Commentary: One pandemic silver lining? It’s the perfect time for latest board games

The COVID-19 pandemic, with us for the five years since last February, has few silver linings.

One exception: It’s an ideal time for family board games, with more time at home for juniors and parents alike. That makes Christmas 2020 an opportune holiday for adding one or two board games to the storage cabinet in the family’s den.

With that in mind, a reminder from the 31st annual Tribune Holiday Game Survey and the Head Elf: There are 15 shopping days before Christmas. So the time is already running short. Schedule a trip to your retail store to purchase a game or two, whether an old classic favorite or a new release. Or, with some big box stores having met demise, it’s an opportune time to order online, utilizing Amazon or other retail sites.

Three newer games are on the shelves in our Inland Northwest region. They are:

Hedbanz (Spinmaster Games, $14.97 and up, 8 years and older, two to six players) is a quick question game answering “What am I?” Players pick a head band, place a card in it and you play to figure out what’s shown on your unseen card. Using yes or no questions, you summon your powers of deduction to be the first to guess three cards correctly and become the winner. You might ask: Am I a bird? An animal? An apple?

The Office (Cardinal, $14.88 and up, 16 and older, five to 10 players) is the business downsizing game. Can you avoid getting downsized? Will the Scranton branch fold at week’s end or will Michael save the day? Your goal, of course, is to survive.

New Phone, Who Dis? (What Do You Meme LLC, $19.82 and up, 17 and older, three to 20-plus players) is a new adult party game. A rotating judge picks a card and reads it out loud to the group. Other players submit a reply card as a response and the judge chooses her favorite response. “Yo, wanna meet my goldfish this weekend?” “Is this the same Matthew who got kicked out of high school for selling bags of oregano to freshmen?” “Hey, can I crash with you for a couple of days?”

And if you’re in the market for a time-honored classic, what are the going prices?

Operation (Hasbro, 6 and older, one or more players) is $14.92 and up. Traditional Monopoly (Hasbro, 8 and older, two to six players) is $15.97 and up. The Game of Life (Hasbro, 8 and older, two to four players) is $15.97 and up. Jenga (Hasbro, 6 and older, one or more) starts at $12.97. Battleship (Hasbro, 7 and older, two or more players) is $14.92 and up. Yahtzee (Hasbro, 8 and older, two or more players) is $7.97 and up. Simon (Hasbro, 8 and older, one or more players) is $17.84 and up. And Clue (Hasbro, 8 and older, two to six players) is $7.97 to $10.97.

Although not seen in regional stores, Head Elf offers five “best board games for Christmas 2020,” as determined by BestReviews. They are available online and are:

Catan, the Board Game (Catan Studio, $49.99, 10 and older, three to four players). It’s a civilization building game. Adventurous players seek to tame the remote but rich Isle of Catan by revealing its many harbors, pastures, fields, mountains and desert. But beware of the robber’s nefarious plans as he steals resources and plunders the wealthy. Catan has been awarded game of the year (and century, even) in Germany.

Monopoly Classic (Hasbro, $19.99 to $24.99, 8 and older, two or more players) is, of course, the classic buy, sell, dream and scheme your way to riches game. Players buy, sell and trade to win, building houses and hotels on your properties and bankrupting your opponents. This updated version features new tokens. The thimble, wheelbarrow and iron playing pieces were retired in favor of new pieces — rubber ducky, tyrannosaurus rex and penguin.

Disney Villainous (Ravensburger, $34.97 to $39.90, 10 and older, two or more) is a family game, with participants working together cooperatively. The six iconic Disney villains are Captain Hook, Maleficent, Jafar, Ursula, Queen of Hearts and Prince John. Each villain has its own guide and will inspire you with strategies and tips for the most successful plan to win. This favorite among kids, where they can compete against one another as their favorite Disney villains, was the 2019 game of the year.

Azul (Plan B Games, $25.99 to $28.99, 8 and older, two to four players) involves building colorful mosaics with heavy tiles. Behind the decorative styles of the game is a cleaver little puzzle that will have players agonizing over every tile they take. The double-sided player boards offer a simple or advanced style of play.

Pandemic (Z-Man, $39.48 to $44.99, 13 and older, two to four players) is a game for a whole family to work cooperatively together to fend off several dangerous diseases, treating infections around the world while gathering resources for cures. You can win or lose together. Multiple difficulty levels add replayability.

With that, Head Elf rests.

Alford is president of TPC Holdings, the parent company of the Lewiston Tribune and Moscow-Pullman Daily News. He may be contacted at alajr@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2250.