Happy Throwback Thursday! Today I bring you some of my most go-to things, for quite different reasons. These treats and games and never fails for me. They are simple classics that I’ve come back to time and time again, and after recently making/playing all three of these, I thought it was high time to write about them!

At a Glance…

Toffee Cinnamon Oatmeal Cookie Bars

These delightful bars from Oh She Glows are tried and true for me. I’ve made them dozens of times. They are often my go-to treat for gluten free people because they just use simple ingredients that I always have lying around. Pantry staples like coconut oil, (gluten free) oats, flax, chocolate chips, and almonds make this come together lickety-split and are so tasty. I was surprised when I looked at the recipe source recently ( I often put recipes I like on my google drive for easier searching). I found that Oh She Glows has revised it since its original inception, and it now includes almond butter. I think I made it once that way to try it and it was good, but either way works well! The most recent time I made this, I actually had a friend request the recipe, so here you go Keith!

7 Wonders

7 Wonders is apparently “the most awarded game in the world, with close to 2 million copies sold across the world and more than 30 international awards” (Repos website). It has spawned 4 expansions in its current iteration, a 2 player spinoff, a LOTR spinoff of the 2 player spinoff, a streamlines version (Architects), an app, and online implementation. Whew! All that to say, it is very popular and well-loved by many around the world, including us.

In it, you are building an ancient civilization with resources, commodities, science, guilds, military, commerce, and more. You draft these cards, and each round you’ll also fight military battles with your neighbors. You can also discard a card to instead fulfill the requirements of your wonder, which is not necessary but a great way to get points and abilities. It goes so fast, but has a lot of strategies to explore, so is great for a large number of gamers. It can be a big teach at first, but once you get it it’s pretty straightforward. My parents and brother have been requesting it a lot, and it’s one of my brother-in-law’s favorites as well. All in all, it’s a classic that should definitely be tried at least once, if not owned by all! BTW, don’t sit next to me and pass me science cards…you will lose lol. 😂

Fun story: I have a fond memory of learning one of the expansions at Gen Con and getting a phone call in the middle of the game informing me that after removing some melanoma, my biopsy of lymph nodes had come back cancer free!

Similo is a sssuuuuppper simple party / deduction / cooperative game. There are many different decks and versions now, like history, animals, fables, and more. You put out a grid of 12 cards, one is secretly chosen and known by the ‘it’ person. Everyone is working together to guess the ‘it’ card, using clues given by the person. But, the only clues they can give are whether the it card is alike or different from their clue card. Each round, you have to eliminate more and more cards, till only the ‘it’ card is left. You can play with just one deck, or mix and match them for more craziness. This spawns hilarious conversations about which animal is alike or unlike historical figures haha.

I’ve been playing this a ton with my ESL students recently. It works really well since I can put the cards on a white board with magnets and hold it up to the screen. I’m the only one who can give clues, but I make them explain their reasoning for why they’re keeping or eliminating certain cards, which is great for their skills. We can talk about things like colors, size, habitats, diet, personalities, etc. The kids have been loving it! The only tricky part of the game, whether with ESL kids or even ourselves, is remember that awkward double negative part. I’m anxious to get more decks, like the Wild Animals or Aquatic Animals, to mix things up even more. I just saw they have a new deck coming soon, ‘Wonders’ that would’ve fit right in with this game night when we played 7 Wonders! Oooo, we could have a 7 Wonders, World Wonders, Similo Wonders themed night! Stay tuned haha!

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].