BY SAGGYHEAD
SUSPEND
Melissa & Doug
Age 8+
1-4 Player
15 mins
Aside from the household favourite of Jenga, I tend to steer away from dexterity games, this is mostly because MJ is the very definition of clumsy so they are not great at two. In this game however, his kamikaze attitude was rewarded with a stonking win. With lifted restrictions we were able to try a few games at higher player counts, one of which was Suspend.
This game involves you hanging kinked metal pole pieces onto each other, suspended above the table. Each player starts with one of each coloured piece, all of which are different sizes. You must always place your largest piece in your supply next, and any piece you knock off must go into your supply. The winner is the first person to get rid of all their pieces.
This is an upgrade to your typical jenga in terms of difficulty. The pieces tend to swing about significantly so the tension runs high with this game. It comes in a small tube and although not groundbreaking to look at, the gameplay really does speak for itself with this one. If you’re looking for a dexterity game with a bit more about it than jenga and no set up time, then give Suspend a go.
DRAGOMINO
Blue Orange / Coiledspring Games
Age 5+
2-4 Player
15 mins
Kingdomino has been a huge success over the past few years as a tile laying thinky game for the whole family. Even though it looks like it is just dominos, there is a surprisingly deep strategy to it and really it is suitable for older kids. After the excellent success of introducing my friends son (4yo) to Dobble and starting a small obsession for him, I wanted to get him another board game for his 5th birthday. We love playing Kingdomino on BGA and I saw Dragomino advertised in my FLGS and thought this might be the absolutely perfect gift!
In Dragomino you are placing domino tiles out, and each time you manage to match land types, you are able to draw a face down token that matches that colour. These face down tokens either reveal an empty shell or some of the cutest looking dragons I have ever seen. The dragons are worth points at the end of the game, the eggs are unfortunately worth nothing. This game is awesome. The theme is awesome, the graphic design is honestly fabulous. Reminds me of How to Train Your Dragon which is one of my favourite movies. This game is a simplified version of Kingdomino and it’s easy to see why it recently won the Kinderspiel prize.
If you have a little one at home and want to get them involved in Kingdomino but with less maths and more dragons, then give this brilliant variation a go! I promise you’ll be seriously enthralled.
