I thought I was prepared for schooling from home during COVID. I’m 30-years-old and if there’s anything that this year taught me, it’s that things that used to work for us, no longer work at all. When we’re not arguing with the kids to go to bed, for the love of god, please just sleep, we’re fighting with them to stay awake during the school day. Quarantine has been cruel to parents and we’re all desperately looking for anything to keep our keeps occupied and in good spirits.

In our quarantine pod we have a collection of 6 children, each with their own very unique personality and learning style. They are all differently-abled and have intensely different ways of thinking so it’s been a bit of a puzzle for me to figure out just the right games to play with them that will keep them not only engaged, but also happy. Nobody wants to play a board game with someone who doesn’t want to be there playing a board game with this many kids around, and only 3000 square feet between our two houses. We’re currently on a break due to the severity of increase in COVID cases due to the holidays but, they have played a critical role in everything I’ve learned since March about what motivates people in tabletop gaming.

Now, I don’t get to play a ton of board games that I’m not doing work on these days, which means I have to tailor all of the games I enjoy to the RIGHT kids if we’re going to keep them all engaged, learning and enjoying playing tabletop games with us. Most people who say things like “I hate board games” usually have memories involving having their turn skipped, or watching as their friend lands on free parking and gets rich beyond recovery. The good news is that everyone has learned a ton about game design since those games were first made, and now we’re designing games with very little down time that focus on keeping all players engaged for the whole duration of the game, rather than just engaging players on their turn. So, I asked myself, when it comes to the games I have to play over the next few weeks, which kids are the right fit for which game?

Keira is quiet but always paying to everything and keeping score, without anyone noticing. We call her our Disney Princess because she’s the sweetest kid in the world but if you challenge her, she’s not going to back down and she never forgets ANYTHING. If I need to find something in my house, I don’t even bother asking anyone else, if Keria’s hanging out, I can ask where ANYTHING is that I’ve lost in the last 48 hours, and she can tell me. It’s as impressive as it is terrifying.

Sam is our sweet but quiet kid who very genuinely melts my heart any time we interact. He’s super quick to catch on to games and loves to interact with and talk to the other players. He has a huge personality and a tendency to do fantastic impressions of people, which has recently made us all hyper aware of how much he actually pays attention. He consider himself our little comedian.

Kilian is the KING of external validation which means he lives for player interaction. He wants to talk about everything with everyone. He wants to hear that he’s done a good job and more importantly he wants to make sure that every single other player at the table feels loved and supported as well. He’s our social gamer, he’s curious about EVERYTHING and he’ll learn a lot, provided that he can pause long enough to hear what you say before he asks you another question. We’re pretty sure he’s hiding a second set of lungs.

Silas’s take on life is basically, “None of you are qualified to be the boss of me.” Which means he’s the most RUTHLESS opponent at a game table because he will ALWAYS make the move that’s best for him, regardless of what anyone else thinks or says. Lets just say I don’t win a lot of games when I play against this kid, but it does mean that I always get the challenge I’m seeking in a game when I play against him.

Hailey is our “I don’t play board games any more” board gamer who absolutely loves board games as long as I’m not there to crush her in them. She would never admit this, of course, but when it comes to being back-handed and slimy, she can’t WAIT to see the reactions of the people around her.

Figuring out which one was just right!

Now, the reason why I mention all of these personality traits is because it’s important if you’re going to understand how I picked the perfect board games for each of them, to create the absolute optimal experience. As I mentioned before, I don’t get to spend a ton of time playing games these days if I’m not actively designing them, which is why when Calliope Games hired me on to do a marketing job for them I was absolutely delighted by the idea, because it would give me the opportunity to play each of these games with these kids in addition to playing them with other adults. There are three games in the collection and it took me almost no time to sort out which one would be a good fit for each kid.

First up was Enchanted Plumes. Silas, Kilian & Myself are big into Enchanted Plumes. Silas has a brilliant numbers mind and once he understands the rules of a game he’s incredibly apt at sorting out how to steal the win. Kilian always comes to the table with a bright attitude, especially if it means he gets the opportunity to chat with or even banter with other players. While Enchanted Plumes at times might feel a little brain-burny, Kilian was always making sure that while players were thinking hard about their next move, they were also laughing and having a great time. He’s truly an entertainer which is great, as long as you don’t mind a little distraction. I used this game to get the kids thinking more about numbers, addition and subtraction. It was a fun way to see their wheels turn, adding up and subtracting numbers, without any of them realizing they were doing math for fun.

Mass Transit

No kid likes staying home with their parents when they’re using to seeing their friends every day at school. Getting to see them all smile and laugh created one of the few refreshing and uplifting memories we had in 2020 and I’m grateful for those memories, which is why I’m so obsessed with Mass Transit.

When it comes to cooperative games, Sam, Kilian and Keira are always all-in. If they have a chance to work together, they’re going to support each other and communicate especially if I’m at the table. Keeping the energy around the table high is really important when you and at least one other person at the table has ADHD. Mass Transit was perfect because the turns were fast enough that nobody got distracted before their turn rolled back around and during the other players turns, they were all thinking about their next move. When we lost over a single card we laughed so hard it hurt because of Sammi’s relation to the loss. Despite playing dozens of games since then, this is the game that really stuck, not just because of their reactions, but because of the very goofy memories we made trying to work together but ultimately, failing to accomplish our mission. I think we all learned something about cooperation, communication and perseverance during that game session.

Allegory

On the flip side, we have Allegory, which is the perfect game to play with Hailey and Cassie. These two kids are the most stubborn children I have ever met in my entire life. I love them with all of my heart but they drive me COMPLETELY up a wall, which is precisely why playing games like this is so much fun with them. They’re direct, they’re determined, they’re vocal and they’re engaged the entire game. Granted, they tend to gang up on me, but in this game, we manage to work around that by having one piece of hidden information that they don’t know that will score me, and only me, bonus points. They can attempt to sabotage me if they like but they’ll have to figure out what my bonus points card is first.

Now, we have a ton of other board games from Calliope in our collection as well. Hailey’s favorite board games for YEARS were Tsuro and King of Tokyo, and she CRUSHED Ray and I at Menu Masters when she was just 5 years old! They’re a company that we’ve always loved and admired because they’re phenomenal at finding games that keep all of the players actively engaged in the game play while still making them all feel as approachable as any game you’d find in a big box store like Target or Walmart. In fact, some of their games are in those stores, but the reason I wrote this was to demonstrate how important mom & pop tabletop gaming companies are.

Calliope is one of two companies whose games my daughter is willing to try no matter what. That’s saying a lot, given how many board games board games she’s played in her life time with two parents that are obsessed. I think we counted up over 1500 board games combined. The approachable art style has always been engaging to her and easy to understand, yet, I’ve never felt bored playing a game with her. They always do an incredible job balancing just the right amount of luck and strategy and best of all, if you’re in the Seattle area you’re almost always sure to see them at local gaming charity events as they’ve been an incredibly important staple in the board game community for a very long time.

Calliope does so many things right with their games. What stood out to me at first was how easy they were to learn and teach. Each game had mechanics that beautifully reflect the artwork paired with it. Every action players take in every game feels meaningful and every person I’ve had the opportunity to work with at the company has been helpful, compassionate and endlessly talented. As we finish out the last 48 hours of our campaign, I would love to see us break 650 backers. If you can help me get the word out about how great these 3 games are, I would love it! You can even try them all digitally for free on Tabletop Simulator.

Calliope Games, is what community looks like. They are a small family owned business If you have the means to back this campaign, you can get all 3 games for just $40. If you can only get one, for $20 you can get Mass Transit or Enchanted Plumes or for $25 you can snag Allegory.