Monthly Archives: November 2020

Toys

How To Enjoy Family Gaming Remotely

Connect and Play

With the pandemic firing up once again to record numbers people are rightfully concerned about travelling to see loved ones for the holidays. Zoom calls are okay but what happens when you run out of things to talk about and you want to play a game? One of the things that we enjoy in our house is being able to play games, put together puzzles and share time together during the holidays. It is a great time to slow down and enjoy some fun board games. I have reviewed so many and have a stack of them that I want to take with me to our Thanksgiving visit to my parents. But what if we could not be there in person and still wanted to pay a game. Well Asmodee has launched a site called Connect & Play that has instructions on how to play their physical board games via video conferencing services like Zoom, Google Meet and Skype. They have instructions for remote play for games such as Dixit, Just One, Dobble/Spot It!, Sherlock Holmes and Time’s Up (Amazon.com Affiliate Links).

Early on in the Pandemic my family did a game night where my sister and her husband bought us a game and shipped t to us through Amazon.com. They then ordered us dinner at one of our favorite places and we all ate dinner together and then played the game together. With the Connect & Play site you can do the same thing and use their instructions to play some of the Asmodee games remotely. I have included our Amazon.com affiliate links in this post so that you can order the games for yourself and your family members and give this a try. If you cant be there in person you can at least enjoy a game together.

Review, Video Game

All the Struggle of The Oregon Trail in Your Pocket

The Oregon Trail Micro Arcade

Sper Impulse sent me a free review copy of their Micro Arcade game The Oregon Trail.

Back in the 80’s computer class consisted of playing The Oregon Trail. That was it. We’d do computers like once a month and we would be able to play The Oregon Trail. In this game you have the task of taking your family of 5 from Independence Missouri to Oregon. It was near impossible to do. You had to keep track of supplies, clothing, oxen, ammunition and the ever present dysentery. Most 80’s kids know the sting of suddenly dying of dysentery along The Oregon Trail. It happened to me often enough. Now you do not need a big honking Tandy 80 from Radio Shack to experience that pain, you can carry it in your pocket. As you can see.

I died

but in all seriousness it is a great little piece of nostalgia that you can take along with you and play whenever you’d like. Who knows, you might be able to cross a river and not lose half your supplies, your wife and some oxen. You may be able to survive harsh Winters and make it all the way to Oregon. Will you be a Banker, A Carpenter, A Farmer or a headstone somewhere in Montana. The history of the development of this game and how it became so popular is fascinating. Now my own kids can experience that same feeling I got while playing this game. Frustration filled with hope that at some point I would survive and make it to the end of the trail.

The physical gaming piece is very cool. It is a totally stripped down piece of tech with six buttons an LED screen a little larger than a postage stamp, sound and it is USB rechargeable. It retails for $20 and is a great stocking stuffer for that 080’s kid in your life. If you are so inclined to purchase it as a gift please consider using our Amazon.com affiliate link below.