Uni Students might also want sensible gifts for their studies, but Christmas is about being frivolous, and I like to treat my 4 grown up uni student offspring to things that'll make them smile and maybe also have a practical side. I have previously been sent some of the following items for review - but I wouldn't also include them in this post if I didn't like them! 

Miss You Loads. 

Is anyone ever too old for a soft toy? Uni students this year especially have to cope by themselves far more than in the past. They haven't been able to nip home, and physical contact might be a bit lacking. 

I recently did a review for Moonpig, and sent my 21 year old Uni student this Sloth which warms in the microwave for a very fair £10. Other creatures are available. It's the closest thing to a hug - and it really doesn't have to be pink or fluffy. 

 October's review for Asmodee Blogger Boardgame Club is a little late (sorry!), but earlier in the Autumn they sent us Picture Show: Shadow Charade Game for review. This is a great family game which doesn't involve writing clues, miming, drawing, or even acting - instead players use pre-cut magnetic shapes, a screen and lighting, and recreate their scenario, word or phrase using the medium of shadow puppetry. 

Suitable for anyone aged over around 7, and 2 teams of 2-4 people each, or even more if you can fit them around the table, it's loads of fun! 

Inside the box is everything you'll need except the batteries - 3 x AAA, and a crosshead screwdriver to fit them. 

Before first play you'll need to allow 10 minutes to 'press out' all of the magnetic shapes. Be careful because they are thick and well made, but some are a little bit easy to bend, and you don't want to lose a foot. 

The Board Game Family: Reclaim Your Children From The Screen is a fantastic 'how-to' for parents wanting to bring their kids back into the living room, away from their phones and back into family life together. Anyone who reads my blog will know that board games are a huge thing here, we play most weekends year round and usually everyone in the house joins in...


As soon as I opened The Board Game Family I knew we were on the same wavelength. The writing style is chatty and full of sarcasm and witty quips. It's friendly, accessible and perfect for parents of today's teenagers.


Ellie Dix starts by explaining why you need board games as part of your family life. The benefits of board gaming are massive. Playing games develops confidence, memory, co-ordination, logic skills, problem-solving and decision-making. It teaches you patience, tolerance and an understanding that everyone thinks differently. Ellie also explains how a healthy culture of competition and good gamesmanship can strengthen relationships.

Gaming helps us reconnect with our children. It is quality relaxation time where you aren't all doing the same thing separately or silently, you are working together as a unit, chatting, laughing and socialising. I personally see it as very important time spent, and I know my 10 year old likes absolutely nothing better than playing a game together with his family.


The examples of games included in the book really caught my excitement. Ellie rates a good few of the games which we really like to play. Carcasonne is my 9 year old's favourite game and a lot of the really good independent games we've reviewed for Asmodee are mentioned in this book. 


There is a great toolkit for getting started, even if you haven't been a game player yourself. Ellie suggests ways to bring games into your family's life, and which games will be a good starting point.

Gen 7 is a mainly co-operative 'crossroads' game, where players decisions affect the outcomes and change how gameplay and the storyline progresses. Made by Plaid Hat Games, we've been sent a copy to review for the Asmodee Blogger Boardgame Club, and it's brilliant.


Suitable for 3 to 4 players aged 14+, you are the 7th generation to exist aboard a huge colony ship fleeing Earth for a fertile new home planet. The journey is around half way through and everything has gone well so far, until now. The entire mission and lives of everyone on board are threatened and it's up to the crew to find the clues, solve the puzzles and save humanity.


There are more elements included in the Gen7 box than just about any game I've played. It makes it seem very exciting, but it also seems much more complicated than it actually is. The secret nature with lots of hidden information adds to the anticipation.

I get a lot of pleasure from looking back at a review item later on and knowing I was right with my initial opinion. Some things stand out as being great, while others not so much. Here's a look back at some of the best or most reliable things we have looked at over the past 5 years....

These items we reviewed in the the second half of March 2013-2018...


Biff the Sorgenfresser or Worry Eater was a big hit here from the day he arrived in 2013, although to my knowledge my children have never actually posted any messages into his mouth. These were new and exciting 6 years ago and I'm delighted to say that they are incredibly popular now, used in schools, homes and other venues UK wide. He still looks as good as new, yet he's been a constant on someone's bed for 5 years, been fed a multitude of sticky things and been washed a few times. Nice one Biff...

This month the Blogger Boardgame Club have sent us Set from Asmodee to review. Suitable for 1 or more players aged 6+, this is a fast-paced card game which really challenges your visual perception. Stay alert and you might have a chance of winning...


Inside the box are the instructions and the pack of 81 cards. Each card has 1, 2 or 3 symbols, in green, red or purple. Each symbol is clear, partly shaded or fully shaded, and each card has symbols that are ovals, squiggles or diamonds. No 2 cards are the same.

When I Dream is an interesting and unique take on an old tried and tested favourite, and it works very well. A family game for 4 to 10 players aged around 8+, players guess the words that are being described, but then must also weave them into a dream and try to remember as many as possible to score more points.


When I Dream is a beautifully illustrated game with characters and pictures which remind me of the original Grimm fairy stories. Played mainly with a large deck of cards, it's almost a shame that you don't see them for longer! As well as the 110 double-ended and double-sided Dream Cards (4 items per card), there are 11 Dream Spirit Cards, 104 point tokens, bed and headboard, game board, sleep mask, sand timer and rulebook.

My latest review for the Blogger Board Game Club is not a board game, but a brand new puzzle called Arokah. This is a wooden shape-fitting game, based on a set of 23 unique shapes which together form a hexagon. Arokah is one of the most beautiful products I've ever reviewed.


The Arokah box looks really nice, but is actually very flimsy and not ideal for future storage, however this possibly isn't the sort of puzzle you'd re-box any way. More experienced puzzlers, mathematically minded and logical people will have an advantage.

Carcassonne is a modern classic. A beautifully illustrated tile game that feels as if it's always existed, based on the real walled French city of Carcassonne and with a storyline as old as history. Carcassonne is very easy to learn and suitable for 2-5 players aged around 7+. Using hexagonal tiles players build cities, cloisters, roads and farms, claiming points for completed builds and continuing until all the game tiles are exhausted.


We're reviewing the updated edition and as well as the inclusion of Abbots, it is different because the illustrations are brighter and more detailed. The box itself is gorgeous and a great smaller size for shelf storage. Open the box and the redesigned tiles don't disappoint.

We did it! Yeeay! I've been quiet on the blog because I was incredibly busy helping to prepare for BlogOn Conference at the Museum Of Science and Industry in Manchester, but it's all over for now (4 months until the next one!).


Huge thanks to everyone who attended - I hope you also thought it was friendly and welcoming - as well as hopefully a good laugh. It was awesome to see so many PR's, brands and bloggers in person.

I checked people in with Sim when you arrived, and handed out goody bags at the end, but in between I did manage to take some photos...

Timeline is a fantastic series of card games from Asmodee. Suitable for anyone aged around 8+, the aim of the game is for 2-8 players to put the events shown on the cards into correct date order. It may be history, but don't let that put you off, this can be a quick-paced game and children are often as good at making guesses as adults are!


I love the Timeline games, and we've been sent the newest edition in the series for review - Timeline British History. Also available are Inventions, Science & Discoveries, Historical Events, General Interest, Music & Cinema and Star Wars.


One of the features of Asmodee games is that they care about what happens when you've finished playing, and Timeline games are stored in their own beautiful metal tin. Not only attractive to look at, they are compact for travelling and taking to friend's houses, and will outlast the cards, unlike a cardboard box.

A couple of days ago I posted our review of Star Wars Dobble, and today I'm delighted to say that Esdevium Games have offered a copy for one of my readers for my Christmas Present Giveaways.

A frantic and fast matching game that can be played by anyone aged around 6+, this is our youngest family member's new favourite game...


Any Star Wars fans might recognise a lot of the people, symbols, vehicles and other items shown, but only die-hard fans will know them all straightaway, and it's really no bonus as Dobble is all about speed!

Our latest game review is another more grown up game from Asmodee, suitable for 2-6 players aged 10+. Colt Express is a turn-taking battle with a difference, as each round has a set up phase, and then the action is played out - and it never goes exactly as you expected!


Inside the box are 132 game cards, wooden bandit-shaped counters and a Marshall, a press-out cardboard 3D train and scenery, 26 loot tokens and a rulebook.


The train once assembled has a locomotive and 6 carriages. A different number of carriages are used depending on the number of players. We played with 3, so used 3 carriages.

In a stroke of pure genius the Colt Express box is decorated inside and split into compartments to store the entire assembled set safely. It makes a really nice feature from something that is actually incredibly useful.

There's no better time spent at home with our teenagers than a family games night, and Cash 'n Guns from Ludovic Maublanc makes it a games night where you point rubber guns at each other and try to steal as much as possible from the other players. It's great...




Each player takes on the role of a gangster, and the scene which unfolds is what happens next after a huge heist. The loot needs to be divided up, but everybody wants it, and everyone is carrying a gun!

Father's Day this year falls on Sunday June 19th - so you still have more than 10 days to choose that perfect gift. Here are a selection of my favourites from what's on offer this year...


Memories are precious to Dads, and they can be emotional, hilarious or just make him proud. Cheerz have an awesome range of gifts including their letterbox sized Cheerz Box which starts at £16 for 30 beautifully packaged prints delivered. We also reviewed their Retro Magnets at £17.50 for 12 awesome magnetic prints delivered to your door. Our Cheerz photogifts review is here...

We've been playing Loony Quest for a couple of months now, and this very different 'board game' has proven a massive hit in our house. Just as much fun for my 7 year old as it is for the teenagers and adults, it plays through levels like a platform video game, beating the bad guys and collecting bonus points as you try and survive to the end. All the best video games have expansions to give you a little bit more, and so does Loony Quest.


We've been sent the Loony Quest: The Lost City Expansion. This is an add-on pack, so you need the original game (here's our Loony Quest Game Review) in order to play the Lost City levels.

We love Loony Quest, it's a really funny board game that is great for anyone aged 8+ in the family to play, and everyone has a chance of winning. Our household has really enjoyed playing it and so I'm delighted that Esdevium Games have offered a copy to give away to one of my readers.


Loony Quest plays in a similar way to a platform video game - players progress through levels, beating bosses, collecting bonuses and avoiding obstacles as they travel. The aim of the game is to stay alive and be the first to the finish.

The description for Loony Quest was the most intriguing game description I've heard. Suitable for 2-5 players aged 8+, a physical game with cards and other equipment, but which behaves as a video game, requiring you to gain points and progress through a series of levels in order to reach an end target. It's a very different and quite bold concept, and does it work?


Well actually it does, and it works very well. In fact we've played this game several times now, and we haven't used even 1/3 of the cards, nor have we had any chance of learning them - but we have got better at playing, and we've laughed a lot.

Fruit Salad is an incredibly quick to grasp family game which is played using a set of 60 circular playing cards and 2 special dice. My 7 year old really likes this one, and as each game needs barely a corner of the table, takes 2-4 players and lasts only around 15 minutes, it's a great game for playing when you have an odd half hour to fill.


Fruit Salad is recommended for children aged around 6+ and I think that's right because it is fast and competitive, and if I played with any commitment I'd still frustrate my newly 6 year old as he simply wouldn't be as fast as me. My 7 year old though plays on a pretty even par, and can beat me regularly.

We've reviewed quite a lot of games from Esdevium recently, the latest being Disney Charades. This is a team game for 4-10 players aged around 6+.

The classic party game has the Disney makeover, and this a simplified version where there are clues, sounds and a limited number of answers, so younger children have a better chance of playing on an even level.


Disney Charades is presented in a gorgeous tin, which makes it an ideal game to give as a gift, and to take out and about. Charades can be played by people of all ages, so it's great for family games evenings. A little Disney knowledge is useful, but even if you don't have that you will learn as you go on, and can always take a guess.