Invent Stories with Cubes

Looking for a fun game that will inspire imaginative thinking and problem solving? Rory’s Story Cubes is a fun game with endless possibilities. Simply toss all the dice, view all nine face-up images and come up with a story that begins with “Once upon a time…”

With a combined total of 54 images, there are a whopping 10 million possible combinations that will inspire your stories! Ideal for dinner parties, trips or school, Rory’s Story Cubes is an easy to understand, fun to play and portable game.

Looking to master the game? Well, the secret is not to think too much. Just go with your gut and spontaneously bring to life a fun story you thought you never had in you! The cubes will unleash your creativity, freedom of expression, and even your sense of humour.

For ages 8 and up, the game typically lasts 15 minutes. Rory’s Story Cubes were voted ‘Dr. Toy’s 10 best’ games of the year!

Dominion Card Game – A Tactical Game for the Whole Family

Dominion is a tactical card game developed by Rio Grande Games.  As the ruler of a small kingdom, the objective of the game is to own a larger kingdom with more trees and rivers.  Ideal for two to four players, ages eight and up, a typical game will last about 30 to 45 minutes.

Dominion Card Game

In building a larger kingdom, there are small sections of land ruled by anarchical lords. The mission is to bring civilization to them.

With so many possibilities, the Dominion games allow for ever changing game strategies and play.

When expanding your kingdom, there are however, monarchs that have the same ideas as you.  These monarchs will have to be fought off in order to gain control of unclaimed land.  In order to fight them off, you will have to build up your castle, hire minions, buildings and earn money.  The more land that is accumulated, the more victory points are awarded.  The player with the most victory points at the end of the game is declared the winner.

The set-up of the game begins with each player having a total of ten cards.  Ten action cards are laid out which can be bought by players as the game gets under way. Action cards and initial seed money are used to acquire precious metals which are used to buy land cards for victory points.

Players must be prudent in spending money.  It is important to balance out purchases of victory cars, actions cars and money cards.  If money is not spent wisely at the right time, you will not be able to build your Dominion.

With 25 different groups of cards, rest assured that every Dominion game is different!  There a millions of variations of play.  Extensions may be purchased for even more variations!

The Lego Minotaurus Game

Who hasn’t played with Lego! For generations, Lego has been the defacto building block toy on the market.  Since the beginning, you could buy a box of Legos and build anything your imagination could come up with.  Over the years, Lego has evolved and has introduced some innovative educational games.  One of these games is the Minotaurus game. A game not only for the little ones, but big kids too!

Based on a mythical creature by the name of Minotaur, he lurks in a labyrinth which houses a secret temple.  The object of the game is to have your team reach the secret temple first.  But be careful, because Minotaur will try to see to it that you are not successful!

The Lego Minotaurus game is ideal for two to four players.  When playing trying to find the secret temple, you can build walls to make obstacles, blocking your opponents.  This feature allows for an endless number of possibilities.  No two games will ever be the same.

A game which can last anywhere from 20 to 30 minutes, the real action begins with the roll of the die.  Move the number of spaces on the die and a wide variety of things can happen depending upon the color in which your microfigure lands on.  Land on black and move your Minotaur to hopefully attach your opponent.  Land on grey and move a brick wall.  Use this move to defend yourself from your opponent!

Lego Minotaurus comes with a total of 224 Lego pieces, a rule booklet, instructions, one Lego Die and a dozen Lego microfigures, giving you a wide selection to choose from.

Qwirkle Board Game – A Logic game made fun

An award-winning game, the Qwirkle board game can be considered a cross between Dominos and Scrabble.  Similar to Dominos in the sense that blocks are lined up together and to Scrabble in the sense that rather than letter, wood blocks consisting of colors and shapes are lined up.  But rows and columns must be lined up such that the same colors and shapes match.

Qwirkle Board Game

Like in Scrabble, the game is a point-based game.  In Qwirkle, players earn points by lining up multiple wood blocks of the same shape and color.  There are a total of 108 blocks.

Easy to learn, the game is rather challenging.  Ideal for two to four players, ages six and up, the game can last about 45 minutes to an hour.  Qwirkle is a fun game for the whole family or for a get together with your friends.

Players who have reviewed the game have been fairly satisfied and have mentioned that the game can be rather addictive.  Most players love the fact that the game is intelligent and keeps your mind sharp.  One particular reviewer even said that the game is like Tic Tac Toe on steroids!

The Qwirkle game is THE go to game that is easy to learn, yet challenging that can be played by the whole family.  Play with toddlers or your grandparents!  The Qwirkle board game will get your brain wheels spinning!

The Settlers of Catan – A Contemporary Strategy Game

An oldie but goodie, in 2010, MayFair games released their fourth edition of the Settlers game series called The Settlers of Catan. Time and time again, these games are ranked amongst the top selling board games in the country.

A strategy board game, players must build roads, settlements and cities by collecting resources such as ore, wool, lumber, brick and grain. By building settlements and cities, players are awarded points.

Included in the board game are nineteen types of terrains, called terrain hexes, from which players can attain resources to build settlements and cities. Every terrain holds different resources.  Roll the dice and determine a particular terrain.  Should a player own a settlement on that terrain, resources can be extracted from that area.

A variable game board allows for an unlimited number of combinations to keep every game unique and fun.  The Settlers of Catan is ideal for three or four players ages ten and above.  More players can be accommodated with the purchase of extensions.

Typically, games can last anywhere from 45 to 90 minutes, but players have said that the game is so enjoyable, that they do not even realize how much time has passed.  Some people have said that the game is like a combination of Risk and Monopoly, but faster to play and more variety on the board.  Although easy to learn, the game has been touted as a board game that is difficult to master.

A four page rule book is included with The Settlers of Catan board game.  The booklet is easy to follow with many illustrations and map layouts intended for beginners.  Advanced layout instructions are also included for game veterans.