Okay, I always like to follow up on new-to-us games to tell you how they were, and last year's Everdell turned out to be great. Yes, as I mentioned, it looks very Waldorf, very Wind in the Willows, but don't be fooled because the game play is epic. It is very expensive, but, as I always say, the play value is huge. (If you play it twice instead of going to the movies, it will have paid for itself. Although then there will be two times you don't go to the movies.)
New this year--and it's a nice easy one--is Welcome to Your Perfect Home . This game is like a cross between Yahtzee , Qwixx , and the work of a conformist, middle-class suburban planner (in a good way). We played it a ton when everyone was home over the summer, and it was delightfully occupying but chill.
And Telestrations , which we just played over Thanksgiving and boy did we laugh. This is a party game, and it's one you might buy in advance just to have over the holidays if you've got a group of folks gathering. Great for all ages (team up anybody who can't read or write), and fine for folks who are hearing impaired. I described it in Parents magazine once this way: "Like a cross between Telephone and Pictionary, this pass-and-play party game asks you to draw what you see, guess what you saw, and then rev