Oh, I know what you are thinking. No, I'm not talking about the type of Family Game Night where everyone is wearing matching turtlenecks with identical smiles. Yes, I know the importance of sitting down to dinner together and spending time together, but realistically it is tough.
Usually "Game Night" it is not exactly a scheduled situation. Rather, it is a spontaneous, "Hey, will you play Towers with me?" Or my two boys will start playing together, but then the first gets bored so the second asks a parent to join in. Then the first comes back. The fun catches on.
A lot of times our family gravitates towards games on the Wii, such as our latest acquisition, Tony Hawk's Shred. This game was exciting to receive because while I love Wii Sports Resort, they don't allow goofy-foot snowboarding. But Tony Hawk does!
But recently, I had the pleasure of obtaining several new board games from The Wonder Forge, the creators of ZimZala Games for older kids, and I Can Do That games for preschoolers.
Since I am a science geek, I'm in love with the Mythbusters game from ZimZala. I've watched the T.V. show a couple times and enjoyed it, but to be honest, I haven't watched it enough to automatically know the answers to the game. I think this is a good thing, because it allows me and my sons to try to take a guess at the right answer (and then for my sons to laugh hilariously when I'm totally wrong.) My science background might help me or might hurt me. Meanwhile, I do think my boys have seen a few more episodes of Mythbusters than I have, so they might have an advantage there.
Plus, no matter whether we are actually playing the game or not, the allure of loading up Buster into a catapult and watching him fly is fun all on its own.
Another "older kid" game from ZimZala is the award-winning balancing word-game Konexi. This challenging game has been featured on LIVE! with Regis & Kelly, The Today Show, Parade magazine, and on Fox News. Essentially, it is part-Boggle, part-Scrabble, and part-Jenga. Players create words by moving and balancing letters. The letters can be in any order to create a word, but the letters must balance. Nothing like a little mental and physical gymnastics!
Konexi is a great game for those kids who think they are "too old" for board games. I can see the game being a great addition to the lounge in my co-ed fraternity, or for a couples' date night. My father just had heart surgery, and while movement in his arms is encouraged, playing tackle soccer in the backyard with my sons is a serious no-no. But, my older son is definitely game to play something like Konexi with his grandpa.
ZimZala Games definitely has some intriguing options for older kids and adults.
Meanwhile, I Can Do That Games helps with the opposite end of the age spectrum. Many board games cater towards grade-schoolers, leaving the pre-schoolers overly challenged. But matching games, card games, and "Eye Found It" games can be fun for the little kids while still entertaining the older ones.
A fabulous new game that older siblings can play with their younger siblings is What's in the Cat's Hat? This is a multi-sensory experience. One person places a household object in the familiar red and white hat. The other player has to guess what is inside. Cards suggest things like "squeeze the hat with your elbows!" or prompts the player to ask a question to get a clue, such as "What color is it?" or for literacy-emerging kids, "What letter does it start with?" The hat itself has exploratory features such as a small hole to touch the item directly and a fuzzy "shadow" window to peek through to get a rough idea of the object's features.
What's in the Cat's Hat? is definitely more of a guided and richer experience than just playing "I'm thinking of an object..." verbally. By guiding the exploration through the cards, the players aren't frustrated when they cannot think of how to get more information about the object. Instead, kids learn basic "detective" skills to help them with organized problem-solving. Meanwhile, they can cement concepts like colors, letters, shapes, and the difference amongst things that are "hard," "soft," "flexible," "rigid," "smooth," "rough," and so forth.
My boys are definitely thrilled with the games I received from The Wonder Forge. Plus, I got some ideas for those on my holiday gift list. In fact, I'll provide my "adopt a family" with several of the I Can Do That games since all too often these families have to focus on basic needs. Fun games might seem trivial to those struggling financially, but have an educational and family-togetherness component that is priceless.
Thank you Wonder Forge for introducing me to your truly wonderful lines of games!
--
Disclaimer: I received a free copy of Tony Hawk Shred from Activision. Unfortunately, while the game itself seems really cool, I haven't yet been able to calibrate the board. I saw from others' reviews that this is a common problem. And then The Wonder Forge sent me a fabulous assortment of games from both I Can Do That and ZimZala - what a generous treat! I am an Amazon affiliate, so Amazon links to these products contain my referral code. Otherwise I will receive no further compensation for posting about these games.
