When we are looking for a game to play as a family, something that is important to us is that the game will be interesting enough for adults and children to enjoy alike, but that the rules will be simple enough for our youngest game player to understand. A game that we often end up playing is David Chircop’s Petrichor.

In the game of Petrichor, you are a cloud. Your goal is to increase your cloud number, produce raindrops, and grow crops. However, the people playing against you are other clouds with other plans that may work against you. The game is for up to four players, but there is also an expansion that allows you to play with five, which we have for such a time when Kyrie is old enough to play.

While it’s true that Lili (our four-year-old) can comprehend the rules well enough to be able to take a turn without help, she does not yet understand the concept of strategy. Sometimes, our nine-year-old (Xander) will take advantage of this and single her out. The last time this happened, Chris and I ended up ganging up on Xander and making moves that would aid Lili in winning the game despite her own personal lack of strategy.

The game did feel a bit complex to me at first because there are a lot of small pieces and a lot of choices. I really like games that don’t have a lot of things to keep track of because my ADHD brain can become confused really quickly, but once you get the hang of the rules, it doesn’t feel like there are so many things to keep track of as originally anticipated.

Overall, this is a game that the whole family really enjoys. The art on the cards is beautiful, the rules are not terribly complex, and it’s difficult to predict who is going to win because there are many ways to do it and many strategies that will aid you in doing well. I highly suggest this game for family time in the upcoming holiday season. It has been great as a bonding tool for our family, and it’s just all-around fun.