Last week for pray & play, we knew we were going to have a large number of attendees, and we’re kinda tired of our party games at the moment, so we started out split into two groups. There were several last minute decisions of games to play based on last minute RSVPs, but it all turned out in the end and I got to teach some of my favorite, and eat some delicious crumble!

At a Glance…

Raspberry Oat Crumble Squares

Oh She Glows is always a tried and true source of recipes and I’ve loved her cookbook for years. I just found out she’s from Calgary! Small world! Today I tried her Raspberry Chia Seed Jam Oat Crumble Squares (that’s a mouthful), and they did not disappoint. Unsurprisingly, I had to double the recipe based on our group size, and I had just enough raspberries after combining my fresh and frozen ones. (Actually, I still had peppermint brownies leftover from the 100 I made the day before, but I wasn’t about to let these fresh raspberries go to waste! The jam turned out well, and the base and topping was super easy to make. Actually, the jam made way more than the recipe called for, and I decided to risk it (as usual), and just use it all. Turned out that was a great decision and it could have even used more jam if I’m being honest. My husband was delighted with this one and it’ll be a keeper!

The Games

While we munched, we got to play some of my favorite! I taught 3 more people Piepmatz (read my full review here) and cross another play off our 10×10. I also taught a few people River Valley Glassworks, so two Riddle & Pinchback games in a row! Win! (Actually I did not win either of the games, but that’s how you know I was a good teacher 😂🫣). River Valley Glassworks is a delightful game of beautiful components and cute critters. On your turn, you either place glass in the river, matching the shape of your piece to the shape where you place it, and gather all the glass on a tile adjacent to it, or get more glass from the lake. When you pick up, you put it into your stash sorted into columns of colors. At the end of the game, you score your two tallest columns and all your rows until a gap. That’s basically it! It’s so simple! Jon was actually unsure of backing it on kickstarter because of how simple it is, but I think he would agree it was a great decision, and the little mini modules it comes with really add to the replayability and strategy. This one is a delight and joy for gamers and non-gamers alike, would highly recommend!

While we were doing that, Jon led a group in several rounds of Bomb Busters. It’s definitely more his kinda game than mine, so I was happy to have him help the 10×10 with that play. In it, you are cooperatively trying to defuse a bomb by guessing the numbered tiles others have, with very little information. There are 66 scenarios which we’ve only done a handful of. They did try a new one that night, and it sounded chaotic and tricky. Jon especially, but we’re both really enjoying exploring all this has to offer and will keep you posted as we progress in the missions.

We ended the night with a crowd favorite (and another for the 10×10 lol), Super Mega Lucky Box! This is such a simple but satisfying game. It’s essentially bingo, but you get fun little bonuses all the time that can chain react to complete the rows and columns you need to finish your squares. With one box it goes up to six players, but since it’s so simultaneous, I highly recommend getting 2 copies so you can play up to 12 players. This is a fantastic way to start or end a night when you have a large group and a short amount of time. I’ve never met anyone who didn’t love this one; go grab it!

Another great game night in the books! ✅

Want to buy these games? Check out your friendly local game store (FLGS), Amazon [here], or get a first-order discount at Board Game bliss [here].

Buy River Valley Glassworks at Amazon.ca or Amazon.com. Buy Bomb Busters on Amazon.ca or Amazon.com