am particularly competitive and I do not like to lose!

Anyway, today’s post is about some of my favorite games that I play with the family. I don’t have one absolute favorite game, because it will depend on the mood I am in and the people that are present for the game. If I’m in a more playful, childlike mood and am surrounded by my nieces and nephews, then I’ll play something just for the fun of it. If I am going head-to-head with the adult members of the family, then I’m a little more competitive and edgy, determined to win! So here we go:

Bananagrams

Word games, like Scrabble, are so much fun for me. This game is a cool variation on Scrabble, where each player selects a certain number of letter tiles and creates their own Scrabble board. There aren’t any point values associated with the letter tiles, as the object of the game is to use all of the tiles you have selected. The winner is the one who finishes first. Simple, but great fun!

The Great Dalmuti

This game was introduced to my family by a visiting relative a few years ago, and this has become a particularly popular game for all ages. Recently some of my nieces and nephews have been playing this game and doing very well. The basis of the game is that everyone gets a handful of cards, and the cards are numbered from 1 to 12, and there is an exact number of cards associated with each number.

Brooklyn, Savannah, Karen, Josh, Dad and Me

The premise of the game is to play out each card/cards from the highest to the lowest. The first person to discard all of their cards is named The Great Dalmuti (and will be the first to play in the next round). We play that a person is declared the official winner if they have either had 3 consecutive rounds of being The Great Dalmuti, or if they have been The Great Dalmuti 5 times (not consecutive).

Hand And Foot

Card games are a favorite for certain members of this family (I’m talking about you, Dad!), and this is a really fun game that consists of 4 rounds. Several decks of cards (including the Joker cards) are shuffled together and each person is given two sets of 11 cards. One hand picked up and the cards are organized according to number (not suit); the other hand remains down. The basic premise of this game is to play down/discard all of the cards in your hand and then you can pick up the other deck of cards (the foot) and play those cards. Points are earned during each round for cards that are played out and for canastas that are made: a black canasta, worth 300 points, consists of seven cards of the same number/face card with wild cards included; a red canasta, worth 500 points, consists of seven cards of the same number/face card without any wild cards. Each round has a certain meld that must be met before cards can be played down; 90 points in the 1st round, 120 in the 2nd, 150 in the 3rd and 180 in the final round. It may seem a little complex, but this is a really fun game!

Phase 10/Phase 10 Twist

This is a great card game, involving numbered cards from 1 to 12 and a checklist of 10 different phases; each phase has a specific instruction, such as 2 sets of 3 identical numbered cards, or a sequence of 4 cards (in numerical order) and a set of 3 identical cards. There are many wild cards within the deck to help with completing a phase. The first person to complete all 10 phases wins the game. And points are earned during each round, so that if two people complete all 10 phases the winner is determined by who has the most points.

There is a cool variation to this game, which is Phase 10 Twist, in which you do not have to do every single phase; instead, you move along a board and by completing a phase and going out before anyone else on a round you are able to advance on the board. There are additional phases offered that help you advance further along the way, and the first person to reach the end of the board is the winner.

These are just a few of my favorite games that I play with my family. More to come in a future post…after all, I need to stretch these topics out until the end of this dang 365 Day Challenge!!