Play Skunked by Marina Games

I love board games that the whole family can play! Nothing is more fun that sitting down together in the living room with a big bowl of buttered popcorn and a board game. Playing board games is one of the ways that families can do things together. We chat about what's going on at school and in their lives all while having fun together. It's also a great boredom buster for rainy days. We get a lot of rainy days during April and May in Vermont and the kids are always looking for something new and different to do. Otherwise I get to hear the dreaded *Mom I'm bored!* all day long.


Marina Games offers a great selection of card and dice type games that will keep your family entertained for hours. One of their newest games is called Skunked. The basic premise is that you roll the dice and attempt to get the highest score you can without rolling a one. The game contains 128 poker chips, 2 dice and an instruction booklet. Different colored poker chips are worth different points and you use the poker chips to keep track of how much you've rolled. If you get a one, you loose the points you've accumulated in that round. If you get double ones, you loose all the points up to that point in the game and your score is reduced to zero.

Skunked is suitable for kids ages 8 and up although a younger child could probably grasp it with an adult's help in counting up their points.  Great way to encourage math skills with a younger child. It's suitable for two or more players to play.  This is a fantastic travel game.  The box is relatively small in size (4" x 5") so it's ideal to toss in a suit case.  There's no bulky game board to deal with.  The chips and dice fit well inside the box.  They both have their own little sections in the tray so they stay relatively neat.  You could easily play this on any flat, fairly stable surface including a lap desk which means kids can play this in the car to help with boredom on car trips this summer.

The game is relatively fast paced and the excitement builds as your score gets higher and higher and you're hoping a one doesn't show up when you roll next time. Depending on the luck of the dice, it can take a while to get to 100 without rolling a one so you can really stop the game anywhere you like or continue on as long as you want to keep playing.

You can find Skunked at a variety of independent toy stores and Amazon.

Connect with Marina Games on Facebook and Twitter for added coverage.

My thanks to the sponsor and Family Review Network for allowing me to review this product.

As required by the FTC: I received a product sample in order to write my review.  I received no monetary compensation.  All opinions expressed are mine and mine alone.

Win Gotcha! Catch your friends before they catch you

David13 is my board game partner. We try to sit down once a week and enjoy some mommy and son time. Because I cannot play Guitar Hero or hit a baseball worth beans, we generally do something like a board game together. It's safer and I'm not going to make a fool of myself or break a window.

It's not as easy to find good family games that a teenager will want to play as it is for a younger child. It needs to be fast paced enough to keep their attention and still fun to play for them and for me. I found a new party game called Gotcha! that is loads of fun to play.

Gotcha! is a board game that is intended for 3-8 players that are ages 14 and up. It requires 2 AA batteries (not included) For the buzzer. Basically, you draw cards to create *rules* that each player or some players have to follow. You might draw two cards and have one read *every wearing blue* and the other read *must salute before each turn*. Once this rule was played, each player playing that's wearing blue has to remember to do it or they move back on the game board & you advance when you catch them.

Now that doesn't seem that hard but try adding on 10 more rules as the game moves ahead. Now you are playing an air guitar as you say every word in quotes and salute before each turn and ending each turn with a compliment to the player on your left. It's much harder than you think and loads of fun!

I played the game with just David13 and I even though it says 3-8 players.  It really worked out fine for us with two people but I'm sure it would have been even more fun with 3.  The Board game and all the pieces and cards are very well made and will definitely stand up to the constant use this is going to get. This is by far one of David13's favorite games we've played in a long time.  We just couldn't stop laughing as we tried to remember all of the rules.  You need to check this game out for the summer. It's loads of fun.

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One of my lucky readers is going to win their own Gotcha! game. Here's what you can do for a chance to win:

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Remember, to please leave a separate comment for each entry. And please enter only in the ways listed above. I reserve the right to delete comments not adhering to the above entry guidelines.  You must be 18+ years old & live in the USA. The last day to enter is 5/14/2011.

My thanks to the sponsor for allowing me to review this product.

As required by the FTC: I received a product sample in order to write my review.  I received no monetary compensation.  All opinions expressed are mine and mine alone.

Please note that  I am not responsible for sponsors that do not fulfill their prizes. I have represented each sponsor with the expectation they will fulfill their prize and in a timely manner I will contact the sponsor regarding your prize(s). The sponsors, in most cases, are shipping their items to you directly. I will make every effort to assist you obtaining your prize but ultimately I am not responsible if they do not fulfill your prize win.