Tag: The best board games to play at Christmas

Ticket to Ride Legacy : Legends of the West

Birthday Gifts, Christmas, Family Life, Games, Gifts for Her, Gifts for Him

Disclaimer: We received this product free of charge for the purpose of this review and all thoughts and opinions are our own.

You can’t beat a good board game to keep the family entertained at Christmas – if you haven’t played the popular Ticket to Ride game yet then it’s definitely one to get this Christmas. The original game was published in 2004 and played on a board depicting a railway map of the United States and southern Canada but the game proved so popular there are now many different versions featuring different countries and areas. The newest launch by Days of Wonder is Ticket to Ride Legacy: Legends of the West which takes players back to 19th century North America – the time when cities were growing at a fantastic rate and a boom time for the railways.

In this version of the game players are 19th century pioneers and embark on twelve journeys across North America. Beginning on the East Coast, players work their way across to the West, meeting challenges along the way. Like the original Ticket to Ride game you need to complete your tickets but managing your own North American railway company comes with many challenges and you’ll need to think strategically to beat your opponents. As the game progresses you open frontier boxes that unlock new rules, content and many more surprises. Ordinarily I would tell you more about the game but as this is a legacy game I really can’t reveal anymore as it would spoil the game, but what I can say is you won’t be disappointed!

What I can say is the game is fairly easy to play – when you read the rules for the first time it does sound complicated but don’t let this put you off as once you start playing it does start to make sense and you’ll find you’ll quickly get the hang of the game. My family love a good strategy game so Ticket to Ride Legends of the West is a great choice for us as the game requires planning, thinking ahead and strategic blocking and it’s certainly brought out the competitive streak in my family! We’re part way through the game and we’re enjoying playing it together each evening, it’s also been a great way to get everyone together and off the electronic gadgets!!

With an RRP of £99.99 it’s not a cheap game but it will give you hours of entertainment and if you shop around you may be able to find an offer.

Suitable for ages 10+

2-5 players

Available from Amazon and all good retailers

Articulate

Birthday Gifts, Christmas, Family Life, Games, Gifts for Her, Gifts for Him, secret santa, Stocking Fillers, Winter

Disclaimer: We received this product free of charge for the purpose of this review and all thoughts and opinions are our own.

Christmas is a time when families and friends get together and as the festive season approaches it’s the perfect time to invest in a couple of new board games to play with your nearest and dearest.

Articulate the “fast talking description game” from Drumond Park is a great game to play as whilst it can be played with 4 people it is much more fun played in teams. It’s really easy to get the hang of too so is perfect when playing with family members with a mix of ages.

The circular board unfolds to reveal coloured sections named with the following categories – people, world, objects, actions, nature and random. Players are split into teams and it depends on the number of players as to how many describers and guessers there are. The game begins by placing the counters on the start segment and the first team then have 30 seconds to describe the object listed on the card to the rest of their team, if they shout a correct answer, they keep picking cards and describing words from the same category until the timer runs out. Once their turn is over they move their counter forward by the number of correct words.

Sounds straightforward – it is but once you get started there are a few extra twists to add more excitement to the game. If you land on a white CONTROL segment play does not pass to the next team, instead the same team pick the next card and the describer/s describe the item marked with the spade icon to all the players, there is no time limit for this and play passes to the team who shouts out the correct answer first. The other curveball in the game is the orange and red segments which extend into the centre of the board. When a counter lands on one of these the team spins the spinner to try and win bonus places or the opportunity to move an opponent back a few places.

It’s a very fast paced game and as you are racing against the clock you’ll find your voice getting louder and using your hands to try and describe the words on the cards, much to the delight of the rest of the players. Some of the categories are much harder to describe than others so if you are playing with children younger than the 12+ recommended age you may need to look at a few cards to pick one they can describe easily. With 500 cards, each with a word for all six categories you’ll be able to play it every day over the festive period without using the same words!

This is a fantastic game and will be a great addition to any Christmas festivities this year.

RRP: £32.99 but currently £17.99 at Amazon

Suitable for ages: 12yrs+

Stockists include: Independent toy shops, Amazon, Smyths, Argos, ASDA, WH Smiths, Hamleys, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and The Works Stores