Gamewright Games

What Gamewright makes

Gamewright makes family games. In our data, its listings cover card games, dice games, kids' games, strategy games and party games. Gamewright's About page says the company was founded in 1994 by four parents whose kids wanted great games, that it is a division of Ceaco, Inc., and that its family of games has grown to over 200. Those facts come from the maker's own page.

The 31 listings in our data sort into five groups:

1. Short card games
2. Qwixx and other dice games
3. The Forbidden cooperative series
4. Kids' games, 5+ and 6+
5. Party and adult-leaning card games

The common thread is length. Where a listing states a play time, it's usually 10 to 20 minutes. That's a game you can play before dinner and still have time to argue about who shuffles.

Gamewright games by line

Short card games

These are the boxes most people picture when they hear the name:

• Sushi Go, 8+, 2–5 players, 15 minutes, set collection
• Sushi Go Party, set collection, with no age or players in our data
• Sushi Go Party Chef's Special, 8+, 2–8 players
• Sleeping Queens, 8+, 2–5 players, 20 minutes
• Sleeping Queens 2 The Rescue, 8+, 2–5 players, 20 minutes
• Rat-A-Tat Cat, 6+, 2–6 players, 10–15 minutes, 54 cards
• Trash Pandas, 8+, 2–4 players, 20 minutes, press-your-luck

Set collection means you score for gathering matching or related cards. Press-your-luck means you keep going for more until you either stop and bank or push too far and lose the round.

Sushi Go and Sushi Go Party Chef's Special share a theme but not a seat count. The original lists 2–5. Chef's Special lists 2–8. For a family of six, that's the difference that matters. Our Sushi Go page compares them in more depth.

Sleeping Queens and its follow-up list the same age, players and time. The Rescue is listed as its own game, not an expansion.

More card games for younger players

A second group of card games starts younger or plays faster:

• Slamwich, 6+, matching and speed
• Throw Fish, 5+, 2–4 players, a kids' classic style
• Me Want Pancakes, 5+, 2–6 players, set collection
• Deduckto, 8+, 2–4 players, 15 minutes

Throw Fish and Me Want Pancakes are the lowest starting ages among the card games in our data. Slamwich is a speed game, which suits a family where the youngest player is also the fastest. Speed games don't care who's tallest.

Qwixx and other dice games

• Qwixx, 8+, 2–5 players, 15 minutes, 6 dice and a score pad
• Qwixx Duel, 8+, exactly 2 players, 6 dice, a game board, 44 tokens and a token bag
• Qwixx Mixx Score Pads, 8+, 15 minutes, an expansion that lists Qwixx as the base game required
• Lying, Cheating Raccoons, 8+, 2–6 players, dice

Qwixx is a roll-and-write game: everyone marks a score sheet on every roll, so nobody waits long for a turn. Qwixx Duel is a separate game for two. Qwixx Mixx is score pads only, so it's for someone who already owns Qwixx.

Lucho's take on a dice game that comes with its own score pad: "A pad in the box is a pad nobody has to go find. That's half the setup at our table."

The Forbidden series: cooperative games

• Forbidden Desert, 10+, 2–5 players, cooperative
• Forbidden Jungle, 2–5 players, 30–45 minutes, 47 miniatures
• Forbidden Legacy, 2–5 players, cooperative, a legacy edition

Cooperative means the players win or lose together against the game. Legacy means the game changes over a series of plays, and what happens in one session carries into the next.

These are the longest Gamewright games in our data. Forbidden Jungle lists 30–45 minutes. The others don't state a time. They suit a family with kids around 10 and up, or a group of adults who'd rather beat a board than each other.

Forbidden Desert lists 10+. Forbidden Jungle and Forbidden Legacy don't state an age in our data, so check the box before you seat a younger player.

Kids' games and family strategy

• Outfoxed, 5+, up to 4 players, 15+ minutes, a kids' deduction game
• Treasure Hunt, 6+, 2–5 players, 10–15 minutes, cooperative, wooden pieces
• A Bunch of Fun Guys, 2–4 players, 20 minutes
• Dragonwood, 8–12, 2–4 players, 20 minutes, strategy
• Shifting Stones, 8+, 2–5 players, 20 minutes, with a solo mode
• Wrath of Fire Mountain, 10+, 2–6 players, 30 minutes
• DragonIsles, 10+, 2–5 players

Outfoxed and Treasure Hunt are the two to look at for a 5- or 6-year-old. Our Outfoxed page covers how it plays. Treasure Hunt is cooperative by its listing, so the youngest player doesn't lose alone.

Dragonwood lists 8–12, an age range with an end. Shifting Stones lists a solo mode with 9 tiles and a deck of scoring cards, so it works for a kid playing alone. Wrath of Fire Mountain lists one of the bigger component sets here: 44 cave people, 16 dinosaur figures, 7 dice and map tiles.

The Pickle Game is also in the grid. Our data doesn't state its age, players or time.

Party and adult-leaning card games

• Think 'N Sync, 3–8 players, 225 cards
• Party to Go In a Pickle, 10+, 2–6 players, a word game
• Party to Go Guess The Link, 10+, 2–8 players, 15 minutes
• Cahoots, 14+, 3–8 players
• Butts on Things, 14+, 2–4 players, 10 minutes

The two Party to Go boxes share an edition name and a 10+ label. Cahoots and Butts on Things both list 14+. Read the age before putting either on the table at a family gathering.

How to pick a Gamewright game

Here's the short version:

1. Find the youngest player's age. Cross off every game listed above it.
2. Count the players. Most games here seat 2–5 or 2–6. Chef's Special and Guess The Link go to 8. Qwixx Duel is exactly 2.
3. Pick the kind of game. Cards, dice, co-op, or a party game for a bigger group.
4. Check for a base game. Qwixx Mixx needs Qwixx.
5. Check the time. Most stated times are 10–20 minutes. The Forbidden games run longer.

House rule: the youngest player at our table picks the first game of the night, from the boxes their age allows. It keeps the 7+ and 8+ boxes from taking over.

Most Gamewright games end in 20 minutes

Gamewright's lineup leans short. Out of the listings that state a play time, most say 10, 15 or 20 minutes. Only Forbidden Jungle (30–45) and Wrath of Fire Mountain (30) go longer.

That matters for two kinds of family. A family with young kids gets a game that ends before attention does. A family with a busy week gets a game that fits between homework and bed. For a full evening of one game, look at the strategy board games page instead.

Gamewright games by age

The listed ages in our data fall into four bands. Here's what sits in each, using only the listing labels:

Ages 5 and 6. Outfoxed, Throw Fish and Me Want Pancakes start at 5. Slamwich, Rat-A-Tat Cat and Treasure Hunt start at 6. These are the games where a kindergartner or first grader can sit at the table by the label. Two of them, Outfoxed and Treasure Hunt, are built so the players work together, which takes some of the sting out of a loss for the youngest.

Age 8. This is the biggest band. Sushi Go, Sushi Go Party Chef's Special, Sleeping Queens and The Rescue, Trash Pandas, Deduckto, Qwixx, Qwixx Duel, Lying, Cheating Raccoons, Shifting Stones and Dragonwood (8–12) all start here. A family whose youngest is 8 can pick from most of the lineup.

Age 10. Forbidden Desert, Wrath of Fire Mountain, DragonIsles and the two Party to Go boxes. These ask for longer attention or more reading.

Age 14. Cahoots and Butts on Things. They're party card games, and a 14+ label holds whether or not a 12-year-old is very mature for their age. I've been asked. Many times.

Several listings, including Sushi Go Party, Pickle Game, Forbidden Jungle, Forbidden Legacy, A Bunch of Fun Guys and Think 'N Sync, don't state an age in our data. For those, the box decides.

Gamewright games for bigger groups

Most Gamewright boxes stop at 5 or 6 players. If you regularly have more people than that, the list gets short:

• Sushi Go Party Chef's Special lists 2–8.
• Party to Go Guess The Link lists 2–8.
• Think 'N Sync lists 3–8.
• Cahoots lists 3–8, at 14+.

For a family of six, add Rat-A-Tat Cat (2–6), Me Want Pancakes (2–6), Lying, Cheating Raccoons (2–6), Wrath of Fire Mountain (2–6) and Party to Go In a Pickle (2–6). That's a decent shelf for a big household without a single box over 30 minutes by its listing.

Games with no board, for the car and the cabin

A lot of this lineup is card and dice games with no board. Sushi Go, Sleeping Queens, Rat-A-Tat Cat, Trash Pandas, Deduckto, Throw Fish and Qwixx are all cards, or dice and a pad. Our data doesn't record box sizes, so check the listing photos. Qwixx needs a flat spot for six dice and a pencil. A card game needs about as much table as a lunch tray.

That makes Gamewright a natural pick for a road trip, a grandparent's house or a waiting room. Pack one card game and one dice game, and you've covered most ages from 6 up.

Who should skip Gamewright games

• A child under 5. No listing in our data starts lower.
• A group looking for a two-hour game. The stated times here top out at 45 minutes.
• Anyone buying Qwixx Mixx Score Pads without owning Qwixx.

For more short games across brands, see family card games, card games and dice games.

Small parts

Check the age label on the listing. Toys with small parts are a choking hazard for children under 3. Dice, tokens and miniatures go back in the box after the game, out of reach of any toddler in the house.

Pick by the youngest player, keep the score pad in the box, and deal.