Fun Freetime: Thames & Kosmos

Thames & Kosmos recently sent me some of their new games to try out. The games I tried are great, and they have quite a few other games available too, no matter what kind of gameplay you enjoy!

If you like escape rooms and want a way to bring that experience home, you can try EXIT: The Game. It's a series of games designed for up to four players. It does take a while to get through the game, and you can only play once, but it's much cheaper than a traditional escape room with the same style of puzzles. You can see your time and compare it against the average for a given number of players. Although the suggested age is ten and up, it worked just fine for my nine-year-old daughter - some of the puzzles were challenging for her but nothing was inappropriate.

I also got to try out Word Slam Family. It's a fun, fast-paced wordplay game. It took a little bit to figure out, but it was fun. It's a very flexible game, as long as you have more than three players. It's also suggested ten and up, but with a team environment, my nine-year-old did just fine.

Also available right now:

Ubongo – Fun-Size Edition
Players race to piece together interlocking tiles so they fit perfectly on their puzzle boards. Each player receives a set of eight tiles. The tiles are polyominos — geometric shapes formed of equal-size squares joined edge to edge in different arrangements. At the start of each round, each player gets a new puzzle board. Each player must perfectly fill the blank space on the puzzle board with tiles. Once the first player has solved the puzzle, the player shouts “Ubongo!” and the countdown is on: The other players must solve the puzzle within the time limit, or they will not earn any points. All players who solve the puzzle get a point, and the fastest player also gets a bonus gem worth one point. After eight rounds, the player with the most points wins.

Imhotep and IMHOTEP: A NEW DYNASTY Expansion Pack
Imhotep. The legendary architect of the Egyptian monuments. His awe-inspiring structures and brutal tactics earned him divine status among ancient Egyptians. Can you match his ruthless determination to build the most revered monuments? To do this, you will need to transport stone blocks on ships from your quarry to different construction sites. But you alone do not choose where the ships go. Your opponents have monumental plans of their own and want to prevent your success. A fierce competition for the precious stone resources plays out.

Lost Cities: Rivals
Use your cards to venture down expedition routes that take you to far-flung and mysterious corners of the Earth: to an abandoned mountain temple, a decaying circle of stone, a city sunken under the sea, an ancient Stone-Age settlement, and a town inside of a mountain. Your goal is to plan the routes in such a way that they bring you the greatest possible fame. If you are especially daring, you will also be able to wager on the success of your own expeditions. But watch out: You are not the only one traveling! Which routes will you pursue and how much gold is it worth to you? Plan well and use your resources wisely.