I love a good family game and in our house we are always looking for one to play after dinner or even to introduce to other family or friends. There have been a number to grace our board game shelves over the years and today I want to share the most recent one that we played and decide if it is a good fit for you and your shelf!
My Shelfie is designed by Phil Walker-Harding and Matthew Dunstan with illustrations by Shannon Elizabeth Grosenbacher and Sara Valentino. It is published by Cranio Creations and Luck Duck Games. It is for 2-4 players and play in under 30 mins.
Overview
In My Shelfie players will be building up their own shelf by taking items from the Living Room floor and placing them in their personal bookshelf. Different items score points based on a few different scoring criteria and the player with the most points is the winner.
Gameplay
Players take turns picking up items from the floor to place on their shelf. The items must be in a straight line and have a free edge to grab them. Once you have the tiles in hand this is where the fun dynamic of this game kicks in. The “board” is a 6×5 grid that stands tall off of the table that you will be dropping your tiles into similar to a game like Connect Four or Drop It. The tiles you take must be able to fit in any order in one single column so make sure you take what you can fit in a column.
Once players have gone around enough to empty the Living Room to less than four tiles it is refilled and the same draw and play rules are followed. This gives you some new choices as the game progresses. I like the smooth nature of the tile pick and the challenges to get exactly what you want but not to push too fast or too slow compared to the other players at the table. Don’t fall behind or your shelf might be a bit bare at the end of the game!
There are four different ways to score points in the game, each giving you a way to try and build up your total as you build up your shelves. You can work on your personal goal card which gives you points based on how many of the spaces you match to the same type of item highlighted on the card. There is an end of game single point for the first person to completely fill their shelf. There are common goal cards that award points in descending value to all players who meet the requirements on the card. Finally there are points for all the adjacent tiles of the same type, more points being awarded to having more of the same tiles touching.
The game moves into the last round when someone places their last item on their bookshelf. All other players take one more turn and then you score the bookshelf based on the points above. The player with the most points wins!
Impressions
Family games are right where our sweet spot hits here at Gaming with Sidekicks. We love games that can be easily taught, easily played and don’t overstay their welcome. Once again Luck Duck Games is hitting it out of the park with a solid addition to that category. My Shelfie fits into the family game menu in a smooth and seamless way and I think most people will find it to be the case when they get it to their own tables.
The vertical nature of this game is one of my favorite parts by far. I love that it pops up off the table and stands tall for everyone to see. By doing this we get a game that really draws the eye and interest to a variety of people and I have personally seen necks turn around as people try to figure out what it is and when they can try it! The art and graphic design is cute also-I love all the details on the items on the shelf and especially the board game tiles. You can make out some classics and favorites to place on your own shelf at home.
The style is set collection and matching, so it definitely has a pre-planning and thought process that you must follow. In as much it is light in that nature so it won’t feel overwhelming to most people. Younger players will just have fun moving pieces and adding them to the bookshelf without a lot of thought behind it.
Overall this game is a great to look at and one of the new gems for family games in 2023. It is bound to be a favorite to many and I think if you have any younger players or new players who love simple to learn but fun to play games this will be right in their wheelhouse. Make sure to check this one out over from Lucky Duck Games!
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