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You know, for kids.

xenothaulusxenothaulus Registered User new member
edited December 2007 in Games and Technology
I want some opinions on the xmas presents I've chosen for my older two (both boys, 9 and 12). I posted a thread a few months ago asking about the DS+Pokemon, but that fell through when money problems happened, so I've been restricted a bit. But I still wanted to get them "something cool" you know?

So, for the nine year old, I searched high and low for a GBA Pokemon game and all I found was green leaf something or other, in a bargain bin for $14. Is it a decent introduction to the Pokemon games? Like I said before, he knows all the character names and abilities, watches the show as often as I'll let him, has strategy books for the ccg, and has notebooks full of his own strategies. Oh, and this Robosapien which frankly looks Totally Freaking Awesome that I'll probably play with more than he does. :lol:

The older one is heavily into strategy games, both RTS and turn-based, his favorites being Civ III, Starcraft and Risk boardgame. He also spends hours creating his own, with pieces and everything. Deciding for him was hard, especially since his computer died recently so no new games for that (I had been thinking of the Warcraft Battlechest). So, I picked up Heroscape and a few extra guys and terrain pieces for it. I really don't know anything about the game though, having always looked askance at the miniature players during my DnD years. What's it like? Does it have a fairly complex ruleset? How customizable is it? The box makes it look great and I'm even interested in playing it, but then, that's what boxart is for.

I've "researched" these via searches and boards, but I constantly run into monkeys and/or fanboys and/or monkeyfanboys. And I don't trust "consumer reviews" on shopping sites. So any insight would be welcome.

xenothaulus on

Posts

  • DarkstrykeDarkstryke Registered User regular
    edited December 2007
    About leaf green pokemon, it probably would be a good introduction to pokemon games because it's a remake of the original games on the gameboy.

    Darkstryke on
  • VelmeranVelmeran Registered User regular
    edited December 2007
    Heroscape is quite possibly the most awesome thing in a box that you don't have to plug in for children. It's got all the introduction ideas needed for turn based table top miniture games, but in such a super quick and easy to learn fashion that kids can actually play it (try having an 8 year old learn Warhammer 40k rules...yeech).

    Heroscape comes with rules for Basic and Advanced game play, Basic = very very simple math and no advanced rules for the units (they just have a basic ATTACK/DEF rating and hit points), the Advanced rules allow more strategy and combo's between the different units and is what it sounds like your older son would play with against you, but maybe just does the Basic rules with his little brother (talk about a great game!)

    Also, because the terrain is modular and such, it will be great for all those games he designs himself, its like Lego's for strategy games. So yea, I think you did well on that pick :)

    Velmeran on
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  • EchoEcho ski-bap ba-dapModerator, Administrator admin
    edited December 2007
    Velmeran wrote: »
    Heroscape is quite possibly the most awesome thing in a box that you don't have to plug in for children. It's got all the introduction ideas needed for turn based table top miniture games, but in such a super quick and easy to learn fashion that kids can actually play it (try having an 8 year old learn Warhammer 40k rules...yeech).

    Because if he doesn't have money problems now, he will if they discover 40k. :P

    Echo on
  • MephistophelesMephistopheles Registered User regular
    edited December 2007
    So what are some other great gifts for kids from 7-12? I'm pretty much out of the Pokeman/Yu-Gi-Oh loop, but I have 4 nieces and nephews in that age range that I'm getting gifts for (2 boys, 2 girls). I normally default to books, but it would be cool to add in some CCG/boardgame stuff this year, or even videogames.

    Mephistopheles on
    "Friends are just enemies in reverse."
    - Gary Busey
    A Glass, Darkly
  • DarianDarian Yellow Wizard The PitRegistered User regular
    edited December 2007
    One of the best recent board games is Blokus; there are three versions of it out right now, a two player ("travel") edition using squares, the originial four player square variant, and Blokus Trigon, which uses equilateral triangles.

    All of them have the same mechanic: each new piece you play must be touching (at least) one of your other pieces, but only at the corners. My high school students love it (I teach math/chem in high school), but the concepts (geometric translation) are simple enough for late elementary and middle school students as well.

    Blokus Trigon is more advanced strategically (and the pieces are more complex to imagine, visually), but I own all three versions and all work well.

    Other good games...

    Hey, that's my fish!
    -Set up a bunch of hexagonal icebergs with 1-3 fish on each, then move penguins around gobbling up the fish. Playable by age 4 and up with 2-4 players; the more players, the more chaotic/less strategic the game becomes.

    Settlers of Catan
    -modern classic, building up settlements on an island; appropriate probably for middle school and up (3-4 players, with expansion sets available to allow 5-6 players)

    the classics: Othello, connect four, go, checkers, chess


    For puzzles, check out anything from Binary Arts; they make the popular "Rush Hour" series of puzzles, including Rush Hour Junior which my 5yo nephew really enjoyed receiving for his birthday. They also make "Zingo", a multiplayer visual bingo game for young children (ages 3-6 or so). They also make a starter Sudoku puzzle book with magnetic pieces.

    Darian on
  • Dr SnofeldDr Snofeld Registered User regular
    edited December 2007
    Echo wrote: »
    Velmeran wrote: »
    Heroscape is quite possibly the most awesome thing in a box that you don't have to plug in for children. It's got all the introduction ideas needed for turn based table top miniture games, but in such a super quick and easy to learn fashion that kids can actually play it (try having an 8 year old learn Warhammer 40k rules...yeech).

    Because if he doesn't have money problems now, he will if they discover 40k. :P

    Don't I know it...Orks ain't cheap. Plus it may not be appropriate for a kid that age, considering all the gore and darkness in the backstory, not to mention the fact that pretty much every Slaaneshi model has at least one exposed boob.

    Dr Snofeld on
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  • h8b1llg8tsh8b1llg8ts Registered User regular
    edited December 2007
    Did anyone else get the The Hudsucker Proxy referance?

    h8b1llg8ts on
    Coolest Guy I Know
    h8b1llg8ts.gif
    sig.gif
    MAX: Liz I really, really wish that this could be something, you know, more. But it can't. We're just...

    LIZ: Different.

    VOICE-OVER: It's September 24th, I'm Liz Parker and five days ago I died. But then the really amazing thing happened. I came to life.
  • CobellCobell Registered User regular
    edited December 2007
    h8b1llg8ts wrote: »
    Did anyone else get the The Hudsucker Proxy referance?

    I thought this was going to be a thread about a Hudsucker Proxy game... or something about hula hoops

    Cobell on
  • h8b1llg8tsh8b1llg8ts Registered User regular
    edited December 2007
    Nope just another Blue Letter. BLUE LETTER!!!

    h8b1llg8ts on
    Coolest Guy I Know
    h8b1llg8ts.gif
    sig.gif
    MAX: Liz I really, really wish that this could be something, you know, more. But it can't. We're just...

    LIZ: Different.

    VOICE-OVER: It's September 24th, I'm Liz Parker and five days ago I died. But then the really amazing thing happened. I came to life.
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