We love board games in our family — it’s one of the easiest ways for us to all have fun together, and my kids forget about their iPads for a while. Win-win. 😊 For summer break (which we still have a couple of weeks of!) I’ve turned to board games often. “Go grab a board game!” the kids have heard me yell out many times. And they head into our play room where we have a growing collection of games, ranging from games for toddlers all the way through to adult.

We happen to have the coolest little place in our town of Amherstburg called Everybuddies Place Game Cafe, a unique spot that brings people together through the joy of games, good food, and community spirit. Born out of a shared love for board games and coffee between a mother and daughter — Tammy Brochert and Katelyn Foster — this cozy game café has quickly become a beloved hub in town. “At the time it was just coming out of COVID and people were a little leery about getting out of their homes but they took to doing puzzles and game boards and things like that. So we thought it would be a nice way to get people out of their homes to gather with their friends out in public again and have fun. And at the same time have some great treats and coffees,” says Tammy.

I spoke with Tammy for episode 3 of the Little Tot Landing podcast and she shared her favourite games, ways to keep all ages engaged while playing together and filled us in on all of the cool things happening at Everybuddies.

So — with summer travel still upon us, what are Tammy’s favourite games for travel? “When you’re traveling with your kids, it’s always long. I always bring games,” says Tammy. “If you’re going on vacation and you’ve had a busy day and you want to unwind a little bit, it’s nice to have just a couple little pieces in your suitcase that you can bring out to calm the kids down instead of turning the TV on or things like that,” says Tammy. Tammy recommends small games that don’t take up too much space and that are easy for the whole family to play. In her collection of must-haves, Tammy includes Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza for its simplicity and focus on memory practice, Rainbow a two-person game that plays quickly, and a game called Poison that teaches basic math. This trio of games is great for families with children of younger ages whereas Tammy’s other favourite easy-for-travel games Cadaver and Zombie Dice would be fun for families with teenagers.

The value of board games cannot be understated. Games these days not only foster cooperation, communication, team work and strategy, they also explore topics like art and science and build skills like critical thinking and planning. “There’s a lot to be said about a family sitting together, you know, the rolling of the dice and the communication that’s happening between them. Like the cooperative play, all the learning that’s going on, and the laughs and giggles that happen during the play as well. We have a lot of really fun, silly games, and we have some really deep-thinking games. A lot of games where they have to work creating strategies to win, and it’s really sweet to see that happening in this space,” says Tammy.

I also wondered what types of games Tammy would recommend for families with a variety of ages, such as my boys’ age range from 2—9. “The two-year-old is going to just want to crumple things and tear up things and do that kind of stuff. You’re looking for games that have hard pieces that are not going to crumple up. Some of our games have hard cardboard-type pieces, which are really nice because then the two-year-old can still touch and feel. If you’re playing a game and your nine-year-old is more interested in it than your two-year-old you can always just give them a few pieces to play with off to the side, just to feel like they’re involved,” says Tammy. One game she recommends for a range in ages is called Doggy Bag. “It has the same items in both bags and basically you pull a card and it gives you an item, say a picture of grapes, and they have to put their hand inside the bag and feel around and get the grapes. So if you’re playing with a 9 year old, you can make it so that they can’t see what’s in the bag and with your 2 year old, you can actually display the items,” Tammy offers. Altering the game like this for a variety of ages is so smart, and we will definitely be giving it a try with some of our games at home.

When talking about games for families, I asked Tammy for some advice on the inevitable meltdown that comes with losing a game. “Basically you can just talk to them about what was the outcome that you wanted. You wanted to win some points? Okay, well let’s try again,” Tammy offers. “You might have other kids in the group that might say, well, that’s not fair. And you could say, well, you know, one time when you lose all your points, maybe we’ll give you a second chance as well. And then it would kind of get them back into the game. OK, I get another chance,” says Tammy. Tammy also recommends helping your kids see where the game took a turn last round and how they can work on their strategy for next time. “Talk to them about what happened. Why did you lose your points this time? And maybe even convince them, OK, you know what? Last time you lost your points at this point, maybe let’s pause and keep these ones for now,” Tammy recommends. Tammy also suggests pausing a game, walking away for a snack break and coming back to the game when everyone is refreshed. “We also have some games that you can leave for a moment, maybe have a snack and then come back to it. So if you have a kid who is getting frustrated or overwhelmed you could just say, hey, guess what? It’s a snack break. Instead of fighting it, follow it.”

These tips are gold for me and my boys, who are incessantly trying to one-up each other and who never handle losing very well. One of my other favourite tips that Tammy shared throughout our talk was changing the game to accommodate any age or learning ability. Whether that is bending the rules, changing the rules or using the pieces of the game to come up with another game. “You could take the game and use the pieces in your very own way and create a game for them based on their attention span,” says Tammy.

The gaming community itself is actually working on becoming more accommodating, as it works to make games that are more inclusive. “They are trying to figure out ways to take games like Dixit and make it more autistic friendly,” says Tammy. “Also with colorblindness, making pieces that have different textures or symbols versus just the color. [The gaming community] is really branching out and making sure that everyone feels included,” says Tammy. Which is essentially the whole point of her cafe. “It’s called Everybuddies Place. So we’re trying to include everybody and make sure that everybody comes and has a great time and can basically grab anything and learn it and play and have fun,” says Tammy.

Tammy showed off a ton of other really cool games during our talk, including games I cannot wait to get in to Everybuddies to play, like Coffee Rush, which comes with little tiny teacups and milk and sugar to score points over the perfect latte, Photosynthesis, in which you get to win sunlight points! (how adorable is that?! my boys will love it!) and Kites, a cooperative game where no one individual wins, rather you work as a team to keep your kites up in the sky! Another recommendation that Tammy says always gets everyone engaged is Quick Cups, which involves a ringing bell that I know my toddler and five-year-old would never tire of. 😊

And, one final piece of advice — how should you work board games into your family life? “One important thing for me and my family growing up was having a game day. So it became part of our natural routine. Okay, today’s Wednesday, it’s a hump day, what are we going to do? So we would bring out some board games, let the kids choose and sit with them,” says Tammy. And if you decide your board game day needs to happen outside of the house and you’re lucky enough to live in the Windsor/Essex-County area, visit Everybuddies Place Game Cafe for lunch and an afternoon of board game play. With over 200 games to choose from, you will definitely find something for everyone in your family.

Stay up to date with all of the events happening at Everybuddies Place Game Cafe by following along either on Facebook or Instagram. Everybuddies hosts league events and is expecting a new liquor license soon that will make it the perfect stop for date night. Everybuddies also hosts birthday parties and murder mystery events, which you can book by reaching out either through the café’s website or social media.

Happy board gaming!