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Drew & Sara Anderson | Family Board Games

@saraalwaysloses

7.1K

followers

5642

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🎲Board Game Recs + Reviews
🧡Screen-free fun for couples & kids
📍Western Nebraska
✨Game lists & hidden gems
👇Follow for your next favorite game!

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👋 Hi, I'm Sara and here are some things you might not know about me:

🎲 I'm a tabletop gamer! My husband and I both grew up playing classic board games, but about 9 years ago we picked up a copy of Forbidden Island and got hooked on modern board games and all the amazing things they can be! That one game blossomed into a collection of over 300 games and sharing my love of the hobby through photos and videos here on Instagram and also on YouTube!

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 I'm a mom to two wonderful kiddos. Emma is 10 and will be a 5th grader this fall. Hazen is 8 and will be heading into 3rd grade! We spend a lot of time together, and they've picked up the gaming bug too!

🎶 I'm a music teacher heading into my 17th year in the classroom 😱. I teach K-12 vocal music in a small rural town. I love that I get to watch my students grow from itty bitties to wonderful young adults!

🤝 I really love co-op games! I love getting to experience a game together rather than competing with people I love. Some of my favorites are Pandemic, Dorfromantik, Sky Team, Groundhog Day, and Forbidden Island.

♟️I'm not gonna lie, if a game has custom meeples, I'm probably going to buy it!

📺 I really want to help you spend more quality, screen free time through board games! You'll always get honest recommendations and opinions here. None of us want to get to the table and have a bad experience! If you're looking to learn more about this amazing hobby, hit that follow button!

I'm so excited to keep sharing our tried and true faves as well as some new gems that are coming out soon!

What else do you want to know about me?

#boardgames #boardgamesofinstagram #boardgameaddict #boardgamecouple #boardgamefamily
Board games family couple co-op by @saraalwaysloses

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2 years ago

👋 Intro Post

It's been a while since I've introduced myself around here!

Hi!

I'm Sara and I run this little account with my husband Drew, daughter Emma, and son Hazen. We live in rural western Nebraska in the US, so our family is pretty much our game group!

We absolutely love tabletop gaming! About a year ago we were lucky enough to win a game room makeover, and that has transformed our gaming lives! Having a dedicated space for playing has been a game changer (pardon the pun 😉).

We generally try to play games every day, but don't stress if it doesn't happen. This is supposed to be a fun hobby, not a job!

We mostly enjoy lighter to mid-weight games. That's not to say we won't break out Darwin's Journey every once in a while, but that's not our everyday gaming life.

If you stick around, you can expect our honest thoughts and opinions on games, especially those for families and couples. We firmly believe there's a game for everyone, but not every game is for everyone!

So, stop by and say hi in the comments! We love to connect with other gamers!

#boardgames #boardgamesofinstagram #boardgameaddict #boardgamecouple #boardgamefamily
Board games family couple co-op by @saraalwaysloses

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2 years ago

✨️INTRO POST✨️

👋Hi! I'm Sara, and my husband Drew and our two kids make up my gaming group. As gamers in rural Nebraska, we're pretty limited on other gamers in our area, so 99.9% of our gaming happens at home as a couple or as a family.

♟️Our gaming journey started with just a few games, but our obsession grew and grew! Nowadays, we try to balance getting a few new great games while still tabling our faves. In fact, we've set a challenge for ourselves to play all our games at least once each year, so we have to be pretty selective about what stays in our collection! Also, since we're both busy teachers, we don't have the time or resources to spend on games we don't love.

👀Follow us for games that play great as a couple and as a young family, as well as tips on how to fit more games into a busy schedule!

#boardgames #tabletopgames #boardgamesofinstagram #boardgamesarefun #boardgameaddict
#gamenight #familygamenight #boardgamer #boardgamegeek #boardgamecouple #boardgamefamily #boardgamers #boardgamesofinstagram #boardgaming by @saraalwaysloses

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3 years ago

🦖King of Tokyo: Godzilla

👥 2-6 players | 🕰️ 30 minutes | ⚖️ Light weight
Published by @iello

We’ve played King of Tokyo. We’ve played King of New York. And now we’ve taken our monster battles into the Godzilla universe.

We’ve always enjoyed the original King of Tokyo, but this version might actually replace it on our shelves. 👀

Is it just a prettier version of the same game, or do the changes make a difference?

Let’s talk about it! ➡️➡️➡️

If you haven’t played the original, think of King of Tokyo as battle Yahtzee, but with giant monsters.

Each turn, roll six dice to attack your opponents, heal, collect energy for special abilities, or score victory points.

You’ll also battle for control of Tokyo. Stay in Tokyo and earn points, but watch out! Everyone else can attack you, and you can’t heal while you’re there.

Be the first monster to reach 20 victory points, or the last one standing to win.

This Godzilla edition also introduces event cards that shake up the game, and an option evolution mini-expansion that gives your monsters new abilities!

I mean, look at this production! 😍

The artwork, wooden components, monster standees, and little gold details are fantastic. This really feels like an elevated version of King of Tokyo.

But it’s not just a pretty face.

The new event cards and optional evolution abilities added just enough excitement to make the game feel fresh again.

We sometimes find ourselves in a stalemate with the original, waiting for things to ramp up. This play fel much faster, and I really appreciated that.

It’s still the King of Tokyo we know, just with a little extra personality!

As much as we enjoyed the changes, this is still very much King of Tokyo.

You’re rolling dice, so luck is going to play a big role. You’re attacking other players, which means plenty of confrontation. And yes, player elimination is still part of the experience.

If those things bothered you in the original, this edition probably isn’t going to change your mind.

And while the additions made the game feel more exciting for us, they don’t fundamentally change how it plays. If you’re already perfectly happy with your original copy, you may not need anot by @saraalwaysloses

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4 days ago

Your spooky game night is at the end of a colored path👻

Pick your color, then follow it as you swipe to find your drink, your snack, and finally your board game. No peeking at the reveal! 💜❤️🧡🩵

We’re giving a few games beyond the usual Halloween lineup their moment in the moonlight. 🌙🎲

Which color did you follow, and would you play the game you got?

Want to try your drink or snack? Let me know your color and I’ll send you the recipe! 🍹

#SpookyGameNight #HalloweenBoardGames #BoardGameNight #BoardGameCommunity #TabletopGames by @saraalwaysloses

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5 days ago

Respectfully, my answer is no.

Unless you're asking if I want to play a different game. Then absolutely yes.

#boardgamememes #boardgamereels #boardgamehumor #boardgamelife #saraalwaysloses by @saraalwaysloses

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5 days ago

👻Ghosts Love Candy Too

👥 2-6 players | 🕰️ 20-45 minutes | ⚖️ Light weight
Published by @25thcenturygames

Forget trick-or-treating. These ghosts want all the candy for themselves.

This is a quick, silly family game about haunting costumed kids, collecting your favorite candy and occasionally causing just a little chaos for everyone else.

Swipe to see why this has earned a place in our spooky season collection ➡️

Each player has the same nine ghosts numbered 1-9. Choose one each round to determine where you’ll haunt and in what order things resolve.

Haunt a kid and you’ll collect the goodies in their bag, and potentially the kid card itself. Those kids can bring points, penalties, or special abilities.

After all nine ghosts have been played, score your candy according to your personal candy cravings, subtract your junk, and add any points from kids you’ve scared.

Most points wins!

This is exactly the kind of family game I want during spooky season: easy to teach, quick to table, and silly enough that nobody needs to take it too seriously.

I especially love the individual candy cravings. Everyone values candy differently, which keeps all the treats desirable instead of having everyone chase the same thing.

And then there are the ridiculous kid abilities. We guessed which hand was hiding candy, and tried to tell jokes without making someone laugh. Those little moments give this one a lot of personality.

There is some take-that hiding beneath all that candy. You may steal treats, change the order of ghosts, or otherwise ruin someone’s carefully planned turn.

There’s luck, too. The candy you want might not come out, and some potentially valuable kid card combinations may never appear with such a big deck of cards.

And while the artwork is cute, it isn’t necessarily a production I’d pull off the shelf just to admire.

Families are the obvious audience here.

Drew and I probably wouldn’t reach for Ghosts Love Candy Too as a 2-player date-night game, but with the kids? Absolutely!

If you want Halloween theming without anything actually scary, or just need a quick game for an October family game night, this is a great fit.

Ghosts Love Candy Too is qu by @saraalwaysloses

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7 days ago

Friday means it’s time for #firstimpressionsfriday🎲 created by @kay_plays_games and currently hosted by @nerdygirlgaming , and this week we played The Pumpkin Problem, part of the Holiday Hijinx collection from @grandgamersguild !

We’ve been working our way through the collection, and I’m continually amazed by how much puzzle solving can fit into just 18 cards!

Swipe to see what we thought about this installment!

The Pumpkin Problem is an 18-card escape room game that uses a companion website to guide you through the adventure.

You’ll solve puzzles, enter answers online, and unlock new cards and instructions as you progress.

I don’t want to give anything away, but I’m always impressed by the creative ways these games turn such a tiny deck into a full puzzle solving experience!

We had a tough time getting started with The Pumpkin Problem than with some of the other Holiday Hijinks games we’ve played.

We definitely needed more hints, and I’d put this one toward the higher end of the difficulty scale.

It wasn’t quite as innovative as the Groundhog Gambit (still my fave!), but it certainly gave our brains a workout.

My biggest complaint is that a few of the puzzles really needed to be written on to solve them.

We used dry erase markers hoping to keep everything reusable, but they still left marks behind.

Since these are one-and-done puzzles, we’d really love to pass them along for someone else to enjoy. I wish this one had been a little more resettable.

But there’s something so satisfying about finally cracking a puzzle you’ve been staring at forever!

Those moments when someone suddenly sees the solution and everything clicks into place are exactly why we keep coming back to escape room games.

Even when they’re making us feel a little ridiculous along the way 😂

Obviously we won’t be replaying The Pumpkin Problem now that we know the solutions, but I’m excited to keep exploring the rest of the Holiday Hijinks collection.

These are staying until we’ve finished the collection, then hopefully moving on to another puzzle-loving family.

What’s the most satisfying escape room or puzzle game you’ve played?

#escaperoomgames #puzzlegames #halloweenbo by @saraalwaysloses

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8 days ago

🧛Fury of Dracula, 5th Edition

👥 2-5 players | 🕰️ 120-180 minutes | ⚖️ Medium weight
Published by @avalonhillgames

One player is Dracula. Everyone else is hunting him across Europe, trying to decode his hidden path before his plans mature.l

This is tense, theatrical, and very interactive, but is it worth committing to for an entire evening?➡️

Fury of Dracula is a one-vs-many hidden-movement game. Dracula secretly travels across Europe, placing encounters and trying to grow his influence, while the hunters work together to track him down.

The hunters win by dealing 15 damage to Dracula. Dracula wins by reaching 13 influence through maturing vampires and defeating hunters.

It’s basically one long game of cat-and-mouse with vampires.

I expected Dracula to feel overpowered, but the hunt felt much more balanced than I anticipated. Emma and I were actually able to track Dracula pretty well and shut down several encounter cards along the way.

There’s also a lot going on between the players: cooperation between the hunters, mind games during combat, and trying to predict where Dracula is headed next.

This is one for people who love interacting with the other players at the table.

The biggest gameplay issue for me is the length. We played for more than 2 hours, and still didn’t finish. If I’m honest, I was ready to wrap things up around the 90-minute mark.

This edition does include a shorter-play variant with a smaller board and fewer cards, and I definitely want to try that before making a final call on how often this hits the table.

I also really wish Avalon Hill and Hasbro had chosen to hire human artists for this edition rather than using what they describe as “digital art enabled by AI.” On top of that, the card quality and minis feel a little underwhelming for such a classic title.

If hidden movement is your thing, Fury of Dracula is absolutely worth playing. If this edition’s artwork choices give you the ick, track down a 3rd or 4th edition copy to try.

It’s especially suited to groups who enjoy one-vs-many games, deduction, table talk, and spending an evening fully immersed in one experience.

And as a spooky season game? It’s hard to beat by @saraalwaysloses

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9 days ago

🚀Excursions

👥 1-6 players | 🕰️ 60-90 minutes ⚖️ Medium weight
Published by @kinsonkeygames

There’s something incredibly satisfying about spending a game upgrading your company, planning the perfect cruise, filling it with guests, and finally sending everyone into space.

Excursions calls itself a more streamlined take on the Galactic Cruise Experience, but don’t mistake streamlined for simple. There are plenty of decisions packed into those 60-90 minutes, especially when every action you choose might help your opponents too.

👇When it comes to strategy games, would you rather have more depth or a better chance of actually getting it to the table?

#excursionsboardgame #strategyboardgame #tableaubuilding #boardgamecommunity #tabletopgaming by @saraalwaysloses

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10 days ago

7,000?! 🎉

What started as a place to share the games we love has somehow turned into a community of 7,000 people who understand that some of the best moments happen around the game table, whether you win or not 😉

Thank you for every recommendation, comment, share, conversation, laugh, and “you NEED to play this” that got us here.

We’re so grateful you’ve chosen to be part of our little corner of the board game world.

Here’s to more games played, more memories made, and, if history is any indication, plenty more losses from me 😂

Swipe to see our "k" celebrations throughout the years➡️➡️➡️

Now I want to know: how did you find our little account? 👇 by @saraalwaysloses

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12 days ago

Finally, all my training is paying off 😂🏅

What has been your latest game purchase?

#boardgamereels #boardgamememes #boardgamehumor #boardgamecollection #saraalwaysloses by @saraalwaysloses

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13 days ago