Board Games - Part 1

I was having a look at our games section today and realised that we have a really good collection. Unfortunately, games are the sort of things you really need to do some research about before you buy to make sure you are getting something age appropriate. So I thought I'd do a post about some of the games we have. In the end, because we've got so many, I decided to make this a series of posts.
First off, games make great Christmas presents as the whole family can get together and have fun. They are also really good developmentally, here are a couple of good reads about the vaue of board games:
http://www.helium.com/items/789213-do-board-games-give-educational-value-as-well-as-family-entertainment
http://www.bluepage.org/childs-creativity/board-games.html

So here are a few ideas across the age groups:

Day and Night Ages 2-5

Not strictly a board game but a multi-award winning stacking game where you must construct an image as shown in the challenge by placing blocks in the right order onto the sticks. Half the challenges only show the contours of the blocks, similar to seeing just the silhouette of something at night. In this way it becomes something like a very simple 3D tangram.
The yellow block looks square from the front view, but is in fact cylindrical. Something like this can be obvious to adults, but not to children. The left and right sticks are different heights. Young children often muddle up left and right. If they do this when solving a challenge, one of the constructions will fall down. Also, most blocks fit very precisely on top of other blocks, making it possible for several blocks to look like one solid shape in the night challenges.
$38.50

Mystery Garden Ages 4-12

One player takes a card on which a picture is displayed which is also on the game board. The next player may ask one question which can only be answered with yes or no. In clockwise order the next player may ask a question and so on... Solving the mystery supports deductive reasoning and the process of articulating questions.
29.95







Chocolate Fix ages 8+

Similar to Sudoku, players examine all the clues on the cards before making a move. Once they discover where to put a chocolate piece, they combine this knowledge with the clues to learn more information. Some clues give exact or possible locations, while others just give you the token color or shape. Your confidence builds as you narrow down the possibilities to fill each candy assortment. Challenges ranging from beginner to expert will feed your chocolate cravings for hours.

• Features forty mind challenges with solutions
• Four levels of play; from beginner to expert
• Nine chocolate pieces, one assortment game tray and a game-go bag
• Players examine all the clues on the cards before making a move
$38.95







Celebrity Head 8+

All you need to do is place a celebrity name card into your headband. Then put the headband on your head and reveal your celebrity name to your friends and family. Now everyone knows your secret identity - except you! To find out your celebrity name you need to ask questions about your celebrity such as "Am I Female?", "Am I on TV?", "Am I alive?", "Am I Famous?" or "Am I Short?" And to win the game, just be the first player to guess your secret identity.
It's hilarious and silly. Fun for families and very popular at parties.
$44.95

I hope this is helpful. If you've played any of these games, please let us know what you think in the comments section below.

As we get closer to Christmas, I'll post up some more