Clothespins

This game looks lame, but as the box says, 'Its good clean fun." Get it clothespins... clean... too funny. Well the game goes like this:

4 cards, 3 starting posts, you can place cards down in any type of pattern...

All shirts, all, pants, all same fabric...

As you go around you try to get as many as you can on each clothes line and then put the other end on it to finish the clothes line. Only playing up to four cards from your hand (or discarding them for better ones... can't do both)

The trick is that there are birds... my kids like to make sound effects, they say, "Tweet, Tweet!" and swoop down and take a piece of clothing from your line and put it on theirs. no clothes are protected unless you have both poles up. Its an exciting, risk taking game that my strategic mind can't figure how to win again a 5 year old.

Clue Express

Setup: After finding Mr. Boddy's body in the study of Tudor Mansion, Inspector Brown is investigating the six usual suspects: Mr. Green, Colonel Mustard, Mrs. Peacock, Professor Plum, Miss Scarlet, and Mrs. White.

Different from the original game there might have been two suspects. Solve the murder mystery by discovering who was the Brains and the Brawn (muscles). This is a game of simply rolling 4 dice on your turn. Three black dice have pictures of the suspects. Place one die on the Brains spot and one on the Brawn spot and see if the other players can prove your suggestion false. Next, you get a chance to gather more clues depending on what the blue die says to do: Inspect a card from any players hand, ask a player about the 3rd black die that you didn't use earlier, peek at the case file to see what color is showing in the secret keyhole, or make a free accusation. When you have gathered enough information make the final accusation. There is a possibility that the same person was the brains and the brawn.

There's also the Master Detective Game that plays the same. You solve the crime for 3 questions: Brains, Brawn, and Driver of the getaway car.

Clue Express was made to be played in 20 minutes. True to their promise, it can be played in 20 minutes. Great game for those times that you don't want to end up playing "Forever."

Phase 10 Twist

While we are talking about Phase 10 I'll add the latest, Phase 10 Twist.

Similar to the classic Phase 10 game, you still complete specified sets or runs during each round of play. A few changes to the game include a gameboard that you advance your marker at the end of each round. This means you don't get "stuck" on a phase until you complete it. You ALWAYS move at least one place at the end of each round. If you complete the phase you move two, and if you "go out" you get to advance three spaces. To give the game the Twist, you have the opportunity to choose one of three phases to complete during the round if you land on the designated Twist. If you choose to take the Twist card, you can double your moves at the end of the round. If you don't complete the phase during the round you move back one. Having the Twist spaces, always moving your token to a new spot at the end of the round, and three discard piles makes this game move quicker and quite enjoyable.

No more Classic Phase 10 for me.

Sequence for Kids

Place a chip on the board to match the animal card you discard. First player to get 4 in a row wins the game. There's also the special cards that can help you win. The dragon allows you to remove a chip, the unicorn allows you to place a chip on any open space on the board, and there are free spaces in all four corners of the board.

I liked this game because it's not overwhelming to decide where to go next. You only have three cards in your hand at a time and there are only 2 of each animal on the board. We are able to play a couple of rounds in one sitting.

Quinto

This one is an old and a rare one. The game is 5! You hold 5 tiles. You can only place lines up to 5 long. Your tiles have to add up to multiples of 5 only (every direction). And it is on a scrabble-like board. It is intended for the strategist and mathematicians, but can be fun for anyone if you don't want it to be competitive. Oh, but I get competitive at this game.

The game was made in 1964 and re-release only one more year in '67. I got my copy at DI in Rexburg, Id this summer while visiting. it was only $4.00, too bad, it would have been much cooler if it was $5.oo!