Products tagged with Family Games

Dizios

Fri, 24 May 2013 18:50:50 +0000

If your brain cells are barreling towards oblivion, it might be time to give them a little love and attention. We recommend giving your frontal and occipital lobes workout with Dizios, a domino game with a psychedelic, dizzying twist. Just take turns placing down the glossy, colorful tiles with matching edges to create a flowing piece. Along the way, you’ll refine visual perception skills and improve your brain’s ability to distinguish colors.

Wise Alec

Fri, 24 May 2013 18:50:50 +0000

How much do you remember from grade school? Put you smarts to the test and find out with Wise Alec, an award-winning game with challenging questions for young and old alike. This clever trivia game boasts over 1,000 questions about history, science and spelling from the national grade school curriculum. Each question card features both easy and hard questions to help level the playing field between big and little kids. Sorry Mom and Dad, you’re considered big kids. So don’t even think about opting for the easy questions! The whole family will play, laugh and get stumped together as they flex their memory and critical thinking muscles.

Snatch-It

Fri, 24 May 2013 18:50:50 +0000

Snatch-It happens to be one of the all-time favorites of Lindsay Gaskins, our brainy leader, president and CEO. She’s one smart cookie so, naturally, we can recommend it without equivocation. This competitive and fast-paced word game challenges players to think quickly while putting their vocabulary skills to the test. Here’s how it works: Place 100 letter tiles face down and then take turns flipping one tile over at a time until a word of three or more letters can be formed. Spot a word and call it out. Or, snatch any word by changing it with one or more letters.

Brain Box: All Around the USA

Fri, 24 May 2013 18:50:50 +0000

This is the kind of game that reminds you of summers spent with your kid sister stuck in the backseat of a wood-paneled station wagon on your way to Yellowstone. Or wait, was it Yosemite? Brain Box: All Around the USA gives players 10 seconds to study an illustrated card and memorize as many details as possible. Then, players roll the dice to determine which question they’ll be asked about the card. This clever memory game teaches players little-known facts about the 50 states while boosting visual perception and recall skills.

Buzz Word

Fri, 24 May 2013 18:50:50 +0000

The best brain games skillfully blur the line between education and entertainment. Buzzword is one of those games and has the awards to prove it. This fast-paced game enhances memory, builds vocabulary and encourages teamwork under the guise of having fun. Here’s how it works: The game contains 400 Buzzword clues of various difficulty levels. So say the Buzzword is “ball.” Your team has 45 seconds to solve 10 clues that contain the word ball. Clues like: inflatable sand toy (beach ball), on top of spaghetti (meatball), a psychic stares into one (crystal ball). Whatever the clue, the whole family is sure to have a brain-boosting ball with the game of Buzzword!

Pentago Multi-Player

Fri, 24 May 2013 18:50:50 +0000

Generally speaking, we’re not a fan of sequels. Really, did the world need The Next Karate Kid or Speed 2? But in the case of Pentago, we’re big fans of the multi-player version. First, Pentago Multi-Player allows for up to four players. Second, it ups the ante from four quadrants to nine moveable sections. Which, according to our staff mathematical geniuses, makes the infinite possibilities of the original Pentago even more infiniter. Yeah, we know that’s not really a word. But it should be. The object of the game remains the same: use your planning and visualization skills to be the first to get five like-colored marbles in a row.

Qwirkle

Fri, 24 May 2013 18:50:50 +0000

Creating rows of matching colors and symbols sounds easy enough, but don’t let the substantial wooden pieces and contrasting colors of Qwirkle fool you. This seemingly simple game requires tactical maneuvering as you add tiles of the same symbol or color to create rows of six. A great game for family members of all ages, Qwirkle is a multi-award winner that will activate your brain’s temporal, parietal and frontal lobes as you play. Where we come from, three or more is a party. Which means there’s a 98% chance that the aforementioned lobes will be donning party hats while you boost your visual perception and critical thinking skills.

Qwirkle Cubes

Fri, 24 May 2013 18:50:50 +0000

Qwirkle Cubes is a fantastic game in its own right so we’re going to refrain from comparing it to its predecessor, which happens to be one of the most awarded games of all time. Because that would be like having to go through school as the kid sister to the class president, valedictorian and every single teacher’s pet. Qwirkle Cubes has 90 wooden cubes, each a single color with six different symbols on each face. Just roll the dice and score the most points by creating rows of matching colors or symbols. Sorry, you don’t score bonus points for beating out your know-it-all big sister.

Cornerstone Essential

Fri, 24 May 2013 18:50:50 +0000

Strategic planning skills, coordination and the luck of the dice converge in the game of Cornerstone. The object of the game is to build and climb your tower, carefully placing blocks and strategically balancing oﬀense and defense. With each move, the towers grow taller and the structures become more unstable. The trick is to be the ﬁrst one to reach the top before your structure falls. This Mensa Select Winner boasts a timeless concept and heirloom quality construction, which means family members will be working their prefrontal cortexes and having fun for generations.

Drueke Ultimate Game Box

Fri, 24 May 2013 18:50:50 +0000

The Drueke Deluxe Ultimate Game Box is like the super duper value meal of critical thinking games—minus the trans fat and artery-clogging, not-so goodness. Made from the finest quality walnut and aspen by America’s oldest manufacturer of traditional board games, this heirloom-quality box brings together every game room classic in one handsome and convenient place. The Drueke Deluxe Ultimate Game Box comes with weighted, hand-carved rosewood chess pieces, wooden checkers, a real leather backgammon board, a 15-inch hardwood chessboard, dominoes, playing cards and a folding cribbage board with pegs. Makes a smart gift and complements any décor.

Wobble

Fri, 24 May 2013 18:50:50 +0000

You’d never guess that a teetering game board, a wobbling ball and discs hanging in the balance could teach kids to read. But according to experts, games that improve hand-eye coordination can help kids do just that. Whether you’re six and learning to read or 106 and trying to keep your brain in tip-top shape, Wobble Game will provide hours of fun while you enhance hand-eye coordination and give the ol' cerebellum a workout. (In case you were wondering, that’s your brain’s coordination center.) Just add, move or replace discs on the edge of the game board in order to get the ball in the right hole and win the game.

Rory's Story Cubes

Fri, 24 May 2013 18:50:50 +0000

Rory’s Story Cubes contains nine cubes with 54 images. Just roll the cubes and come up with a story that links together all nine face-up images. So, say you get images of a bumblebee, a turtle and a crescent moon. Your story might go like this: Once upon a time, there was a bumblebee named “Turtle,” which was a very unfortunate name for a bumblebee. However, his parents wished upon a crescent moon for a turtle and got a bumblebee instead…. Hey, don’t laugh. There are no wrong answers here. Just hours of creative play that can serve as an ice-breaker, literacy development, mental workout and more.

Morphology

Fri, 24 May 2013 18:50:50 +0000

Can you make a mitten out of a string? How about a butterfly from glass beads and wooden sticks? And more importantly, can you get your team to guess what your creation is in order to move forward on the game board and win the highly sought after title of Morphology Champs of the Evening? Well, here’s your chance to put your creativity to the test with Morphology. This clever game challenges you to think differently about the structure and form of everyday objects and words. Along the way, you’ll laugh hysterically, flex your creative muscles and connect with friends and family.

#2 on Time Magzine's Best Toys of 2010

24 Game

Fri, 24 May 2013 18:50:50 +0000

Once upon a time in Mr. What’s-His-Name’s class, you were the undisputed math whiz of the sixth grade. Nowadays, you’re lucky if you can calculate a 20% tip without whipping out your phone to use the tip calculator app. Unfortunately, that means helping your kids with their math homework is absolutely out of the question. Good thing there’s 24 Game. These handy and fun card sets teach kids about math, have a self-check feature and offer three difficulty levels. And there’s no shame in using them yourself to brush up on those long-forgotten math principles. Go on. Do your sixth-grade, math-genius self proud.

Split Decision

Fri, 24 May 2013 18:50:50 +0000

Are you ready to be crowned the Ultimate Split Decision Maker? Get ready for the fastest, funniest trivia game on the block, where every choice is tempting and every decision matters! You'll have fun choosing between these unique pairings: Medieval Torture Device or Bed Bath & Beyond Gadget? Celebrity Baby Name or Computer Virus? Military Operation or Cat Litter Brand? And many more!

Brain Box: All Around the World

Fri, 24 May 2013 18:50:50 +0000

Put your memory and visual perception skills to the test while doing your world geography teacher proud with Brain Box: All Around the World. This clever memory game teaches players facts about different countries while boosting visual perception and recall skills.

Aba-Conundrums

Fri, 24 May 2013 18:50:50 +0000

Back in the day, long before there were techy calculators and fancy apps that calculated tips and sale prices, all we had to do math was our head, our fingers, a pencil and a piece of paper—or a napkin. Enter Aba-Conundrums, a Parents’ Choice Silver Award Winner that’ll have kids exploring the world of numbers with nothing but a brightly colored abacus and 120 write-on, wipe-off puzzles. This old-school game is loaded with clever conundrums and number logic puzzles that will reinforce mathematical concepts like addition, subtraction, multiplication, prime numbers, place value and more.

Storymatic

Fri, 24 May 2013 18:50:50 +0000

Created by a writing instructor, Storymatic contains 500 cards in a retro typewriter font and portable box. Draw two gold cards with an occupation or trait and one or two copper cards with a situation or object. Then combine them to tell a story. For example, you could draw “oddities collector,” “person with a devastating secret,” “nobody is watching” and “at last, love.” There are trillions of options and just two rules: You can’t kill your character and your character must change during the story. Makes a smart teaching tool, writer’s block cure, creativity enhancer or rainy day diversion.

Dixit

Fri, 24 May 2013 18:50:50 +0000

In Dixit, players tell a story about an image on a card and their opponents try to guess the card. Sounds easy enough. But Dixit contains 84 cards with artwork by Marie Cardouat, a French artist known for surreal illustrations that are hard to put into words. Like a person made of paper walking through a field with their pieces of paper blowing away. To complicate matters, your story can’t be too obvious or too vague because if everyone or no one guesses correctly, you get zero points. Although, points seem fairly superfluous to exercising your creativity, visual perception and word skills.

Train of Thought

Fri, 24 May 2013 18:50:50 +0000

Okay, we know what you’re thinking, “Not another party game where players guess as many words as they can in two minutes.” But don’t be so quick to judge. Our BrainCoaches have seen and played them all and they insist that Train of Thought is one of the brainy best. The game goes like this: Players try to guess a word from a three-word clue. But each clue must include one word from the previous answer, which makes your brain form crazy and often hysterical associations. Double bonus: There’s no snoozing on this word game train because Train of Thought keeps all players actively involved at all times.

Word on the Street Party Case

Fri, 24 May 2013 18:50:50 +0000

Taunt, tease and smack talk your way to a better vocabulary and word recall skills with Word on the Street. This high-energy party game lets teams heckle each another as the opposing team draws a category card and then brainstorms words that fit the category. Before time runs out, the team must agree on a word and pull tiles with each letter of that word one lane closer to their side of the street. Word on the Street is a clever tug of words game that challenges players to think quickly and creatively as they try to capture letters. The party case includes a carrying case and an extra timer.

Swish

Fri, 24 May 2013 18:50:50 +0000

We use our visual perception skills for everyday things like hanging a perfectly-aligned picture wall that would make a certain lifestyle icon turned women’s penitentiary resident turned reality TV show host proud. But skills like that take practice. That’s why there’s a game called Swish. This spatial card game challenges players to make matches, or “swishes,” by layering transparent cards on top of one another so that every ball swishes into a hoop of the same color. The player with the most swishes wins. Various levels of play and a few twists make Swish surprisingly addictive to play.

Reverse Charades

Fri, 24 May 2013 18:50:50 +0000

Between the non-stop hilarity and get-out-of-your-seat action, it’s no coincidence that charades has been a go-to party game for decades. But even consummate crowd pleasers can benefit from a new perspective. Enter Reverse Charades. Here’s the twist: Instead of one person acting out words for their team, the team acts out words for one person. Each guesser gets 60 seconds to guess as many words as they can. Like the traditional game, Reverse Charades boosts word skills and creativity. But it gets extra credit for encouraging cooperation as team members work together to act out their words.

Anomia

Fri, 24 May 2013 18:50:50 +0000

Sure, coming up with the name of a frozen food or a dog breed sounds easy enough. Or at least that’s what you think while downing a Hot Pocket and petting your cocker spaniel. Turns out, coming up with it before your opponent in a game of Anomia is not quite as easy. The rules for this Mensa Select winner are simple: Flip over a card from the pile and face off with the player whose card has the same symbol as yours. Then, blurt out an example of the person, place or thing on your opponent’s card before they can do the same. Win or lose, you’ll laugh, shout and exercise your noggin.

Dabble

Fri, 24 May 2013 18:50:50 +0000

Once upon a time in a Brooklyn basement, there was an 84-year-old inventor who tinkered away creating one failed invention after another. Then one day (80 failed inventions later), he was cutting up plastic tiles and came up with the idea for Dabble, Creative Child Magazine’s 2011 Game of the Year. This fast-paced word skills game gives each player 20 letters and five minutes to come up with words of two, three, four, five or six letters. Moral of the story: The mind can do great things at any age as long as you keep it stimulated and never give up. So kick your neurons into gear with a game of Dabble.

Trigger

Fri, 24 May 2013 18:50:50 +0000

Slap yourself silly in this ridiculously fun party game. Players answer "true" or "false" to statements as quickly as possible by slapping the target. Right Hand = "TRUE", Left Hand = "FALSE". Sound easy? Here are some sample statements :

• Groundhogs have teeth
• You are wearing a ring on your left hand
• There are 6 Olympic rings
• Cows drink milk

Do you have the fastest hand? You won't believe how many laughs are packed into such a tiny tin!

Telepathy

Fri, 24 May 2013 18:50:50 +0000

Once upon a brainy time, you were undefeated at Mastermind and Battleship. You were so good at deducing your opponents’ positions that you considered a career as a traveling telepath, but your parents insisted on business school. Since they were footing the bill, you acquiesced and became an accountant. Now here’s your chance to prove your talent with a game of Telepathy. The game consists of 324 squares with nine different colors and symbols. All you have to do is use your logic, intuition and deduction skills to guess your opponent’s square, win the game and prove your parents wrong.

Timeline

Fri, 24 May 2013 18:50:50 +0000

Back in high school, remembering the dates of historical events couldn’t come close to the importance of knowing who was dating whom. Then your parents made a scholastic ultimatum: Ace your history test or miss the homecoming dance. And that was one date you definitely didn’t want to miss. Now, all that late-night cramming and memorizing will come in handy with Timeline. Each player is dealt a stack of artfully illustrated cards depicting historical events. The object of the game is to get rid of your cards by correctly placing them before or after another event in the timeline.

Mindstein

Fri, 24 May 2013 18:50:50 +0000

If you get invited to one more run-of-the-mill trivia game night, your know-it-all mind is going to blow a neuron. Let that Einstein-like mind of yours really shine with Mindstein. Rather than answering one measly little question to earn a point like some trivia games, Mindstein asks players to answer five successive multiple-choice questions in their heads and then unscramble a five-letter word based on the letters associated with each correct answer. Shout out the right word, get a smart card. Get it wrong, lose one. The first player to collect five cards that spell S-M-A-R-T wins the game.

Mind Your Marbles

Fri, 24 May 2013 18:50:50 +0000

The adult human brain contains between one hundred and five hundred trillion synapses—give or take a few. For the purposes of this game, let’s call ‘em Marbles. Put those trillions of brainy bad boys to use and collect twelve more… play Mind Your Marbles! On your turn, listen to three trivia questions, but don’t go blurting out answers until all three questions have been read… you have to answer the questions correctly and in order to score up to three Marbles per turn. Steal Marbles you need from other players, and be first to collect one for each of the twelve question categories to win. Stretch your memory… Mind Your Marbles!

Memory Match 36

Fri, 24 May 2013 18:50:50 +0000

Admittedly, you’re a little biased. But you’re fairly certain you’ve got the next child wonder on your hands. If only you could move things along a bit. Enter Memory Match 36, a high-quality memory game for ages five and up. The game features a natural wooden board that holds four double-sided cards for a total of eight memory-boosting games. The best part? Since short-term memory is the basis of intellect, your little one will be well on his or her way to big-time brainy greatness after a few rounds of matching animal tracks or upper- and lower-case letters.

Infunitum

Fri, 24 May 2013 18:50:50 +0000

Infunitum is like the thinking man’s Scattergories and the debating woman’s Family Feud. Here’s how it works: Draw a card and choose one of three quirky categories like “Things that make you self-conscious.” Start the one-minute timer and write down as many things as you can relating to the category. But you only get a point if nobody else writes down the same thing—so the more unique your answers, the better. Just don’t go overboard because questionable answers are voted in or out by other players. So get ready to defend your answers, debate your opponents and laugh your way to victory.

Sketch It!

Fri, 24 May 2013 18:50:50 +0000

Ready, get set, sketch! In this fast-paced game from Blue Orange, players try their hand at sketching various objects while others guess. Sketch too quickly and the others will be stumped. Sketch too carefully and you'll miss your chance to score big. Do not be intimidated: no real artistic talent is needed to dominate in this game. All you need is accurate sketching coupled with sharp guessing and the victory will be yours.

Letter Roll

Fri, 24 May 2013 18:50:50 +0000

Words are the currency of all communication and it looks like your brain bank could use a deposit with a fast-paced game of Letter Roll. Just roll the dice and then race to list as many words as you can containing all three letters shown on the dice. But you only get points for words that aren’t on any of the other players’ lists, so quality matters just as much as quantity and creativity counts just as much as speed. Letter Roll is flexible enough for various skill levels, with an easier variation for younger players and a more challenging option for advanced word wranglers.

Rock Me Archimedes

Fri, 24 May 2013 18:50:50 +0000

Archimedes was a Greek mathematician, scientist and all-around uber-genius who discovered the laws of the lever, which in playground terms is basically a teeter-totter. The idea of levers and balance inspired Matt Buchanan to enter (and win!) the 2012 Marbles Game Design Contest with a game aptly named Rock Me Archimedes. Combining strategy, skill and a little bit of luck, the game consists of a wooden board that rocks like a teeter totter, a special die and 28 marbles. To win, just be the first player to oh-so-carefully get four marbles to your end of the board without reaching the tipping point, causing it to touch the table.

Touchy Feely

Fri, 24 May 2013 18:50:50 +0000

It's time to get in touch with your feelings. Not those feelings. The other kind. IT's called "stereognosis," or the ability to recognize and perceive objects through texture, size, spatial properties, and temperature. Give yours a workout with a game of Touchy Feely. Just draw a card, then reach into the nylon Tube of Touch to find the object shown on the card using only your sense of touch. It sounds easy enough, but identifying something based exclusively not tactile perception is a skill that's rarely exercised, making Touchy Feely, more challenging than you'd think. Play the game solo in a race against time or challenge an opponent to see who can find the object first. Either way, you'll get in touch with your feelings and exercise your sensory perception, memory, and fine motor skill while having fun.
Another cool note about Touchy Feely: We consulted with two Occupational Therapists as we developed the game and used their insights to select the 26 objects included for their unique tactile and sensory stimulating characteristics.

Dancing Eggs

Fri, 24 May 2013 18:50:50 +0000

If family game night has grown a little humdrum, then it’s time to inject some boisterous fun with Dancing Eggs. The object of the game is to collect as many eggs as possible. But don’t count your chickens before they’ve hatched, because the real challenge of the game isn’t just catching eggs—it’s keeping them. That’s because you have to hold your eggs where the dice say without dropping them: between the knees, in your armpit, under your chin. Which gets even harder when you’re doing an egg dance race around the table. Win or lose, you’ll have a blast while exercising fine and gross motor skills.

Fastrack

Fri, 24 May 2013 18:50:50 +0000

Let’s face it. You were never good at waiting your turn. So naturally, you spawned offspring with a penchant for impatience, too. Lucky for you and your impetuous progeny, both players get to play at the same time with Fastrack. This high-quality wooden game features strong elastic bands on each side of the racing-themed game board. Each player starts with five wooden disks and tries to fling them to their opponent’s side of the board using the aforementioned elastic bands and their very best hand-eye coordination skills. The first player to send all 10 disks to the other side wins the game.

Colorio

Fri, 24 May 2013 18:50:50 +0000

Hey you. Yes, YOU. The one with the droopy gray matter in need of a serious workout. It looks like your brain could use a little pick-me-up with a fast-paced game of Colorio. Here’s how it works: Players pick up caps each round to reveal colored discs underneath. But be careful! If you reveal five discs of the same color, you and your droopy gray matter are outta the game. So you have to use your memory skills to remember where the colors are placed and your critical thinking skills to trap your opponents and push them into making game-losing mistakes. Your brain is counting on you. Don’t let it down.

Snake Oil

Fri, 24 May 2013 18:50:50 +0000

Step right up, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls. We’ve got a must-have cure-all for your word woes and neuron malfunctions. It’s called Snake Oil. And unlike the dubious elixirs of the same name sold in the Old West, this Snake Oil actually works to rev up your gray matter. One player picks a customer card to determine his or her persona. Then, the other players combine two word cards to create a product to pitch to the customer. So you might have to sell a pocket worm to a caveman or a burp cannon to a cheerleader. If your product sells, you get the customer card. The player with the most customer cards wins.