2023-12-23 09:00:00
To accompany you during family reunions during the winter holidays, BFMTV.com offers you a selection of 9 board games.
The Christmas holidays are coming and with them, the long afternoons spent digesting and watching the rain fall. Between a herbal tea, a leftover log and yet another viewing of ET or the Harry Potter saga, why not vary it up with a board game?
Since the winter holidays are more conducive to cocooning than going out, here is a selection of board games, to change from Scrabble and Trivial Pursuit.
• Acropolis
Let’s start with a novelty welcomed by the sector. Akropolis, a puzzle game that immerses its participants in ancient Greece, was awarded the 2023 Golden Ace – the playful equivalent of the César for best film – at the Cannes International Games Festival.
In Akropolis everything must be thought of. The diversity of the neighborhoods, the altitude of some of them, their foundations… without ever omitting the imposed rules of harmony. Whoever gets the most points wins the game. A puzzle-like game in several rounds, for games lasting around half an hour.
Published by Gigamic, for 2 to 4 players, ages 8 and up
• Traitors on board
In the vast universe of board games, there is a sub-genre which is the highlight of evenings with friends or family: the Party Game, which as its name suggests combines the party with the game, and adapts to numerous assemblies. And in the genre, the very young Traitors on Board stands out as a new classic.
In this card game, Toy Grand Prix 2023, players are pirates trying to amass the most loot possible. But among them are a few mutineers, whose objective is to sink the operation without being detected. The roles are distributed at the start of the game without anyone knowing who is what. Each camp must compete in ingenuity but also in observation, to try to flush out the intruders.
Published by Savana, from 3 to 8 players, from 10 years old
• Codenames
A party game that has become a classic, Codenames will play on your nerves and those of your playing partners. Two teams, one red and the other blue, face off: in each of them, a master spy and agents on mission. On the table, 25 code names. Some lead to Red informants, others to Blues.
The goal of the spymaster, who knows which of the code names lead to his informants, is to help his agents discover them all, by giving a clue word and a number.
Let’s imagine that among the code names placed on the table are “reed”, “apple” and “tree”. The spymaster could, for example, say “agriculture, 3”. Its agents know that three words related to agriculture are to be found. This requires reflection on their part, but also observation from the spymaster: because if he has not seen that on the table there are also the words “flower”, “grass” or “water”, he risks carrying out his team on the wrong track… Behind one of the code names also hides the assassin, who must be avoided at all costs. The first team to have discovered all of their informants wins the game. Get to know your partners and their way of reasoning better!
Published by Iello, from 2 to 8 players (per team), from 12 years old
• Cluster
Want something simpler? Kluster and its extremely accessible concept await you. The players sit around a small circle formed by a piece of string. Everyone distributed small magnetic stones equally. All players, in turn, will place one of their stones inside the circle, taking all precautions not to magnetize others. Because each time he misses, he must recover all those that have clumped together.
Easy at first, the game gets harder each time a new stone is placed. When their turn comes, a player can move the string to benefit from a new arrangement for placing a magnet. The first to run out of stock wins the game.
Published by Borderline Editions, from 2 players. The site Spirit Game specifies that it is accessible from 6 years old under adult supervision, to prevent a child from putting the magnets in their mouth.
• TTMC? (or How much do you wear?)
The TTMC? could be presented as a crazy version of Trivial Pursuit. Each participant must advance their pawn on a board by answering questions with themes ranging from the most classic to the most absurd.
Before asking an opponent a question, the player asks him to self-assess his knowledge on the given topic: “How many chicken eggs do you use?”. The player answers between 1 and 10, which will determine the difficulty level of the question. If he answers correctly, he will advance as many squares as the difficulty level chosen.
Published by Les Editions de Base and Pixie Games, 39.90, from 2 to 16 players, from 14 years old
• The Game
A game that won’t make you angry with the sore losers in the family. Because here we do not face an opponent, but the game itself. The Game is played with 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 players and consists of placing the cards in your hand on 4 ascending or descending piles. The objective is to get rid of all the cards in the game, ranging from 1 to 99.
The board game The Game © Oya
To vary the pleasures, the game is available in alternative versions, The Game in green and against all, The Game Extreme, The Game – the duel…
Published by Oya, 14.90, from 1 to 5 players, from 8 years old
• Olémains! 2
Olémains! 2 is a variant of Times Up. It’s about making your teammates guess words. But depending on the color of the card, the partner will have to use different techniques (mime, singing, duet to complete). Something to liven up post-turkey afternoons.
The Olémoains 2 game © Kyhu
Published by Kyhu, 30 euros, from 4 to 16 players, from 14 years old.
• Rail Adventurers
A great classic of board games. Each player must connect several cities by train. And establish strategies to get there as quickly as possible, without getting blocked by other players. The game exists in different versions, to take you to North America or Europe.
Rail Adventurers © Asmodée
Published by Asmodée, 41 euros, from 2 to 5 players, from 8 years old.
• Galérapagos
The game “Galèrapagos” © Gigamic
After their boat sinks, a group of survivors find themselves on a desert island. Their only solution to escape this hell is to build a large raft together. But their time is limited: a hurricane threatens to destroy the island. A semi-cooperative game where you have to be as cunning as you are diplomatic. The ideal gift to cause fractures in families at the end of the Christmas meal!
Published by Gigamic, 22 euros, from 3 to 12 players, from 10 years old.
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