Chutes and Ladders

Chutes and Ladders Review

Chutes and Ladders Feature

• CHUTES AND LADDERS is the game of rewards and consequences
• Chutes and Ladders is ideal for younger children who are still learning to take turns
• No reading required
• It's also a gentle introduction to the higher numbers as players climb to 100 at the top of the board
• Family Game Night game for preschoolers
• As kids travel along the game path, they encounter situations
• Just beginning to recognize numbers (the spinner stays in the single digits)
• The situations reward them for good deeds by letting them climb the ladders or punish them for misbehaving by sending them down chutes

Be the first to move your child-shaped playing piece from square one to square 100 on the Chutes and Ladders game board--but watch out! If you land on the square that shows you ate too much candy--Ouch!--you get a tummy ache and slide down a chute to a square a few numbers below. But if you end your turn on a good-deed square, such as helping sweep up a mess, you'll be rewarded by a ladder-climb up the board.

A fantastic follow-up to Candy Land, Chutes and Ladders is ideal for younger children who are still learning to take turns and just beginning to recognize numbers (the spinner stays in the single digits). It's also a gentle introduction to the higher numbers as players climb to 100 at the top of the board. And, thanks to all those chutes and ladders, it's got enough excitement to keep your 7-year-old on the edge of her seat. English and Spanish instructions are included; no reading is necessary to play. Chutes and Ladders is for two to four players. --Julie Ubben This delightful game is simple and easy to play, even for children who can't read. Fun pictures help kids understand the rewards of doing good deeds as they climb up the ladders-and the consequences of naughty ones as they slide down the chutes. For 2 to 4 players. Game includes: game board, spinner with plastic arrow and 4 pawns with plastic stands.

Cranium

Cranium Review

Cranium Feature

• Smash-hit, award-winning board game brings friends together through a variety of activities that provide something for everyone
• Now with 600 all-new cards
• Features an innovative three-way folding game board that allows players to choose the length of game
• Provide something for everyone!
• Supported with new TVC featuring real players having outrageous fun

Cranium is the outrageous, award-winning board game packed with something-for-everyone fun! Whether you're an aspiring actor, artist, data hound, or wordsmith, Cranium gives you a chance to shine. Cranium brings families and friends together -- after dinner, at parties, on rainy afternoons. When you play Cranium, you'll use your brain in ways you never imagined and find yourself doing the unexpected. And the fun doesn't end when the game does -- you'll never forget your uncle impersonating Celine Dion, your sister acting out pigs in a blanket, your mom spelling asparagus backwards, or your best friend sculpting Humpty Dumpty out of clay! What's in the box? Cranium includes the Cranium board, 600 outrageous cards covering 14 activities, a ten-sided Cranium die, a tub of cool Cranium Clay, a timer, Cranium pads and pencils, and four Cranium play pieces. Actual brains not included!

Apples to Apples Party Box - The Game of Hilarious Comparisons (Family Edition)

Apples to Apples Party Box - The Game of Hilarious Comparisons (Family Edition) Review

Apples to Apples Party Box - The Game of Hilarious Comparisons (Family Edition) Feature

• Apples to Apples are the game of hilarious comparisons
• It's as easy as comparing apples to apples... just open the box, deal the cards, and you're ready to play
• Select the card from your hand that you think is best described by a card played by the judge
• Includes over 1,000 cards
• Each round is filled with surprising and outrageous comparisons from a wide range of people, places, things and events

Apples to Apples is an award-winning party game that will have everyone laughing. We had a blast playing this game and think it is a perfect game for a "board game night" with friends and family. It is quick to set up, easy to learn, challenging, and a whole lot of fun.

The party box includes over a thousand cards for many card combinations. View larger.

Unexpected and funny comparisons make the game fun to come back to again and again. View larger.

What We Think Fun Factor: Durability: (what this means) The Good: Quick set up; inspires quick thinking and creativity; fun for whole family The Bad: Not as fun without at least five players; subject matter targeted for mid-teens and older In a Nutshell: Quick-paced board game requires just a minute to set up and will have everyone laughing for hours At a Glance Ages: 12 and up Requires: At least four players

Smart, Award-Winning Fun
Apples to Apples has won numerous awards including "Party Game of the Year" by Games magazine and "Mensa Select" by Mensa International. And for good reason: it involves quick thinking, humor, and strategy. For teens, the game teaches them to think about how different things can be compared to one another and how analogies are formed. One of our criticisms is that although the game states that it is designed for ages 12 and older, many of the subjects are clearly for older teens.

Hilarious Comparisons and Analogies
The name of the game is a play on the phrase "apples to oranges," and the game is about making comparisons between different things. General game play is as follows: players are dealt red cards which have a noun printed on them, and the judge (a different player in each turn) draws a green card on which an adjective is printed and places it for all players to see. Each player then chooses a red card they are holding that they think best describes the green card. The judge then decides which adjective she likes best.

The fun is in the variety of unexpected comparisons people make, sometimes apt, funny, creative, or simply absurd. For example: people might match "Awkward" with "Oil Spills," "My First Kiss," "Dandruff," and "Gold Chains. " Or: "Painful" with "High School Reunions" and "Regis Philben. " Strategy comes into play since, because each player takes turns being the judge, you begin to pick up on the preferences of each player and tailor your choices accordingly.

Players can also try variations on the basic game play. For example, instead of choosing the most apt comparison, players might try choosing the red card that is least like the green one. These variations keep the game fresh and interesting every time.

Conversation Kick Starter
Part of the fun is in standing up for your choices. For instance, you might discuss why you think "Regis Philben" is painful, or segue into a discussion of the embarrassing situations you got into on your first day of school, or your first kiss. Apples to Apples excels as an ice breaker and promotes a good amount of social interaction, as many conversations will be kick started thanks to these little cards.

More Players, More Fun
Although the box states that the game is playable with just four players, we found that the game is a lot more fun when there are at least five or six players. This increases both the frequency of funny answers and also requires players to refine their strategy a little more. Once we got going, hours passed, and it was only the lateness of the hour that reminded some of us that we had to go home.

This Party Box set comes with more than 1,000 cards total, and will entertain for a long time. Additional expansion sets are available to further increase the variety of word combinations.

What's in the Box
756 Red Apple Cards, 252 Green Apple Cards, card tray, quick play rules.
Apples to Apples is the wild, award-winning card game that provides instant fun for 4 to 10 players. Open the box, deal the cards, and you're ready to play! Select the card from your hand that you think is best described by a card played by the judge. If the judge picks your card, you win that round. Everyone gets a chance to be the judge.

Big Boggle

Big Boggle Review

Big Boggle Feature

• Contains 25 plastic letter cubes
• contains plastic cubegrid, dome and cover
• Contains a 3-minute sand times
• Contains illustrated instructions
• For 2 or more players

Big Boggle has been enjoyed for more than 30 years! Shake up the 25 letter cubes and try to spot as many words as you can. Race against the 3-minute timer as you follow adjoining letters, every which way, searching for words that you hope your opponents won't find. When time runs out, players compare their lists and score for each unique word they've found. The player with the highest score wins Big Boggle!

The larger 5x5 grid puts nine more letters in play than standard Boggle. Advanced, team and handicap variants are included. The "Double Letter" cube features the six most important 2-letter combinations in the English language, making it easier to form valuable 5 and 6 letter words, and even longer ones!

Contents of Big Boggle:

• 25 Plastic Letter Cubes
• Plastic Cube Grid and Dome Cover
• 3-Minute Sand Timer
• Instructions Sheet

LeapFrog Explorer Learning Game: Mr. Pencil Saves Doodleburg (works with LeapPad & Leapster Explorer)

LeapFrog Explorer Learning Game: Mr. Pencil Saves Doodleburg (works with LeapPad & Leapster Explorer) Review

LeapFrog Explorer Learning Game: Mr. Pencil Saves Doodleburg (works with LeapPad & Leapster Explorer) Feature

• Works with the Leapster Explorer and LeapPad Explorer systems (sold separately).
• Help save the town by writing letters and drawing lines, shapes and objects.
• Create your own art using cool tools, colors, filters, stamps and effects.
• Become an animator by creating your own flip book.
• Teaches letter writing, number writing, shapes and art and drawing. Appropriate for children ages 4 to 7 years (grades pre-K to 1).

LeapFrog Leapster Explorer Learning Game: Mr. Pencil Saves Doodleburg

Name 5 Game

Name 5 Game Review

Name 5 Game Feature

• Can you name 5 things that could make a person sneeze? How about 5 TV dads? How about 5 video games, or vegetables beginning with "a"?
• Sure you know one Tom Hanks movie or two Tina Turner songs…. But can you name 5???
• Catagories can be anything, Action Heros, Bodies of water, even Pizza Toppings.
• Think fast and rack your brain because you need to to come up with 5 answers before time runs out.
• Perfect icebreaker for ages 12 and up.

Can you name five things that could make a person sneeze? How about five TV dads? Five video games? Vegetables beginning with the letter a? Name 5 is the outrageous party game from Endless Games that asks the easy questions you know the answers to, but can you get them off the tip of your tongue? Sure you know a couple of Tom Hanks movies and a few Tina Turner songs, but can you name five?For 2 players or teams, ages 12 and up.

Dominion

Dominion Review

Dominion Feature

• For 2-4 players
• Tactical card game
• Takes about 30 minutes to play
• Lots of expansions available to add depth and complexity
• Quick to learn, many ways to win

In Dominion, each player starts with an identical, very small deck of cards. In the center of the table is a selection of other cards the players can "buy" as they can afford them. Through their selection of cards to buy, and how they play their hands as they draw them, the players construct their deck on the fly, striving for the most efficient path to the precious victory points by game end. You are a monarch, like your parents before you, a ruler of a small pleasant kingdom of rivers and evergreens. Unlike your parents, however, you have hopes and dreams! You want a bigger and more pleasant kingdom, with more rivers and a wider variety of trees. You want a Dominion! In all directions lie fiefs, freeholds, and feodums. All are small bits of land, controlled by petty lords and verging on anarchy. You will bring civilization to these people, uniting them under your banner. But wait! It must be something in the air; several other monarchs have had the exact same idea. You must race to get as much of the unclaimed land as possible, fending them off along the way. To do this you will hire minions, construct buildings, spruce up your castle, and fill the coffers of your treasury. Your parents wouldn

Trouble Board Game

Trouble Board Game Review

Trouble Board Game Feature

• It's the classic race-and-chase game with the PopoMatic die-rolling bubble
• Be the first player to send your four game pieces all the way around the board to win
• Pop-o-matic automatically tumbles dice when pressed and released
• Land on an opponent's peg to bump it back home! But don't you get bumped back, or you're in Trouble
• Trouble is a perfect travel game--car or boat motion won't upset the game's progress
• It is indeed satisfying to press, slap, or pound the pop-o-matic
• Pop the bubble and hop your pegs around the track

Trouble is a board game with a simple concept: Be the first player to send your four game pieces all the way around the board, moving spaces determined by rolls of the dice. The "trouble" of the title comes when an opponent's piece lands on a space occupied by your piece, thus sending yours back to the beginning. Parents will likely remember the game from their youth, or at least remember the game's signature gimmick, the pop-o-matic dice roller. The Pop-o-matic is a dome-shaped clear plastic housing for the dice in the center of the board game that automatically tumbles the dice when pressed down and released. This feature, plus the board's plastic slots that hold the game pieces in place, make Trouble a perfect travel game--car or boat motion won't upset the game's progress. It is indeed satisfying to press, slap, or pound the pop-o-matic. It's strong enough to withstand the frustration of the losing player(s). The game's simplicity makes it easy to jump into without elaborate explanations or practice games for new players, but it's utter lack of strategy will likely limit interest to just a few rounds. --Porter B. Hall It's the classic race-and-chase game with the PopoMatic die-rolling bubble! Pop the bubble and hop your pegs around the track. Land on an opponent's peg to bump it back home! But don't you get bumped back, or you're in Trouble! Keep poppin' and hoppin' to get all 4 of your pegs to the finish line first, and you win! Trouble includes plastic game unit with PopoMatic die roller, gameboard, 16 plastic playing pegs, and 4 rubber feet.

Angry Birds 5" Plush Red Bird with Sound

Angry Birds 5" Plush Red Bird with Sound Review

Angry Birds 5" Plush Red Bird with Sound Feature

• Angry Birds is the #1 application worldwide and has been downloaded over 100 million times
• Officially licensed product
• Squeeze the top to hear authentic sounds from the game
• Incredibly soft plush
• For ages 1 and up

NEW Angry Birds Plush! Red 5 Plush Bird! Official Licensed Product!

LeapFrog Explorer Learning Game: Disney Tangled

LeapFrog Explorer Learning Game: Disney Tangled Review

LeapFrog Explorer Learning Game: Disney Tangled Feature

• Works with the Leapster Explorer and LeapPad Explorer systems (sold separately).
• Join Rapunzel and Flynn on a hair-raising adventure!
• Choose from over 12,000 words and create your own spelling list in the Spelling Garden game using the words you need for school.
• Unscramble words to fix the store signs in the village and match words to pictures to help Rapunzel get through the forest.
• Teaches spelling, reading skills, vocabulary skills and creative expression. Appropriate for children ages 4 to 7 years (grades pre-K to 1).

Customize the learning with over 12,000 spelling words, then join Rapunzel and Flynn on a hair-raising adventure! Works with the Leapster Explorer and LeapPad Explorer systems.

Goodnight Moon Game

Goodnight Moon Game Review

Goodnight Moon Game Feature

• 4 double-sided playing boards
• 1 Goodnight Moon room game board
• Contains 24 matching cards
• For ages 2-6 years

The Goodnight Moon Game is a collection of six matching and memory skill-building activities of gradually increasing difficulty featuring charming illustrations from the children's book classic. At the beginner's level, children match cards to identical images on the game board. They then graduate to games involving memory skills, while also matching images that are similar but not identical. Once you've matched and memorized to your child's content, cuddle up together to read Goodnight Moon. No reading is required to play the games. Includes four playing boards, 24 matching cards, and the rules. Winner of the Parents' Choice Gold Award and the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Best Toy Award. Goodnight Moon Game is for one to four players. --Elizabeth Ward The perfect first game for every child, this game is based on the well-loved children's classic by Margaret Wise Brown and Clement Hurd. Beginning players match identical pictures; memory versions are included for advanced players. Includes 4 double-sided playing boards, one Goodnight Moon Room game board, and 24 matching cards. No reading required. For 1 to 4 players.

Tomy Pop-Up Pirate Game

Tomy Pop-Up Pirate Game Review

Tomy Pop-Up Pirate Game Feature

• The surprise family game that is a real barrel of fun
• Take turns sliding the colorful swords into the barrel
• Beware - if the pirate pops up on your turn, you are out
• Kids love the popping action of the pirate flying out of the barrel
• No reading required

Pop Up Pirate! promises hours of amusement. After all, who doesn't like to see a pirate get shot out of a barrel? The game is simple. The unlucky pirate is pushed into the top of a brown plastic barrel, readying the spring mechanism for his eventual launch. Players then take turns pushing colorful plastic swords into holes on the side of the barrel, one by one until finally someone releases the spring and sends the poor little pirate on his way. Whoever makes the pirate pop loses, until the next round at any rate. The game includes a blue plastic base, the brown barrel (the sort that pirates would use for grog), and 24 plastic swords--six each of yellow, red, green, and blue. There's also lots of stickers of birds, smiling sharks, and even an ogling octopus, although they don't stay stuck very well. The pirate himself has a big black mustache and wears an eye patch and a purple plastic scarf over his head. Luckily, he doesn't seem to mind getting jounced around so much, since he also has a gigantic, if somewhat cautious, grin. --David Morel Its a barrel of fun for the whole family! Push the pirate into his barrel, select your favourite color swords, then take turns sliding a sword into the barrel slots. But beware - if the pirate pops up you're OUT! The last remaining player is the winner. No batteries required.