Game Night: Apples to Apples
I’ve been a little MIA this past week I guess.
And it was good.
But I’m back now and it looks like the sun is back too and I am incredibly grateful to see blue sky.
(Rainy weather. It always gets me down.)
Last week I taught the kids how to play Apples to Apples.
We’ve been trying to learn new games together and I love introducing them to other games that they are just now old enough to enjoy.
I guess I forgot how outdated Apples to Apples is.
And how little old school pop culture my children actually know. (Which is a lack of knowledge I am perfectly happy to allow them to maintain.)
In Apples to Apples each player has a handful of cards with words on them – celebrity names, places, proper nouns, situations etc. One other player has a card with an adjective written on it. That card’s adjective is read – daring, bold, insulting, intelligent – and every player must hand that person a card that they think describes or fits the adjective shared.
First of all, Otto and Piper cannot consistently read the cards by themselves, which makes their entries all the more hilarious.
Quickly embracing what skills he did in fact bring to the table, Otto would always hand his chosen card to the player with a bold flourish and a loud proclamation of “random!”, which never failed to both make us all laugh and to be completely accurate. (Yet, somehow, he won many rounds with his absolutely random selections.)
Often times I found myself forced to give a quick bio of Julia Roberts or a two second description of the Cold War. Which made me laugh at myself.
I think I need to do a little research and see if someone has come up with a kids version of the game – or a somewhat updated version. Because I think we need one of those. The idea is really pretty fun and I think the three big kids would really get into the nuances of the game play if they had a better clue who the people on the cards were – instead of James Dean and and the Bates Motel and John Philip Sousa. (Can you tell me who he is without a Google search?)
This weekend we learned Dutch Blitz, which some us just loved. Last weekend Aaron sharpened our BlackJack skills. If I think about it I’ll toss up a post about the newest version of the classic Life game we recently acquired.
Until then, my friends, if you’ve got a game we should try – let me know about it. I’ve got to get some options in our rotation so we hear “Let’s pick Monopoly” less often!
21 Comments
Jessica
Games, we love games. From Uno, Sequence, Blokus, Farkle (helps with math skills), all the way to Settlers of Catan. I may introduce bananagrams soon to my oldest.
laceykeigley
Oh yes -banagrams – that’s in our game room. I need to pull that one out. I’ve never been able to get into Farkle. Maybe I’ll try it again. Or maybe it’s the math skills I don’t have.
Sam Kyker
Maybe sometime we could teach London and Mosely Ticket to Ride. That’s Caroline’s and my favorite game to play with each other.
laceykeigley
Sam. I love that idea.
Meaghan
We love Animal Upon Animal! My girls also have fun just playing with the animals beyond the game rules, so that’s an added bonus.
Erin
There is an Apples to Apples junior version that we have played at our house. Games that our family enjoys are Phase 10, Monopoly Deal (a card game based on the board game), and Skip-Bo.
laceykeigley
Phase 10 – I’ve never played that one.
SkipBo is rolling around our house but with no directions and I can never recall how to play it.
By the way – it’s nice to see your comment. I hope you have been well! 🙂
Erin
I found the rules for Skip-Bo:
http://service.mattel.com/instruction_sheets/42050.pdf
Hope it works for you.
I have been well. Thanks!
laceykeigley
thank you!
Lana
We enjoy playing Yahtzee with our grandchildren. Yes, it is an old fashioned game but it teaches them strategy and all ages enjoy playing it.
laceykeigley
Yes! Yahtzee.
I haven’t gotten that one out with the kids.
Next on my list! Thanks for the reminder.
Meghan
That should say card-based 🙂
Meghan
We love Sequence… It is a cars-based strategy game that can be played with 2 single players or in teams. My 5 & 7 year olds can hang with it – although the 5 year doesn’t really use strategy but has a 50/50 win rate :).
laceykeigley
Oh yes- Sequence. My mom loved that one! (There is a Sequence for kids too.)
Crystal
I love those – Apples to Apples, Dutch Blitz, Monopoly, Life!! I have so many wonderful memories of game playing over Thanksgiving. Remember Aunt Vonnie and Balderdash?! If you need a slower version of Dutch Blitz for the little ones, Mom has pulled out a game called Muggins with Flinch cards, very old cards and I haven’t looked yet to find anything now days. Also, we also really like Telestrations. I’m looking forward to some of those game days with my kids. Right now it’s Old Maid, Go Fish, and Candy Land, which we are enjoying!
laceykeigley
Ah – if you cannily Candlyland more than once a year – you are a better woman than I. CandyLand and Chutes and Ladders – my least favorites! 🙂 You should try Spot It games with your kiddos – those are great fun for little ones.
I absolutely recall all that glorious game playing. I would love to re-do those years with our kids one day. Maybe we should pick Thanksgiving 2017 or something and plan far ahead! (I’ll get on that.)
Crystal
Do it! That would be so fun!
laceykeigley
okay!!
tracy
We love games at our house. Ticket to Ride is always fun. Pic-Wits (spelling?) is one that everyone, even the littles can play. Q-bits, Blokus, Chess, Settlers of Catan, Clue, Headbanz, Uno….I just got up and walked around our house looking at games for ideas. Have fun! I think one of the things I like about the kiddos being a little older, is that we can play more board games with them.
laceykeigley
I love that age of playing games too.
We have played Ticket to Ride but don’t own that one. I’ve never played with kids though.
Thanks for the fun ideas!
Natalie Long
There is a Bible version of Apples to Apples we really enjoy 🙂 and I think there is a kids version too!