Five Happy Things
Favorite Games
In an effort to have fewer email providers chop my emails in half because they’re so dang long, I’m moving my inspirations (book recommendations, favorite recipes, and awesome artists) to their own newsletter every Wednesday. Think of it as a quick way to fill your cup in the middle of the week. 🥰
If you’d rather not receive these Wednesday emails you can turn them off and still receive the regular Monday news and Friday archives.
Scroll down to where it says Notifications.
Click off the button for Five Happy Things.
Easy peasy!
Spread a little joy today! Pass this along to someone who’d love it. 🥰
My friend Courtney Martin is one of the MANY artists impacted by Hurricane Helene in Western North Carolina. All of her in-person shows for the rest of the year (the holiday season!) have been canceled, so as soon as she was able she had an online sale. I bought this beautiful mancala board!
If you’ve never played mancala before, it’s a fast game that’s very easy to learn. There are great instructions here.
Games are so much fun when people gather for the holidays, and they make excellent holiday gifts, so this week I thought I’d share four more of my family’s favorites. . .
Wingspan - If I had to play just one game for the rest of my life, this would be it. It’s the perfect blend of luck and strategy. There are enough options and combinations that every time we play it feels completely fresh and engaging. Bonus - I love all the little facts and details about different birds. (1-5 players, ages 14+, 40-70 minute play time)
Everdell - This one is a tiny bit more complicated, but still a terrific family game. And it’s visually stunning! The art is amazing (with beautifully illustrated little critters) and there’s a giant tree in the center of the table that holds some of the pieces. Every time we play it in public people stop to ask about it. We’ve played this hundreds of times and still love it. (1-4 players, ages 14+, 40-80 minute play time)
Ticket to Ride - There are tons of railroad games out there, but Ticket to Ride is our favorite. This is the basic version with an American map - which is great. But our particular family favorite is the India/Switzerland expansion set. The Switzerland board is perfectly balanced for three players. (2-5 players, ages 8+, 30-60 minute play time)
Carcassone - This game has you dealing out tiles to build a map, so it’s a little different every time you play, which I love. It also takes up less space on the table than the others - in case that’s a factor for you. 🙂 (2-5 players, ages 7+, 30-45 minute play time)
So those are just five of my family’s favorite games - all highly recommended. I’d love to hear about your favorites, too!
Please share in the comments so everyone can see. 🙂
Enjoy!
Best,
Wendi
❤️
Ooh - thanks for sharing games! My writing group has a Read-Watch-Listen-Play channel on our Slack, and the most populated category is definitely our game shares this time of year.
I'm adding Wingspan and Azul to my list - have you played Codenames yet? I have two siblings with developmental disabilities, and though we started slowly (with additional explanations/going over the rules), that one has been a winner.
I really enjoy Carcassone too and Ticket To Ride is a firm favourite. Have you come across Herd Mentality? It's great fun for parties and usually creates lots of giggle moments! Azul is another board game I enjoy.