KILLER BUNNIES AND THE QUEST FOR THE MAGIC CARROT -- Playroom Entertainment

Card Game
2-8 Players -- 12+
publisher: Playroom Entertainment
list price: $30
author: Jeffrey Neil Bellinger
artist: Jonathan Young

Be the bunny with the most carrots at the end of the game, and you are the winner.  But watch out for killer bunnies and a whole host of wacky weapons and other death-inducing traps.

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We love this game!  The youngest (ten) asks for this game the most, and generally nobody turns down the chance to play this game.

What are the attractions?  Humor, strategy, challenging other players (not just trying to out-play someone), and the fact that it's different every time we play (different cards in our hands really changes the way it's played).

And the downsides?  It's not a 'simple' game.  As four of us discovered on New Year's Eve, trying to play this on a standard card table, it takes up a lot of space.  We were cramped, th four of us, with cards layered on top of one another.

We find that we will play this game over most others if we have the time (forty-five minutes to an hour).  We've also established a tradition -- we play this game on Easter!

A fun game!

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SHUT THE BOX -- Front Porch Classics

Dice Game
1 or more players -- 8+
publisher: Front Porch Games
list price: $60

Roll the dice and lay down any combination of tiles that match your roll. Keep rolling until you can't match your roll on the remaining tiles. Low score wins; lay down all the tiles and you've "shut the box".

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We pulled this one out of the game closet for some quick play time while watching the ball drop for New Year's Eve.  I can't remember the last time that I, or anyone in the family, played this.

It's just about as simple a game as games can be, and looking at its history, I can understand the reason... people getting off ships look for a little relaxation and financial wind-fall, play something that each of them knows, can play quickly, and moves easily.  This game has it all.

It is an attractive game because it doesn't rely totally on chance (the roll of the dice) -- one needs to have some 'plan' based on the numbers rolled.

It did move a little too easily and the boys got bored with it after a short amount of time.  I managed to finish with a '3' -- which seems appropriate as that's how I rate this game.

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