Let’s do something together as a family. Who wants to play a game? Do you ever have a hard time finding a game that the whole family can play? Ever feel like you play the same game with the same outcome every time?
I want to introduce you to some fun games that our family has only been playing for a few months, but we’ve already grown to love them.
In fact, lately, it seems like anytime all of us, or just a few of us, have some free time you can find us sitting down to play one or more of these games. They’re called Grandpa Beck’s games.
Grandpa Beck’s? Yep, that’s right. They currently have four games and a couple more in the works, with one set to be released very soon. We own all four games and enjoy them all.
But before I give you the rundown on each game, let me start by saying the quality of the cards and the packaging is really good. The cards are thick, sturdy, and easy to shuffle. Even the kids like to shuffle them because it’s easy to make a good “bridge.”
The box is compact, and everything easily fits back inside when you’re done playing. Are you like me? Do you hate trying to get board games to fit back in their box? If I wanted a puzzle, I would’ve bought a puzzle.
The artist who does all the drawings is a stay at home mom, and the art that is used for these games are animated, detailed and eye-catching.
Cover Your Assets: This game is the bomb! Cover Your Assets is Grandpa Beck’s flagship game. One of my brothers introduced us to this game and we haven’t stopped playing it since. We purchased our own and after a few weeks bought a second box so we could really have some epic battles.
Here’s how it works. Your goal is to build your empire and your wealth by claiming different assets. You play with either four or five cards, depending on how many players are participating.
You start by making your first match by pairing two cards of the same asset, or by pairing a wild card with whichever asset you’d like. You lay them down to start your pile. Your first pair of assets can never be stolen so it’s safe throughout the game.
But any pair of assets you lay down after that is fair game until all the cards from the draw pile are gone and the last card has been played. However, you can only steal the top pair from any given pile. If a player covers his or her assets with another asset then it’s safe until it gets uncovered again.
Once you’ve laid down your first pile you can then start attempting to steal other players’ assets, as long as it’s not their first pair.
If someone tries to steal assets from your pile, you can defend it with the same asset (card) or you can use a Gold or Silver wild card. The person attempting to steal can lay down another asset card or a wild to make a second attempt at a steal.
This battle can go back and forth until one person runs out of cards to steal or defend, or until one player decides to concede.
About those wild cards. They are easily the most valuable cards, in both dollar value and strategy. But you have to be very careful of how and when you use your wild cards.
Also, each time an asset changes hands it grows in value because each card used to steal or defend a pair is added to that pair. So, for example, if you happen to use two asset cards and a wild to defend the top asset on your pile, but your opponent has four matching or wildcards to outduel you, then he or she adds all seven of those cards to the original pile they were trying to steal.
That’s how a pile can quickly become very valuable.
When all the cards are gone, you add up the dollar amounts on the cards in your pile and whoever has the highest total wins.
All of our family members love this game and even our 4-year-old is quite good at it. The kids love it because they can steal from others and not get in trouble for it.
This game is so fun right up to the end and the outcome can change in a flash. In fact, there are huge swings in this game, and many times the winner is not determined until the very last card is played.
Although we enjoy all of Grandpa Beck’s games, Cover Your Assets is our favorite.
Skull King: Yo Ho Ho, gets you a bid in Skull King while trying to figure out how many tricks you can win. There are 10 rounds and the number of cards in your hand increases by one each round. So, you start with just one card and finish with 10 in the last round.
You try to predict how many tricks in each round you think you will win. For example, if you’re in round five, there will be five separate tricks in the round.
The cards have different values so if you lay down the most valuable card you win the trick. But be careful, you can’t win more tricks than you bid before the rounds start, or you get negative points.
This game takes a lot of strategy and it’s quite fun. Our 4-year-old plays with us, and she does ok for the most part, but she doesn’t completely understand all the ins and outs. Still, it’s great because it’s a game we can all enjoy together.
Grandpa Beck’s Golf: This is a fun game for anyone who likes golf. It’s also fun for anyone who wants to beat a golfer but wouldn’t stand a chance on a real course.
Just like the real game, you try to get the lowest score out of the group. So how do you do that? Everyone starts with nine cards face down.
Next, each player turns two cards over. Then each player takes turns drawing one card from the draw pile or the discard pile. On your turn, you can either use the card you draw and exchange it for one of your nine cards, or you can discard it.
Red negative numbers are good, but the black positive numbers can actually end up being better. If you get three in a row of the same black number you get to count it as a negative. For example, three +5 cards in a row would turn into an -5 score.
But be careful. The round ends as soon as the first person turns all nine of their cards face up. Whatever black numbers you have on your board count against you if you don’t have three in a row of the same number.
You also better make sure you have the lowest score if you’re the first one to turn all nine cards over. If you don’t, you will actually have to add some penalty strokes, which could end up costing you the game. So there is some strategy involved, but Grandpa Beck’s Golf is simple and fun and our whole family enjoys it.
Nuts About Mutts: Even if you don’t like dogs, you can still have fun with this one. In this game, you try to match up the card number, the card color, or the breed of dog to whichever card is on top of the discard pile, also known as “Home.”
The goal is to be the first player to get all your dogs back home. Or, in other words, be the first player to get rid of all your cards.
Watch out for the wild cards, they can make you switch hands with another player, put you in the doghouse, or even get fleas.
There is an advanced version of the game too, that makes it a little more competitive, but younger players might not understand the rules. But they can easily play the standard version.
In the advanced version, you have to play an exact match; color, number or breed. You can also play a run of numbers and doesn’t even have to be your turn. All in all, it’s a fun game that is easy to learn and fun for everyone to play. And you don’t even have to really be Nuts About Mutts to enjoy it.
So there you have it. If you’re looking for a new game that your whole family can enjoy, give Grandpa Beck’s games a try. Whichever Grandpa Beck’s game you play, you will enjoy the quality, simplicity yet competitiveness of these games.
Our family really enjoys them all and will occasionally play multiple rounds of a game in one sitting. Grandpa Beck is working on some new games and the next one, “The Bears and The Bees” is set to be released later this year. We will be excited to try that one when it comes out.
These games are priced very reasonably, under $13 each, and you can purchase them from Amazon by clicking on the links above.
Please comment below with your thoughts if you have played them before or if you’re excited to order these for your family and friends.
1 Comments
Grandpa Beck
Thank you for reviewing our games! We are thrilled your family enjoys playing them. Hearing about families having fun together playing our games, really is our favorite. Hope you also enjoy The Bears and the Bees when it comes out soon!