hello@toyvilleshop.co.uk
01179853515 / 01173304528 (Games)
Looking for a new board game for Christmas? Given that sadly you are all unable to pop in, browse, and get some personal recommendations from me, I’ve opted to put together a selection I personally have come to love and think you will too! They are all visible here in the window, and I’ve put together a quick summary of each of them below. Happy browsing!
– John
Pictured:
- 7 Wonders
- 7 Wonders Duel
- Azul
- Codenames
- Codenames Duet
- Deep Sea Adventure
- EXIT games
- Forbidden Island
- Jaipur
- Just One
- Love Letter
- Mysterium
- Pandemic
- Splendor
- The Crew
7 Wonders
7 Wonders is a drafting game (which means taking it in turns to choose cards from a deck) where your gameplay choices will primarily affect those next to you on the table. Played in 3 classical ages, you are attempting to build a civilisation, with the first age dedicated mostly towards building an economy and the foundations of your empire, whilst the final age will be all about point scoring based on what you’ve done earlier in the game.
Players – 3-7
Game length – quick/medium
Suitable Age – 10+
Complexity – 7/10
Competitive
7 Wonders Duel
7 Wonders Duel is a 2 player version of the game 7 Wonders. There are many similarities between these games, however in Duet there are multiple ways to win, and to some extent you can more easily judge what cards to aim for next, as well as what your opponent will take. This game has been a personal favourite over lockdown.
Players – 2
Game length – quick/medium
Suitable Age – 10+
Complexity – 7/10
Competitive
Azul
In Azul you will draw an assortment of random tiles from which you will take it in turns to take the colours you want to build your own ceramic mosaic walls. Careful play however will not only net you the right amount of tiles, but force your opponents into taking tiles they do not want.
Players – 2-4
Game length –medium
Suitable Age – 8+
Complexity – 5/10
Competitive
Codenames
Codenames is a very popular word game in which one player on each team will provide clues to their teams mates in order to get them to guess from a selection of visible words on the table. Be the first team to find all of your words by linking the words together with a single word, (for instance ice, flow, and ocean may be linked by saying water).
Players – 4+
Game length – quick/medium
Suitable Age – 10+
Complexity – 4/10
Team Based
Codenames Duet
Codenames Duet works much like regular codenames, however it is completely cooperative and only needs 2 players. In this version rather than competing against another team, you simply have to link all your words within a set number of turns.
Players – 2+
Game length – quick/medium
Suitable Age – 10+
Complexity – 4/10
Cooperative
Deep Sea Adventure
In Deep Sea Adventure you have to dive deep below the sea in search of treasure. The further down you go the richer the rewards, but beware, you are sharing your oxygen supply with your fellow divers, and they don’t much care if you live or die. Deep Sea Adventure is a quick to play game in a conveniently small box, in which you will take it in turns to descend and pick up treasure. Each turn the oxygen reduces a bit more, and the more treasure you have, the slower you will be able to resurface. If you do drown however do not despair, the game is played over 3 rounds.
Players – 2-6
Game length – quick
Suitable Age – 8+
Complexity – 3/10
Competitive
EXIT Games
Exit games are an escape room in a box. Each one will have a selection of fiendish puzzles to solve, and the solutions may be right under your nose, but not as you expect. Be prepared to tear everything in the box to shreds in finding the answers. You will not be able to pass this one on to a friend when you are done with it.
Players – 1-4
Game length – medium/long
Suitable Age – 10+
Complexity – varies/challenging
Cooperative
Forbidden Island
Quite similar to the game Pandemic, albeit it a little easier to pick up, Forbidden Island will see you as a group of explorers attempting to recover 4 treasures. The challenge however is that the island is sinking beneath the ocean. Whilst you wait to collect the cards you need to retrieve the treasures you are free to shore up the island, but things will ultimately spiral out of control, so be sure to think strategically about where you focus on keeping afloat.
Players – 2-4
Game length –medium
Suitable Age – 8+
Complexity – 4/10
Cooperative
Jaipur
A game of collecting and trading valuable commodities, Jaipur rewards both selling first and selling in bulk, but will you be able to achieve both before your rival? Additionally snapping up good from the market may help, but could also reveal something more valuable for the other player to snatch. If things don’t go your way however fear not, the game is played as a best of 3 rounds.
Players – 2
Game length – quick/medium
Suitable Age – 10+
Complexity – 5/10
Competitive
Just One
A favourite within my group, and I’m sure many others, Just One is a very simple yet very clever little game. One player will take a card without looking at it containing 5 words. They will call out a number from 1-5 and the other players will then right down a single word they feel relates to that word. From these clues the current player must guess their own words, but beware, duplicate clues will see both erased!
Players – 3-7
Game length – quick/medium
Suitable Age – 8+
Complexity – 2/10
Cooperative
Love Letter
Love Letter is an easy to set up and quick to play card game where you compete in successive rounds to either have the highest rounds, or knock your rivals out of the game. Each card you play will have an ability, but you may find the more valuable cards are dangerous to hold onto.
Players – 2-4
Game length – quick
Suitable Age – 10+
Complexity – 4/10
Competitive
Mysterium
Mysterium begins after a murder has taken place, and the victim is one of you! One player takes on the role of the ghost, who will attempt to silently communicate to the other players the clues they need to solve the murder. No miming or writing is permitted however, instead you will communicate through the medium of dreams. Can you spot any similarities between the dreams and the suspects/murder locations/weapons, and are they the same details the ghost noticed?
Players – 2-7
Game length –medium
Suitable Age – 10+
Complexity – 5/10
Cooperative
Pandemic
Eerily topical perhaps, but still a great cooperative game, Pandemic is a game of logistical planning, as you divide yourselves up to tackle a number of diseases spreading across the globe. Ultimately you will need to find the cures, but in the mean time all will be lost of you do not treat the most vulnerable areas to prevent epidemics form passing on the contagions faster than you can respond to them. On the other hand you will each have a unique power to assist you. Perhaps it will be best to send the medic into the worst hit areas whilst the scientist focuses on finding the cure?
Players – 2-4
Game length –medium
Suitable Age – 14+
Complexity – 6/10
Cooperative
Sagrada
In Sagrada your objective is to construct your own stein glass window. This is done similarly to Azul by drawing the pieces from the bag at random, however in this case the pieces are dice that will be rolled. Scoring is based both on meeting certain goals, as well as by having higher numbers on the dice. Remember however, there are a number of restrictions on where you can place your dice.
Players – 1-4
Game length – quick/medium
Suitable Age – 10+
Complexity – 6/10
Competitive
Splendor
In Splendor each player is attempting to amass gems from a limited supply in order to purchase the cards upon the table. Each card will grant you permanent additional gems to help you buy more expensive cards, as well as points. It’s as simple as being the first to 15 points, but finding the fastest route there and blocking other players is the trick.
Players – 2-4
Game length – medium
Suitable Age – 10+
Complexity – 3/10
Competitive
The Crew
The Crew is a trick taking game, a lot like many traditional card games, where everyone plays a card, and the best card wins. The twist however is that you are all on the same team, and you all need certain players to win certain cards over the course of the game. The box contains 50 challenges which should keep most of you going for a while, especially since the difficulty can be determined by your weakest player.
Players – 3-5
Game length – quick
Suitable Age – 10+
Complexity – 4/10
Cooperative