In an effort to alleviate screen time, my kids and I are playing tabletop games. Some are full games with boards some are simple card games. All are fun!
Cathedral
Mattel
Ages 10+
Players 2
I have always been into so-called “high fantasy”. Probably never more than my obsession with Game of Thrones. I'm pretty sure that the obsession didn't start when I watched Sean Bean execute a Night’s Watch deserter, I can trace it back to two amazing games I had as a child. One was called Crossbows and Catapults and the other one was called Cathedral.
The version of Cathedral I played was the molded plastic version that Mattel produced in the mid to late 1980s. There is a set of red buildings and gray buildings, the kinds you would find in your typical medieval stronghold. And a large white cathedral. After you place the cathedral on the playing surface, the players take turns placing their pieces. The object is to get all of your pieces on the grid, while stopping your opponent from doing the same thing.
You can win by luck, but tried and true strategies are almost unbeatable.
While searching for something in my mothers basement, I found my old Cathedral set. It had been decades since I had played it. All but one piece was in the box, which was an easy fix as I just had to pull the corresponding piece from the other side. At the time my kids were too young to play, so I tried it out with some of my Game of Thrones friends. Some games took minutes others stretched out close to an hour as we plotted and planned each move trying to anticipate moves in the future.
As my kids got older and I thought they would understand the basic concept of the game I introduced it to them. My daughter is very strategic when she plays while my son just goes at it with reckless abandon. Even though they have not been able to beat me they both really enjoy it and like the overall look of the game. To be fair the game is for ages 10 and up, and my kids are 9&7, but they have a head start.
It's also equally enjoyable to watch my kids play with a “toy” that I enjoyed when I was little. Cathedral is not only fun, it's not only a thinker it is a timeless classic.
Disclosure: The maker of this game did not compensate me for this review. It was a gift from my mother when I was 11 years old.
While searching for something in my mothers basement, I found my old Cathedral set. It had been decades since I had played it. All but one piece was in the box, which was an easy fix as I just had to pull the corresponding piece from the other side. At the time my kids were too young to play, so I tried it out with some of my Game of Thrones friends. Some games took minutes others stretched out close to an hour as we plotted and planned each move trying to anticipate moves in the future.
As my kids got older and I thought they would understand the basic concept of the game I introduced it to them. My daughter is very strategic when she plays while my son just goes at it with reckless abandon. Even though they have not been able to beat me they both really enjoy it and like the overall look of the game. To be fair the game is for ages 10 and up, and my kids are 9&7, but they have a head start.
It's also equally enjoyable to watch my kids play with a “toy” that I enjoyed when I was little. Cathedral is not only fun, it's not only a thinker it is a timeless classic.
Disclosure: The maker of this game did not compensate me for this review. It was a gift from my mother when I was 11 years old.
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