Beyond Candy Land

Should we delete this blog?

Eric — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 01:21:27 +0000

So, like most blogs, this was full of good intentions and short on content. We had a lot of ideas for it, but life just got in the way of writing. Debating deleting it completely or leaving it up and maybe turn it over to my daughter if she wants to write about board games.

Out of the Box Gaming! Beyond Monopoly at the CH Booth Library

Eric — Sat, 16 Apr 2011 14:42:24 +0000

This Thursday, April 21st, we are hosting a different event. This time we are focusing on games for older kids, ages 9 and up. Sponsored by the Young Adult department at the CH Booth Library in Newtown, CT, we will be bringing a wider variety of games that will get the kids off of the TV and around the table. Party games, strategy games, war games, we will be teaching a wide number of games that appeal to teens and tweens. Come on out and play!

ConnCon 2011 is here!

Eric — Sat, 19 Mar 2011 11:59:25 +0000

Got my bags packed and heading down to Stamford in a little bit to get some gaming in before running Beyond CandyLand. My daughter is coming to play some games too for the first time at the convention. We will be running our family game session from 1-4pm today, March 19th. Come on down!

The Holiday Inn is at 700 Main Street, Stamford, CT. Come on down!

Dancing Eggs

Simone — Sat, 12 Mar 2011 14:26:28 +0000

Contents: 9 rubber eggs, 1 wooden egg, 2 dice, and 1 packet of instructions.

Dancing Eggs is a really fun game, in my opinion. There are nine rubber eggs, and one wooden egg. Each rubber egg is worth one point, but the wooden egg is worth TWO points, as it is slippery.
The way this game works is that you are holding eggs in many different places. As I said before, the wooden egg is more likely to slip and fall, so that’s why it’s worth TWO points.
The action in this game is, well, the action die! It has six sides, each with a different symbol. One of the pictures, the bouncing egg, means that you have to bounce the egg from up high and the first one to catch the rubber egg wins it. Obviously, you can’t do this with a wooden egg because wood doesn’t bounce. That’s why the rest of these eggs are rubber, so they can act like bouncy balls, jumping around. And that’s only one of the six activities!
The catch for this game is that another die controls where you put your egg once you win it! There’s: in between your knees, in your armpit, underneath your chin, in your elbow, on your shoulder, and the jack which is any one of those options.
Well, I hope you play this game soon at one of our Game Days!

Gaming for Tweens and Teens at ConnCon 2011.

Eric — Sun, 20 Feb 2011 20:03:48 +0000

On the Saturday event at ConnCon 2011, there will be special sessions running for the 10-16 year old set. Beyond CandyLand has been focusing on younger gamers, this session will have teachers running games that the older kids will enjoy playing. Perhaps while you and your younger one are playing with us! Games for these sessions are as follows:

8 AM until Noon will be Lisa Sutherland teaching Pyramid, a fun game about the Curse of the Mummy. Better for the younger tween.

1 PM until 5 PM will have Eric Summerer teaching Nuns on the Run, which would probably be enjoyed by a mix of ages.

7 PM until 11 PM will showcase Lisa Cho leading Bisikle, a zany dexterity racing game, good for all ages.

Also, your teen can check out any game from the extensive library of 200+ games. While teachers may not always be available, the librarian may be able to answer some basic questions and get you on the right path.

The daily pass for this event is $25.

ConnCon is coming!

Eric — Sat, 12 Feb 2011 20:38:27 +0000

It’s that time again kids! We will be hosting a family boardgame session at ConnCon again this year. We will be there March 19th from 1-4 pm. This takes place at the Stamford Holiday Inn. Drop me a note if you are coming, there is no charge for attending this part of the convention. Parents must stay with their children or a free puppy and several espressos will be doled out.

Also, there will be a special teens and tweens gaming session on March 19th as well. When I find out more, I will post it here. Hope to see you there!

Buying games

Eric — Sat, 12 Feb 2011 02:09:25 +0000

I love shopping, well most of it. I like wandering down aisles, poking at things, seeing what is there. Unfortunately, most places don’t have a game store that will accommodate that need. I have a couple of small shops that stock some games, but not very much. Even the so-called educational stores only stock games that would put your whole family to sleep or get them back on the Wii.

That leaves online shopping. Not as much fun, but at least you can get your hands on games that are worth dropping $50-60 for. I typically start off at BoardgameGeek, checking out the nominations for Children’s Game of the Year in Germany. Just because a game didn’t win, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t check it out. In fact, you should! Poking around that site is always worth some time to get ideas and see what new games are coming out and then hoping to find them here in the US.

Language can be an issue, especially with games geared towards older kids. That’s why the Geek rules. People will let you know how language dependent a game is. I just bought a new game from Germany that requires no reading at all during game play, and it is a blast. The rules are usually translated into several languages and it is always fun to try to translate the titles of games with your kids.

So go and do a little research online and poke around the different internet retailers to see what they have to offer. Check out a few as the prices vary wildly as do shipping costs. Many stores have a magic number that will reduce the shipping charges to zero. Most of these shops are small enterprises and if you get confused, give a call, I bet you may find an actual person on the end of the line who actually likes to play games as much as you do!

Great day at the library!

Eric — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 01:15:56 +0000

Well, what a turn out today! I think we had over 50 people come and play our games. It was a great time and there was a lot of laughter and fun for the full three hours! Some of the tops hits were the classics. Chicken Cha Cha Cha, Chateau Roquefort, Viva Topo! and Ghost Chase all saw significant table time. Dancin’ Eggs, Giro Galoppo, Castle Keep, Kids of Catan also had multiple plays happening. In keeping with the weather, Igloo Pop drew some interest, which was nice as I had not played that one a lot since we got it when my own kids were little and it was too much for them.

Other break outs were Loot, Dead Man’s Treasure, Hamster Rolle, Ice Cream as games were flying off the show table and onto playing tables. The biggest question I had was about where to buy these games and when we were bringing them back.

Click to view slideshow.

Welcome Patch Readers

Eric — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 01:18:29 +0000

Hi there Newtown Patch readers! I noticed some folks coming on over from the brief article about our gaming event at the library on Saturday. I hope our little (and not often updated) blog helps you discover some ways to play some games with your children. Check out some of the initial articles for our thoughts on how to modify rules for various age groups and ways to play games with all sorts of kids. Each of our few reviews discusses ways we have modified the rules for those games as well. Thanks for coming and poking around!

2 January Events!

Eric — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 02:27:10 +0000

Ok, the first one is open to the public. We will bringing our game collection back to the CH Booth Library on January 22nd. This is a Saturday and we will be there from 1-4pm. Bring your kids and enjoy some fun games!

The second event is for families of Sandy Hook Elementary School. We are taking part in a family game night with about 300 families from the school. Going to be bringing about 50 games along with whatever help we can find. Should be interesting!