Games went pretty darn well over the Thanksgiving holidays, I'd have to say. Sure, I brought lots of games that went unplayed, but I always expect that. I overpack games, hoping to get some of them played, not all. The biggest coup of all was getting my dad to play a wargame with my brother & I! That alone would've made it a great success. More on that below, but first I'll mention the family strategy games that we played.
Apples to Apples Jr.
Of course. :-) I almost didn't pack this one, partly because I was running out of room, partly because I wanted us to try something else. But then I faced the truth that this is so easy, and always a big hit. My brother and I played with my kids, and we had one of those great A2A moments when Molly was trying to decide which was more Boring--Big Bird or My Grandpa . . . with her grandpa sitting right behind her and laughing. We played twice, using more forgiving kids' rules of one card played per player, no one getting shut out. (I definitely prefer the pressure of the normal speed game, but with readers of uneven skill this works better.)
Wurmeln
Rather than a straight race, lately I've been preferring a simple "track" design, and/or an obstacle to worm around. This was just an out-and-around sort of track, like a 3/4-lap horse race. Turns out that was slightly too long, and somewhat boring of a layout (crossing over or doubling back might've been cool), but the game still worked ok. Like all good outings of this game, one player (my brother Matt) jumped out to what seemed an uncatchable lead, but then Molly started gaining . . . and gaining . . . to finally overtake & win at the last bit. She often wins this game, go figure! Besides those two, we got my wife, mother, and sister-in-law to play.
Bohnanza
This is one of the few family strategy games that some of my family already know. In fact, Matt and his wife Jessie had played their copy (which I'd given as a gift years ago) with visiting family just the week before. The rules and turn sequence was a little bewildering for my mom, but she got it well enough and said she really enjoyed the game. As much as I like this--and I do--it has the possibility of lasting a little too long if people overwork the negotiations. I shouldn't mess with success, just play the darn game! But I'd like to introduce them to some other card games like Coloretto or Frank's Zoo. (Actually I've tried both of those with minor success. So what am I thinking?! Stick with Bohnanza!)
Category 5
Some time ago I needed to include my old copy of Take 6 to complete a trade deal, then took forever to replace it. I finally did with this new, somewhat themed edition. We were down to just three players by that point, probably fewer than this game really needs, but I thought the uniqueness of the game would shine through. It did, sort of, taking a hand or so before my brother and mom saw what was going on. Then we played it a second time, and it went smoother, but didn't really wow either of them.
Thunder Road
My son was living a video game-less holiday (long car ride and everything), having been grounded from them for an offense I won't discuss here. :-) He's not too impressed by boardgames, but did ask to bring this Mad Max-inspired race/combat game. Nice enough components, open conflict, and an action-movie style theme appeal to 10-year old boys, what do you know? :-) The game was ok, in fact he loved it yet again, but I'm getting bored with it quickly. It's the usual problem--not enough real decisions. Not bad, but I should've tried to get him to bring Roller Coaster Tycoon instead. That's definitely better.
Raj
This ended up playing the way I'd hoped Category 5 would: a simple numeric card game that everyone quickly got, and generated both boos & cheers. Yeah, it's just Hol's der Geier, which I also own (Sid Sackson's old copy!), but it's still a good game. And it's funny how a little upgrade in components--the scoring tiles rather than cards, plus perhaps more inspired theming--makes a real difference in the game's appeal to nongamers. They don't distill a game's experience down to its base mechanics as readily as we hobbyists do, something the publishers understand (the good ones, anyway). I have some hope this can be a quick game to play with my immediate family even when not on a holiday.
Axis & Allies:D-Day
This, of course, was the wargame I played. I'd played it once before, another 3-player outing with my regular gamers. At the time I thought this might be one I could convince my dad to try. He's neither a gamer nor a wargamer, but he's got an interest in military history, at least of The History Channel WW2 western front-centric variety. He's also visited Normandy, making a special point to go there on his first retirement trip to Europe. So I figured I had a shot. Let dad take the familiar Americans, put my brother beside him commanding the Brits/Canadians and helping him with rules, while I opposed on the German side. It worked! I don't think this will be a regular thing--we may never play another wargame at all--but at least we did it this once. My brother made many of the decisions, but dad made his share, too. At the end, he commented that whoever designed the game knew what he was doing, thinking of the effect of Allied air superiority and the trouble the Americans had clearing Omaha beach. (I just knew the depiction of air power in this game was going to go over well!) Basic wargaming stuff, ok, but like nothing he'd seen before, I'm sure. I don't think my dad ever played so much as Risk, in fact. Yea! As for the game's outcome, it was much like my other play--Allies appearing to dominate by the midgame, but ultimately running out of time by a single turn (or maybe two), with St. Lo proving a tough nut to crack.