Dragonwood is one of those games that hits all the marks. It’s easy to learn, fun to play, and has a high replay value. The art is amazing and it taps into that childhood imagination. Because of all this, and because of my youngest’s contagious love of play, he soon found himself with a Dragonwood gang. Every morning, when we arrived at the pool, he’d have friends asking, “Did you bring it today? Did you bring Dragonwood?” Together, the little buddies would run off to the basketball court for a morning of Dragonwood. Well, one afternoon our pool day was interrupted by a thunderstorm. We had to abruptly gather our belongings, rush to the car, and head home. To begin the game, all players can look at their two outer cards of the four face down cards in front of them. If one, or both, of the cards are Power Cards, their powers do not work. They only work when drawn from the Draw Pile.

Although the gameplay is in a circle one at a time, allow players to peek at 2 of their cards when the game begins, the ones at the ends of their line. Action cards may only be used when they are taken from the draw pile. They cannot be taken from the discard pile and do nothing if found among the face-down cards. After use, they are immediately put into the discard pile. If an action card is taken from the draw pile, it has the following effect: If you’re after more easy but fun card games for your kids to play, consider reading the Nertz Card game rules, Blink card game rules, Golf card game rules or the Apples to Apple rules. The Draw 2 Power Card gives the player an option to take two more turns. During their turn, they draw from the draw pile. The first turn, they may discard the card drawn and continue to their second turn, or they may use the card that was drawn and forfeit their second turn. Power Cards have no point value, and they must be replaced by a card drawn from the draw pile at the end of the round. They can make or break a winning streak!OBJECT OF RAT A TAT CAT: The object of Rat a Tat Cat is to be the player with the lowest score at the end of the game. NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 2 to 6 players MATERIALS: 28 Cat Cards, 17 Rat Cards, and 9 Power Cards TYPE OF GAME: Strategy Card Game AUDIENCE: 6+ The game may end three different ways, depending on what the group decides. The group may play for a certain number of rounds or for a specific length of time. In these cases, the player with the lowest points at the end of the game is the winner. You must decide whether to use this card and forfeit the second turn OR discard this card and draw a second card.

There are three types of Power Cards that may provide special abilities to the player that uses them. There are Peek Power Cards, which allow the player to peek at any one of their facedown cards. The Swap Power Cards allow the player to swap any of one of their cards with one of another players. This is optional, and the player who drew the card can decline, as they are unable to look at either of the cards they are swapping. Just like the game set up, learning the Rat a Tat Cat rules is very straightforward. Starting the Game Have all the cards face up so that they can work on numerical skills instead. Alternative games to Rat a Tat CatNow you will know what you have, or you can refresh your memory if you have forgotten what you have. Your turn is over and you discard the Peek card. Draw the top card from the discard pile. This card MUST be used to replace one of her cards. The card replaced is then discarded, face up, to the discard pile; OR Kingdomino (fun for everyone, and it doesn’t really matter if the littlest ones don’t follow the rules) Be forewarned: There is abundant potty humor in this one, but that is why your children won’t be able to resist it. Need an example? To decide who goes first at the start of the game, there is a burping competition. Whoever wins is declared the Burp Boss and gets to go first. This second card may be used or discarded. Your turn is then over. If either of the cards drawn are another Draw 2 card, the Draw 2 sequence starts again.