New Family Favorite

Our family is all about playing games together...whether it be a card game, a board game, or a good 'ol fashioned game of catch in the backyard. We recently purchased two new games that we have been having a blast with.

The first, which is new to our family but has been around since practically the beginning of time is Mancala. I've seen the game in the store dozens of times and have always passed it up. It just looked to simple, basic, and to be honest -- not all that exciting. Imagine my surprise when I sat down to play and realized how absolutely addicting this game can be! "Little Man" and I have had nightly "battles" this week in a light-hearted attempt to totally decimate one another with our mad skills. Turns out he might actually be a better player than I -- for the moment anyway!

The second, which was introduced to us at my brother-in-laws house late in the evening one night while we were all sipping cocktails is Bananagrams. I haven't yet introduced this one to "Little Man" but I'm sure this is one I could beat him at...I mean I can spell WAY more words than him, right? At any rate, I'll be pulling this one out sometime before the holidays to try to teach him the tricks of the trade. And if you don't have kids but like to play games with other adults...it turns out that playing this simple-concept game after "throwing a few back" is pretty darn fun and provides a few hilarious moments of its own during game play. Especially if you have a couple of uber-competitive folks in the mix. They are sure to battle it out in this one -- not that I'm referring to anyone in particular. (You know who you are!!)

So here they are. Follow the links to learn more...or just check out the photos and then go scoop them up at your local Target or Walmart: