Peanuts In My Pocket

Once or twice a month, we host a family game night. My sons bring their families over, and we play board and card games. It’s a recent development and one I thoroughly enjoy. We all have roots in D&D, so that helps, but my son Jon is a board game enthusiast, so we get a wide variety of gaming options. We have our favorites, like Wingspan, but we also try new games, like the card game Crack List.

This past weekend, we played Crack List and Sheriff of Nottingham for the first time. Both were interesting and fun, and of course, I lost at both.

Sheriff of Nottingham is a bluffing and negotiation board game where players take on the roles of merchants attempting to bring goods into the bustling city of Nottingham. One player assumes the role of the Sheriff, who inspects the goods for contraband. Merchants must decide whether to be honest or to sneak illegal goods past the Sheriff, who must determine who is lying and who is telling the truth. The game is rich with strategy, as players bribe, deceive, and make deals to outwit the Sheriff and each other, with the ultimate goal of becoming the wealthiest merchant.

This played out well for some of us, the natural deceivers in our group, and poorly for the honest players. My son Michael won by taking as many bribes as possible while he was Sheriff, while I finished a distant second by telling a lot of fibs as a merchant. I think we will play this again in the months ahead, as we need to give the honest players a chance to join the dark side.

Crack List is a fast-paced party card game where players race against the clock to name items that fit within a given category. In each round, a player draws a card listing a category, such as “types of fruit” or “famous landmarks,” and then sets a timer. The other players must quickly shout out answers that match both the category and the letter cards they hold. As the timer counts down, the challenge intensifies. Players receive penalty cards for repeated or incorrect answers, or if they fail to come up with an answer. Similar to Uno, the game includes actions like reversing direction, skipping turns, and making other players draw extra cards. The winner is the first to play their last card.

We deemphasized the use of a timer as it was hard enough to take an “S” card from your hand and relate it to “types of fruit”—starfruit! After about 20 seconds, we would start a countdown from five to move the game along, but it was informal and non-binding. We had fun playing, but I didn’t do well. We played three rounds, and I was never in a position to win. My wife and son both won rounds, and then my son won a second round to win the game.

Crack List is fun and easy to play. I’m sure it will make a return in the months ahead. I can’t see myself winning unless I get lucky. This game plays to the strengths of others who are far better at these types of games than I am, but I learned a lot while playing, so I call it a win.

I would love to hear about the games you recommend, so please drop a note in the comments.