| Our Recommended Family GamesI've enjoyed playing board games since I was a child and this pleasure has stayed with me into adult life. Quite often we'll have friends over to play a couple of board-games of an evening. Now my children, being children, always want to join in so I was pleased to find that many games, despite being aimed at more grown up children, are equally suited to much younger ones. It was only fair, after all I play quite a few of their games. This is a list of some of the games we love to play with our children. We hope you'll enjoy them too:  | Labyrinth: a children's game which adults love as well. You race to pick up bits of treasure by changing the layout of the maze of corridors. My children play this a lot! It's amazing how often I'll be struggling for ages to find a route and my son Keiran (who's 7), with one push of the board, will transform the maze and make it straight away! |  | Carcassonne: by laying square tiles you build up a map of Carcassonne. At the same time you claim roads, cities, monasteries and farms for yourself to score points. The really simple rules of this game - each turn you draw a tile, decide where to place it and then have the option to play a little man on it - allow even fairly young children (6+) to pick it up very quickly, but it has hidden depths to entertain adults and children alike. |  | Alhambra: each player builds up their own palace by buying ornamental buildings, and collecting money cards. Again there are not too many rules to learn. Each turn you either draw money or use money you already have to purchase buildings to add to your palace. If you're careful you can do both in one turn. This game has really helped Keiran's addition.
|  | Through the Desert: players try to make the longest camel trains in each colour, and also get points for visiting oases. A great looking game with hundreds of little camels! |  | Lord of the Rings: what's this? A game where you all work together? Players are a certain group of Hobbits trying to destroy the One Ring. Get to Mount Doom before Sauron and his allies stop you. If you prefer co-operative games to competitive games (like my 11 year old, Daniel ) this is a good one for you. |  | Blokus: a really absorbing game which has sold more than 2 Million copies worldwide (unfortunately not all by Wizardopoly). There are only two rules: lay as many of your pieces on the board as you can and make sure your pieces only touch at the corners. Suitable for anyone between the ages of 5 and 105. |  | RoboRally: my children and their friends love this game - perhaps because it's a bit like Robot Wars. Guide your robot to the checkpoints over a factory floor full of conveyers, turntables and pits! But watch out for the lasers, and the other robots. Utter chaos, but a great game! |  | Balloon Cup: a balloon-race themed game. Great for practicing simple maths, but don't let that put you off! It's fun too. |  | Ticket to Ride: build up your train network empire (not to mention your knowledge of geography) and get extra points for completing your allocated routes. More suitable for older children (say 10+). |  | Starfarers of Catan: explore the galaxy, meet alien races, fight space pirates - do I need to go on? A fabulous game for slightly older children (but then again, Keiran loves it as well).
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