Toys On The Brain

Archive for the ‘Board Games’ Category

Last week I got strep throat. Joy of all joys. Needless to say, I was not a happy camper. But, due to my extreme contagiousness (and the fact that all I was capable of doing was lying on the couch curled up in the fetal position and drooling), I got to take two days off of work. Because of that, both younger kids had to go to work with their mom in New Jersey. We all know what that means - toys for good behavior!

Small Person #2 saw this game at Target and settled for it after being unable to find Rhino Rampage (a game he’s been asking for since before Christmas). Basically, this is Ker Plunk for younger kids. Instead of deadly pointed sticks, this uses “leaves” with slightly rounded ends and bees instead of marbles, but the idea is basically the same: each player removes one stick at their turn, possibly dislodging some of the bees inside. Whoever has more bees at the end loses.

Like Ker Plunk, it takes forever to set up. There are about a zillion leaves, and each one must be stuck through one hole and out another on the other side. Kids can help at the beginning, but towards the end when there are a lot of overlapping stems, it gets too difficult for them to do. Once it’s set up, you pour the bees in and get going.

In terms of actual gameplay, it’s not bad. It takes a steady hand to get a stem out without causing a cascade of bees, so it’s good for hand/eye coordination. It’s also blessedly quick to play (setup probably takes longer than gameplay). The pieces are relatively colorful, so you probably won’t lose anything right away.

My only complaint is that the idea of turning the trunk to each player for their turn is, well, stupid. If you play that way, bees always fall out mid-turn, it takes longer, and half the time you end up shaking it so much that leaves fall out too. A better plan is to leave it at one station and scoop out any bees that fall and then place them on the floor in front of you when it’s your turn. After almost losing it with Small Person #1 because he wouldn’t wait for it to be turned all the way, we’ve settled on this plan and it seems to be working well.

Bonus points for durability - it’s been dropped from a decent height at least twice and hasn’t broken or even cracked yet.

• Honey Bee Tree at International Playthings

Buy Honey Bee Tree Game Online:

• at Target
• at Amazon.com

Today I took the two youngest Small People and ventured to KB Toys. We still had a $25 gift certificate to use from the stricken company and wanted to spend it before the store gave up for good. A series of irritating events had prevented us from using it while the store still had anything worth buying, so we had to scrounge amid the piles of garbage on the shelves to find anything even remotely worth purchasing.

When I say garbage, I’m being serious - most of the goods had been opened and strewn about the store. Small Person #2 saw four Rhino Rampage boxes, but not a single one actually contained the game. Of course, we wouldn’t have purchased it even if we found one intact; you can get it on Amazon for $10 at the moment, while it still would have been $13 at KB! Again, big shock they’re going out of business. So, what did we end up with? Lots of little crappy things, but the best find was the game Don’t Break the Ice. We got it for $4, and even though it had been opened it still contained all of the pieces, so I considered it a small victory.

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The holiday season is pretty much over, and you know what that means… lots of toys to review! As usual, the boys got more toys than they could ever conceivably need, so we have lots to choose from in the new year. First up? A toy Small Person #2 had on his list to Santa, and actually got (the other two things were “real duck” and “life-size nutcracker soldier” - shocking he didn’t get everything he asked for).

Flippin Frogs is produced by Mattel and is somewhat like the classic game Ants in the Pants. The goal is to get as many of your frogs onto the tree by catapulting them off of your little plastic flipper and then hoping they all stay put when the tree suddenly pops up at the end. Whoever has the most left on the tree at the end wins.

The great thing about this game is that it’s SHORT. It doesn’t take forever, but it’s entertaining enough that the kids want to play it more than once. The little frogs are fairly squishy, so if one gets catapulted into your face you won’t have to go to work explaining your black eye. The bad thing is that it’s actually kind of hard to do. The frogs tend to either fly over the tree or land so precariously that they all fall off when the tree pops up. Plus, Small Person #2 keeps forgetting to continue trying to get frogs on the tree once he gets one on. Of course, he’s younger than the recommended 5 years, but that’s not really a big deal.

You may be put off by the fact that this toy needs batteries, but fear not. As long as you play on the carpet, it’s not very loud at all, and it doesn’t run forever so you won’t find yourself going insane from the sound.

Overall, it’s a good little game. It’s not going to be teaching any necessary skills to kids, but not everything has to be educational, right? Just remember to put it away when they’re done; if you don’t, you’ll be finding the little frogs all over the room once the kids figure out just how high and far they can make them fly.

Buy Flippin Frogs Online:

• at Target
• at Amazon.com

When I saw this in Target I thought it would be a perfect toy for the boys to share. It was Scooby Doo (which the boys are obsessed with), it was a board game (they love playing board games), and it was a haunted house (they also love anything to do with ghosts/headless creatures/booby traps). Unfortunately, it didn’t quite live up to expectations.

The idea behind the game is that, after putting it together (which can take a decidedly long time if you have small people trying to “help” you), you spin a little built-in spinner and move along the spaces, occasionally pushing down on the ghost at the top of the house to make the various traps spring and either trap your character or knock it off of its space. There are numerous different consequences for getting stuck in a trap or knocked down, and it’s nearly impossible to remember all of them. You never know which traps will be sprung with each push of the ghost, so I suppose that’s relatively interesting, but that’s pretty much where it ends.

The mere effort of pushing the ghost down inevitably causes all of the characters to fall over, which means that you’re constantly trying to remember where you were or where you should be or what to do next. The traps only work so-so, and the entire thing feels pretty flimsy. In terms of gameplay, there’s not a lot that’s more boring in a game than just spinning a (boring) spinner and moving along (boring) spaces. We only played this once before I decided that I would never, under any circumstances, play it again.

Having pretty much completely panned the game up to now, I will say that it’s actually kind of fun as a play set. The traps that work can be amusing, and if you just ignore the game aspect, it’s a fun haunted house for kids who like Scooby Doo. As a game, it totally sucks, but as a Scooby Doo-themed haunted house, it’s pretty good. So, if you have a small person who is obsessed with Scooby Doo, this one might actually be a hit. Just do yourself a favor and throw out the instructions and the spinner before the kid sees them.

Bonus points for not needing batteries!

Buy the Scooby Doo Haunted House Game Online:

• at Target
• at Amazon.com

We all know that money is going to be tight this holiday season. So, to help you maximize what you have and get the kids some toys they’ll enjoy, I’ve put together a list of the Top 8 Cheap Toys That Don’t Suck.

When I think of a classic board game, I immediately think of Monopoly. But, of course, it is far from the only one out there. From Life to Candy Land to Chutes and Ladders, there’s a game available for every age group. Even better, when it comes to prices, the classics we’ve loved for years tend to be quite reasonable. You can get the classic Monopoly pictured above for $10; the classic Candy Land is only $5. Stick with the classic versions rather than the updated ones to save money, and enjoy the time you get to spend playing with your little one!

Buy Board Games Online:

• at Amazon.com

For your little superhero-loving rug rat this Christmas season, I would highly recommend this Memory Match-Up game. In fact, we have two versions that are basically identical but contain a couple of different characters. You’re probably wondering what the game actually is, so read on!

Basically, it’s a 3-D version of the old Memory Game you and I all remember from our childhoods. In that version, you have to find matching cards; in this version, you find matching heads and feet to make your (and more importantly, your child’s) favorite superheroes. Little cups are used to cover the individual pieces, and the handy carry case doubles as the game board. The figures are cartoon versions rather than exact mini-mockups of the original Marvel characters, but they’re still well done.

In terms of education, well, it’s about as educational as the original memory game. You’re not learning how to read or advanced algebra, but you can certainly sneak in some math lessons (I got 4 and you got 6. Who got more?) and critical thinking skills (I picked that one and that one and they didn’t go together, so should you pick the same ones?), or just have some regular fun with your kids. Nothing wrong with that, right?

The only issue with the game is that it can be tough to figure out which feet go with which head. But trust me, once your kid has played a few times, they’ll be able to tell you which ones go together. As long as Junior isn’t a pathological liar, they’re a pretty reliable source and it’s nothing to worry about. There are pictures of each assembled figure so you can work it out without the help of the under-10 crowd if necessary; we used some cheap laminating stuff to help the longevity of the sheets.

Note that this is a tough one to find online. We got ours at Target, and their website says it’s only sold in stores. It’s a great holiday present, so go get one now!

Buy Spider-Man & Friends Memory Match-Up Online:

• at Amazon.com

What could be better for a 3 year old than being given permission, even encouraged to whack away at a toy while simultaneously competing on an equal footing with all-to-often smug older siblings? It turns out, very little.

Hungry Hungry Hippos is a classic children’s game that you may remember from your youth. In our day, the marbles were probably denser (now they’re very lightweight plastic) and the hippos were probably a little more substantial (of course, they probably also had lead in them in some way), but it’s still a good toy. Perfect for little ones who are old enough not to stick everything in their mouths, it’s a family game that doesn’t involve reading but which is great for teaching everyday mathematical concepts.

Basically, each player (up to 4) releases one marble from their chute (this may involve a little re-instruction once your little person figures out how to launch the marbles across the room) into the middle of the playing field. Then all players whack on their hippos’ tails, causing the heads to dart forward and compete for the marble. Whoever gets the most marbles in the end wins. Or, you can start out with all marbles on the board and see who gets the most from the entire group at once. Once you’re done whacking, it’s time to sneak in some mathematical lessons - who had the most? How many did you have? How many more would you need to have as many as your brother? Before you know it, they’ll be doing algebra!

The only issue we’ve had with the game so far has been finding a few of the marbles stuck on the undersides of the hippos. A small screwdriver and a little lever action rectified the situation pretty quickly, but it’s something to watch out for. Also, this is definitely one of those parental supervision games - if you’re not careful, you’ll be finding little white marbles all over your house, especially in the middle of the night when you’re walking down the hallway to go to the bathroom.

The recommended age is 4 and up, but as long as you feel confident your little person isn’t going to try and taste the marbles, it probably won’t be a problem if you start a little younger. Small Person #2 is only 3 and loves the game. Oh, and it comes in a nice, sturdy box you can store the game in… if you want to disassemble the whole thing every time. If you actually have a life and don’t feel like doing that, the box has absolutely no point. Get a Ziploc for the marbles and you’re good to go.

Buy Hungry Hungry Hippos Online:

• at Amazon.com
• at WalMart
• at eToys
• at KB Toys