Category Archives: Games

Cluzzle, a sculpting game

Games

CluzzleSebastian, my eight year old son loves
playing Cluzzle because we have to guess and guess and guess what he’s made out of clay.  Life is great for an eight year old when he can (1) play with clay and (2) make mom and dad guess what it is that he made, over and over again.

Cluzzle is a game of clay sculpting and the goal is to have
other players guess what object you created.. not too soon and not too late.  All the while, you are trying to guess what other players have
created as quickly as possible.  The player who identifies a player’s Cluzzle is awarded points and so is the sculptor.  The longer it takes a player to guess what your sculpture is, the more points you are awarded as long as someone guesses your sculpture before the end of the game.  Your sculpture should be difficult to recognize but not too difficult to guess what it is.

Sebastian sculpted a baby monitor, but without asking questions I probably would not have figured it out.   First I asked "Is it alive?", he said no.  "Is it food?", no.  "Is it something we use everyday?", yes.  I was stumped but I kept asking.  Finally when I asked if it was electronic, I realized what is was and guessed correctly so he and I both earned points.  The game gets more tricky when there are more than two players, but I think it’s more fun with more players.  There is no turn order for asking questions so when there are three or more players, the game gets pretty exciting..  Watch out though.. you don’t want to ask questions that are going to give hints to your opponents.

Cluzzle is an award winning game that can be enjoyed by players 3-6 players, ages 8 & up.  As much fun as we’ve had playing this game, I can see why About.com rated Cluzzle the #1 drawing and sculpting game even over Pictionary and Cranium!

Website: Cluzzle

Cahooties – a modern twist on the classic ‘fortune telling’ game

Age 7-10, Games, Toys

CahootieLike most little girls, I spent hours folding paper
and playing the game of  ‘fortune telling’ when I was a child.   I was recently thrilled to learn about Cahootie, a game based off of the ‘fortune telling’ game and to share it with Sebastian, my eight year old son.  Who say’s boys can’t play too?   Despite the fact that Cahootie is geared toward girls onlCahootiestickers
y, Sebastian enjoys the Sporty Girl Cahootie.  I didn’t make a big deal of the game being for girls, so he doesn’t care.

Cahootie, available in several versions; Truth or
Dare, Wishes and Dreams, Sporty Girl, Birthday Wishes, Democrat, and Republican each featuring colorful designs and 40 re-positionable stickers, so the game changes as often as players want it to.

I quickly learned that Cahootie is tear-resistant. My 2 year old daughter and un-approved Cahootie tester put our review Cahootie to the test and I am pleased to say that the Cahootie withstood some rough treatment. 

Priced at just $5.95, Cahootie make a great gift.

Cahootie.com, is an interactive website where free Cahootie templates are available for download and printing so your kids can make their own Cahootie and stickers.  Join Club Cahootie and your kids can submit their own Cahootie designs to be featured on the website!

I have five Cahootie’s to giveaway! Sign up for our newsletter using the link above or come back to see when the giveaway starts.

Think-ets

Age 7-10, Games, Toys

It’s inevitable; kids get antsy, bored, wound up, and just down right crazy when in the car for more than 10 minutes, waiting for the doctor, or waiting for their food at a restaurant.  Don’t bring the Gameboy next time and see just how imaginative your kids can be with Think-ets.  Think-ets is a game that brings out the imagination in your child and will fit in your pocket, diaper bag, purse, or carry-on bag.

Thinkets

Think-ets is a little mesh bag full of trinkets including a horse, a block, a little pair of pliers and more.  Two or more ages 8 & up can participate in a Think-et game / story telling adventure.  Think-ets is played by making up stories based on the trinkets each player draws before the game starts.  For example, if I chose the horse, block, hat, and pliers, my story may start off something like this:

"Once upon a time there was a horse who was training for the Kentucky Derby.  His owner Sally, would sit with her pretty hat on and watch her horse gallop and jump across the field.  Meanwhile, her friend, Bob, was fixing the door to the horse’s pen with a pair of pliers and a screw driver while his daughter, Jill played with some blocks."

The second player continues the story based on the trinkets she drew.   An alternate way of playing is to draw one trinket at a time, adding one sentence to the story on each turn instead of half of the story on one turn.

For $1.25 you can buy a
Geode "Cave to enhance the story telling experience and for $6.00 you can get a Agate "Stage" that players can use as a stage.

As you can probably tell, Think-ets will bring out the imagination in anyone.   Stories can be as silly or serious as the players want.

Website: Think-ets

GoPets: Vacation Island – Nintendo DS game review

Games, Toys

GopetsSebastian is not much of a gamer and if he previously played with his Nintendo DS more than once a week, that would have been above average.  Since we’ve had GoPets Vacation Island though, he’s played with his Nintendo more than all of the previous times put together.  I wouldn’t normally be happy about him sitting on the couch playing video gaGopets2
mes but this one is different.  Having lost several pet fish over the last few years and his cat more recently, Sebastian is anxious for a new pet.  However, because he is very sensitive and doesn’t deal with the loss of pets well, I made a firm decision to not get any more pets until he is quite a bit older, maybe around 15 or so.

That is where GoPets comes in.  Besides being a fun game, he is able to create, take care of, and socialize his own pet.  GoPets Vacation Island is a combination of a virtual pet game and social network for kids.

Connecting the Nintendo DS to our wireless internet at home or a hotspot lets Sebastian connect with other players from all over the world, literally, giving him the socialization he might not otherwise get while playing video games.  Nintendo wi-fi is free and is simple to set up using your wireless home network.

Sebastian can purchase toys and items, interact with other characters and play minigames (Darts is his favorite minigame).  When traveling
around the island, Sebastian’s pet dog can socialize and become friends with new islanders, exchange gifts,
and even unlock new places to visit, all while increasing his ranking
and heading towards the title of Big Kahuna which is the most influential
resident of Vacation Island.  I think that is his life goal right now.

WEBSITE:  Learn more about the game here: GoPets Vacation Island OR buy at Amazon.com for $19.99 or less.

20Q the little round gadget that knows what you’re thinking

Age 7-10, Ages 10-13, Electronics, Fun stuff for parents, Gadgets, Games, Toys, Travel

20Q has been around for years and is now available in a smaller, smarter, pastel version.   20Q is an "artificial intelligence" game that tries to guess what you are thinking about by asking questions such as "is it alive", "does it make you feel good", and "is it hard". 
Much to my amazement, 20Q figured out what we were thinking 8 times out of 10.    How does it work, you ask?   By process of elimination.

I thought of an elephant, a balloon, and a piece of grass.  20Q guessed the elephant and balloon between the 15-20th guess but the closest 20Q got to guessing a piece of grass was guessing that I was thinking of a leaf.  That is still pretty good.  I was impressed. 

If 20Q doesn’t guess what you are thinking about (read your mind) by the 20th question, you win!
When 20Q asks the player a question, the player responds by pressing one of four buttons.  Yes, no, sometimes, or don’t know.  Based on your response 20Q asks the player another question.

20Q is a great game to take on vacation as it doesn’t blast annoying beeps and boings, nor does it take up much room being about the size of a child’s palm.  Recommended for ages 8 and up, 20Q is now available in spring colors.

Icon_website2   Learn more about 20Q or buy here