Christmas gaming

It is nice that finally, with at least one of the kids, we can start to play again some board games and it is nice that she likes to play too (although when she is in a bad mood she has very hard time to accept to lose or the game rules).

This Christmas we have played two games: Letters to Santa and Sagaland.

Letters to Santa was a present we got last year, when we had our epic Christmas party.

Letters to Santa

The game is quite simple, but there can be some nice strategy played based on thinking how many cards are around in the game and also, observing a bit the other players' behaviour. The goal of the game is winning 4 game rounds. For doing that one can kick out of the turn the other players or by having the highest card at the end of the game.

There are 8 different types of cards and each of them has a specific action associated. Some of the actions can result in getting the other players out of the game, but mostly there are cards exchanges and views and if one plays smart, there is a good chance to be the winner. 

A minimum amount of luck is required, but that is ok, considering that the game doesn't become frustrating and still skills are valuable. 

A perfect quick family game that has conquered us all!

Sagaland is instead one present that Santa has delivered to Isabella. The setting is cute, based on the classical fairytales (Rapunzel, The princess and the frog, ...) and the mechanics are quite simple, although the complexity of the game can be high. Many different strategies can result in becoming the winner. 

On the board there are 7 symbols hidden under a tree. One card at the time shows which symbol one must search and "report" to the king in the castle. The winner is the one that has managed to collect most cards. 

To do that one should have quite good memory. But there are different strategies that can be applied, mixing bluffing with intuition and, thanks to the "magic" element, a good dose of randomness.

Sagaland board

It is not always easy to play with kids, because it is already complex to explain how one can roll and count the dice (there is quite some flexibility), but even though one doesn't explore the whole game depth with them, the game can still be intruiguing.