Friday Night Is Games Night >>>

Friday night in our house, it’s a fun way to kick off the weekend and spend some time as a family. We were excited to test out a couple of new board games this week – ‘Indigo’ and ‘Asara’

Indigo – named for the deep shade of blue obtained from the Indian indigo plant – is a board game of intricate pathways and twists with players competing to gather precious gems, including the blue sapphire. Game play involves laying pathways along the board on which players move gems to the exits on the board’s edge. The exits can belong to them or be shared with another competitor. If the exits are shared, each player is rewarded with a gem. If it belongs to only one player, all the gems go to that player. Indigo is a quick-play game with simple instructions for two to four players, ages 8 and up.

We loved this game. It was fairly simple to grasp the rules, and it was fun trying to get the gems out of our gateways. Baya played for a little bit with me, but obviously was a little young. The guide age is 8+ but Kiki at 6 managed it fine. It was a fairly fast playing game, which with littlies is a good thing!

Asara is a strategic board game for 2-4 players ages 9+, who assume the roles of famous architects. Players compete to build the highest, grandest and largest number of towers over four rounds of play. Each step of the way, the architects must keep their sights set on their work as they overcome obstacles and competitive forces and strive to gain prestige points for their building achievements. The player who earns the most prestige wins. A nominee for the 2011 German “Game of the Year” Award from “Spiel des Jahres e.V.”, Asara was created by celebrated, award-winning game developer Wolfgang Kramer. 9+

Asara – well, this was a little bit more complicated. More than this mama brain could manage. We got the board set up, and stumbled at the first hurdle! I don’t know if it was me, or the rules… I couldn’t quite get my head around how to play. I knew what we should be doing, just not the how! We played a made up version that was pretty fun, but at some point we’ll attempt it again, maybe with Papa! It seemed a lot more complicated, and longer playing than Indigo – certainly more suitable for over nines. I’m sure once we fathom the rules out we’ll enjoy a proper game!