Holiday Gift Guide 2017: Gamewright Offers Award-Winning Games the Whole Family Will Enjoy (Review)

Disclosure: I was sent samples from the vendor in exchange for an honest review. All views shared are mine and mine alone.

If you follow my blog, then you know I homeschool my girls, and one of our favorite things to do is have a weekly game night on Friday or Saturday nights.  So, I am always on the hunt for fun new games to add to our game closet.  A recent search led me to Gamewright and their wonderful selection of award-winning family games.  I was surprised that out of all the games we owned or have played that we never played a game from Gamewright Games.

After reaching out to the folks at Gamewright, they graciously sent two games for me to enjoy with the girls -- Ranglin' Rabbits and Flashlights & Fireflies.  Here is more about each of the games I was sent along with my personal thoughts on each.  Both of these games were instant hits with the girls and a great addition to family game night...

The Cooperative Hare-Racing Dice Game

"It's a bunny break-out! A herd of hasty hoppers is headed for the hills, and it's your job to halt them. Work together as a team to corral the cottontails by flicking, lifting, and rolling the dice. But hop to it! There's trouble afoot if they all escape before you can mend the fences. Wrangle the rabbits and you're a 24-carrot champion!

We’ve played lots of cooperative games but we’re pretty sure this is the first cooperative dexterity game. Inventors Evan Eaton Rowland and Thomas J. Rabideau came up with this wildly whimsical game that highlights of one of the most obvious but least exploited properties of dice – namely their ability to “bounce”. As you wrangle all those bouncing bunnies, you’ll hone some valuable skills, like hand-eye coordination, estimating distance, and most importantly – team-work. Work your way up the ranks until your team reaches the level of Bunny Genius!"

My Thoughts:

I shared recently about trying out cooperative games with the games, as I have found the girls will get discouraged and not want to play a game if they are losing.  So, I was happy to see Ranglin' Rabbits was not only a fun 20 minute game, but that it was also a cooperative game, which means kids have to work together and there are no losers -- everyone wins.  I find that if I include a couple of these styles games in the mix when we gather for games, the girls enjoy the games more as they are not counting how many times they lost or get frustrated if they find themselves losing a game.

Unlike most dice games where you have to add up numbers, these dice have pictures on them -- carrots, fences, and rabbits.  The instructions of this game are easy to explain and understand, so you will be ready to play the game in just a few minutes of opening the box. And, there aren't a lot of pieces or game board to set up, which makes setups and clean up a breeze, too.

Working together you have to wrangle up the active and sleeping rabbits and corral them within a fenced area.  The more rabbits you fence in, the more points your team gets.  Game play ends after three rounds, so this is a quick 15-20 minute game that can be played when kids are looking for a game to play, but you don't have much time to dedicate to a more in-depth game.

My girls really enjoyed Ranglin' Rabbits, and loved rolling and flicking the die hoping to have them land on sleeping or active rabbits.  This game has become a staple for our game night selection, and the girls have even pulled it from the shelf to play on their own as it only takes a minimum (and up to 4) of 2 players (ages 6+)  to play this quick game.

---

The Game of Shine and Seek

"Get ready for a backyard dash-through-the-dark in this game of firefly-powered flashlight freeze tag! First, catch fireflies to power up your flashlight. Then shine it on other players before they sneak back to home base. All along, watch out for bats, raccoons, and other nighttime critters that are out to trip up your tracks. Be the first to reach home and you’ve out-shined the competition!

About the Game:

Few things bring smiles to our faces like the childhood memories of playing outside in the summer between dinner and bedtime. There’s something about that magical hour that gets at the core of what it is to feel freedom as a kid. Game inventor Jeff Johnston beautifully captures this essence in this elegantly balanced game that evokes both a sense the magical (firefly-powered flashlights!) and the exhilaration of running around in the backyard playing hide-and-seek in the dark."

My Thoughts:

The object of this game is to gather up enough fireflies to power up your flashlight, so you can light your way home.  The first one to reach home first wins.  While this is not a cooperative game, it was full of action that the girls forgot when they were losing, as they were having so much fun rolling the dice and collecting firefly token.  This game goes through four phases -- Hide, Catch, Shine and Sneak.  And, try not to get frozen as the other players might just sneak closer to home while you wait for your next turn. :-)

My girls really enjoyed Flashlights & Fireflies.  This one does have a game board and more pieces than the Ranglin' Rabbits game we were also sent.  But, it was quick to set up, the rules were easy to understand and explain to the girls, so we were quick to set up and play.  This is also another relatively quick game as it lasts about 20 minutes.  Perfect for kids ages 6+, this game can accommodate from 2 to up to 5 players, making it a perfect addition to your family's game night.

--

I am so happy I stumbled upon Gamewright and love how they are based out of Massachusetts, where I was born and raised.  I have already picked up a few more games from Gamewright to wrap and put under the tree for the girls this Christmas, and can't wait to see their faces when they unwrap them...and better yet, gather around the table to play these new games together.

If your family loves to play games, and you love to give games as gifts for the holidays -- or you are just looking for some fun new games to add to your family's game collection, you will want to make a point to visit Gamewright to browse their selection of award-winning family games, all members of your family will enjoy playing together time and again.

Disclosure: I was sent samples from the vendor in exchange for an honest review. All views shared are mine and mine alone.