Strike and That's Not a Hat! Game Night : #RavensburgerMoment #RavensburgerParty #ThatsNotAHat #tryazon

A complimentary copy of Strike and That's Not a Hat were provided to me through Tryazon so that I could share them with friends and through my blog. All opinions expressed are my own

I have shared many times before that we are a game playing family. We sit down and play as a family or when we have friends over but also plan and host game nights with several couples or families on a regular basis. In fact, our friends shared that their one daughter always looks forward to coming over to our house when we host because we always play games, usually a mix of familiar and new games.

We have been having so much fun checking out several new games these past couple of months. This most recent set of games we tried through Tryazon, Strike and That's Not A Hat, were fun, easy to learn and quick to play. They are enjoyable by players of many ages. The recommended ages are 8+ but a family could easily play them with a younger player.

Strike

Throw your dice into an arena, striking other dice to change their faces, and collect matching sets. Watch out, though – if you roll an X, your die is removed from the game! Play it safe by rolling one die, or push your luck and keep rolling for a chance to make matches. The last player with dice wins!
Details:
 Recommended Age: 8+ Great for parties!
 Number of Players: 2 - 5
 15 minutes playtime
 Includes: 26 Dice, 1 Arena, 1 Foam Arena Mat, Rulebook

That's Not a Hat

Wrap and regift objects in this deceptively simple card game of having the world’s best memory... or convincing everyone you do! Was that gift a hat, a bucket, or a traffic cone?! Play this “unforgettable” bluffing game with friends and family for fun, laughter, and a dash of madcap mayhem. As cards or gifts are flipped facedown and passed around the table, players must memorize the object on each card or bluff their confidence as they pass the unwanted gift to someone else. Avoid getting caught declaring the wrong object or gain penalty points. The player with the least points at the end wins!
Details:
 Recommended Age: 8+ Great for parties!
 Number of Players: 3 - 8
 15 minutes playtime
 Includes: A rulebook and 110 cards with simple illustrations for maximum memorization chaos.

We have played these games a few times over the past few weeks and the consensus is that the games were fun to play and are ones that we will go back to often.

Strike is a dice game that comes with it's own arena. The game is easy to play with a goal of making matches to keep yourself in the game. There is an element of strategy with how many dice you roll on your turn and how you roll them but there is also a lot of luck. We had people get out on their first turn and other games where it seemed to be that the final pair played for several rounds. The game was enjoyable and easy to learn, making it an easy game to play with a small group.

That's Not a Hat is a card game. On the surface, That's Not a Hat seemed like it should be easy, afterall you start with all the cards face up and yet we quickly discovered how hard it really could be. With cards going both left and right, it really mixed things up and made it really hard to remember the object on the cards. There was lots of laughter as people passed the gifts left and right and struggled to remember which gifts were moving which direction and what exactly was on the card that you were passing or receiving. We all agreed that the more people playing the more challenging the game became. This was an instant crowd favorite and one we will pull out during future game nights and family evenings.

Game night is always a fun evening spent with family and friends. Finding new games and getting to play classic favorites, makes each game night a unique and fun experience. If you are looking for some games to enjoy on your next game night, be sure to check out Strike and That's Not a Hat.

No compensation was received for this review. All opinions expressed are my own or that of my family and friends. A complimentary copy of Strike and That's Not a Hat were provided to me through Tryazon so that I could play the games and inivte my friends to check it out too.

Nacho Pile #nachopile #nachopilegame #asmodeeusa #familygame #kidsgame #targetfinds #target #Tryazon

A complimentary copy of Nacho Pile was provided to me through Tryazon so that I could share them with friends and through my blog. All opinions expressed are my own

We love to host game nights and play games as a family. Looking back on our game nights, the group certainly has evolved. When the pictures come up in my memories, it makes me sad sometimes because we don't get to spend as much time with some of the people that we used to. Now, change is natural and we have people that join us now that didn't join in the past and our kids are now part of the evening (vs when we used to schedule to start after bedtime) and their friends/dates join us for game play too.

About Nacho Pile:

From the creator of Happy Salmon and other hit party games, Nacho Pile is a fast-paced, high-energy game that will have chips flying back and forth as players compete for full plates and stomachs. In the game, players must push their luck to pile their nacho plates high, but also cleverly snatch matching chips from other players. Don't get too risky or you will lose them all! Keep an eye out for special chips that really ramp up the heat with spicy effects. Best for ages 7+ and playtimes is 20 minutes

When I received the invite to check out Nacho Pile, the game sounded perfect for a quick family game or a filler as different tables were wrapping up longer games on a group game night. It sounds like there is a bit of luck and strategy involved, which always makes for a good balance. I like that it is playable by 2 - 6 people and that it works for most ages. Plus, it is a very portable game, making it perfect to toss into the bag when we head to friends.

When the game arrived, the first thing that I noticed was the packaging. The packaging looks just like a bag of chips, in fact my son initially set it on the table and moved over some snack bags we had of other chips so that it would 'blend' in. The bag that the game comes in doubles as the grab bag for the chips during game play. The plates serve as your game board for chips that you have collected. The chips are slightly arched, making them easy to pick up from the table and also support them a little when stacking.

The game play is fairly straight-forward and the directions were easy to follow. On your first turn, you start by grabbing chips one at a time from the bag and put them next to your plate. You decide when to stop but if you draw a duplicate, you bust and all of the chips go back to the bag. When you stop, you may gather any chips sitting next to another player's plate of the same values that you have. Then, on subsequent rounds, any chips that are next to your plate at the start of the turn, you can put on your plate.

There are chips with numbers 1-7 on them. There are also some Wild Chips and some Spicy Chips to mix up the game play. The Wild Chips you declare the value on when you draw and drawing another of that value before you stop counts as a match and you bust. The Spicy Chips are Steal, Score and Remove. The Spicy Chips can cause a bust if you draw a second of the same type of chip before you stop. All of the Spicy Chips result in action after you stop drawing. Steal lets you take a chip from someone else's plate and put it on your plate. Score let's you move chips of one value (the one you drew and the ones you stole) onto your plate before your turn ends. Remove allows you to remove one chip from another player's plate and return it to the grab bag. The game ends when there is only one chip in the bag. The score is based on who has the most of a given value chip (wilds can be reassigned to any value before scoring starts) earning a point a chip, or two for the number matching the last chip. The winner is the one with the most points.

Game play observations
- In the beginning, people are either very risky and overdraw or they are risk averse and stop after drawing a couple of chips. With time, we found that people wound up in the middle and those that were paying attention had a feel for the risk of grabbing the same chip (there are 6 of each number, 6 Wild chips and 6 Spicy chips) and that the 'sweet spot' for risk shifts as the game progresses with fewer chips remaining in the grab bag.
- The first few rounds were slow, as people got the hang of things, the game moved quicker. It really was easy to learn and I think it took a while to speed up as people figured out their strategies.
- The name is fun. There were 'nacho' jokes a plenty.

Overall, everyone found the game enjoyable but generally agreed that after a few games, it was time to move on to another game. Game time was a good amount for a quick after dinner game.

Want to check out Nacho Pile? You can learn more about the game and purchase a copy on the company website asmodee. You can also find the game at Target, Walmart and Amazon.

No compensation was received for this review. All opinions expressed are my own or that of my family and friends. A complimentary copy of Nacho Pile was provided to me through Tryazon so that I could play the game and inivte my friends to check it out too.

Game Night - featuring Five Crowns and Farkle #playmonsterfun #tryazon

Complimentary copies of Farkle and Five Crowns games were provided to me through Tryazon so that I could share them with friends and through my blog.

Game Night has always been a favorite activity at our house. We have been fortunate to have many friends and family members that enjoy not only hanging out but also playing games. We always have way too much to eat and always have a good time. We compete and we laugh and we genuinely enjoy the time together. Some nights, we play card games, some nights we play board games, some nights we visit so long that we never get to the games. When the kids were little, we would put them to bed just before game night or shortly after it started. Now that they are older, we invite everyone's kids and we set up multiple game tables, one in the basement and one upstairs, so that everyone can get in on the fun. Durning the past couple of years, those types of nights slowed down but so glad to be back in the swing of things again.

Recently, we had the chance to share Five Crowns and Farkle from PlayMonster with our friends, as a participant in the Tryazon party. Both are games that we had played before but not with our friends.

Five Crowns is a rummy-style card game that featuring 5 suits and rotating wild cards. The box says that you can play with 1-7 players, ages 8 and up (it says 99 but I bet you could play if you were 100). I've not played the solitaire version but always love a game that you can play on your own. The game is easy to learn and with an estimated game time of 45 minutes, is easy to fit in a quick game almost anytime.

Farkle is a dice game that can be played with 2 or more players, ages 8 and up (although, you could actually play by yourself - maybe challenge yourself to reach the target in the fewest turns). Another game that is easy to learn and quick to play at an average game time of 30 minutes. It is also easy to take on the go and play almost anywhere. We have a pocket version that has a scoring pad that you could tuck in your purse or glove box and a small tube that holds the dice (about the size of a 35 mm film cannister for those of you old enough to remember).

Both games are family-friendly and can be enjoyed by young and old alike. The ability to play with only a few people, how easy it is to learn the games and the ability to play a full game in a short-time, makes them appealing game options. We have foudn that card and dice games have always been favorites to play with grandparents when they visit us.

You can learn more about PlayMonster and order your own copies of the games at PlayMoster.com. I recieved a coupon code to share with my guests but I also see that if you join their mailing list, you can get 25% off your first order.

What are some of your favorite games? Have you played Five Crowns or Farkle before?

No compensation was received for this review. All opinions expressed are my own or that of my family and friends. Complimentary copies of the games were provided to me through Tryazon so that I could share my experience with friends and through my blog, with enough to share some with my friends too.