Episode 372 – Top 5 New Small Box Games

The Family Gamers Podcast

We chose five games from 2023 (and the first half of 2024) that come in small boxes but pack a big punch!

372 Fact

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/372/schotten-totten

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What We’ve Been Playing

Onitama
Unmatched: Slings & Arrows
Mycelia
Tangram City
King of Monster Island
Thurn and Taxis

Welcome FB Community members

Stop in and say hi!

Backtalk

Last time: If you could play ANY game, what game would you play with your family and why?

This time: What is a thing you do (or an item you USE) to simplify or streamline your game time?

SNAP Review – Time’s Up! Family Edition

This party game is perfect for families of any size, as long as everyone can read.

Check out our video review, or read the transcript.

5 Games in a Small Box that Pack a Lot of Fun

We decided to limit it to only games that came out in 2023/2024. All of these games are super easy to throw in a pocket or a bag, but contain a lot of fun.

Paper App Dungeon

This is a solo dungeon crawl, but we’ve all been loving it (sharing the book and taking turns completing a dungeon). There are 44 dungeon levels in the notebook, and a special “P6” – a pencil with each side labeled with a number, so you can use it instead of a die!

Ultimatch

A cooperative (or solo) game that feels a bit like pyramid solitaire. Easy to learn, but with lots of layers of tactics and strategy. Everyone has cards in their hand that only they can know & play, so no single person can take charge. Check out our review – a rare perfect score!

Compile

A card game coming soon from Greater Than Games. A lane-dueling game (like Riftforce), in which you race to play enough value to a lane to “compile” it. Each player creates a deck from three “protocols” (card suits), and each protocol (out of 12) has a different play style. If you like this style of game, you can combine the decks in a ton of different ways.

(We discuss how we use “roles” in BG Stats to help us track which “protocols” we’ve tried.)

Trio

If you’re not tired of us talking about Trio yet, you’re in luck! This small card game feels very classic, with a combination of memory and deduction. It’s the type of game we’ll play two or three times in a row, since it’s quick and setup is easy. You will need at least three players, though.

Check out our review for Trio.

Smug Owls

A party game that lets you either feel clever, or appreciate other people being clever. There are so few games that are competitive but have you encourage and affirm other people’s cleverness! (Poetry Slam is another.) We love that vibe.

It’s pretty close to an all-ages game, and it helps us appreciate our kids’ imagination.

Check out our review for Smug Owls.

More Small Box Games? Look for these Publishers

Oink Games, which publishes Deep Sea Adventure, Scout, and plenty of others. They fit a ton of gameplay into tiny boxes.

Button Shy only does 18-card games. They try a lot of things with these games, and you can find just about any theme or mechanic. We recommend Wildtails, their legacy/campaign game, as well as Tussie Mussie, Sprawlopolis, and more.

Perplext is well known for their “Pack-O Games”, which are the size of a pack of gum. We reviewed BOO, years ago.

Backtalk, part 2

What is a thing you do (or an item you USE) to simplify or streamline your game time?

1 – Player packs! If people get the same “starting equipment” every time you play the game, set that up ahead of time!

2 – Some kind of container for small pieces that get used by multiple players (coins, tokens, whatever). Silicone muffin cups are a cheap choice, and so are dollar-store lidded containers.

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