Packing for Vermont

So, three days in Vermont, one big game night, and two kids and a dog taking up most of the space in the car. Which games to bring?

Kids Games

There will be lots of kids at game night and chances are at least mine will demand to be part of the action.

• Sorry! Sliders is a shoe-in here, although adult supervision will be necessary to ensure things don't get out of control.
  
• I Spy: Eagle Eye is a fun one that all the kids over three should be able to play, and it comes with a cool bell, which makes it all the more fun!
• Gulo Gulo is the new favorite, so it's a possibility, and
• Flea Circus is always in the mix. Abby suggested
  
• Charades for Kids, which I hadn't considered, so perhaps that will come too.
  

We should definitely bring quite a few kids games since we'll be there for three days, but perhaps five is too many...

Group & Party Games

• Wits & Wagers will come fore sure. Just like the dog, unless you physically restrain him, he'll be out the door and in the car before you know it. Wits & Wagers will be a good game to get everyone involved. Also, with lots of people we could even do team play, which is suggested in the rules.
• For Sale as another easy to explain game that anyone could play with just a short introduction. As it supports six players For Sale should be a good fit.
• Sorry! Sliders can also double as a good game for adults in this category.

My debate here would be whether I should bring Say Anything. If we have a lot of players staying late it could be a good fit for a less serious second game to run while we are playing something meatier.

Main Course

At this point I have two primary decisions remaining. I'd like to bring a mid-weight game that a number of people will already know. Probably

• Settlers of Catan or
  
• Carcassonne

Both of which I've played with the Mrs., Ben, Jennie, and Meg, all of whom should be present. I'd like to find time to fit one of these in over the weekend, although given the choice I'd most like to play either

• El Grande or
• Fury of Dracula
  

All four of these last games are in the #5 group of my board game progression chart, and thus would fit the bill for the central strategy game of the evening. Ideally I'd get to play a game from each of those pairs, but we shall see.

So, subject to last minute changes (of course!), here are my Vermont weekend board games:

For the kids:




For the adults:



Perhaps an option to include Say Anything if the Mrs. would like it to come along.


This post brings to mind an article by Skip Maloney about packing games for a trip to Florida. The situations are somewhat different but many of the same thought processes went into the planning: length of time of the trip, types of players available and their previous board game experience, and number of opponents at any given time.