LEGO
My First Builder
Warren Industries
This might very well be the first game your child plays, win and excels
at. That's a pretty tall order, but such is the simple yet ingenious design of
My First Builder. Children and parents collect oversized Lego pieces and
attempt to become the first to complete the puzzle on their unique playing
card. The instructions are simple, the ease of play makes for a fun hassle-free
experience, and everyone can play, compete and have fun. If you have played
Lego Creator, a 2000 Seal of Approval award winner, you will appreciate how
really good this game is.
Recommended Ages: 3 to 6 Retail Price: $12.99
Green
Alligators
Vida Games, LLC
It says it right on the package, "Giggly-Silly", and that's the kind of
reaction you'll get from your children when they play Green Alligators. A very
easy to play game, children are challenged to describe things to other players
that appear on the cards. The cards have very recognizable images so that even
pre-readers can play. Green Alligators pop up when your child has to describe
an action word. It's a thrill seeing their minds work, and watching their faces
and expressions as they come up with methods to get you to say words like
Jewelry, Policeman or Butterfly.
Recommended Ages: 4 and Up Retail Price: $9.99
Clifford
Learn Your ABC's
Warren Industries
This large circular jigsaw puzzle is a great reinforcement toy for
children who are learning their ABC's. The Clifford design made it instantly
appealing to our young testers who have a magical attraction to The Big Red
Dog. The pieces are large and fit together easily. As your child works either
inward or outward they encounter the letter, a picture and an object that
corresponds to the letter and Clifford himself. This is a puzzle that children
enjoyed doing over and over again.
Recommended Ages: 4 to 6 Retail Price: $4.99
Gobblet
Junior
Blue Orange Games
Tic Tac Toe has met its match. Gobblet Jr., the slightly scaled down
version of the award-winning original game is an ingenious game that you and
your child will have hours of fun playing. The rules are so simple and familiar
that you will be playing in no time. The challenge boils down to plotting moves
so that you get three in a row before your opponent. The gobbling of pieces by
larger ones is where the fun comes in. The games are quick which makes playing
of best-of-three sets a natural.
Recommended Ages: 5 and Up Retail Price: $19.95
Katamino
Family Games, Inc.
If you or your children enjoy unlocking puzzle mysteries, then Katamino
will keep your brain engaged for hours with its seemingly endless challenge of
building perfect "Pentas". A "Pentas" is a perfect unit created by cobbling
together interlocking preformed pentamino pieces together on the game board.
The more pieces you use, the more difficult Katamino™ becomes. It is
challenging for sure, but not overwhelming. Our testers described it as
stimulating fun that the whole family could enjoy.
Recommended Ages: 6 and Up Retail Price: $24.99
Wild
Collection
LEGO Systems, Inc.
Building Lego contraptions is one of those experiences that pass from
generation to generation with ease and familiarity. However, we doubt that the
old-timers, "Lego pioneers", would believe what the Lego folks have come up with
now. This great kit offers builders a variety of pretty easy to build projects
(although an adult's help is highly suggested) that come to life by attaching
the battery pack. We're not talking about your run of the mill car, how about a
monkey that shimmies along a string/vine or a spider that climbs up and down his
web? It's all great fun and quite cool.
Recommended Ages: 6 and Up Retail Price: $29.99
Give
& Take
Act Games
At first glance, Give & Take seems like the very simplest of games.
Every player gets 16 chips, and the first to place them on the board using the
spinner, wins. No problem right? Wrong! This is a game that encourages,
implores and challenges players to be mercenaries. Actually its a lot nicer
than that, but you will see a new side of your child as they plot to deny you
access to the space of the board they know you are coveting. Players can choose
to play nice, or play to win. An interesting study for parents who can step
back and observe. If you are playing, keep your head in the game or you may
lose it. Testers played this game over and over for hours.
Recommended Ages: 6 to 12 Retail Price: $24.95
Roadside
USA
Great American Puzzle Factory
We all know what a wonderfully diverse nation America is. Roadside USA
is a puzzle that celebrates not only the diversity that makes the US so unique,
but also the wacky and weird stuff that we also have come to embrace over the
years. As you cobble together the 300 jigsaw pieces you will get a kick out of
the quirky illustrations sitting out in the middle of nowhere like an alien
museum or the world's largest thermometer. The enclosed booklet offers
insightful write-ups on each element, making this not only a fun puzzle but a
curious trip down the highways and byways of our wonderful nation.
Recommended Ages: 7 and Up Retail Price: $12.00
Swap!
Patch Products, Inc.
Few card games if any elicit the type of fun and enthusiasm that Swap
does. The more the merrier, in fact you really want to invite as many players
as possible. The object is simple, get rid of the cards in your hand, but the
objective is not as easy as it sounds. Just when you think you are ready to
proclaim victory, someone plays a swap card and you are right back where you
started. What our testers told us was really fun, was that more often than not,
when the winner slapped down his or her final card, it took just about everyone
at the table by surprise.
Recommended Ages: 7 and Up Retail Price: $4-99
NBA
Challenge
LEGO Systems, Inc.
If you build it, they will play. That was the enlightened discovery we
made at our testing centers as kids eagerly assembled this new offering from
Lego. The officially licensed NBA game is almost as much fun to build as it is
to play, but its playtime that kids really enjoyed. Working to perfect the
snapping jumpshots of their Lego players, our testers took lots of practice, but
it was all worth it when they hit "nothing but net"
Recommended Ages: 7 and Up Retail Price: $49.99
Motor
Movers
LEGO Systems, Inc.
The inanimate legacy of Lego projects is threatening to become history
as the company ads more cool motorized building kits to its line. This is more
of an observation than a commentary and one that we heard from our parent
testers as they played with this new offering from the venerable Danish
company. Motor Movers is a very cool building toy that can move in a uniquely
quirky manner all on its own, or at least with the help of its included battery
pack. The eyeball pieces really helped to personalize the creations. There are
several models to build which testers viewed as a big plus. The instructions are
visually complete and easy to follow.
Recommended Ages: 7 and Up Retail Price: $39.99
Out
of Control
Act Games
Sometimes when you are playing a new game you find yourself making
comparisons to other games you have played before. Several of our testers
reported feeling that way while playing Out of Control, but none could say why.
In fact this is a game that is familiar but quite unique. Easy to understand,
the game requires a good level of strategy, but at the same time can be enjoyed
by a wide range of ages with a very level playing field. Parents noted that
while the game looks like an easy travel game for use on a plane or in a car, it
is not, you'll need a rather sizeable playing surface to lay out the cards.
Recommended Ages: 8 and Up Retail Price: $12.95
Old
Century Dread Pirate
Front Porch Classics
We know what you're saying, 100 bucks for a game?!! And we'll admit we
were a little taken aback by the price until we laid our eyes on this
one-of-a-kind game set that is as much a work of art as it is fun to play. The
folks at Front Porch Classics have designed a showpiece treasure chest out of
solid wood and brass that you will be proud to display just about anywhere.
Inside you'll find shiny gold doubloons, jewels, heavy polished sailing ships
and a cloth map upon which you set out on your competitive adventure to become
the Dread Pirate. It's all great fun, fairly easy to learn, and a great time
for family game night.
Recommended Ages: 8 and Up Retail Price: $99.95
Scrambled
States of America
Gamewright
Frantic fun, loads of laughter and nail biting excitement are not
phrases often conferred upon geography games. All that has changed based on the
glowing reviews for the Scrambled States of America. This wonderful card game
manages to captivate not only those playing but those within earshot, simply
because there is a whole lot of slapping, shouting and name calling going on.
Well, the name calling is the sound of your children calling out the names of
states and capitals so it's good clean, educational fun. You, your kids and
their friends will play this game many, many times over.
Recommended Ages: 8 and Up Retail Price: $11.99
Snowball
Fight
S & S Innovations
This is easily the most unique card game seen in our testing centers for
a long time. Snowball Fight invited testers to hurl imaginary snowballs at each
other despite sweltering temperatures outside. The idea is think cold thoughts,
and then use your cunning to outsmart a snowball fight combatant with tricky
techniques all designed to overwhelm your opponent before getting buried in an
avalanche of snow yourself. The game play is fast, the rules quite simple, and
the setting entirely refreshing without risking frostbite.
Recommended Ages: 8 and Up Retail Price: $17.99
River
Crossing
Think Fun
Some brain teasing puzzles are so frustrating that you actually end up
hating them. This is not one of those. River Crossing from the award-winning
people at Binary Arts, newly renamed as Think Fun, is certainly challenging, but
the challenge is almost never insurmountable. As you try to maneuver your
little log walker across the river your logic skills will certainly be put to
the test. It's lots of fun but it’s also nice to know that the solution is in
the enclosed booklet!
Recommended Ages: 8 and Up Retail Price: $14.99
Buzzword
Patch Products, Inc.
There are games that can capture and keep the attention of entire room
of people. Buzzword is such a game. Your memory of catch phrases and familiar
sayings is at the core of this party game. The cards flirt between easy answers
that you can shout out at an instant, to mind benders that hang on the tip of
your tongue for what seems like forever. Buzzword is the kind of game that you
want to leave out on your coffee table because it’s just plain fun to grab a
card and test each other. Our testers told us that they were surprised at how
much "stuff" they had floating around in their heads.
Recommended Ages: 10 and Up Retail Price: $14-99
Fast
Figure
Playroom Entertainment
Quick, how many elements are there on the periodic table, no? OK then, how many
sides are there on a single game die? These are the kinds of numbers (between 1
and 100) that you will need to come up with, beating your opponents to the
punch. But Fast Figure throws a very inventive curveball just when you think
you know the answer, you must find the space on a number line to slap down your
card. It sounds a little confusing, but you'll get the hang of it very quickly
and in no time you'll be racking your brain trying to come up with the number of
teeth in a human adult. This is a fast moving, fun game that older teens and
grown-ups will appreciate.
Recommended Ages: 12 and Up Retail Price: $19.95
For more information about The Seal of Approval or The National
Parenting Center
call: 1-800-753-6667
Hosted by VectraNet Communications
http://www.vectranet.com
Last Update: August 10, 2003