Tom Chappelear
United States
Philadelphia
Pennsylvania
-
My 4-year old son asks me to play a game with him every morning, and most afternoons. As long as his headstrong 2-year old sister isn't awake yet, I'll oblige. (If she is awake, we'll play aggressively random Pitchcar...) We play Gulo Gulo, Castle Knights, Little Sandworms, Piggyback Brigade, Loopin' Louie, or any number of Haba games.
Still, it seems he wants more. The other day he stood in front of my game closet and pointed to each game in turn. "Dada, how I do I have to be to play that game with you? How about that one?" etc. etc.
So, when his sister was napping, I brought down Niagara. I'd played it a couple of times with my regular game group, and it seemed like a fine game. Not one we'd play again, given the choices, but a fine game.
With my son, it was a huge hit. We played with a random third player that flipped a tile at random, and no stealing. Here's what he liked:
1. The gems. He's a hoarder at heart, and has been known to sleep dragon-like on a pile of marbles, coins and d20s. He loved the gems.
2. Getting to push the river tiles. I had to fiddle with the board, but having a physical activity to mark an abstract concept was great. He very quickly figured out how scary the river could be.
3. Simple math. He could identify the lowest number of the tiles played, and could add or subtract one or two to it.
4. Watching Dad go over the falls. I didn't mean to, even. Stoopid random third player...
5. Watching youtube videos of people going over waterfalls in kayaks after playing.
I let him use up his high point tiles early, and struggle to get back upstream. He used his tiles better the second and third times through. He often needed help remembering that it cost two movement points to drop off or pick up a gem, but he did fine without too much coaching. His sister woke up, and he wanted to put the game away without finishing.
Two days later, we played again with Grandad visiting. This time we played a full game, and although we gave lots of hints, he won with minimal intervention. My father-in-law and I basically tried to screw each other up as much as possible without hurting my son's position too badly, and this naturally led to a win for him.
I highly recommend this as a family game, and with simplified rules makes for a great game with young kids.
-
Chris Fee
United States
Corning
New York
No fair! They're using brains against us! We removed our brains to make room for guns and explosives!
-
My son has enjoyed playing this as well since he was 4 (now 5). We haven't played with stealing gems yet.
Always great to read stories/reviews of gaming with kids.
-
-
My five year old is a great fan. With my wife as third person we often play a game or two before bedtime and he loves it. To be honest I love the game as well... it just gets more hard-core once the young-un has hit the hay
-
|
|
