Summary: <br> <br> Episode 147:Isaac VillaGaming with Sidekicks<br> <br> <br> <br> <br> This week we’re happy to welcome Isaac Villa. He runs a site similar to ours, called <a href="http://gamingwithsidekicks.com/">Gaming with Sidekicks</a>. We first met at PAX Unplugged, and we’re always happy to talk with other family-focused gamers.<br> <br> <br> <br> Gaming with Sidekicks branched off from a different website; the founders met while playing Dice Masters competitively. At one point, they had four different podcasts! While going to Origins to play competitively, Isaac realized he was making a circle of boardgaming friends.<br> <br> <br> <br> “Origins is kind of our big summer camp.”Isaac Villa, on making friends in the board gaming world<br> <br> <br> <br> Isaac got together with friends JT, Randy, and Stuart to start a new site that would still be in the boardgaming world but with a wider focus. They’re all dads with kids of various ages, from babies to teenagers. <br> <br> <br> <br> When Isaac is playing with his 15 year old daughter, games are an excellent social lubricant. Put down the phone and spend time together as a family! Gaming can also bring different kinds of people together, as with his wife who loves many games but doesn’t like conventions.<br> <br> <br> <br> Games we like with the people we love.Gaming with Sidekicks motto<br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> “Sidekicks” are our families, and our kids – people that we bring alongside to game with. But the “Sidekicks” idea also came from Dice Masters‘ “sidekick dice” with the pawn logo.<br> <br> <br> <br> Isaac tells us what he enjoyed about Dice Masters, although now he gets a similar feel from Dice Throne, but with less head-to-head combat.<br> <br> <br> <br> We talk a bit about dice and cooperative games, including Pandemic, Legendary, and Rescue Polar Bears. Cooperative games are our favorite way to teach logical deduction or looking ahead in games.<br> <br> <br> <br> Talking with Isaac also reveals to us how a person’s career and/or aptitude effect the way you play games. Playing with your kids reveals their strengths and weaknesses.<br> <br> <br> <br> Isaac’s son was a top-level player in Dice Masters at a young age, but still had a hugely hard time with losing. And that’s a teachable moment (as we’ve <a href="http://www.thefamilygamers.com/episode-86-kids-games-losing/">discussed in the past</a>), whether on the soccer field or in a boardgame.<br> <br> <br> <br> Know your audience! Isaac played with a group of teenage boys that made every game incredibly agressive. He loved playing Kung Fu Zoo with them (a dexterity dice-flicking game).<br> <br> <br> <br> What was your favorite game from 2018?<br> <br> <br> <br> His most played, and probably favorite: Drop It. (<a href="http://www.thefamilygamers.com/episode-128-best-of-2018/">Ours too</a>! – check our <a href="http://www.thefamilygamers.com/drop-it-review/">review</a>) Much like Ingenious, we think it will be a modern classic.<br> <br> <br> <br> Another of our favorites was Ghost Fightin’ Treasure Hunters (as listeners will probably <a href="http://www.thefamilygamers.com/ghost-fightin-treasure-hunters-giveaway/">remember</a>).<br> <br> <br> <br> Isaac recommends a few from Grandpa Beck’s Games, including Cover Your Assets and SkullKing (trick-taking).<br> <br> <br> <br> How about 2019? We’re almost halfway through the year.<br> <br> <br> <br> Our favorite so far this year is Tiny Towns, again to no one’s surprise (especially if you’ve read our <a href="http://www.thefamilygamers.com/tiny-towns/">review</a>). One of the best parts is that it’s relatively independent,
