370... Poker

For the last three years we have been playing Poker with our friends the Howards. The kids love the Poker chips, and cards and have wanted us to teach them to play. Tonight was the night. We were looking for something new to do and I thought why not Poker? The kids were so excited. 

Carson was the first to get on the board with several winning hands. His nickname was Bulldog and for awhile he thought he was indestructible. 

Cosmic Crusher (Ms. Maddie), and Storm (Mr. Jack) had a few good rounds each. Jack took losing the hardest and still has a long way to go when it comes to learning how to play. 

Ember (Ms. Makenna) was on fire. She played her cards smooth, had unbelievable luck and was totally on fire. She killed both John and I tonight.  She loved being the winner and has agreed that a once a month family Poker night would be a great thing. 

I was very impressed with my girls. They both seemed to grasp the game, and made great plays and moves. The boys absolutely loved it. They loved throwing the chips, and making the deals. They just need a little more practice on how the game actually works. 

As for John and I, we loved teaching them. It was nice to play something other than the typical kids game. I think a once a month Poker night is in order. I see a 2025 VEGAS trip on our family bucket list!! 

Day 362... IN A PICKLE

Today we played IN A PICKLE.. 

Makenna got this one a few years ago for her birthday. 

Trying to decide if anything in his hand would work. 

Poor Kenna did not win a single round!!

Maddie with her circus card!

Jack was our winner!! He loves games and he loves to win!!

This was a fun game and the last one for the 365!! We have played close to 30 games this year and have definitely found some new favorites!! 

Day 352... Hangman

Today was Carson's last day of school. I wanted to have a special snack for him to celebrate. He LOVES these Super Pretzels and I never buy them. The other kids loved them too especially dunked in chocolate!!

We decided to go for easy, stay at home fun today as the rest of the week is go, go, go!! We played Hangman. I usually do this on paper with the kids and did not even realize that we had an actual game of it on our shelf. This one had a garage sale ticket price of $1.. Gotta love finding games at garage sales. 

It is designed as a 2 person game kind of like Battleship. We played it differently since their were five of us.    One person came up with the word and then the rest of us tried to guess it. Whoever solved the puzzle then got to be the next one to come up with the word. Lots of  fun. 

Jack almost had us stumped on this one. 

Day 348... Rummikub

John is working today and Carson headed out on an overnight date night with Aunt Teresa. That left the four of us for fun.  I threw out lots of options. In the end everyone decided they just wanted to stay home. We decided to play Rummikub. We have had it since Christmas of 2010 and it was still in the package. This game is for 2 to 4 players not 6 so it worked perfect for us today. 

1st step each player picks number tiles. 

Next you try to organize them. 

Once you have 30 points in your own hand you can put the tiles on the table. They are then available for everyone to play off of. The first person to get rid of all of their tiles is the winner of the round. 

GREAT GAME!! Thanks Aunt Sarah and Uncle Trip for introducing it to us. I think with practice this will become a new family favorite!! Challenging, educational, and fun!! 

Day 324... CLUE

Tonight we played our first ever family game of clue. I used to love this game as a kid!!

 My kids were excited to pick out their characters. They were kind enough to give me the old maid character of Ms. White,  Jackson was Professor Plum, Maddie Ms. Peacock, Kenna Ms. Scarlette and of course Carson was Mr. Green!

They liked pretending to be inspectors, and making the accusations!! 

Ms. Scarlette Making her move!!

Carson showing Maddie a clue!!

Jack was certain he had figured it out. Mr. Green, in the lounge, with the revolver!!

Sadly he was off by just a little bit.  

It was Mr. Green, in the the ballroom, with the revolver. 

Maybe next time buddy!! 

Day 319...Brainteasers

I was really excited this week to find this set of Brain teasers at the Goodwill. I paid $2 for all of these. They were all in one tin still wrapped in the plastic. Score!! I love getting new games but will only buy them when I can get a deal or steal!! 

Ready to play!!

Daddy and Maddie teamed up first on a turtle and the hare race game!!

The boys chose to do a racing game first.

Kenna and I played challenger!!

Jack (the red peg) thrilled with his race car victory over me!! 

These are a lot of fun.. Such a steal at $2. I would pay that much for the Triangle Conqueror game that you typically find on the tables at Cracker Barrel Restaurants. The tin appears to have come from Target if you are interested in trying to find something similar. My tip is to keep your eyes open at thrift stores, garage sales, and yard sales. That is where I find most of our games!!

Day 312.... STARE

We played a really fun game tonight called Junior Edition STARE.

Each player is given 30 seconds to stare at a picture card. 

Then, based on the number that you rolled you have to answer a question on the back of the card. 

Some are easy, and others are quite tricky.

The first person to get around the board is the winner. I picked this up at the thrift store at Christmas time for $2. I checked and it is available on Amazon for $22 new and $12-$15 used.  We loved this game and had so much fun playing it. It is perfect for ages 6-14. It was lots of fun for all of us and I have a feeling will be a new family favorite!! This would make a great birthday or Christmas present. Family fun at it's best!!

Day 277.. Hand Olympic Games!!

You have heard of the Hunger Games right?? Well how about the Hand Olympic Games?? Nope me either. Jackson came up with an original idea tonight. It was to have a Hand Olympic Games Tournament. 

Carson and I warming our hands up for a round of arm wrestling. 

The Hand Olympic Games consisted of  Rock, Paper, Scissors, Arm Wrestling, and Thumb War. 

The Agony of Defeat!!

The thrill of victory!!

Jackson was our commentator for most of the games!!

Kenna and I attempting arm wrestling. We are both so weak it was pathetic!! Jack however got a good chuckle!!

Carson and John having fun!!

We laughed so much tonight playing these classic,old games!! Good old fashioned family fun!! 

For our Olympics we had a best of 2 out of 3 on the games. There was a winners circle and a losers circle. You had to get eliminated twice. We tried to make it as fair as possible and gave everyone lots of chances. The goal after all was to have fun!!  Thanks Jackson for coming up with this fun idea. Not one that mama had in the idea book. 

Day 271... Jax

This morning we attempted to teach the kids Jax. 

They had a little  bit of trouble getting the hang of it. 

Maddie loved playing!! 

Jack in action trying to get the swiping motion down instead of the grab. 

I think this game is going to get lots more play time. Fun and really great for coordination!! 

Day 258... Chinese Checkers

Tonight we played Chinese Checkers for the first time. It  is a really neat game of strategy. This was a fun game but a really, really, long game. The kids were in a slap happy, giggly, silly, mood which made the time seem even longer. 

At the end we sped it up to a speed game. Big Daddy was the winner. I think we all have a better idea of how the game works, and will definitely play it again. The next time we will start it earlier in the evening or maybe play it over a couple of days.