Dice, Decks, and Boards: Dungeon Drop

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Adventurers! Are you ready to explore an ever-changing dungeon? Then you'll love the game Dungeon Drop from designer Scott R. Smith and Artist Marília Nascimento. This game allows you to create the dungeon as you go using small cubes of varying sizes which serve as pillars to form rooms, the monsters guarding the rooms and treasure, as well as treasure of various value. 

What Is the Game Dungeon Drop? 

The game itself is self-contained in a small box, but the playing field will encompass your entire table as you drop the dungeon. One to four players will enjoy three rounds of dropping the dungeon and looting the dungeon over the course of about twenty minutes.

"Venture into an ever-shifting labyrinth teeming with untold treasure. Colorful cubes represent gold, gems, goblins, and more. Raid the rooms that best suit your hero's quest, but stay alert – the dungeon changes with every drop. Grab the most loot and become the Dungeon Drop Master!" (from the box) 

During Dungeon Drop, you assume the role of a brave hero who takes turns with the other players to explore the dungeon. You select your hero by choosing one random Race card and one random Class card. Race cards include humans, Boblins, high elves, dwarves, and others. Classes available include mage, cleric, bard, beastmaster, and more. These cards give you different choices of actions you can make, as well as your initiative score.

One player sets up the game by dropping all of the small cubes (plus the large dragon cube) on the table from about 6 to 12 inches in height. Be careful you don't lose any cubes! This is the dungeon where players will add additional cubes on their turn and then create rooms to loot.

What Do You Get? 

Dungeon Drop includes everything you need to play the game. The box contains the following: 

• Four player aids
• Four turn order markers 
• One score tracker
• Four Meeples
• Four solo tokens
• Four teamwork tokens
• 87 cubes
• Six custom dice 
• Fifteen Race cards
• Fifteen Class cards
• Ten quest cards

How Do You Play Dungeon Drop? 

After the dungeon is set up, initiative (that is, which player goes first) is first determined based on the initiative number on the Race card. In the next round, it will be determined based on the weight carried (how many cubes you have collected during the previous rounds).

During a player's turn, there are three things to do:

1. Explore: Draw cubes from the box without looking at them and drop them into the Dungeon.
2. Act: Use either their Race or Class ability. 
3. Loot: Form a room using the gray, shiny cubes as pillars and collect the cubes. 

The quest card selected helps players determine which cubes they want to try and collect. If they have a quest card where the clear cubes are worth more for scoring, they might want to focus on only collecting those particular cubes. Or perhaps they want to have the fewest number of cubes because they receive extra points for having the lightest weight. 

Players play three rounds and then everyone counts up their score based on their quest card and the scoring information in the ruler booklet. The player with the most points wins. 

What Do We Think? 

This is an easy game to set up (as long as you don't lose any cubes off the table) and clean up. As long as you have a large, flat surface, you can play this game almost anywhere. The box itself is rather small, which means it can fit in between your larger game boxes and tuck neatly in a bag to take with you. 

We haven't played the Heroic "Teamwork" Game Mode or Solo Spelunker versions yet, so I can only speak to the basic game. In general, I think this is an enjoyable game. There is competition, but it is not "in your face" and the points can fluctuate depending on which new cubes are adding to the dungeon or if any of the pillars are moved.

Our daughter who does not enjoy competitive games played this one rather readily without any tears. She and I played as a team (there were five of us at the table), and even though we went last, she was very patient. Each players' turn can take a while as they try to line up the pillars to create rooms in the form of triangles. Everyone definitely wants to see if they can collect the cubes most important to their quest. Sometimes, players get to flick cubes around the table in attempts to better their loot scoring!

Overall, I think this is a very fun game and I would recommend it. Is it educational? Well, any game helps you work on compassion, teamwork, and good sportsmanship. This one definitely helps you think about triangles as that is how you form rooms with the pillars. There is also some arithmetic involved on a few of the quest cards due to varying gem cube bonuses and values. Beyond that...I think it is just a fun game to bring families and friends together.

Interested in More Game Reviews? 

We play a lot of games in our family. Some are ones that I have reviewed in the past for Timberdoodle such as Penguins Huddle Up™ or for HomeschoolingFinds.com such as Math Sprint while others are ones we have picked up over the years. Here are a few favorites:

• Dice, Decks, and Boards: Mermaid Island
• Dice, Decks, and Boards: The Oregon Trail ®
• Dice, Decks, and Boards: Raccoon Rumpus
• Dice, Decks, and Boards: Tenzi Game and Tenzi Card Deck

Dice, Decks, and Boards: Ghost Fightin' Treasure Hunters

This post contains affiliate links. For more information, please see my Terms of Use and Disclosure Policy page. Thank you.

We love board games in our house, especially cooperative games! We haven't been able to play a lot of games as a family lately but as our home life and homeschool shift, we will be playing more games together. Perhaps even instituting a family game night. 

Family Game Night Ideas 

Speaking of family game night... do you hold one with your family and friends? There are so many great ways you can get together for games and there are so many games! We enjoy everything from board and card games to roleplaying games to video games, and we have played all these different types of games together. Here are some ideas you can try with your family and friends. You can host:

• A game night featuring cooperative games only 
• A game night featuring competitive games 
• A game night with family and friends where everyone brings their favorite short game to play 
• A virtual game night where you play video games remotely with your family and friends 
• A game night for roleplaying - create pre-generated characters or start an epic dungeon campaign 

A Few Favorites 

In the past, I have shared many games that our family enjoys from one of our favorite video games to how we used roleplaying games to inspire a birthday party. Games provide a great form of entertainment that allows our family to not only spend time together but work together too. 

On my blog, you will find a variety of favorite types of games including: 

Tenzi Game and Tenzi Card Deck (a review courtesy of Timberdoodle): This is a fun dice game taken to a new level using the deck of cards which changes how the game is played.  

Roleplaying: Our family enjoys roleplaying games, so much so that we have hosted roleplaying birthday parties for our oldest son.

Cooperative Games: Our daughter loves games where we all work together to win the game. She loves games like Mermaid Island because we have a common goal and we either win or lose together as a family.

Video Games: As much as we enjoy board games, dice games, and card games, we also love playing video games together. Minecraft has become a family favorite because we can all play together in one world.  If your child is a fan of Minecraft, I have shared several posts over the years including crafts featuring the letters of the alphabet or pixel art and a Minecraft-themed birthday party.

Ghost Fightin' Treasure Hunters 

While searching for unique Christmas gifts, my husband found Ghost Fightin' Treasure Hunters on a recommended list of cooperative games. As we like to purchase at least one game for Christmas each year, this seemed like the perfect game to purchase. Each game playthrough is different as you and your teammates draw cards, place ghosts, collect treasures, and make decisions. So, it has immense replay value. And the fact that we work together cooperatively also meant that our daughter would be more willing to join in our first play-through attempt. 

What exactly is Ghost Fightin' Treasure Hunters? 

From the back of the box: "In a dark and dreary house, every sound sends a cold chill through your bones. A door opens - is someone there? You hear whispers, but no one answers when you call. Your eyes and ears may deceive you, but the hair on your neck tells you what you already know: there are ghosts here." 

You and your teammates are on a quest to discover the 8 treasure jewels that are scattered throughout the haunted house. As you draw cards, you will either advance without adding any more ghosts or haunts, or you will add ghosts to the different rooms in the house. By adding ghosts into the house, you will be increasing the haunt level. If the house is fully haunted before you get all the treasure out, you will lose the game.

What Comes with the Game? 

With your game come all the necessary components to play Ghost Fightin' Treasure Hunters, including a set of instructions that provides you with the information to play the basic game and the advanced game. The advanced game adds in a few extra cards which will advance the haunting of the house as well as lock doors to the different rooms. 

Also included is the following: 

• 1 Game Board
• 4 Treasure Hunter Movers 
• 19 Cards 
• 24 Ghost Movers 
• 6 Haunting Figures
• 1 Movement Die
• 2 Fighting Die
• 8 Treasure Jewels 

What Do I Think? 

Due to the cooperative nature of Ghost Fightin' Treasure Hunters, this is a big win for our family. I love the fact that winning the game requires players to talk to each other and strategize. During one game session, we talked about who would team up with whom in order to defeat ghosts, to be able to escape rooms with jewels. (If there are two Treasure Hunters in one room with a ghost, you can roll two battle dice, giving you a better chance to succeed.) 

I am impressed with the quality of the pieces and the cards. If one plans on playing a game multiple times with children, it is nice to find all the pieces are well-made and have a sturdy box for storage. Each item goes in its own spot in the box which makes cleaning up rather easy, too. 

I would recommend Ghost Fightin' Treasure Hunters to families who enjoy playing games together. If you enjoy cooperative games, then this is a good challenging game for you and your family. In the half-dozen or more times our family has played the game, we have only won once. While it is difficult to beat the game, it is not difficult to learn how to play. No one was so disappointed in our previous losses that they didn't want to play the game again. I think this speaks volumes about the re-playability of a game.

It's not a scary game, only takes about 30 minutes, and is perfect for two to four players. I think you will enjoy playing Ghost Fightin' Treasure Hunters, too. 

Finding The Fun in Homeschooling: Adding a Puzzle into your Chemistry Course

Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this puzzle from Timberdoodle in exchange for my honest opinion. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. This post contains affiliate links. For more information, please see my Terms of Use and Disclosure Policy page. Thank you.

Our family had the opportunity to review a new item from Timberdoodle – 1000-Piece Periodic Table Puzzle. This year, our teen studied chemistry in our homeschool so I thought this puzzle would be a great way to spend time together as a family and review what our son had learned in his course.

The Periodic Table of the Elements Puzzle is made in the United States from recycled materials. When you are finished, it will measure 24" by 30". The pieces are die-cut. So, they do fit together smoothly. When you open the box, you will find a poster that shows you exactly what the puzzle will look like when completed and a plastic bag containing the 1,000 puzzle pieces.

All the pieces were in the bag! I know sometimes pieces can be missing with puzzles but not in this case.

We took turns passing around the poster as we were putting together the puzzle.

It took our family of five about two to three hours to put the puzzle together. For most of the time it was myself and our teen working on the puzzle with our six-year-old and four-year-old helping (they were trying to organize puzzle pieces by color). By the mid-way point, my husband joined in to help us and he took over putting together the title (Periodic Table of the Elements) which I was struggling with due to the fact that I could not figure out which way was up on the letters. I then progressed to working on the left side of the puzzle, while our teen continued putting together the entire bottom of the puzzle.

How Could One Use the Puzzle in Their Homeschool? 

Why include a puzzle in your homeschool day? I think there are a number of ways in which you could use this great puzzle that is part of the curriculum offered by Timberdoodle.

I can easily see students who are studying chemistry using the puzzle at the beginning of the semester as an overview to the periodic table. As they complete the puzzle, they will be able to get an introduction to all the new things they will be learning.

What happens when something you had planned as part of your chemistry curriculum goes wrong? When a chemistry experiment does not go as planned, this might be a nice way to regroup and have fun. You can even ask your child to work on the puzzle while you try to 'fix' the experiment or get together the supplies you need to try again.

Sometimes you think you have all the supplies at hand but you don't. If you can't find the materials you need for an experiment, working on the puzzle together would be a fun way to spend the time you allotted to science that homeschool day.

At the end of the course, the puzzle is a perfect review. This is really how we used the puzzle with our homeschooling teen. He had already completed his requirements for chemistry this year. So, this puzzle was a really nice way for me to see that he had learned a lot more than was seen through notes, quizzes, and tests.

All three kids putting in the last piece to the puzzle.

What Do We Think? 

I would recommend the Periodic Table of the Elements Puzzle to homeschooling families whether or not your children are studying chemistry. It is an interesting puzzle and I admit to wanting to learn more about the elements after having completed the puzzle with my family. Even our younger children, who have never completed a puzzle of this size, enjoyed the experience.

I think it is a well-manufactured puzzle. I think it will last through many adventures of putting it together and then taking it apart for the next time. My only problem with trying to put it together was with the spaces where there was a lot of white space (like the text: Periodic Table of Elements) but my husband easily took that part over for me. Once I started working on the elements I found it a challenge but not an overly difficult one.

This was the part of the puzzle I was struggling with so I was very happy when my husband took it over.

I love how each piece had a picture example with a small explanation.

Our teen's thoughts: "I enjoyed putting it together. One should probably be at least 10 to complete it, as it is quite large. The different colors made it easy to figure out which pieces went where and the symbols for each element also made it easier."

Timberdoodle includes great products as part of their curriculum kits and this puzzle is just one of the many awesome resources available to homeschooling families. I highly recommend checking out Timberdoodle and the 1000-Piece Periodic Table Puzzle.

Movie Review of Life With Dog – Hope Comes in Many Forms

It is nice to be able to sit down and watch a movie with my husband that is uplifting and entertaining. We recently watched Life With Dog from Mill Creek Entertainment. It is an interesting movie to review because even though it is a story about a man who loses his wife and is left without faith, there are some laugh-out loud moments that help lighten the tension. Personally, I felt the entire movie (106 minutes) held my attention and when I needed to leave the room, we paused it because I did not want to miss a moment.

Description from the back of the DVD we reviewed:

"After losing his wife Alice (Marliu Henner) in a mysterious bike accident, Joe Bigler (Corbin Bernsen) is left alone without Faith to help him grieve. that and the circumstances of Alice's accident leave more questions than answers, and Joe begins a fast descent into the dark abyss of uncertainty. But his salvation arrives when a Dog wanders into his garden and won't leave despite Joe's many attempts to rid him. Without so much as a single bark, "Dog," as Joe has named him, shares His voice; a deep love and comfort that Joe has never experienced before. With Dog's love comes the discovery of God's love, and a Faith that not only helps Joe toward the road to recovery but also the unsolved mystery surrounding his wife's accident, and the ability to finally grieve her passing."

Actors and Actresses 

Corbin Bernsen – Joe Bigler

I was previously only familiar with Corbin Bernsen from his role in baseball movies of the late 1980s and 1990s and his work on a law television show. I was very surprised by Bernsen's acting in the movie. I really felt like he was Joe and was living the sad months after his wife's death.

I really didn't know that Bernsen has acted in and produced about a dozen faith-based films over the past ten years. So it was a very pleasant surprise to see him as the lead in the movie that he also wrote and directed. Not for one minute was the movie overshadowed by my preconceived notions of who Bernsen was based on previous characters he had played. This for me is a big win in recommending a movie because sometimes there are actors who can't get away from previous roles. They are truly typecast but I do not think Bernsen has that to worry about – at least from this viewer.

Marilu Henner – Alice Bigler

Even though I knew who Marliu Henner was prior to watching the movie, I was not overly familiar with her as an actress. I enjoyed the brightness and honesty her character, Alice, brought to the movie as she conversed with Joe. It is almost a shame that the tale takes place after her death so we could not see more of Henner in the movie.

Even though I like movies, I am more a fan of older movies so I was unfamiliar with the other actors  and actresses. For example, Chelsey Crisp plays Zoey, Joe & Alice's daughter, and I don't recall seeing her in any movies but she did a wonderful job of trying to be there for her dad while still giving him the space he may need after her mom died.

Overall, I felt the acting was very good. For example, when Norman is being questioned by Joe, we can feel his anxiety and nervousness in the situation.

Finally, let me mention Dog played by Monty. He arrived at the perfect time in Joe's life. A companion that Joe needed even if he didn't want to admit to it himself. Dog came in through a few bent/broken fence pieces and ingratiated himself right into Joe's broken heart. Dog (Monty) is quite a lovable animal – the perfect animal companion who brings closure to the story.

I love that movies have subtitles! With young children we usually watch movies with
the subtitles on to make sure we don't miss any of the plot. 

Location, Music, and Plot line 

The entire movie is set in and around the home of the Biglers which a development company wants to purchase. This potential buying of the house is integral to the choices that Joe makes during the movie and are part of what gets him in trouble multiple times. He even thinks the development company may be linked to his wife's death.

The background music was perfect for the movie. It did not distract from the plot nor drown out the voices of the actors. There were no numbers with lyrics which is a nice change of pace from most movies.

Throughout the movie Joe speaks with his deceased wife, Alice. The moments are usually to help propel the story along as something big is happening in Joe's life. She isn't actually there and we really don't know if Joe thinks he is physically seeing her, just remembering previous conversations and making up new ones, or we are just seeing a visualization of his imagination.

When rewatching the movie, I see how the very opening scenes provide the viewers with so much information about Joe and his family. From the boxing gloves sitting on the bureau to a photograph of children, I can see in a second viewing a lot of foreshadowing and storytelling told in a mere few minutes.

Potential Spoilers 

Some of the information that was revealed regarding Joe Bigler and his family prior to the death of his wife was very saddening. We learn that his daughter Zoey had a twin brother who died. During the telling of this tale to the Pastor, Joe explains how he turned to God for help for his son but was not heard. His prayers were unanswered a second time when he prayed over his wife's hospital bed.

It was during this meeting with the Pastor, who Joe was seeing because he promised his daughter he would, we learn a lot of information as to why Joe feels the way he does in regards to God and religion. Sadly, I see many who feel this way regarding unanswered prayers and God. I think this makes Joe an even more realistic and believable character.

End Potential Spoilers  

Thoughts 

I admit that at the end of the movie – when the credits started to run – I was upset. I wanted a bit more closure. What happened to Joe? How could they leave the movie like that? Was I supposed to come to my own conclusion whether or not he found faith again? Nope...we did get an ending that appeared on the screen shortly after I voiced my concern to my husband. See why we need to watch till the end of the credits?

One of my favorite parts is the beginning of the movie when we see what Joe and Alice's home looks like after her death and prior to her death. The dirty dishes in the sink, mail piling up, dead flowers in the vase are all signs that I have seen before in the lives of people close to me. I think the difference between the darkness in the house and the light, cheery nature when Alice is shown in the home is a very accurate way to demonstrate how people's lives can change with death.

I also do not know if I feel that the Dog adequately represented "His voice" as implied on the DVD jacket. I know that the Dog taught lessons to Joe throughout the movie – just with a simple look that caused Joe to rethink what he was or was not doing – but I do not think it was overtly sending a message from God. Perhaps that is due to the nature in which Corbin Bernsen chooses to send his messages. In reading a few of Bernsen's interviews, he states he does not want to make 'preachy movies' but instead ones where people are figuring out their connection to God. That is a big part of what Life with Dog is all about – Joe figuring out his connection and relationship with God after the death of his wife.

Would I recommend Life With Dog? Yes, I would recommend it. I do not think young children should watch the movie as there are some scenes where Joe is very upset and angry, punches the wall, and threatens a representative from the development company and a banker. However, I did not have any problem handing the movie to our teen and asking him to watch it. I think it all depends on personal choice and a teen's level of maturity.

I would also recommend watching it a second time about a week or so after the first viewing. I discovered many new things by watching it a second time but still reacted in the same way when Joe is angry and hurting.

And what did my husband think?

As a widower himself, he felt Bernsen's portrayal of a grieving husband was both accurate and heart wrenching. My husband quoted from C.S. Lewis' own reflections in his book, "A Grief Observed," who wrote, "No one ever told me that grief felt so like fear." Bernsen's acting conjured that sense to my husband and he wondered whether Bernsen even knew of the book or not. Either way, he said the actions of Joe were believable.

If you are interested in picking up your own copy, you can do so starting June 4, 2019 at Walmart. It is also available via other sites including Amazon.

If you would like to learn more about Mill Creek Entertainment, please visit the following:

Website – Facebook – Twitter – YouTube

Available at Walmart June 4, 2019.

If you are curious as to what other members of the Homeschool Review Crew had to say about Life With Dog, please visit our review link up.

Dice, Decks, and Boards: Cauldron Quest

This post contains affiliate links. For more information please see my Terms of Use and Disclosure Policy page. Thank you.

We love cooperative games for kids. Therefore, the games we have from Peaceable Kingdom have not disappointed us. They "believe that children (and adults!) thrive when they work and play together in respectful ways. Cooperation encourages bonding, teamwork, shared decision making, trust, and emotional health."

Cauldron Quest is a game for two to four players aged 6+ that takes about 20 minutes to play. The object of the game is to get the three correct ingredients into the cauldron before all six paths on the board game are blocked. The story of the game is that there is an evil wizard who has cast a spell that will destroy the kingdom. The players have the power to break the spell – but only if we work together! We must find the three correct ingredients and move them down the paths to the cauldron.

"Work your Magic! Break the Spell!" 

Game Pieces include:

• 6 plastic potion bottles with ingredient stickers 
• 6 cardboard cauldron ingredient disks
• 6 cardboard path blocker disks
• 1 cardboard wizard hat & plastic stand 
• 1 cardboard spell breaker token
• 3 action dice
• 3 "magic dice" (normal D6) 
• 1 circular game board
• 1 set of instructions 

The set up and instructions for play are clearly written with appropriate illustrations to further explain the game. On our first play through, I read the instructions prior to playing and referred to them during game play. 

Our entire family – 3-year-old, 5-year-old, teen, and parents – played the game. Except for our daughter wanting to use her own pink dice, we all were able to play the game successfully. We even won!

I would recommend Cauldron Quest to families of young children, day-care centers, preschools, and others. It is fun and will have a good replay value as things change each game play with different ingredients needed and the rolling of dice.

 

Looking for more posts about games and gaming? Please check out the following: 

Dice, Decks, and Boards: The Oregon Trail ®

This post contains affiliate links. For more information, please see my Terms of Use and Disclosure Policy page. Thank you.

 

"You have died of dysentery." 

This Target exclusive is based upon the classic computer game that was first produced in 1974. While many may remember playing the original computer game by themselves or in small groups huddled around a desktop computer, this card game is for two to six players ages 12+. The card game includes 58 trail cards, 32 calamity cards, 26 supply cards, 1 laminated wagon party roster, 1 erasable marker, 1 die, and illustrated instructions.

In The Oregon Trail ® card game, your goal is to have one member of the wagon party survive the journey from Independence, Missouri and reach Willamette Valley, Oregon alive.  Everyone in the collaborative game works together to build the trail which has a number of rivers to ford and obstacles to overcome.

I think the most difficult part of the game occurred when we were down to only three players but no one had trail cards that match up to the previous trail. We made very little progress as we had to keep picking up new trail cards until we got one that matched.

One member of our party made it across the 2,040 mile trail to reach Willamette Valley, Oregon while the rest of us succumbed to disease and snake bites. 

I would recommend this card game to families with older children and teens. I think the best way to boost your odds to win the game is to have a large wagon party so you can overcome the calamities and reach Oregon. 

Resources

Want to learn more about the Oregon Trail?  Take a look at some of these sites. 

The Oregon Trail: $100 Drink of Water 

EDSITEment's If You Were a Pioneer on the Oregon Trail Lesson

Classroom's Oregon Trail Facts for Kids  

You can also read more about the Oregon Trail here!

I linked up with the following blog(s):

Dice, Decks, and Boards: Hoot Owl Hoot!

This is a non-sponsored post. I am sharing my opinion with you regarding this product because we have enjoyed it in our household. Affiliate links included.

My children received several new board games from family recently.  So far I think my favorite one is "Hoot Owl Hoot!" which is a cooperative game for two to four players, ages 4+. The game, produced by Peaceable Kingdom, has received a Parents' Choice Silver Honor award and a Best Toy Award from the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio.

Instructions are printed inside the box lid thereby preventing one from losing them over time. The game includes one game board, one sun token, six owl tokens, and fifty cards.

The instructions clearly explain the setup (three levels: beginner, intermediate, and challenge level), how to play, and provides strategy hints and tips.
 

The company Peaceable Kingdom is also committed to creating games which are safe for families and the environment.  It is stated "all of the plastic parts in our games are made using a corn-based plastic."

My four year-old found it really easy to understand the directions and eagerly helped the owls make it to their nest before sunrise. My two year-old even played quite successfully with my help. And because the game does not take long (about 15 minutes) to play, no one lost interest and we could play several times.

The only change I would make is making each owl a bit different looking so it is easier to reference them with my children.  For example, each could be numbered, a different color, or some other such difference.

I would recommend this game to families of young children.

I linked up with the following blog(s):