Breaking Games is an Indie card and board game publisher that is part of Ad Magic. As promised in my interview with Shari Spiro, CEO of Breaking Games, we are bringing you some great board games that won’t leave you bored in time to save yourself the long lines on Friday. I have been playing these board games for weeks with my family and cherish the new memories. Overall, the quality of these games is on par with games of larger companies. This is my first experience with Indie board games, and I have fallen in love with their quirky charm. All of these games are under $30, which considering the quality of materials\gameplay, you get more than you pay for.
Convert
Developed by: Ian Reed
Price: $30
Two players are invited to a 3D Tetris-inspired, color connect game of mental agility. Its unique composition seems to nurture that particular part of the brain in charge of spatial awareness. I’ve even enjoyed practicing this game by myself because it’s easy to set up and, as long as you leave the instructions intact, easy to put back in the box. This game is virtually indestructible, and its all wooden construction will handle just about anything you can throw at it.
My entire family enjoyed playing. It’s meant for two but can be cut down to one player or up to four if players want to work in teams. We found that we usually score a point every round of play. The crucial turns are those when a player blocks another from scoring. Then there are the golden turns where a player can score two points in one turn. Those times can turn the tides of a game. I enjoy getting the more complicated pieces into the mix early to avoid leaving them unplayed later in the game. The smaller pieces make for excellent double scores if you get lucky, and finally, the larger flat pieces cover a lot of ground right before the end of the game.
Pocket Dungeon Quest
Developed by: Jeff Dehut
Price: $25
Venture into the depths of the dungeons with trinkets found in the bag in your pocket! This game takes a few to organize, and the sheer number of pieces put my husband off until I had it ready. It took less than 2 minutes to set up and is such a cute take on the often serious genre of dungeon delving. All four of us could get into this game, but no need to gather a party. I found that I could manage four player tokens just fine by myself. I couldn’t win with just one player token, though. I needed the power of the team, even if I was the one controlling them all.
The “board” in this game is a nice piece of fabric that will lay across your table and fold up to fit in the provided bag. This pocket-sized dungeon bag and board can travel with you anywhere, but beware, don’t lose any of the pieces; you will need them to traverse this dungeon and complete your quest.
Breaking Games has some of the best Indie board and card games with family and adult friendly options!
Hypo-Thetically-Fun
Developed by: Liam Nguyen
Price: $25
This particular game should be geared more toward adults, as it’s for ages 17+ due to some of the content. I did let my 9-year-old play but took out the cards that I didn’t think were appropriate. The other major obstacle for the little ones in this game is the lack of life experiences. On the other hand, my 15-year-old seemed to take to the game, and he prefers the story cards over the silly category.
There’s no getting around having more than one player for this one. The game mechanics aren’t as challenging as some of the others, and there are some typos on some of the cards. However, this game is a great way to get to know one another. Hypo-Thetically-Fun will be a blast to play with more people around the holiday table with some eggnog!
Infinite Jonathans
Developed by: Kurt Bieg and Ian Reed
Price: $20
Oh, Infinite Jonathans how I love thee and wonder if game designers Kurt Bieg and Ian Reed wanted to break up entire families with their little cards of destruction. We often push cooperative games with the boys. So, when we pulled out a game destined to break your heart, they were a bit confused. Infinite Jonathans is a world where you must collect bodies, er, trophies to ensure supreme Jonathanism over this reality.
We found that the boys would spend all of their “Jonergy” early and were always playing catch up. This game has a three-player option, but four is much easier to finish and, frankly, more fun. It’s inevitable though that someone will be unhappy with your choices. Just make sure it’s not you! This is a family board game sure to become a hit at our house.