Looking for a fun fast-paced game to play outside on a nice summer day? Give BALLZ'N a try! This competitive game challenges opponents to out bounce their opponents in scoring points with pong balls. Great for game time when friends and family are over.
HOW TO PLAY:
Stack bowls and start bouncin’
OFFENSE:
Bounce your team’s ballz into the upper bowls for +1 or +2 points.
DEFENSE:
Bounce your opponent’s ballz into the lower bowl for -1 point.
WIN:
Sink your ballz into the top tube for an instant win!
Watch Out! Don’t knock the stack over – it’s an instant loss! Otherwise when all the ballz are in a bowl the team with the most points wins.
The game can be easy going or intense depending on how much action players want. Play defense swatting opponents shots and grabbing rebounds that has everyone running around the stack bowls or be more laid back with everyone just tossing up trick shots to see who gets the most points or hits the instant win tube. An entertaining game to play with friends and family members of all ages.
Easy to setup and convenient to store BALLZ'N from Little Kids, Inc. is an exciting game that is equally good to have around the house as to take on a road trip. Play in one-on-one matches or partner up for team play. The game comes with six green and six blue ballz to play with. Recommended for ages 8+.
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Warriors from multiple dimensions and times have been transported to a gladiatorial arena to engage in combat to see who is the greatest champion among them in the dice-rolling tabletop game DICE THRONE. This Yahtzee inspired dueling game from Roxley Game involves the tactical use of unique abilities and the manipulation of dice rolls to battle opponents who roleplay from a fantastic lineup of characters ranging from a Barbarian to a Vampire Lord. It is a fun, fast-paced game that is complemented by fabulous artwork incorporated into its components.
And now players can take on the roles of characters from the Marvel Universe in their DICE THRONE battles. The Marvel Edition of DICE THRONE incorporates the Scarlet Witch, Miles Morales Spider-Man, Loki and Thor into gameplay. Battle in one-on-one duels or multiple player battle royals among these Marvel characters or incorporate them into gladiator matches versus warriors from any other published DICE THRONE game. Pit Spider-Man versus Shadow Thief, Scarlet Witch against a Monk, Thor taking on Paladine, or Loki engaging against the Tactician for example.
This Geek Daddy took on Groot to see who would come out on top in the sibling rivalry between Thor and Loki a DICE THRONE Marvel Edition bout. Thor has strong attacks to overpower adversaries; but Loki utilizes illusion and trickery to his advantage. We studied the rules and got ready to jump into the DICE THRONE arena playing as the Gods of Thunder and Mischief. Every player character starts with a set number of health points and the first combatant to reach 0 loses.
The game starts off with each player rolling a die. Highest roll gets to go first in the turns. Each player starts off four action cards in their hand that can impact offensive and defensive moves by your character. You can accumulate up to six cards in your hand at any given time during the game. You also start with 2 combat points which are a currency that is needed to play action cards or to potentially utilize some of a character's unique abilities and skills. For example, action cards range from 0 - 2 combat points to activate. The game includes health and combat point trackers for each character to make keeping track of these stats easy.
Every turn starts with a player gaining 1 combat point and drawing an action card. At this time a player can also discard a card from their hand to buy 1 combat point. Next the player can roll any number of their five dice up to three times to activate a single offensive ability. Players can either utilize the numbers on the dice or the symbols to activate different attacks and defenses. So, in my first roll Thor the die had the numbers showing 1,3,3,5,6. I kept the 1 and one of the 3s and re-rolled 3, 5 and 6. The second roll came up as a 1, 2 and 6. I kept the 2 and rerolled the 1 and 6. My third roll came up a 4 and a 1. That gave me a small straight 1,2,3,4 which triggered a lightning rod attack dealing 7 points of damage to Loki.
Opposing players though can attempt to Defend against an attack. Each character has a unique defense ability. Loki's don't really prevent damage but allow him to essentially utilize or gain a skill or ability from any roll of the die during his defense move. In this situation, Loki's roll of the die allowed him to gain another action card but he still had to subtract 7 points from his initial 50.
Now it was Loki's turn. Groot drew a card to add to his hand and added one to his combat points moving him to 3 on his dial tracker. On his first roll of the die, Groot's dice showed three with scepter symbols and two with illusion symbols. Loki then inflicted his confuddle attack upon Thor which inflicted two status effects plus seven points of damage upon Thor.
Each character may have one or more status effects which are represented by tokens. Positive or Negative status effects can be gained or inflicted on yourself or other players. Status effects are usually activated or inflicted via dice rolls activating an offensive ability, such as Loki's Confuddle attack, or through a player utilizing an action card to trigger one.
Loki actually has three status effects that he can utilize: Illusion, Bag of Tricks, and Spellbound. Loki utilized these status effects to negatively impact and damage his opponents more than direct attacks against them. When combating Loki he will try to have your head spinning with these status effects.
Utilizing Illusion, when Loki is attacked he can present the other player with three face down Illusion cards. The attacking player picks one card to flip over and resolves the attack based upon the text on the card. Illusion could have no impact at all on an attack or could totally eliminate any negative impact on him.
Loki's bag of tricks makes a player who has been inflicted with the status effect to remove it at the beginning of the next turn after it has been inflicted by rolling one die. On a roll of 1, the player loses one combat point; on a roll of 2-5, Loki chooses whether the player heals two health points, gains one combat point, or receives two damage points; on a roll of 6, Loki gains two combat points. Bag of Tricks is especially valuable when there are multiple players in a game who Loki may want to ally with and in 1x1 combat Loki can potentially up his own health or combat points from its use.
Spellbound allows Loki to limit an opponent's attacks. When inflicted, a token is placed so that it covers the name of an opponent's offensive ability. Loki can use this to eliminate another player's easy to gain attacks such as the high and low straight triggered offensive abilities. This causes the attacker to be more reliant on the luck of the roll of dice and could befuddle offensive options against Loki,
Thor has two status effects of his own: Guard Break and Electrokinesis. Utilizing Guard Break, Thor can roll one die after completing his offensive roll phase. If the outcome is 1-3, Thor's attack becomes undefendable! The Electrokinesis status effects can be used to boast Thor's abilities or cashed in to draw one action card.
Thor also has a companion, his trusty weapon Mjolnir, which has its own special rules and is represented by its own token of the magical hammer. Throwing Mjolnir provides one point of undefendable damage against an opponent. Mjolnir is thrown or retrieved by discarding an action card or by triggering an offensive ability that includes throw or retrieve instructions upon it. Mjolnir can be a game breaker for Thor if he uses it strategically.
Who do you think prevailed in this epic battle between Loki and Thor?! To find out, I encourage you to play out your own DICE THRONE Marvel Edition game to see who comes out on top. Which of the two is your favorite?
LOKI VS THOR
Reveling in trickery, Loki the God of Mischief must be found hiding among his Illusions. Befuddling his foes with a deft hand, he will put a spell on you. Caution is advised when he smiles and graciously gives you a gift as his bags of tricks might backfire in your face.
Thor's attacks sizzle with energy, pushing the God of Thunder to new levels of power that can penetrate all manner of defenses. When he grasps the handle of Mjolnir, his legendary companion, he can call forth the lightning from the storm to bring low all his enemies.
Also joining the DICE THRONE fray are four more Marvel characters available in expansion packs. Marvel DICE THRONE 2-Hero Boxes let players bring Black Panther, Captain Marvel, Black Widow and Doctor Strange into the action. Captain Marvel's cosmic rays, Black Panther's Vibranium suit, Doctor Strange's Premonition and Black Widow's Time Bomb create a variety of new scenarios for players to engage in during DICE THRONE duels.
DICE THRONE is recommended for ages 8 years and older. It has an average game time of a half hour per match. These Marvel versions of DICE THRONE are available from The OP Games and are fully compatible with other Roxley Games editions of the game.
Who is geeked about the Marvel Edition of DICE THRONE? Which character are you most excited to play as? I'm looking forward to playing some matches as Dr. Strange!
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Inspired by Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, my family had a MARVEL UNITED game night featuring the heroes from the movie. In Marvel Studios’ Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, the Marvel Cinematic Universe unlocks the Multiverse and pushes its boundaries further than ever before. The film journeys into the unknown with Doctor Strange, who, with the help of mystical allies both old and new, traverses the mind-bending and dangerous alternate realities of the Multiverse to confront a mysterious new adversary.
Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, frightening images, and some language by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness stars Benedict Cumberbach (Dr. Strange), Elizabeth Olsen (Scarlet Witch), Xochitl Gomez (America Chavez). The villain of the movie is still somewhat shrouded and secrecy, but could it be Kang the Conqueror who has already been connected to the Loki tv series and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania movie setting up the time traveling and dimension jumping bad guy as the next major Thanos-level nemesis for the MCU?
So, we set up a Marvel United battle pitting Kang versus America Chavez, Dr. Strange and the Scarlet Witch. In the Marvel United tabletop game, 2 to 4 players take on the role of a team of heroes working together to thwart the master plan of a villain. This is a cooperative game produced by a partnership between CMON and Spin Master Games, in which the players either all win or lose together so instead of competing against one another to come out on top, Marvel United is about teamwork. Have a super time roleplaying as your favorite Marvel superheroes tackling the villainous plots of dangerous foes.
From Sanctum Sanctorum, Dr. Strange senses that something odd is going on in New York City. Temporal anomalies are appearing at locations ranging from the Daily Bugle to Stark Industries. Futuristic warriors are creating chaos in the city! Kang the Conqueror who has mastered traveling through time and space is up to some sort of scheme attempting to implement a master plan.
KANG THE CONQUEROR
Heralding from the far distant future of an alternate dimension, his quest to rule all universes has him crossing timelines brining him to our reality as Kang attempts to accomplish his master plan. He commands a time army of henchman consisting of warriors from across the galaxy of his future, multiverse origins. Both he and his thugs are equipped with advance technology and weaponry. Our team of heroes must defeat Kang's henchmen, rescue civilians, and eliminate threats at New York City locations around the gameboard before being able to directly attack the villain.
What heroes will team up to stop Kang's master plan in our game of Marvel United? We brought together the heroes from Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness! Can America Chavez, Dr. Strange, and Wanda Maximoff defeat the master plan of Kang the Conqueror?
Players utilize cards from a deck that each has to take actions and use special abilities within the game. Each turn, a player adds a card to the game's storyline that allows characters to complete tasks and battle enemies. Players also pass on some of their card actions to be used by teammates in super combo moves. Teamwork is so important in Marvel United!
HEROES WIN if they eliminate all of a villain's health points. To do this though they must first accomplish 2 of 3 tasks (rescue civilians, defeat thugs or eliminate threats) before they can attack a villain head on. Beware that there is no such restriction on the villain directly attacking your heroes with a BAM! while they are unlocking tasks!
HEROES LOSE if the villain completes the master plan. This happens if any of the following occurs:
The conditions of the Villainous Plot on the villain's dashboard are completed;
the villain places all of the Master Plan cards within the storyline;
any hero starts their turn with no cards in both their deck and hand.
DR STRANGE
Formerly a renowned surgeon, Doctor Stephen Strange now serves as the Sorcerer Supreme—Earth's foremost protector against magical and mystical threats.
SCARLET WITCH
Superhuman genes allow the Scarlet Witch to utilize energy and reality manipulation and provides powerful access to magical energies, such as chaos magic.
AMERICA CHAVEZ
Possesses superhuman strength, durability and the power of flight. America Chavez also has the power to kick open holes in reality, allowing her and her teammates to travel through the multiverse and into other dimensions.
GAME TIP
Each hero character normally has one or two cards that bestow an extraordinary ability. You will want to make sure to strategically play these cards to maximize the benefit. Be alert that if the villain knocks out your character all cards in your hand are reshuffled into the down-sided deck so no assurance when the hero may be able to access that card into you up hand as a playable ability. While a KO doesn't end the game for a character it does throw your card use into chaos!
ORB OF AGAMOTTO
Placing this Dr. Strange card into the storyline provides the team an advance look at all of the villain's Master Plan cards before they are put into play. This ability to see into the future is invaluable for positioning characters around the game board and determining what actions to take during a turn. An invaluable ability to give your heroes and edge over the game's artificial intelligence controlling the villain's moves against you.
INVULNERABILITY
When the game is nearing its end and there isn't much room for error, the invulnerability card of America Chavez avoids a KO at an inopportune time.
CHAOS MAGIC
Have bad card options in your hand and wish you could replay one that is already in the storyline? With the Scarlett Witch's Chaos Magic she enables a teammate to swap one card from their hand with a faceup card in the storyline.
The game started out with a fairly quick KO of the Scarlet Witch by Kang. But after that the heroes held their own and knocked out two of the three missions they needed to accomplish to be able to allow them to try and KO Kang themselves. Yet Kang avoided a head-on confrontation with the heroes with his Time Master card coming into play within the storyline. This allowed the villain to phase out of our reality and avoid losing health points to hero attacks.
With only three cards left in Kang's Master Plan deck, there was no guarantee another Time Master card would appear allowing the villain to phase back into gameplay. Without that happening there was no way the heroes could inflict damage to eliminate his health points. That would leave them with no way to win the game!
Dr. Strange came to the rescue as he was able to add his Eye of Agamotto card into the storyline. This allowed him to pull out one of the previously drawn Time Master cards from Kang's Master Plan deck from the storyline. The heroes were able to replace that card in a reshuffled Kang Master Plan deck thanks to the Eye of Agamotto!
Yet the heroes were running out of time with Kang only having four cards left to play now. If he plays all his Master Plan cards before the heroes eliminate his health points, the villain wins. Two turns later, the Time Master card returned to the storyline setting up a Kang showdown with Dr. Strange, America Chavez and the Scarlet Witch in Central Park. With only two turns left before Kang could play his last Master Plan card to win the game it came down to one last battle.
Being able to play Dr. Strange's Orb of Agamotto card in the closing moments of the game, the heroes were able to know exactly where to position themselves to quickly inflict the most damage on Kang. Scarlet Witch utilized a powerful attack from an adjoining location cutting Kang's health in half. America Chavez then used some combo effects passed on from cards in the storyline to provide the final body blows to take out the rest of the villain's health points.
With no time left, the heroes make a last second comeback to tackle the Master Plan and defeat Kang. Whew! That was too close for comfort! America Chavez, Dr. Strange and Scarlet Witch save the day and stopped Kang's Master Plan. We achieved a Marvel United family game night victory!
One last note. Playing pieces come unpainted with the Marvel United game. The characters shown in this post were decorated with my own amateurish skills. Be nice!
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Welcome to Wakanda! We had a marvelous game night playing the RISE OF THE BLACK PANTHER expansion to Marvel United. Marvel United allows players to role play as their favorite superheroes attempting to stop a villain's evil master plan. Combing strategic elements from both board and card games, Marvel United provides a fantastic tabletop gaming experience.
What I particularly appreciate about Marvel United is that the rules are simple enough for kids to join in to play with parents for a family game night, but it is challenging enough that adults can have as much fun as their children in playing it. Plus, it is a cooperative game, so all the players work together instead of competing against each other trying to win. So, you are all on the same team going for a joint win in Marvel United.
Our most recent bout in Marvel United took us to Wakanda with the RISE OF THE BLACK PANTHER expansion that I picked up by investing in a CMON / Spin Master Games Kickstarter campaign. Our team consisted of my son who took on the role of Black Panther, my daughter who played as Princess Shuri and myself who joined the team as Okoye, captain of the Dora Milaje Wakandan royal guard. I painted up our game pieces and we were ready to go to Wakanda. Let the battle begin!
Despite its technological prowess and wealth, the kingdom of Wakanda finds itself embroiled in a struggle for its throne. Erik Killmonger has taken an oath of vengeance against the royal bloodline for the killing of his father and has a master plan to take control of Wakanda as its new ruler. To that end Killmonger seeks to radicalize the population against their king, smuggling weapons and mercenaries into the country in preparation for an uprising that would place him on the throne. Can Black Panther, Shuri, and Okoye stop Killmonger's master plan?
Our heroes are defeated if Killmonger earns three crisis tokens being placed on four or more locations on the game board. Crisis tokens are earned when villain cards pulled result in more thugs or civilians being placed on a location than available slots. Also, the heroes lose if they or the Killmonger expend all of their action cards before the villain's health points are depleted.
The heroes win if they deplete Killmonger of all his health points. They just can't attack the villain right away though. Before attacking the villain directly, players must first complete two of three task cards by rescuing civilians, defeating thugs or clearing threats. Keep in mind Killmonger can knock out our characters and earn crisis tokens from the start of the game but until we complete a few tasks the villain has an advantage on us.
Killmonger also has another bit of an edge on our heroes in an aspect that is unique to the RISE OF THE BLACK PANTHER Marvel United expansion. During setup, each player is given an endangered location token. Each hero selects a different location on the board to place their token. If the villain's actions result in there being more civilian or thug tokens on a location then there are allocated spaces, a hero who has his or her endangered location takes 1 damage each turn until the overflow is reversed. Heroes need to protect these endangered locations or risk being KO'd.
The advantages of the villain though are the heroes can strategize and work together to win the game. From cooperating to achieve objectives or passing on action tokens from one turn to another for other players to utilize, teamwork is very important when it comes to winning in Marvel United. We've found it really takes a united effort to be competitive in Marvel United.
Black Panther, Shuri and Okoye held their own in our game, but Killmonger was able to keep filling locations with thugs that kept us off kilter and unable to achieve completing the two tasks needed to engage him one on one. Killmonger was able to KO Black Panther, Shuri and Okoye as our being aggressive to complete tasks opened our heroes up to taking damage. Knock outs can really throw you off your game plan and we never really recovered from those setbacks.
In the end Killmonger outlasted us and achieved his master plan to become ruler of Wakanda. While he didn't win by accomplishing his villainous plot, our team of heroes exhausted all our action cards without eliminating all of Killmonger's health points. Doah!
While we weren't victorious this game of Marvel United, the kids and I had a blast having a super time battling Killmonger. We are geeked about having a rematch! And actually since my kids look forward to game nights playing Marvel United in the end we actually do win every time we spend quality family time together. Wakanda Forever!
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As a father, it is important that you spend time with your children. But, sometimes it may be difficult finding something to do, especially on those rainy days when everyone is bored and acting up. Well, this may be just the chance you were looking for to pull out a game that has been gathering dust on a closet shelf that the whole family can enjoy playing together. Turn off the electronics and spend some fun time interacting with one another with a board or card game.
As you are probably already aware, there are copious amounts of games out there to choose from and it is impossible to have them all. Look for elements of game play that are enticing to your family and friends. Is strategy and skill important or is your crowd less serious and looking for games that involve luck and chance to win? Do you want battle royal matches where only one person is the victor or cooperative games where everyone teams together and you only win if everyone contributes together to reach an outcome. Here are a few suggestions of some games my own family has had some good times with:
Can you monopolize the best transportation routes on a map to create the best transportation company? There are a variety of different versions of this game like the original where players compete for train routes across the country or my kids' favorite version where you battle for cab fares around New York City. An amusing way to learn about landmarks and geography while engaging in some competitive fun. I love games that combine educational content while also being entertaining. Ticket to Ride does just that!
In this game, you compete to build cities, roads, churches, and farms from tiles you select at random. There is a starter piece to get you going, and you have to attach the piece you pick somewhere on the board, obviously where it fits. To earn points, you lay a miniature person, known as a Meeple on the city or road, and once the structure is complete, you earn the points. You can lay as many Meeples on a structure as you like, and so can your opponent. The player with the most Meeple on a structure wins the points once it is completed. It is a game of both strategy and of luck.
No games blog worth its salt would miss Pandemic while we are living through a Pandemic. This is a strategy game where you work together to cure diseases that are ravaging every corner of the globe. There are epidemic cards that supercharge the infection rate and make the pandemic worse. You are fighting against time and the board to win. It is a great game for thinking out loud and working together.
Every father should have a set of cards at home. There are so many different games you can play with them. There are memory games where you play the cards face down and pick two trying to find pairs. Slapjack where the clue is in the name, you deal until there is a Jack and you all try to slap it, the winner picks up the cards. You also have the more complicated games such as Poker and Rummy. You could even teach the kids a lesson by using marked cards to show your kids how card sharks and magicians trick people.
What are some of the favorite games your family plays together?
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With all the time we've been spending on computers lately working remotely and virtually learning due to the pandemic, we've been enjoying unplugging for some quality family time with tabletop games. I wanted to share with you that my friends at usaopoly are hosting a holiday giveaway to help people enjoy some game nights like the ones my family has been having. There is no entry fee or purchase obligation to participate in this giveaway you just need to be willing to provide your name and some contact information for chance to win one of ten prizes.
As the Summer Games in Rio move into their final week add some Skylander fun into the mix as your family cheers on its favorite athletes. Just as you can customize your characters in the upcoming Skylanders Imaginator video game, personalize these Skylanders printouts and their accessories in the colors of the teams you are rooting for to add some Skylander spirit to the Summer Games.
As the events in Rio wrap up it is time to start think about training for the 2020 games! How can use a kid's passion for Skylanders video games to get them outside getting exercise and inspiring them to want to be healthy like an athlete #trainingfor2020? We used our family's Skylander figures in a weight lifting challenge and as a baton for a backyard relay race.
What creative ways can you utilize Skylander toys-to-life figures to inspire your kids to pretend they are training to be an athlete for the 2020 Summer Games? Share your pictures and videos with the Skylanders team on Instagram and Twitter using the hashtags #Skylanders and #Trainingfor2020 and they'll share some of their favorites with the world.
For more information about the newest installment of the Skylanders video game franchise Imaginators, visit www.skylanders.com/Imaginators
It's approaching! The newest edition to the Star Wars saga is almost here with #TheForceAwakens arriving in theaters on Friday, December 18th. To help get families in the mood to see this new film, we have a free 22 page Star Wars: The Force Awakens Activity Pack to share with our readers courtesy of our friends at Walt Disney Studios. It includes coloring pages, activity sheets and games that will delight any kid and kid-at-heart who is hyped about seeing the newest Star Wars movie.
While you are having fun with this activity pack treat yourself to some Blue Milk a popular beverage in the Star Wars universe. A Geek Daddy has a recipe for making Luke Skywalker's favorite blue colored drink from Tatooine, bantha milk, plus an out-of-this-world frozen treat your family can enjoy. CLICK HERE to check it out!
