This holiday season I have teamed up with the amazing folks at Wonderforge to review some of the coolest games of the year! Wonderforge is an amazing family games company that is dedicated to finding the top games and activities for children and families. They choose only the activities that will engage children physically, socially, and creatively. Wonderforge is also committed to the environment, and keep their footprint as small as possible by choosing recycled materials, eliminating unnecessary plastics, and utilizing resources from certified sustainable forests. They really are committed to the future of our children!
I was able to choose four toys to play with and evaluate this time around, and I was VERY happy with our choices! We had so much fun trying these out!
First up, I wanted a game that would work for our oldest. The Star Destroyer Strike game fit the bill perfectly! It’s a cool new game based off the upcoming Star Wars films, and uses both strategy and geometry to play the game- but it’s easy and fun! Designed for 2-4 player ages 10 and up, you set your figures up on the four ‘arms’ of the game set, and play by spinning the Star Destroyer in the center of the set. The Destroyer randomly sends out laser ‘blasts’ that players can, by using cards and positioning pieces, use to take out each others’ pieces until only one remains. Where does the geometry come in? There’s a mirror you can use to reflect laser blasts onto your opponents!!! We had a lot of fun playing this. It took a few spins of the Destroyer to figure out how best to position the mirror, so there’s a little bit of experimentation, but we all really had a good time playing it.
For my youngest two, I wanted a game we could all play together, so I chose the Apple Pop game. It’s 2-4 players ages 4 and up, but I was able to play with my two year old with supervision (the apples could present a choking hazard). The object of this colorful and sturdy game is to pop off the right color of apple, and once you have gotten three you win! It’s a great game for fine motor skills, colors and counting, and it’s engaging enough that it won’t bore adults or older siblings to bits.
For the whole family, I picked a co-operative board game for us to play- the Good Dino Roarin’ River Game. It’s a great game based on co-operation, not competition. Designed for ages 4 and up, it really can be played by any child with a little help from a parent or sibling, and I teamed up with my youngest since there are just four game pieces. You build the board as you play along, choosing one of the six board pieces at random as the game progresses. Spinning the spinner will move you forwards, win you a ‘help’ token, *or* advance the Roarin’ River along behind you. If the Roarin’ River should reach a player’s piece, all pieces are ‘swept away’ by the river and players must begin again. I thought this was a really innovative game- the advancing river kept the game suspenseful and exciting, and I loved that we all had to co-operate to win.
The last thing I chose was an activity book from Disney that has a real educational twist to it that enhances the fun! The Disney Imagicacademy Animals Activity Book is a REALLY cook book chocked full of fun things to do, from crosswords to coloring, and everything in between. It comes with a UV light and UV light pen for fun secret designs, 8 colored pencils, 8 sheets of stickers for matching activities, magnifying glasses, and a really nifty 4-piece roller stamper. All the pieces fit in a handy zipper pouch that clips to the spiral binding of the activity book. At 60 pages, it’s a hefty volume of fun and educational concepts that will keep children engaged and learning. And I LOVED the portability! Such clever things to do!
I’m so pleased at the quality of the games we had to choose from- making a choice was HARD, because Wonderforge has so much to choose from! Be sure and check them out today, and see what holiday goodies you can get to help your children play co-operatively, to engage socially, and to help the whole family play together!
And to make it even more awesome, Wonderforge is allowing me to give away a copy of the Good Dino Roarin River Game! Enter to win on the giveaway form below. This giveaway will run until 12/20/15 at 11:59 pm CST.
I like the Minnie Bow Bingo game.
I would like to play this game with my grandson; Curious George Matching Game-
I also entered the Peeps giveaway-
So many wonderful games and coloring to be done, I love the apple pop game and that amagicady animal is
such a fun way to learn and color .
I like the disney eye found it
I entered the Love Cooking Company baking pans
I see lots of games my nieces and nephew would enjoy.