Have you ever wondered if a game was all it was cracked up to be? Especially a game with a gimmicky mechanic? 

We’ve all been there. A new game comes out that looks fun and different and we are instantly intrigued and curious. Sometimes it’s putting a fun twist on an old classic. Sometimes it’s just straight up different and we are squinting our eyes at it wondering, “Is that really as fun as it looks? Will it work for my kids?”

Let me tell you, we’ve had our fair share of buyers remorse when it comes to board games but also a fair amount of pleasant surprises. So in spirit of it being almost Halloween, we thought we’d run through some of our children’s and family games that have either tricked us or treated us with their gimmicks!

In our family, board gaming is a well loved hobby. Both my husband and I grew up at the table playing games with our families and it’s a passion that has followed us to adulthood and that we now have the pleasure of sharing with our own children.

My husband and I have spent the last ten years playing board games together. No, I’m not talking about seeing if we need anger management classes by playing Monopoly or choosing which career path we want to pursue in Life. I’m talking about making the life or death decision of which city to cure of a disease lest an outbreak occur in Pandemic, cackling like a maniac when you oust your opponent with a direct hit of four attack strikes to become the baddest monster in King of Tokyo, and smartly building and managing the best winery in pre-modern Tuscany in Viticulture.

One of our family’s favorite games to play is the Magic Labyrinth. In this game, players must navigate a maze to collect different items. The first person to collect five items wins the game – there’s just one catch, no one can see the maze because it’s hidden under the board! Players move a magnetized wizard on top of the board while below a small ball is sliding along the underside thanks to the power of magnets. Not visible to the players are the many path blockers that the ball can run into, breaking its connection with the wizard and rolling its way back to the start where the player must begin again, looking for a different path free of roadblocks to get the special item.

This game can be hard, and that is why I love it.