A message from our CEO, Shari Spiro:
As we continue to keep a close eye on the news surrounding the coronavirus (COVID-19) and its growing impact, our parent company Ad Magic and its collective companies and brands are taking steps to ensure the safety of our team members while maintaining the level of service you are accustomed to receiving.
A Beautiful Day To Play Indoors.
Tabletop games have come a long way. Creativity has paved the way for all sorts of new ways to play. "Solo Play" and "Online Play" have been happy additions to our hobby's vocabulary. Likewise, "Low Player Count" games have basically become their own genre.
Because of the difficulty many people are having during quarantine, this new vocabulary has often become "filters" when searching for what's new, or at least, new to them. Hey, we hear you! That's why we created an easy to navigate list of Breaking Games things, and how you can take advantage of FOUR different ways to play our games while practicing safe social distancing!
- Things you can PRINT.
- Things you can CLEAN. (Sound's odd, but is important!)
- Things for 2-PLAYERS.
- Things ONLINE
1. Things You Can Print:
Anyone up for a little arts and crafts? Here are a few ways to enhance play, right out of your own printer:
• Rise of Tribes: The Vul'Keth Invasion
The Vul'keth are invading! Warlords are seizing and pillaging the land! With each Warlord added from the Warlord Board, they become more ferocious adding new powers. When it's the Vul'Keth's turn, they flip cards adding dice to the Action board, adding challenges for even the most seasoned village elder! There are also new events that really add to the excitement of rolling.
The Vul'Keth can also be a playable tribe! Just flip the Warlord Board over, and it becomes a player board to be used in the standard game.
*You need a copy of Rise of Tribes to take advantage of this Solo-Play expansion.Get The Rise of Tribes Base Game
This Solo Play of Rise of Tribes is available through Backerkit.
Get it here!
• Sparkle*Kingdom
Dig your markers out! Another GREAT addition to the Sparkle*Kitty Universe is Sparkle*Kingdom, a completely new "Flip & Write" game! This version was created to allow families and friends to enjoy a silly spell slinging game whether you are trapped together in towers or spread apart in different kingdoms.
Players use a Sparkle*Kitty deck (or the online Spell Book) to reveal two cards, and fill in colors and words in the towers and doors on their Play Mat. Towers and doors are worth different amounts of points, and the player with the highest score wins.
Download Sparkle*Kingdom Rules
Download the Sparkle*Kingdom Play Mat
Author's Note: DON'T miss out on this one! It's super rad!
Also, this one is 100% FREE when you use the online Spell Book. The rules, video, Spell Book, and the printable PDF play mat can also be found at www.sparklekingdom.com
Author's Note: DON'T miss out on this one! It's super rad! 2. Things you can clean:
One of the more important areas of interest during quarantine has been a focus on sanitization. Door knobs, ATM's, shopping carts, etc. have all been good places to wipe down before you use them. Here are a few good games that can survive a wipe or two with a slightly damp cloth:
• Odd 1's Out - Can't Catch Harry
Can't Catch Harry is a game by the massively popular YouTube'er Odd 1's Out! A lightning fast game to be the first to grab that famous moth "Harry"! Pass cards until you have 4 of a kind, and grab a moth as fast as you can, but look out for the bug zapper!
Moths and Bug zapper are made of a soft plastic, so they can be cleaned with soap and water.
Looking for something to play with your kids? This is a great variation on spoons, where nobody is eliminated from play!
• Klask
The magnetic tabletop soccer game is an instant classic. A handle underneath the board controls the movement of your pawn on the field. Try to get the ball into the other players goal, but don't bump into the white pegs, or its a goal for your opponent!
The plastic pieces, and the finish on the wood, makes this a really easy game to clean!
3. Things for 2-Players:
Most Breaking Games start at 2 players, and you really can't go wrong with any of them. However, here are a few that were designed specifically for two players:
• Convert
Take the addicting play of Tetris, and the accessibility of Connect 4 and you get Convert. In this clever game, use spacial reasoning to place chunky wooden blocks for points. Every row will score points, combined with the added bonus of territory points at the end!
• The Stars Align
The stars are out, and players take turns spotting their color stars in the sky by playing constellation cards to the map. Once the sky is full of stars, they start to twinkle, or flip to the reverse color. When the same color stars create a line across the night sky, they shoot and disappear! The first stargazer to catch 5 shooting stars is the winner!
Author's note: The drawstring bag also allows this to be a great game you can take to the park, on those days that are TOO beautiful to miss! It easily fits in my pocket, though admittedly when I did that, I bent the telescope hangtag on my copy.
4. Things Online:
Sharing your screen has recently become one of the most popular ways friends have been able to game together. Sometimes it can be a bit tricky to get the hang of whichever virtual meeting area you wish to use, as none of those systems are perfect. Users will also have different experiences based on internet speeds, as well as joining via desktop or mobile devices, but HEY we're having fun running Sparkle*Kingdom for the public!
We've outlined a few basic guidelines that really help you figure out the best tabletop games to choose when your only option is through the web. A game doesn't need to have ALL of these items, but they are good things to consider.
- Games that are more conversational.
- A "printable" exists in some shape or form, like a play mat, or a character sheet.
- The entire game can be run by a moderator (players don't need to hold cards/ roll dice etc.)
- A few house rules can easily accommodate gameplay.
- Sharing of screen, or using a second device to show the board.
- Games that take advantage of the "Chat" features, if you need to send secret info to each other.
Screen Sharing Games:
We have a few games of our own that really take advantage of screen sharing. These games utilize web-based card flippers that can easily be shared.
• Sparkle*Kingdom
We're mentioning this game again, because it's REALLY FUN, and because we want to play it with you!
Breaking Games runs an official game weekly, and we'd love for you to join! We post invitations and links on Facebook. Send us a like/follow to be in the know!
Breaking Games on facebook
Sparkle*Kitty Universe on facebook
• Fake News
Our Fake News site has a card generator that is really fun to have a contest with your friends to see who can make the best headline using the same set of cards. The moderator can even type the winner's headline to have it run across the ticker!
You might have to "House Rule" earning points to have a "winner", but this game is such a laugh that really everyone wins!
• Game of Phones
Game of Phones' online card flipper is great! The plus side: other than the need for a moderator, the experience isn't too far off from the real thing...
... but we can't wait to see our friends again!
Special Mention: Friendshipping! Postcards
Remember Mail? There's a level of personability that comes with physically writing something, and likewise a feeling of joy when you receive "real mail" from your friends. You can also stay safely in your house when you exchange postcards!
Now, we realize these aren't a game, but WOW they are Hilarious!
Grab A Box
Thank you for looking at all the different ways you can stay safe, happy and healthy out there! Maybe we'll see you in our online Sparkle*Kingdom play room!