Best Boardgames for Lockdown
Level 4 has hit Aotearoa again. Whaanau are keeping safe in their homes except for those brave essential workers who risk their own health and safety for our well-being. Our bubble this time around has an 18-month-old mokopuna (grandchild), he was six weeks old at the beginning of last year’s lockdown.
Two years ago, David and I were questioning whether we should be staying in our home. Two adults in a 3 bedroom home seemed very wasteful when there is such a shortage of homes at the moment. Now we are five adults and one preschooler in one house and one cabin. I feel so blessed!
Another reason to feel blessed is that we all love board games. As our moko is fascinated by the game components, playing when he is awake is not a wise option. Most night’s unless our son (an essential worker) has an early morning we play games.
We have played Carnival of Monsters, Magic Maze and King of Tokyo Dark Edition in the last few nights. We have also played Insider and Werewords when we are wanting shorter, more social games.

Carnival of Monsters
The Royal Monstrological Society counts among its members the most renowned and respected experts in monster lore throughout the entire empire. Each year the Society permits only a single new member to join, so applicants compete to prove their worth with the most magnificent menagerie of monstrous beasts they can find… and capture.
To aid in these quests of discovery the Society grants ev…

Magic Maze
After being stripped of all their possessions, a mage, a warrior, an elf, and a dwarf are forced to go rob the local Magic Maze shopping mall for all the equipment necessary for their next adventure. They agree to map out the labyrinth in its entirety first, then find each individual’s favorite store, and then locate the exit. In order to evade the surveillance of the guards who eyed their arrival suspiciously, all four will pull off their heists simultaneously, then dash to the exit. That’s the plan anyway…but can they pull it off?

King of Tokyo: Dark Edition
King of Tokyo: Dark Edition is a collector’s edition [limited edition: 100 000 copies in 12 languages] of King of Tokyo, with the fight taking place in an alternative and darker world in which the struggle for control of Tokyo has never been so fierce…and wicked!
This edition include…

Insider
Do we really have free will? Who decides this? Are we controlled by what we hear and what we see, even while thinking we decide freely? Insider is a game that deals with these questions. While communicating to others, you have to find the right answers to a quiz or find the “insider” who is manipulating the discussion. The insider will do everything to hide their ident…

Werewords
In Werewords, players guess a secret word by asking “yes” or “no” questions. Figure out the magic word before time is up, and you win!
However, one of the players is secretly a werewolf who is not only working against you, but also knows the word. If you don’t guess the word in time, you can still win by identifying the werewolf.
To help you out, one player is the Seer, who knows the word…
What games are you managing to play while staying safe at home?