Castle Break is Exciting

Castle Break is a fun, exciting game of both luck and strategy.  It doesn't have a lot of rules so is quick to learn and easy to teach.  Basically, the point of the game is to be the first to release the dragon that is trapped inside the castle by completing quests to get 6 coins that you forge into keys to unlock the 3 gates to the tower to release the dragon.  Players can do two different actions per turn from any of these choices:  get a quest, use a power card, roll and move, barter for a card from an opponent, swap a card with themselves, forge their keys, complete a quest.

Quests involve taking certain items to specific rooms in the castle.  The three types of cards are trade goods, weapons and power.  Power cards give special powers such as ways of moving faster, ways to stop or slow down opponents.  

PROS:

Love the artwork on the game board.

Like the combination of strategy and luck.  You always feel like you at least have a chance when you are behind.

Lots of options of things to do on a turn.

If you don't like a quest, you can exchange it for a different one.

Game is up to 4 players and only takes about an hour for ages 10 and up.

Under $20.

CONS:

The game doesn't come with a dragon!  The one I have was made by a friend on his 3D printer.

Quacks if a Fun Push Your Luck Game

Quacks is a fairly easy game to play but the first time, there is a lot of reading involved.  After that, you get to know the different ingredients so don't have to read all that much.  This game is mostly luck of the draw with just a little strategy.  You do not want your potion to explode so have to know when to quit pulling ingredients from your bag.  The object is to make the most points before the game ends.  There are 9 rounds every game.  

On a turn, you all play at the same time, pulling out ingredients from your bag one at a time and placing them in your pot.  You can pull as many as you want; however, if you get more than 7 white chips (cherry bombs), your potion explodes and you must choose between scoring the points based on how far along you got, or buy more ingredients.  You can't do both like you would normally be able to do.

Then you score points, everyone buys ingredients, the red rubies are taken, the rats are placed (the ones behind get a bit of a head start according to how many rat tails are between them and the lead person on the scoreboard.  The second round card is flipped which provides some kind of benefit for all players.  All ingredients used are returned to the bags and players draw all at once again.

As the game continues on, your bag gets more and more ingredients according to what you buy.  Each round, players can buy up to two different ingredients based on how far along they got.

PROS:

Fun, easy to play, the only choice each round is what ingredients you want to buy.

Up to 4 players and takes about an hour. 

Cute theme.  Players are all quacks trying to come up with the best potion.

Don't need to wait for your turn since everyone plays at the same time.

The strategy is building up a stable bag of ingredients, increasing odds of choosing colored chips early.

Get red rubies to be able to move your starting point ahead.

CONS:

Mostly a game of luck of the draw.