Archive for the ‘Games’ Category
25
Feb
A whole new dimension for Set
Categories: For Older Kids, Games, Toy Fair, Toys
I became a fan of the game Set during my senior year of high school when our college guidance counselors kept it on hand for distracting stressed-out students during free periods. Long after our letters had come, we still hung out in their basement office, playing that addictive game. If you’ve never played, Set is… read more!
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19
Aug
How Mao? Try Quao.
Categories: For Older Kids, Games, Toys
Fourteen summers ago, I came home from a teen tour obsessed with a card game I had learned — Mao. If you aren’t familiar with this diabolically fun game, Mao has no rules. Or at least, none that can be explained. But in this day and age, you can find everything on the internet, including… read more!
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17
Jul
Automatic Pile It
Categories: Games, Toys
One of the first games I ever reviewed on Spillingthebeans was Ruckus. This card game has since become a success, thanks to the exceedingly simple and exceptionally fun concept. Dan Levy is the founder of Funstreet Games, and the brain behind Ruckus. Until now, he’s been a one-trick pony, but he’s just released a new… read more!
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20
Apr
How’s your poker face?
Categories: For Older Kids, Games, Toys
At Toy Fair, we picked up a sample of Spy Alley, a game that is not new, but we’d heard great things about it. The reputation is well-deserved – I thought it was a really nice game. Very well thought out and unique, fun to play and appealing to a wide age range. Although it… read more!
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20
Apr
Strategery in Phoenix
Categories: For Older Kids, Games, Toys
I’m back from my vacation – thanks for bearing with me while I took a break from writing. While we were kicking back in Phoenix, I took the opportunity to do some toy testing with my kids and my family. We are big time game players, a trait that seems to be genetically hardwired, so… read more!
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13
Apr
Say it with a French accent
Categories: Games, Preschool Toys, Toys
The newest game from Blue Orange has just arrived. It’s Froggy Boogie, a memory game for ages 4 and up. The idea is simple – move the baby frogs around the lily pads without being seen by the adult frogs in the middle of the pond. Here’s where the game gets a bit bizarre: the… read more!
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20
Mar
Bananagrams Split
Categories: For Older Kids, Games, Toys
No, it’s not a stuffed banana. Bananagrams is a great new word game that’s sort of a takeoff on Scrabble. Players are “dealt” a predetermined number of letter tiles, and then each player uses his/her letters to create a personal assortment of intersecting words. As the letters dealt get used, more letters are taken from… read more!
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17
Jan
Words at first sight
Categories: Games, Preschool Toys, Toys
There’s a brand new reading game for the kindergarten set. Word Chase is the first effort from Beyond Learning, a new company founded by two accomplished teachers and backed by an impressive advisory panel. The game is designed for ages four and up and it teaches familiarity with “sight words” – the 25 most common… read more!
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26
Nov
A Deflexion by any other name
Categories: For Older Kids, Games, General, Toys
Last year’s popular holiday game, Deflexion, is back for 2006 but with a new name. For reasons I may never completely understand, they’ve renamed it Khet. According to a press release on the game’s website, they rebranded the game based on feedback from customers and retailers, and Khet is an Egyptian word for flame or… read more!
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9
Aug
Dinner Theater
Categories: For Older Kids, Games, Toys
When someone first showed me Dinner Games, from FamilyTimeFun Games, I was very skeptical. Why would parents need a little box of suggested activities to keep kids engaged during dinner? I found a curmudgeon blossoming within me: why, when I was a kid, we just sat at the dinner table and talked. We didn’t need… read more!
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