If you’re looking for gifts that give fun, laughter and connection this Christmas, you need to be giving games! Most of these games will slot easily into a Christmas stocking…
Christmas Lights – Short Review
I finally got round to learning Christmas Lights ready to teach it to you at my December events if you fancy trying it. It’s a card game in a small box – the theme is very relatable. We have got the Christmas lights out and we need to get them untangled and replace any broken bulbs.
It’s one of those games that seems tricky at first glance but is actually pretty straightforward. Once you’ve played a round or two you’ll have it.
You play with your cards facing away from you, so your first challenge is to work out what cards you have – you can do that by swapping cards or giving cards away in exchange for clues. Ask wise questions to get the best info! I am still very much a work in progress on this one – often I feel like I’ve basically asked ‘Do I have cards?’ and you definitely need cleverer questions than that.
Then you just play your cards in the order shown on your lights card. (The first person to complete two of these wins!)
You also have broken bulbs which can serve as place holders until you get the right colour bulb and wild cards.
Playing wild cards prompts events which definitely add to the game. Not me forcing my son to play then laughing like a drain when he had to discard his whole hand!
Wilds and broken bulbs count in case of a tie.
Everyone gets a character card which serves to indicate the starting player. These are a bit poor to be honest as they don’t seem to serve any other function and even the heading on them doesn’t add any flavour text. It feels like a missed opportunity.
However, it comes with a booklet full of additional games and some extra cards for these bonus games. So, possibly characters may come into play in other game modes.
At two players we did more swapping cards than trading information but it was still a fun and nicely Christmas themed game.
I’d love to try it with more players as I think it would be even more fun. Definitely planning to get the whole family playing it over Christmas.
I got my copy for £10.49 from Chaos Cards
Plays 2-6
Age 6+
Ann Jones set up Cards or Die board gaming in 2017 to bring people together with board games. Ann is Autistic, and as well as being passionate about board games she is dedicated to creating inclusive events.
You can book her to teach and recommend games at your event; whether that’s a wedding, corporate event, pub games night or a community group. Or, you can come along to one of her many free events and play games.
Come along to an event and find out more or get in touch to arrange a chat.
Boardgames for new parents.
I went for games that would give your brain just a gentle stretch; that pair well with holding a baby whilst playing and probably not having had enough sleep.
Wanted – an itinerant bringer of joy*!
I’ve come across the advice to write my own job description a few times now. As a sole trader my role includes everything! – marketing, accounting, bookings, stock management, and everything else. I assume it’s a way of encouraging people to identify areas of weakness and celebrate areas of strength. I could use this as an opportunity to be reflective and identify on all the things I’d dearly love to delegate (mainly the accounts) but instead I thought I would entertain myself by imagining recruiting my replacement.
The Launch of Come as You Really Are
Nothing could have prepared me for this exhibition. Hetain Patel said that he wanted to put things together in a way that was ‘overwhelming, not in a negative way’ but in a celebratory, joyful way and he and Barnsley Civic have succeeded. Tiny, tiny things are nestled amongst huge imposing things, or there is a breathtaking abundance – like the sea of pom poms. He explained that there is no hierarchy in the exhibition – no this is ‘proper art’; no division between ‘this took a hundred hours to make while this took 10 minutes’ and no ‘this item is intrinsically more valuable’. All of it is equally impressive in different ways. In this way the emphasis falls on celebrating difference in all its glorious abundance.
As I rounded the corner and came face to face with my own board games. 155 of them. It took my breath away. To see these games that I love displayed instead of bursting from shelves in the study; to stay there and listen to people’s recollections, to watch their reactions and to chat to some of them about the games was joyful. I felt really connected to others. I didn’t feel the usual worry that I was ‘going on’ or not observing conversational cues or turn taking properly. I could breathe.
Patel also talked of ‘guilty pleasures’, things we might feel awkward about sharing about ourselves and he robustly challenged the very notion. We should be free to come as we really are. Our true, glorious selves.
The title suddenly resonated with me. I felt seen and in a positive way too. I have masked my Autism all my life. I have masked it from others and from myself. When people talk about unmasking, I don’t know how to. And underlying that is a pervasive fear that I don’t know who I am.
But at the launch evening – listening to Patel talk, all of that was washed away for 2 glorious days. It was such a privilege to be given that space and safety to unmask without even consciously doing so. I have pocketed some of that feeling and will try to keep it somewhere safe and close forever.
5 things I love about Airecon
1. Playing games with lovely folk
Airecon is a relatively small convention. I’ll happily go along on my own with incredibly vague arrangements to meet people. Admittedly it’s my local convention so I often see people that I know but I also usually manage to get a game in with people who I basically see annually. It’s such a joy for me to be able to connect with people over board games.
No Dice. No Magnets. Just Skill – Subbuteo Angling.
We finally got round to playing Subbuteo Angling.
It promises a ‘game of skill. No dice. No magnets.’ Plus an authentic experience of fly fishing.
Although the game hasn’t been in the collection long, it’s actually from the 1970s.
The board is heavily monopoly influenced – your Cast and Splash cards replace Community Chest and Chance while passing through or landing on the Master Tackle Shop nets you some tackle or bait of your choice.
As you move around the board, you collect everything you need for your fishing expedition – permits, hook, line, bait, keep net, rod, reel and float. If you want to hang on to the heavier fish you’ll also need a landing net and some ground bait will get you an extra cast. As you can imagine this all takes a considerable amount of luck.
You determine your moves and the weight of the fish you catch with the ‘dicer’. You drop the metal ball in the top and the dicer drops it randomly in a numbered tray. No dice though!
Once you have accrued everything, you then need to land on a water square. If you have the right permit for that square (there are some that allow free fishing) you may turn over a cast card.
Some cast cards result in broken lines and lost hooks but many will yield a beautifully illustrated fish. However, you can only catch it if is listed in the waters you are fishing and if you have used one of its preferred baits. You then need to weigh it and if it’s just a tiddler, you toss it back!
Despite playing for an hour my son only successfully caught two fish. I caught none. But…. all of that said I really didn’t want to stop till I’d got a big fish secured in my keep net!
This is in no way, shape or form a game of skill but it is hilariously good fun. The fishermen figures as pawns are adorable and I love the retro-ness of it all.
It’s not one that will hit the table regularly but me and Edward had a brilliant laugh playing this and I’m really glad I finally freed it from its box.
It is available to play at any of my events – -just get in touch to request it.
Come As You Really Are
As part of Artangel’s ‘Come as you really are’ exhibition I’m delighted to be collaborating with Barnsley Civic, to display 155 vintage games from the 1940s up to the 1990s – fairly horrified to have included the 90s but here we are! The exhibition opens on the 24th May and runs until 8th August 2025. It is part of a UK wide project led by Hetain Patel and Artangel working with 13 partner organisations including Barnsley Civic. In addition to Patel’s artworks such as Somerset Road (2024), a Ford Escort rugtufted in the pattern of the artist’s grandmother’s living room carpet, and Fiesta Transformer (2013); the exhibition will also showcase a wide variety of local people’s hobbies, things they have made, crafted, collected, modified – presenting an alternative portrait of the UK.
Please just stop it.
It is not without a sense of irony that my first pet peeve is those clickbaity negative posts. I really don’t get why in a hobby where there are small independent companies creating wonderful games…
Why do I take the boardgames to weddings?
Because I’ve been to weddings. I’ve hung around for hours in the daytime, trying not to drink too much, speculating on when the photographs will be done and, most importantly when the food will arrive? I’ve debated the wisdom of a nap between day do and evening do and mostly decided it’s not a good idea. I’ve regretted my shoe choice and had to abandon the dance floor in favour of chatting to people while worrying that I’ve forgotten crucial things they told me 6 hours ago. We’ve spent so long together that we’ve moved on to the stage of friendship where I have to check if I’ve already told them ‘this story’. And, of course because I’m a massive boardgame nerd!
Why boardgames?
The driving force of my business is to bring people together with boardgames. I want to connect people in real life using tactile and engaging games. There are two main things I wanted to offer – a break from our screens and an activity that you can attend comfortably on your own. But after I’d only been in business a short time, I realised how perfect they were for weddings.
For many of us boardgames are a direct link to our past – how lovely to reminisce with friends and relatives about games we used to play together. At weddings we often take time to reminisce – thinking back to when the couple met, how long we’ve known them and for families that can go back to childhood and the games they played together.
There is such an array of games available nowadays. I have games that take less than 5 minutes to teach, less than 5 minutes to play – games where you build or knock down, games where you strategise or just grab objects quickly, ones where you lie, ones where you guess what other people will say, competitive games, co-operative games where you work together to defeat the game. There really is something for every age, interest and mood.
There’s nothing like gales of laughter or the sight of elephants walking the plank to inspire conversation. At any of my events people will go over to other tables and ask what they are playing. It’s a simple way to spark conversation. As a recently diagnosed autistic person I’m realising that I’m better at this sort of chat than I am at small talk. I would far rather hear about what has made you laugh than how far you’ve travelled. I’m also aware that games reduce other social constricts too – no one expects eye contact when you are looking at a hand of cards or a board or both.
Sometimes it’s difficult to remember the details of weddings – we might remember the couple’s outfits or the band or the venue. But mostly in a general sense, we remember if we enjoyed it. I still remember a get together a few years back where we played Herd Mentality – a game where you are trying to give the same answer as everyone else. The question was ‘what is your favourite sandwich?’. I don’t need to tell you that it is not really about what your favourite is, but rather what you think most people will write down. One of our friends wrote down ‘Beetroot and Banana’. In the ensuing conversation she steadfastly maintained that, that is, in fact her favourite sandwich. My memory of us all howling laughing transports me to that room, sitting at that table, the things people said, people’s faces. It is all crystal clear and it still makes me smile. Boardgames are such good fun and still an unusual thing to have at a wedding – they really do create a memorable time.
Aren’t boardgames just for children?
Yes, boardgames are for children but not just for children. In my collection – most of the games (including ones ‘for’ children) are brilliant to play as an adult. Yes, some of them are silly but who decided that being a grown up meant we couldn’t have fun anymore. And games for children still need adult input anyway. For me the best games are where the whole family – all ages – can play and have fun together; where different generations can connect and use their different skills and knowledge together.
How does it work?
All you need to do is book in for a chat either on the phone or video call. You can also drop in to any of my public events to see how it all works. I’ll check if I’m available on the date. Then we can chat about what kinds of games you enjoy and what games your guests might enjoy. I have a massive spreadsheet with all my games on – you are welcome to choose each game you want me to bring or I can choose for you based on what we chat about. Or, somewhere in between – you choose some and I’ll top it up. We can also have a chat about the venue and the room I’ll be in. Then, that’s it! We book you in.
I’ll liaise with the venue about where I’ll be setting up, where I should unload and all that boring stuff that you don’t need to know. Then on the day I’ll rock up with a preposterous amount of games, set them out so people can easily see and access them. People can help themselves but I’m there to teach and recommend them to your guests and get them playing. Easy. Get in touch if you’d like to have a chat.
