2010/347: Malefiz
On Saturday, a package from Germany arrived, and one of the things inside was my favorite board game from when I was a child: Malefiz (also known as Barricade). My best friend sent it to me as a thank-you for finishing two cross-stitched tablecloths that she had started and wasn’t able to find the time to finish.
Sara saw me open the box, and asked what it was, and when I told her that it was a game, her face lit up, and she asked “can we play it?” Sure! I played two rounds with her right away, and after dinner all four of us played. Melissa wasn’t too happy about it, because she wanted to play on the computer instead, but mean mommy didn’t give her a choice. And wouldn’t you know it… she ended up winning!
The Daily Click 
Looks like a good thinking and visually fun game to play.
13. December, 2010 at 05:51
I thought “Malefiz” was going to be about your husband putting up the Christmas lights and then quickly losing interest. lol
Family game time is so much fun!
13. December, 2010 at 07:07
ROFLOL… yeah, that would NOT have been surprising (sorry, honey, but it’s true!).
Btw. the name of the game is not pronounced like “male fizz” 😉 it’s more like “Mah-leh-fits”
13. December, 2010 at 07:28
How fun! Mean mommy always knows best 😉
13. December, 2010 at 07:56
That’s right!! 😀
13. December, 2010 at 09:37
Buddy has been spending way too much time on his ipad and we’ve been making comments to him about it. Yesterday was rainy and PJ was sick………Buddy played board games all day and 1/2 the night and said “I wasn’t on my ipad all day”. I think even he was impressed, lol.
So does Mel want to play again?
Looks interesting…..how do you play?
13. December, 2010 at 09:34
Once Melissa gets on the computer, she could spend all day, too, and that’s why some days I don’t even allow her to turn it on (SO mean! LOL)
I didn’t ask her if she wants to play again.
How do you play? OK… the goal is to get from your “home” all the way to the top of the game board, where that white & red circle is (the finish). Only one of your pegs needs to make it to the finish.
The white pieces are barricades and go on the red fields at the beginning of the game. You need an exact roll of the die to move it out of your way, and then you can set it almost anywhere on the board, blocking another player and preventing him/her to get to the finish before you do. You can also knock other players out (like “Sorry”), and make them start over. You can move your peg in any direction, but you can’t go forward and backwards on the same roll of the die.
It’s a fairly simple game, with not a lot of rules to remember, so it’s good for all age groups.
13. December, 2010 at 09:46
It looks a little like a game I konw: “Ludo”
Interesting. Maybe it is available in Denmark too.
13. December, 2010 at 12:36
Sounds like a fun game! I think it is GREAT that you can share a piece of your German heritage with your kids as well as take a step back into your own childhood in the process. And, NO you most certainly are NOT a mean mommy but a very GOOD one! 🙂
13. December, 2010 at 13:16
Wow, that looks like a really cool game, sounds like the perfect game to spend some family time 😉
13. December, 2010 at 22:19
I’ve never heard of the game before, but it sure photographs well ; )
13. December, 2010 at 22:28
Glad to know my 13-year-old isn’t the only one obsessed with the computer! Sometimes this mean mommy makes her trade reading time for computer time! I love strategy games – this looks like fun.
14. December, 2010 at 10:40
what a great gift!!
14. December, 2010 at 21:11
Cool! My hubby is a total boardgame geek and he’s looking this up right now. I’m sure our family will be playing some games this holiday. I’m reluctant to learn new games, but I always have fun.
19. December, 2010 at 02:05
Oooh what a cool little game! I wanna play I wanna play!! Love the shots of it too, especially the last one with the dice in focus.
20. December, 2010 at 11:00