“Thanks A Lot” Board Game {Review}

I have always loved board games. I can still remember the year I got the original Trivial Pursuit board game for Christmas. I was in high school at the time and it was at the very top of my list that year. As a matter of fact, that very game sits in my family’s current board game collection, ahem, over 20 years later. We actually have stacks of board games that include many classic family titles like Monopoly , The Game of Life, Scrabble, and some that you might not have heard of before like Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Cheese Touch Game. If you have a reader in your family who enjoys the Diary of a Wimpy Kid collection of books, I promise they will love this game.

When the folks at Wonder Forge recently reached out to me to try some of their board games, I was curious because honestly I wasn’t sure what titles their collection of games included. I took a look and was surprised and pleased to find a huge selection of games for various levels and abilities, ranging from those for families including small children all the way up to some better suited for teens and adults. Since we are a family of teenagers and adults, the latter category was the one that I focused on when reading all of the game descriptions. I have to admit, I hadn’t heard of any of the games before, but there were definitely a few that caught my eye. When the large box filled with games arrived I could hardly wait to open them up and play them with my family. The biggest challenge may have been deciding which one to play first, but there was definitely one in particular that we enjoyed most of all. It ended up being everyone’s favorite and we’ve played it a few times already.  That game is called Thanks A Lot, The “What do your friends REALLY want” Game. In short, this game was so much fun. The first time we played it was just Paul, Nick and I, but then we brought it along on Thanksgiving to play with other family members after we filled our bellies with an amazing feast. There were 4 generations sitting at the table together to play Thanks a Lot, including my Nana (my Grandmother), my Aunt, Paul, my cousin, Nick, and myself. The objective of the game is to hand out “gifts” to the other players, which they then rate by assigning each one a point value. If you gift them their favorite item of the round, you score the highest points. What makes this game the most fun are some of the creative ideas the company came up with where the different gifts are concerned. For example, when someone presented me with the card that read “Your blog gets 250,000 hits a day“, they were pretty much guaranteeing themselves the highest ranking from me, which earns them 300 points. When you hand out gifts to everyone, you place the cards face down and then each player mixes up their cards before ranking them from lowest highest, so there is no way of knowing who gave you which gift before announcing where you ranked them when it’s your turn to do so.

Thanks a Lot ReviewI really enjoyed playing this game with just Paul and Nick, but I also think it’s fun to play with a larger group of people, too, because it’s a great opportunity to see how well you know the people in your life. Mostly though, it’s fun and entertaining and we laughed round after round as everyone read their cards aloud, sharing the gifts they received from the other players around the table. We played twice, but I have no doubt we would have played a few more rounds had we not had to pack up and get Cody and Nick to Boston so we could present Cody with his 18th Birthday surprise, something I’m pretty sure scored Paul and I way more than 300 points.
Wonder Forge recommends Thanks A Lot for those who are 12 years of age and older and that it’s best enjoyed for 3-6 players. Having played it with both 3 and 6 players, I can tell you that 3 is definitely a good low number and 6 is ideal for the highest number of players at the table. I also feel they are right on target where the age is concerned. Nick just turned 14 this past October and he is a perfect age to be able to understand the rules, play with no additional assistance, and enjoy the game with everyone else. We have tried to play other games before that were meant for older kids and adults, but they were a little too challenging for Nick. I’m so glad we have a new game that we all love and can enjoy for years to come. This one will definitely sit prominently on the shelf among the board games we will play the most in the future. To check out all of the awesome games that Wonder Forge has to offer, check out their website, Like them on Facebook, and Follow them on Twitter. I’m pretty confident you will find more than one game that your family would love!

Disclosure: As I already mentioned, Wonder Forge generously sent me a box filled with fun games for my family to enjoy, but thoughts and opinions are always my own.

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Comments

  1. We love The Wonder Forge! They make some truly wonderful games for the preschool set and I’m so glad to see they’re adding more for older kids and adults. This one seems like it would be a good one to play after dinner on Christmas Day – hmmm…
    Megan M. recently posted..Wii U Gift Guide 2012My Profile

    • Yes! I remember a while back when you shared your love for their games. I am so glad I had this opportunity because we will enjoy this game(and the others) for years to come.

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  3. We do have an occasional family game night. We love games but sometimes get too busy to play as much as we like. Some of our favorites are Sushi Go, Dragonwood, Exploding Kittens, and Forbidden Desert.Nintendo Switch Accessories

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  1. […] the games in their line-up I jumped at the opportunity and my family immediately fell in love with Thanks a Lot!? I even wrote a review if you’d like to take a look. It’s super fun, especially if you […]

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