How To Kick-off The Summer Season Long Weekend.

Participate In #backyardboardgames with Asmodee Classic games!

This post is sponsored by Asmodee Canada, but all opinion are my own. This post may contain affiliate links. We may earn compensation when you click on the links at no additional cost to you

My name is Ella, the family dog of a beautiful blended family of 6. In Canada, the May long weekend is always exciting. First, it marks the unofficial kick-off to the summer season. Secondly, it’s also my mother’s birthday, so there is always a family gathering or a supper celebration.

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Victoria Day has been an official holiday in Canada since 1901. The holiday started in 1845 to honour Queen Victoria. Some cities will even celebrate with parades and fireworks. With the start of the beautiful weather, buds are blooming, birds’ are now chirping, so no wonder people are taking advantage of this great long weekend outside. It’s a great place to spend time doing fun activities. Although the festivities may be slightly smaller and scaled-back this year, Asmodee encourages families to participate in #backyardboardgames.

It’s the perfect weekend to kick-off the summer season and to spend some quality time as a family while enjoying each other’s company while playing some classic Asmodee board games. So why not take advantage of this great pastime while relaxing in the sun on your deck or backyard table. Since the pandemic, board games have become an excellent way for my family to bond and create many great memories. It’s also a beautiful way for any blended family to get to know each other better.  Here are four board games our family recommends you try if you haven’t done so yet. Find a retailer near you here.

1. Azul
2. Match 5
3. Trek 12
4. Unlock! Mythic Adventures

Here is a quick how-to-play for each of the four games above that will hopefully get you excited to try them out.

Azul : Summer Pavilion (PLAYERS: 2-4, TIME TO PLAY: 30-45 MINS, AGE: 8+)

It’s a pattern-building tile game that can be played by 2 to 4 players. This game is played in 3 phases:

1. Factory offer phase: This is when you get to select your tiles.

-Every player will get to select their tiles, one player at a time.

2. Wall tiling phase: This is when you get to play your tiles.

-All players place their tiles on their walls simultaneously. Once all place, the players score their points for that round.

–You will move to the preparation phase: If no player has filled at least one line on their wall, you move to the preparation phase for the next round.

–You will count your final points: If one or more player has filled at least one line on their wall, you count your final points, and the player with the most points wins.

3. Preparation phase: Reset the factory to start the next round.

-As stated above, you just reset the table for another round.

This original game has a bit of a bingo feel but with a much fresher approach. We all see patterns, and this is one game where patterns are a good thing.

Retail for 39.99$

Azul game extension pack : Glazed Pavilion

Why not add the extension pack: Glazed Pavilion for the players who already love and play the Azul board game. Get newly designed double-sided player boards and four new stackable scoring tokens. This extension will offer you new exciting challenges for even the most diehard Azul Summer Pavilion fan!

Match 5 (PLAYERS: 2-8, TIME TO PLAY: 20 MINS, AGE: 10+)

-This unique dice game encourages you to find links between random images that land on the dices thrown. 

-Each round, one of the players will throw the five dices to create new possible links. 

For example, Dice 1 shows “water” and dice five shows “Carnivore” à A possible link might be a “Shark.”

1. You will need to create 10 intelligent links for each of the 2 rounds of play. 
2. Once the dice are thrown, you will have 3 mins to write down your links.
3. Then you compare answers to score points.

-After two rounds, the player with the most points wins the game.

This is a simple game that will feel different every time you play. With all the possible unique answers, you will have fun using your creativity and finding out what other unique links your friends and family will have conjured.

Retail for 34.99$

 Trek 12 (PLAYERS: 1-50, TIME TO PLAY: 15-30 MINS, AGE: 8+)

This game is perfect for the entire family and can also be played solo. It’s a roll-and-write alpinism game. The goal is to trek through the Himalayas.

1. Each player rolls two dice. one die has values from 1-6 and the other have value from 1-5.
2. Each player combines both dice using one of these combinations: add, subtract, multiply. You will keep either the higher value or keep lower value. Be careful, these combinations can only be used at most 4 times each.
3. The goal is to create a chain of consecutive numbers from 0-12.

Each player has 19 rolls in total, and at the end of the game, numbers that do not belong to the chain get minus points. The player to score the most points wins. This game also has three processive difficulties levels, perfect for younger children.

Retails for $39.99$

Unlock! Mythic Adventure (PLAYERS: 1-6, TIME TO PLAY: 60-80 MINS, AGE: 10+)

This fully cooperative experience board game simulates an escape room using a deck of cards and an App. There are three different adventures within this game, 1 Easy, 1 Medium, and 1 Hard.

1. You will load the app needed to play.
2. Set the cards on the table with the “Into” card on the top. This card basically presents the current adventure synopsis to you. Once you have read the synopsis, you will press start on the timer located on the app. You will see the amount of time you will have to complete your adventure.
3. Turn that “intro” card to reveal a room or a location. This will let you see many numbers associated with numbers displayed on the top of the remaining cards.
4. You will now be able to view all the cards that have one of the numbers shown on the “into” card to begin solving the mystery.
5. You will need to combine some of the cards to move forward and even use that app to solve interactive puzzles.
6. Complete all the tasks before the time runs out to successfully win the game.

If you like escape rooms, you should like this board game. It was very cleverly put together and should provide three complete adventures for the whole family to enjoy.

Retails for $43.99$

Final thoughts

We hope one or more of these games find their way to your backyard this summer. Please let us know if you have already played any of these board games and what you liked about them. Also, please don’t be shy to send us your comments or questions regarding any of these games. Join us and Asmodee and Tag #backyardboardgames on all your social media this long weekend to kick off the summer season.

Did you like this post? Check out our blog post: Exciting Board Games To Discover This Summer! For more fun and exciting post from our blended family, join our community!