This text is part of the special booklet Culture as a gift
As the holiday season approaches, faced with the plethora of titles now available in stores, the choice becomes difficult. We help you see more clearly, in order to offer the perfect game to the perfect person!
1. Duet: “Splendor Duel”
You have already made a thousand conquests at the head of your brilliant civilization in 7 Wonders Duel ? You made a fortune and bartered camels, fabrics and spices in the colorful markets of Jaipur ? Then you are ready to face your favorite partner by fashioning the crowns and other sumptuous jewels of Duel Splendor, which joins the restricted circle of good titles reserved for two players. On one side, a pyramid of cards illustrating the jewels to be made. On the other, a checkerboard supporting colored pawns, heavy as poker chips, which represent the precious stones necessary for their manufacture. On his turn, the player takes up to three stones from the board, or spends them from his supply to craft a jewel. Some offer resources, points, or various benefits (like replaying a trick or stealing a stone from the opponent). Whoever navigates best between risk taking and resource management will become the best jeweler in the kingdom. With three ways to claim victory, anything is possible until the last card. In addition to a beautifully imaged Venetian palace theme, it is the perfectly oiled mechanics that will make you come back to this game. The whole thing is dynamic, pleasant to handle and pleasing to the eye, which makes Duel Splendor an excellent choice to introduce your other half to board games.
Splendor Duel,2 players, 30 minutes, $35
2. As a family: “Rail adventurers, the ghost train”
It’s not because the time of the pumpkins is behind us that we will sulk the new horrifying version of Rail adventurers, this great classic already sold several million copies. Having this time an amusement park theme, this version is intended for a young audience around 8 years old (even if their parents and grandparents will have at least as much fun). We keep the mechanics of the original game, to place our wagons in order to connect stations with evocative names, such as The Lost Barn or The Lair of the Mad Scientist… before another player does it for you! But the change is not just cosmetic. This version offers a tight game, sacrificing planning over several rounds in favor of immediate pleasure. Advantages: the rules can be explained in a minute, the games are very rhythmic and end within half an hour when a player puts down his last wagon. The turns are linked at full speed and no one has time to get bored. All this keeps the most impatient children around the table without them starting to fidget in their chair. The board is very nicely illustrated and while we regret that the wagons are made of plastic rather than wood, the overall quality of the material makes it a game that is quick to set up, exciting to play and easy to store. The key to success for a family game.
The adventurers of the rail, the ghost train, 2-4 players, 30 minutes, $50
3. For everyone: the Access+ collection
A superb initiative, this Access+ collection from Asmodée, which revisits certain playful successes to make them accessible to children suffering from attention disorders, emotional management, color blindness or dyspraxia. As much intended for childcare professionals as for parents, the first three titles published successfully meet their ambition of inclusiveness. The concept of always excellent timeline has not changed, it is always a question of emptying one’s hand by posing different historical events within a time frieze which becomes more complex as it lengthens. But the two difficulty modes, as well as the size of the maps, make it much more engaging for younger kids. On a purely therapeutic level, there are also twelve “personal experiences” cards, which will serve as milestones for the child to talk about his life based on the illustrations. Same for the classic Dobble which, with its larger illustrations and maps, is intended to be easier to handle. Finally, Cortex Challenge is a series of fun challenges that require observation as much as logic. It offers, again, several difficulty levels to adapt to all players and a series of amazing 3D maps to work on the sense of touch. Made in collaboration with professionals, here are games made with seriousness and conviction. A collection that we warmly recommend to parents of young children or children with special challenges, as well as to professionals, and which proves once again that play is still the best way to learn.
Access+ (Timeline, Dobble & Cortex Challenge), 1-4 players, 15 minutes, $35
This special content was produced by the Special Publications team of the To have to, pertaining to marketing. The drafting of To have to did not take part.