Month: January 2017

Or don’t. Monkey Business is a stacking game with gee, monkeys. There are multiple variations, but the main principle is stack monkeys, only a certain quantity are allowed to touch the table, and best out of three is the general implication for most of the games. You can do best out of one if you are in a rush or if it best suits the scenario in another means.

I like that this is a visual game. Instead of the theoretical stacking, you get to actually physically place the monkey there, which is good for people who have trouble visualizing without a diagram or some-such.

The downside to it being a visual game is that when you are placing the monkeys, you have to have a very steady hand so as to not knock anything down. The table or board must be very solidly placed, and not wobbly, and you should not play with a tablecloth (the wrinkles make it hard to place pieces flat).

Another reason I like Monkey Business is it builds creativity. There are multiple types of monkey (the position the monkey is standing in), so you can’t just stack them. Some things you can do include balancing them on their backs and hanging them by their tail off another monkey. It takes a lot of creativity, cleverness, and a still hand to make this work.

Anachronism is a non-random collectible card game. Anachronism is a way of learning about ancient peoples and how they fought. Anachronism is… fun!

As I said, Anachronism is a collectible card game. You collect the different sets of warriors, weapons, armor, inspirations, and specials (random other stuffs). Each card has its category (of the above named), its special bonuses to help you as you play, and a little sentence or two explaining the history of the given object. The base game is the board and William Wallace against Joan of Arc. But there are many others…

William Wallace is Scottish, though they call it Celtic [for simplicity]. Joan of Arc is French. These are not the only nations. Some collectibles include Japanese, Greek, Norse, and Roman!

You can mix and match cards to get the set you want. I find this convenient, as it makes game play much more interesting.

Just like with every game, however, there are some kinks in this armor. The font on the cards for the historical info is quite small, and the writing is too close to the border of the card. On some cards I also wish they put more historical info on, instead of just one sentence.

Then again, this game is unique because the collectibles are real warriors, real weapons, and real armor types. It gives you historic facts to explain the importance of each. And one day, instead of playing, you may find yourself idly sitting on a couch, reading the facts and making full sets of armor, instead of just one piece, as used in the game. One day, you may find yourself looking through and going over to an adult, and saying something like, “Did you know sometimes the Scottish used to fill the castle moat with thistles instead of water?” (True fact, on the Celtic starter inspiration card).

I find this game quite fun and educational. I hope you will play it and enjoy it as much as I did!