family games | Dragons and Fairy Dust

I was recently sent some games from Tactic Games to review as part of a campaign at BlogMatch. This game is called Roll for Gold and is an exciting battle to be the first to capture Blackbeard’s treasure.

The board is like a jigsaw puzzle with four large pieces that needs to be slotted together. The plastic pots are placed in the puzzle as is the dice container. Each player is given three guineas and two coloured dice which are placed in their plastic pot. The large guineas or Blackbeard’s treasure is left at the side of the board.

Each player takes a turn at rolling their coloured dice into the plastic cup on the board. The person with the lowest score pressed the dice cup in the centre of the board, otherwise known as Blackbeard’s Grave Mound. The player makes their move depending on the outcome of this dice throw. There are a number of options:

My 1 – roll one of your dice
My 2 – roll both of your dice
Any 1 – roll one of another players dice
Any 2 – roll two of another players dice
1+1 – roll one of my dice and one of another players
Pirate – Blackbeard’s ghost appears and the person with the highest score on their dice gets one piece of Blackbeard’s treasure.

If at any point the coloured dice show a double parrot then the person who rolled gets a piece of gold from each player. The players take it in turns to press Blackbeard’s grave mound and you need to play tactically to make sure you have the highest score when Blackbeard’s ghost appears. The first player to reach 21 coins wins the game.

I had to read the rules a few times to understand how to play the game, I must admit I was a little bit confused at first. Once I got the hang of it though it was really easy to play and my son really enjoyed it. It is a good game to play with a few players, definitely one to get out when you have the family round.

It is recommended for ages 7+ and aimed at 3-6 players.

For more information on Tactic Games visit http://www.tactic.net

If you wish to buy the game you can find it online at: http://www.carouseltoyshop.co.uk/

To find out more about BlogMatch visit http://www.blog-match.com

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I was recently sent Fatal Attraction, a board game from Paul Lamond Games to review. This is a board game where you need to use the power of magnetic attraction and repulsion to outwit your opponent. It sounds simple when you describe it like this but it is not as easy as it sounds.

When you open the box you find the game board which is foam padded with indentations in it and the magnetic stones which have a nice black pouch for storing them in.

To quickly summarise how magnets work, every magnet has two poles a north pole and a south pole. If you put a north and south pole together the magnets attract each other and stick together. If you put a north pole and north pole or a south pole and south pole together the magnets repel and push apart. The magnets supplied with the game do not have the north and south poles labelled, they just look like black stones, which adds an element of surprise.

The stones are divided equally between the players and they take it in turns to place the stones in the gaps on the game board. The object is to get rid of all your stones before the other players. This is easy to start with but as more gaps are filled you need to think carefully where to place your magnet or disaster will strike and you will find that all the magnets stick together. If this happens the stones become yours and you have more to get rid of!

While the game is very simple in concept, it is actually very hard to get rid of all your stones. The magnetic attraction between them is strong so one false move and you are in trouble. It is good fun to play and caused a lot of interaction between the players with laughter when a person fails and ends up with lots of stones.

While the game says it is aimed at those aged 14 and above, I played it with my son who is ten and he had no problem learning the rules and really enjoyed the game. It is a great family game, perfect for winter nights and after dinner entertainment.

RRP £17.95

Aimed at ages 14 and up and is for two or more players.

For more information see: http://paul-lamond.com/

Other reviews you may be interested in:

Games for Christmas from Paul Lamond Games

Molkky – the best selling family game from Finland

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