GAME: Snake Oil Party Potion

Game: Snake Oil Party Potion

Publisher: Out of the Box Games

Ages: 10+... yeah, though you could probably have fun with a smart 8+ crowd.

Time to play: 30 minutes ... probably less.

Pros:

• Allows for buckets of creativity. If you want to broaden some imaginations, this is a perfect starting point.
• This game will make you laugh out loud, if you don't you're doing it wrong. At least one product a round usually has me guffawing. 
• Fast. Well, unless you have people who take a while to "go" or want to take up way more time than allowed.
• EASY to learn.

Cons:

• Not enough cards in the box to satisfy a family that really likes the game. You will begin to see the cards you had previous pretty quickly.
• Sometimes your hand can be so bad it is good. And sometimes your hand can be so bad... it is awful.
• The art, while "cute", is nothing to write home about.

One sentence reviews from the rest of the family:

Mom: "Be prepared to pitch products you never imagined!"
Teenager: "Buy my stuff!"
Tween: "Hilariously amazing for the family!"

Final Comments:
This game is great for a good umber of family game nights, or for a party (especially a kid party). After a while though, the shine wears off. Don't get me wrong, I still enjoy it. The kids and wife still REALLY enjoy it. But if you are the head-of-the-house, and a real gamer, without strategy or tactics, this one does get old... aside from the humor-that is the reason I still give it, and we still play it. If, on the other hand, you are a thespian, I would suspect this would be in your top ten of family games.
Also, as reflected in the ratings, the family does like it more than I do, and I have heard the original is better.

Final Family Rating as a Family Game (1-10 Scale): 

Me: 5
Mom: 7
Teenager: 7
Tween: 10

Total: 7.25

GAME: Coup

Game: Coup

Publisher: Indie Boards and Cards

Ages: Package says 9+. I would say probably 10.

Time to play: Package says 15 minutes. I find that is probably right on the money.

Pros:

• Easy to learn. I can usually teach it to someone in a matter of minutes.
• Interesting depth-of-play. Though sometimes the hand you are dealt is a great one and you can slide by a win on the luck of the draw, you can often craft your win with subtle and/or overtly (which might be false) tactics.
• Very cool art on the cards. I love the sci-fi design on them.
• Fast to set up and fast to pack away.
• Plays very fast.

Cons:

• Our 10-year-old doesn't care for the "lying" aspect of the game. 
• It sometimes suffers from a very odd type of "analysis paralysis", where after someone declares what they are doing, the other players eye them for a while, sometimes saying, "Wait... hmmm..." and slowing the game - though this can be fun too.
• Calling out someone as the Assassin could lose you the game immediately-as you lose an influence for an incorrect guess and then you lose an influence through assassination! This can frustrate younger players.

One sentence reviews from the rest of the family:

Mom: "I really don't care if you're an Ambassador."
Teenager: "Don't trust anyone at the table."
Tween: "I like the art!"

Final Comments:
This game is quick and loads of fun. It has a lot of tactical depth, if you are a good liar. Or even better, it has a lot of tactical depth if you can tell who is the liar. The built-in time of the money makes for a nice well-rounded mechanic for movement, and makes it so the game does not have time to get boring.
A nice time-waster and filler. I do recommend this game, especially at such a low price tag (of course, there aren't a ton of components either).

Final Family Rating as a Family Game (1-10 Scale): 

Me: 7
Mom: 8 
Teenager: 6.5
Tween: 8.5

Total: 7.5

GAME: Piña Pirata

Game: Piña Pirata

Publisher: iello

Ages: Package says 8+. That is probably about right, but some of the strange rules that pop-up, and the interactions, might be a little difficult for anyone under 10 or so.

Time to play: Package says 30 minutes. I find that the younger the players, the longer the game. We found it to play in just over an hour, generally.

Pros:

• The basic mechanics are fairly simple. The initial game is like Uno with a little Fluxx thrown in to make it more interesting.
• The art is great! The cards have very stylized and interesting art. We actually have nicknames for a lot of the cards: George Washington - Monkey, Teddy Roosevelt - Walrus, Tiger Millionaire - Tiger (this reference I did not get), so on. The back of the tiles are very cool too. Our 10-year-old loved to look for interesting things on the tiles.
• The gameplay can get "foam-sword-cutthroat"-meaning, you can do things to other players, but the level of the interaction never gets bad enough for there to be hurt feelings. 

  

  This tile was the bane of my existence last time we played. Argh!

• The adding in of tiles as the game progresses makes for a "fresh" round each time, while keeping the continuity from the round before. This really helps the younger kids play along easier, as there is only one new thing to remember each round.
• I have to take a moment to mention how much I liked the packaging too. Everything fits in great. It also has a great little box that "seals" itself. 

Cons:

• We found a few of the tile interactions to a bit complicated. We debated for a bit as to how they carried out in-game. This slowed the play some.
• My wife found the art to be a little difficult when trying to discern some of the creatures, "Needs bigger pictures," she says.

One sentence reviews from the rest of the family:

Mom: "Fun, fast-paced, Fluxx-style card game that builds in complexity with each round."
Teenager: "A quick-paced, easy-to-learn, but challenging game."
Tween: "A really good family game!"

Final Comments:

This is a fun little game that is often called for around our house-we actually call the person who won last "The Pirate King (or Queen)". Also, it is my belief that if you develop nicknames for characters or cards or the other players, the game is probably well-liked.
My wife is a fan of the game because it reminds her of Fluxx, but is more of "game" than Fluxx. Our 10-year-old loves the way the game flows and gets really into it when she gets down to the last few cards in her hand. Our 15-year-old seems to be the interpreter of how the tile interactions work, and as a lifetime gamer, I have to admit, he is really good at it. And I enjoy it too. It's light and fast-paced (usually) and it keeps you engaged.
You play a game of it in an hour or so, or you could just play a couple of hands for a fun little interlude between other games, or while waiting for someone to get ready. The compact nature of the components and the ability to start up a game quickly also made it a big hit on our vacation (the theme of the high seas and the fact we were at the beach helped too).

Final Family Tally (1-10 Scale): 

Me: 8
Mom: 8.5 
Teenager: 9
Tween: 10

Total: 8.875... we're going to round that to 9