©Kristins Gifts

Learning the letters of the alphabet can be difficult for some and easy for others. Some kids love letters, while others want nothing to do with them, leaving their parents angered and frustrated on how they are going to master this critical life skill for reading and writing. Many parents often tell me how their children don’t like to sit with them and work on pencil and paper tasks but they will with their teachers and other professionals. So my little nugget of information in this area is to find a tool that is not always pencil and paper and combine it with activities kids like to do.

These Alphabet Smart Blocks by Kristin’s Gifts have found a permanent home inside my OT bag. These small yellow interlocking blocks have various uppercase letters, numbers, punctuation marks and blank spaces. I’ve essentially got 1 bag of portable educational toys and games that I can modify for a variety of age groups as I travel from building to building throughout the week working with kids ages 4-14.

The blocks also come with a Writing Trainer which is a tracing template for both print and cursive where children can use a pen in the plastic template and trace the letters for kinesthetic multi-sensory learning (pictured in pink above but mine is yellow). I’m personally not a huge fan of tracing unless you immediately follow it up with the child trying to make the letter on their own right after. Tracing your letters and templates without reinforcing the actual skill for some kids becomes nothing more than a dot-to-dot activity where they live for the next clue. The cursive template looks to be crafted from a D’Nealian type handwriting program. Check with your child’s school to find out what their curriculum is so you are consistently teaching them using the same language and stroke formation of the instruction they are receiving from others . None-the-less, while I’m not the biggest fan of the Writing Trainer, the blocks in this pack have been an amazing tool for me and the kids fight over them.

These are some of the fun activities I’ve done with the Smart Blocks letters:

-For preschool aged kids and Kindergarten students learning letters, hide a select few around the room that make up their name and see if they can find them, then sequence them in order.

- You may need to write their name for them to match first before and eventually see if they can do it on their own. Mix in different letters over time and see if they can differentiate what’s in their name or not. Then work to adding their last name.

-The empty spaces in these blocks are great to teach older students (Kindergarten and First Grade) about leaving spaces between their words and punctuation

-The numbers can also be used for recognition, just like when learning the letters for a child’s name, or then configured for some multiplication, division, addition and subtraction problems

-I use them a lot for kids who hate to write, they voice their answer to me, we craft the sentence using the blocks, then they copy it on to the paper from this as a model

Don’t go looking for these in stores, you can purchase these online direct from KristinsGifts.com, Overstock.com, flash sale sites and places like Zulily.com.

What ways have you creatively helped your children to learn about letters and numbers?

Kristins Gifts provided this item free to facilitate this review. The opinions are my own.

©ChalkCity

Now that the weather is warmer, we’ve been spending a lot of time outside. Gavin is now 2 and not only does he enjoy riding his balance bike and pushing his cars around the yard, we’ve blown through all our bubbles and have now expanded into the world of sidewalk chalk. We’ve been testing out the Chalk City Activity Kit making roadways and obstacle courses!

This activity kit includes multiple templates or stencils that allows children and families the ability to easily and quickly design roads and cities on their driveway with sidewalk chalk. There is even an additional template set that encourages children to make obstacle courses on the pavement with stencils for jumping jacks, hopping left/right/both feet, and spinning left/right. Of the entire kit, my favorite accessory is the  Chalk City Road Maker. Using this unique unfolding tool which is very easy to put together, two pieces of sidewalk are placed in the bottom. Simply by walking and pushing or pulling the road maker, even lines are created for roadways literally within seconds. All of the templates fit inside their own brightly colored drawstring mesh bags, which we now keep in our car in case we feel like expanding our roadways at the playground. They are in 3 different bags though I think I’d prefer that they would all fit in 1 larger bag just to keep the set all together, they are easy enough to spot in the trunk of the car.

The templates included in these sets are very durable plastic.  They are easy to use and the chalk markings are sharp and clear once colored on the driveway surface. Within 30 seconds we had drawn a basic, circular roadway for my son to use his ride-on toys. Though he is too young to be able to follow more challenging obstacle course directions for actions like jumping jacks, spinning and hopping, he can jump on two feet forward. The templates are round and make an excellent circle spot even when traced on the outside and colored in.

I often professionally work with parents of children with sensory processing disorder or other regulation disorders like ADHD. These types of children often need large amounts of movement and exercise, and both the children and their parents tell me they get bored really fast aimlessly running around the yard or playground without any structure. As OT’s, one of the recommendations we make to parents to help build their child’s strength and improve their attention is to use structured, time limited physical activities. Our suggestions often involves a lot of obstacle course type activities, and the Chalk City Activity Kit will be a great addition to your sensory diet, especially if you live in an area like we do where we have more paved space than grass space available in our yard.

Chalk City is providing a free kit to 1 lucky reader of ToyQueen.com!

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Chalk City provided this item free to facilitate this review. The opinions are my own.

©Hasbro

I wasn’t sure what the kids at school would think of the new BOP IT! XT game from Hasbro. If you aren’t familiar with the BOP IT line of games, it is essentially a handheld gaming device that shouts out directions pretty much at rapid fire. As the player you are responsible to follow all of the directions by manipulating various buttons on the game, at lightning speed, or you will lose.

On the new BOP IT! XT, the directions include not only “bop it, pull it and twist it, ” they have added “spin it,  flick it, and shake it.”  There are various modes for game play that include Solo Mode, Party Mode, Pass It Game and One on One.   Solo mode you follow the directions and it will tell you what the high score to beat is, or how many directions the best player has been able to follow before being disqualified. Party Mode has you activating the buttons with various body parts. Pass it Game has you complete a few commands before passing it to the player on your left.  The One on One game is new, and allows 2 players to play against each other by dividing the device essentially in half, as each player is responsible for completing 2 of the commands. For those who are really coordinated and fast, there are Novice, Expert, Master and Pro levels that can be unlocked that incorporate colors and sounds into the game play.

Considering it took me about an hour to master getting 15 commands correct in succession, I don’t think I’ll be advancing to the Expert, Master or Pro levels anytime soon. The kids at school all recognized the game from television and couldn’t wait to play. Just like me, as excited as they were to play, they got frustrated really quickly when they were disqualified the first few times almost immediately. What was really fun to see was the learning curve though. With persistence the kids were able to improve their scores fairly quickly and it brought out a healthy sense of competition. This game not only requires quick reflexes and coordination of both hands, but some serious focus and memory. It’s been a great way to incorporate some breaks for kids that not only exercises their body, but exercises their mind and their memory in the process. BOP IT is recommended as a family game for kids ages 8 and up.

Would you like a BOP IT! XT? At ToyQueen.com we are giving away 1 game to 1 lucky winner. Make sure you follow all of the directions, there are 2 mandatory entries. Prize fulfillment is being provided by Hasbro games.

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Hasbro provided a free BOP IT! XT to facilitate this review. The opinions are my own.

@Discovery Bay Games

When you were a child did you receive Highlights magazine in the mail? I didn’t, but my neighbors did and I’ll always remember wanting to get a nice colorful marker to search for those special Highlights hidden pictures. There are some great Highlights educational games on the market now,  like Buzz Blast, that are in part inspired by their hidden pictures games.

Buzz Blast is a really simple, portable game for kids ages 7 and up. There are 4 different types of challenge cards in the deck with categories that include Silly Sentences, Tongue Twisters, Check and Double Check and Brain Play.

12 cards are taken from the deck. 1 card is placed on the device. The timer is activated with a simple push of a button. The first person follows the instructions for the challenge on the card, then passes it to the next player. The person left holding the buzzer keeps the card. Who ever has the fewest cards at the end of the game wins. The challenges are honestly a lot of fun. Silly Sentences allows kids in “Mad Lib” form to fill in the blank to make a silly sentence. Tongue Twisters has kids repeating tongue twisters 2 times before they pass it on. Check and Double Check cards include those really fun Highlights hidden pictures where children need to spot 1 of the 12 differences before passing it on. The Brain Play card encourages kids to answer a challenging question. The timer will make a sound the entire time and ends with a silly sound like a cow mooing or cat meowing. The person left holding the timer takes the card. Whoever has the fewest cards after all 12 are played is the winner.

I was able to have a lot of fun using this game, even when working with 1 other student. I stacked the deck with cards I knew he would like, and focused more on using the Check and Double Check and Silly Sentences cards because they were more closely related to the goals we were working on. At the end of the game he wrote down his favorite silly sentence, drew a picture to illustrate it and loved sharing it with his friends. This game has a lot of versatility, and can be modified to play with multiple children. It can be played in a short period of time and the instructions are very easy for young children to read and follow.

Discovery Bay Games provided this game free to facilitate this review. The opinions are my own.

Here’s a preview post I wrote here on ToyQueen.com after getting my first look-see at the LeapPad learning system almost one year ago.

What types of LeapFrog toys have you invested in for your children in the past? Many parents have told me their children have learned many of their letters and letter sounds by playing with their toys. Do you have any learning stories to share from your family with their unique toys?

If you haven’t already, please Like the ToyQueen Facebook Page and the AboutToys Facebook Pages. You can also follow me on Twitter as @ToyQueen and @AboutToys. If any of your friends and family members are looking for unique toys, I’d love for you to share my Facebook pages with them. Gaining more readership allows me to continue to write unique content and run fun contests.

LeapFrog provided a free LeapPad to facilitate my review. The opinions are my own.

©Neat-Oh

My 2-year-old, like many other boys I know, is a car nut. Maybe it’s because when we take a trip to Target, small cars make the best impulse buys for this age group because you can purchase them for $1.00. I never worry about losing them and because they are small enough to fit in Gavin’s coat pocket, they provide entertainment anywhere.  On several occasions I’ve  even found Gavin placing 4 or 5 of them in my purse before we leave the house. When we go for day trips to his grandparent’s house or on long weekends to other relatives these cars must come with us and he ends up filling his own bag to take along.

At Toy Fair, I met up with an amazing company, Neat-Oh, that designs some of the most innovative toy storage solutions for kids I have ever seen. Not only do these back packs, toy boxes, lunch boxes and travel totes functionally make it easy  to store and transport toys, many of them, like the Zip Bin Full Throttle Backpack unzip to make on-the-go play mats. Genius. This backpack was easily adjustable to fit my toddler with the two straps. It’s also not as bulky as most traditional backpacks, and the material is durable and sturdy so it doesn’t sag or become awkward to carry as some of the other custom cloth bags do. It’s also easy to wipe clean with a disinfectant wipe. There’s a great carrying handle strap at the top of the bag. There are two zippers located on the backpack, that make it easy to zip and unzip quickly. We have been able to fit several small cars (at least 10), a few diapers, a travel wipes container and a sippy cup in this backpack, it’s a fantastic diaper bag alternative and Gavin can carry it all on his own, making it a great toddler back pack.

©Neat-Oh

Neat-Oh also partners with several companies with regard to licensing, so if you child has a personal attachment to all things Barbie, LEGO, Hot Wheels, Dinosaurs, Cars, Farm Animals or Princesses please check out their very cool line of products at Neat-Oh.com.

Neat-Oh provided this backpack free to facilitate this review. The opinions are my own.

©Hasbro

Beyblade’s spinning tops have been very popular amongst little boys for several years. Children “Let it Rip!” by pulling the rip cord and battle against their friends in an arena, with the last top standing being crowned the winner.

This year Hasbro introduced a new Beyblade line at Toy Fair, Beyblade Beywheelz. Beywheelz will spin on their sides, similar to that of a rolling tire. Beywheelz can not only battle, but complete various stunts as well.

The video below highlights the Beyblade Beywheelz Crash Course in action, and some of the capabilities of the Beywheelz. The Crash Course is recommended for kids ages 8 and up and will retail fro $34.99. It will be available in Fall 2012.

Video Transcription:

Announcer: You’ve got to watch. You don’t want to miss this.

Sharon Osbourne: It’s a yes from me.

Man 1: Of course, yeah. Do you want to see it action?

Man 2: Absolutely.

Man 1: Where will I not be in the way?

Man 2: Right there.

Man 1: Just here?

Man 2: Yeah.

Man 1: Okay. Three, two, one, let it rip. This is the Beyblade
Beywheelz. It comes with the crash course arena, as you can
see here, two ripcords with two wheels, everything you see
here with the stunt goal and the stunt pillars for added
fun. Unlimited amounts of fun should I say. Three, two,
one, let it rip. Oh, did you see that sneaky one? It was a
little ricochet. Who saw that coming?

You can buy the assortment of individual Beyblade wheels at $10.99
apiece. That’s very cool stuff.

Man 2: How much is the set?

Man 1: $34.99, and that comes with two wheels, two launchers, the set
you can see here, the course arena, the stunt goal, and the
stunt pillars, and two collector’s cards so you can play
online at BeybladeBattles.com.

©Mattel

Barbie, a popular fashion doll, made her debut this year at Toy Fair 2012 with an integrated digital camera. The images are displayed right on Barbie’s stomach, and the doll can store 100 images. Not only can girls dress up their Barbie dolls, they can now accessorize her with images!

Here’s a video from Toy Fair 2012 with Mattel highlighting the Barbie Photo Fashion doll.

Video Transcription:

Announcer: You’ve got to watch. You don’t want to miss this.

Sharon Osbourne: It’s a yes from me.

Keri Wilmot: Big theme for Barbie this year is going to be fashion, and
this is the Barbie Photo Fashion doll. Inside she has a
digital camera (Holds over 100 images and images can be customized online). So kids are able to, through the viewfinder
in the back, hit the button, and take a picture. The
picture will display right on her belly, and she will be
here in the summer of 2012. It retails for $49.99.

Being a full-time working mom, yogurt in general has been a godsend in my life, not only for my own lunches, but those small individualized cups are so quick and easy to pack for my son’s lunch for daycare . Being that I work in several different school systems and over the course of the week can eat my lunch with dozens of professionals, based on my observations, Chobani greek yogurt has become quite popular and often a topic of lunchtime conversation because of the significant amount of protein packed in each and every 6 oz. cup.

In all honesty, I tried to buy the regular Chobani yogurt on a few occasions several years ago. Though I preferred the thicker texture, it was a sharper, more bitter taste than I could become accustomed to, making it difficult to finish the entire cup. We often resorted to using it as our yogurt of choice though in homemade smoothies simply because of the protein. When I was pregnant with Gavin three years ago, I also found it difficult to consume the daily amounts of protein suggested for growing a healthy baby. At the time greek yogurt was not as popular, but it probably would have been a great way to meet the protein guidelines.

Several months ago on a trip to a local BJ’s Wholesale, I noticed one week there was a case of Chobani greek yogurt for kids, Chobani Champions. Inside there were two flavors, Honey Banana and Very Berry. At almost $10 for the case, each week I passed it up, waiting for one of these yogurt coupons to magically appear in the monthly circular. I was skeptical and didn’t want to end up with a whole case of yogurt our family wouldn’t eat, so I didn’t buy it.

Until one week Gavin and I happened to shop on “Sample Saturday.” We were able to try both of the varieties of the Chobani Champions yogurt, and from that point on it has become a staple in our refrigerator. The cups are smaller (3.5 ounces vs. 6 ounces), but the yogurt is definitely sweeter, and 8 grams of protein are packed into 1 – 3.5 ounce cup! We really like to also add Kashi Go Lean Crunch granola cereal to the yogurt for even more protein.

When Chobani asked if I would like to help them spread the word about their 2 new flavors, Vanilla Chocolate Chunk and Orange Vanilla, I couldn’t wait for them to arrive. The Vanilla Chocolate Chunk is yummy, though I wouldn’t call the chocolate pieces inside chunks. To me a chunk is similar to a chocolate chip, but in reality these chunks were more like shavings.  Though I am honestly not overjoyed giving my toddler yogurt with chocolate, I would prefer a fruit based flavor, being an occupational therapist who works with children who have feeding disorders or who are very picky eaters, we often look for transitional foods to help kids ease their way into a new texture or flavor. Yogurts are great as dips for graham crackers and believe me I can tell you the parents of significantly picky eater will be thrilled their child even attempted a new food. So if the chocolate variety allows kids to get some vitamins, consume the protein they need to learn at school and expand their food repertoire, I’m all for it in moderation.

The new Orange Vanilla flavor is also delicious, though it does have very small bits of orange that are present in the yogurt and could pose a challenge for texture sensitive kids. Both my husband and son have enjoyed both of the new varieties of the Chobani Champions yogurt. Though the Honey Banana and Very Berry are still my most favorite, flavors appeal to people’s taste buds differently, what ever you prefer, I don’t think you will be disappointed.

Interested in trying a case for yourself? We are giving away a case of yogurt! 2 winners will be chosen to each receive their own case!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Chobani provided a free case of this yogurt (Orange Vanilla & Vanilla Chocolate Chunk) to facilitate this review. The opinions are my own.

©Spin Master

Let me introduce you to Air Hogs, a brand part of Spin Master, that has designed some of the most innovative remote control cars and helicopters available to purchase. This year at Toy Fair 2012, we were introduced to the new Air Hogs Battle Tracker.

Recommended for kids ages 8 and up, and being made available for purchase in the Fall 2012 for about $99.99, this is definitely an item that your sons and husbands will go crazy for this holiday season.

Remote control items have often been so unilateral, allowing the controller to fly their own aircraft or zoom their own speeding car. The Battle Tracker has brought a whole new level of interaction with 3 or more ways to play with this fun toy. Take control of the disc firing helicopter, while the missile firing Automated Robot Turret (A.R.T.) fires back, or take manual control of the turret launching the 12 missiles via remote control.

Here’s a video we took at Toy Fair 2012 of the new Air Hogs Battle Tracker in action!

Video Transcription:

Announcer: You’ve got to watch it. You don’t want to miss this.

Keri: Oh, and price point?

©Hasbro

Lazer Tag- After downloading the free iPhone/iPod Touch app, players place their device inside the blaster. In either single player or multi-player mode, players can engage in a whole new Lazer Tag experience, playing against friends, or in a virtual world. Each blaster is sold for $39.99 and is due out in August 2012.

©Hasbro

Deluxe Battleship Movie Edition – Geared for kids ages 8 and up, and due out in stores for April 2012, with a retail price of $39.99, this is a newly redesigned electronic battleship game. In addition to hunting for ships like the traditional game, send out jets for recon missions or scan the water for aircraft carriers prior to firing.

©Hasbro

Game of Life Zapped – This board game is compatible with iPad 1 or iPad 2. Download the free Game of Life zAPPed app, then place it in the middle of the board game. On the app, design your own individualized peg person and use the virtual spinner. When landing on certain spaces, it will unlock animation, funny videos, and games. Recommended for kids ages 8 and up, it will be available Spring 2012 and retail for $24.99.

©Hasbro

Twister Dance – 8 moveable colored dance pads are placed on the floor. Kids will move their feet on the pads in order of the the colored LED lights that emit from the dance console. The console comes with 5 songs, but is compatible with MP3 players to download additional music to. Music for the console was developed in conjunction with Britney Spears and Ke$ha. Recommended for kids ages 8 and up, it will retail for $39.99 and is due out in stores, Fall 2012.

©Hasbro

Elefun Snackin Safari – Using their bouncing elefun trunks, kids will pick up various cards placed around the room. It is recommended for preschoolers, will retail for $14.99 and will be in stores Fall 2012.

©Hasbro

Operation Star Wars – Fix up R2D2 before it’s to late! He’ll whistle and beep if you make  a mistake! It’s recommended for ages 6 and up and retails for $19.99

©Thinkfun

I will not lie up front. I am a horrible artist. Awful. Always have been and I think I always will be. Though I can be creative in my job in different ways and I have other special talents where I’m more athletic in nature, I do think some people are just not blessed with drawing ability. I was so psyched when I recently found the game Morphology which uses actual objects to create pictures, because though I have enjoyed playing Pictionary with family and friends, I often wonder if anyone will be able to quickly decipher my horrible scribbles.

When Thinkfun contacted me to review their memory game Cartoon It! I was really curious to see how the children I work with would like it, since any type of drawing that’s challenging can prompt some type of forward flopping on the table, or pleas to play a different game.  Just like I know I’m a horrible artist, kids know their strengths and weaknesses, too.

So many children have difficulty paying attention to small details that they do not deem relevant and this game has been so great at really encouraging kids to look at and remember minor details.  This type of attention is really helpful for older children so they can learn to edit and proofread their written work, such as comparing a rough draft to a final draft. It also helps them to develop strategies to assist their memory. Some children will talk out loud about the features, others will use their fingers to trace the card and then look back at the features board to assign a sequence to help their memory. Either way, despite whether kids have a basic drawing ability or not, all of them have been successful with this game and request to play it each week, or multiple rounds in a row. I myself was only able to get 3 or 4 out of the possible 6 points when I first began playing the game, so it’s a great family game as well. To take the game even further, we have even used the character cards and drawings to develop stories featuring their character, by also giving them names, occupations and interests.

ThinkFun provided this game free to facilitate this review. The opinions are my own.

@American Innovative

This fabulous kids alarm clock called the Teach Me Time! Clock from Onaroo by American Innovative, is more than just any ordinary alarm clock. Aside from having a face that shows time the digital way, it also shows analog time, which is the traditional moving hands of the clock. This is such a great feature for older school aged children learning to tell time because they can have immediate gratification of seeing both times displayed. Though here’s my most favorite feature, the clock is also a dual-color nighlight. The LCD will glow yellow, but you can set the clock to turn green, when it is okay for your kids to get out of bed. Amazing, right? Great concrete feature for those older toddlers, like mine, that don’t understand the ability to recognize numbers and have no concept of time.

There is also a Teach Me Time! game with 5 different difficulty levels. A small button on the left side of the clock will display a random time in analog fashion. The button on the right, front side of the clock, will speak the time and also display it in digital fashion, so older school aged kids can practice telling time and self-check it.  For kids who have learned all these great skills, the clock is also a regular alarm clock where the left button functions as a 10 minute snooze button, while the right button silences the alarm. The clock comes with 3 different colored bezels to customize the color, which include blue, pink and yellow rings. The clock runs on AC power to the wall, but there is also battery backup available (2 – AAA batteries required, but not included). I know all of these features sound difficult to remember, but thankfully the parental controls are hidden on the back and a shortcut menu is included directly on the back of the clock.  This product is available for purchase through Amazon.com.

Lately, Gavin has been waking up really early in the morning, like 5 a.m. His internal alarm clock definitely doesn’t understand it when I tell him, “It’s too early, you’ve got to go back to bed.” I’m hopeful that the glowing green light will help us teach him how to stay in his room because the leap to the big boy bed is right around the corner.  I know as parents we’d all love to stay in bed until forever, but you may want to consider setting the clock to turn green, 5-10 minutes after the time your child typically wakes up. As they learn the concept and become successful with staying in bed, you can slowly allow for more snooze time!

I received a media sample to facilitate this review. The opinions are my own.

Pufferfish Squishable

Our pufferfish, squishable stuffed animal, has a permanent home on our couch. Pufferfish doesn’t match any of the decor in the living room, but this 15 inch, plush stuffed animal, is a people magnet. Honestly, anyone, including both kids and full fledged grown adults who have entered our living room over the last few weeks has noticed him immediately, sat down on the couch, placed it on their lap and has immediately begun hugging and squishing it. We entertained a lot of friends and family members at my son’s birthday party over the weekend and this cute guy was seriously the topic of conversation at one point.

My 2-year-old sits on it, bounces on it, launches onto it, carries it around the living room and even tries to squish us with it.  This morning I caught him carrying it into the bathroom before I saved the fish from his attempts at flushing it, though he got an A for effort, it would have never happened just to the shear size of this giant stuffed animal.

I have fallen asleep on him watching television and this Squishable makes an amazing pillow. This also  got me thinking, do you remember those old corduroy overstuffed arm chairs  (which we called husbands) that some of us brought to college for studying? How cool would one of these Squishables be in a tween or teenage dorm room? My niece  in high school said she has seen them online and wanted one for her room. My best friend told me she now wants her own for Christmas.

Squishables are about 15 inches in diameter, full of polyester fiber fill and recommended for kids ages 3 and up. I am typically not much of a plush toy person, but these giant stuffed animals come in 40 different variations! Drawbacks include the ability to only be spot cleaned or dry cleaned, because washing machine use is not recommended. Adorable, silly, fuzzy, soft, squishy fun for kids, tweens, teens and adults of all ages.

Squishable.com provided this stuffed animal free to facilitate a review. The opinions are my own.

©Gamewright

Knock Your Blocks Off is one of the latest game releases from one of my favorite companies, Gamewright, which is a great family game to add to your game night! I have used this educational game over the last few weeks with several different boys and girls between the ages of 8 and 13 as part of school based occupational therapy services.  Though it can be a little tricky initially learning the directions, once the children have taken a few rounds to understand the game, they LOVE IT and have been requesting it from week to week, not even realizing how many academic skills they are learning in the process!

In this game, each player takes a stack of the same colored patterned blocks. The player is also provided with a structure guide card. The player picks a structure on their card (wall, tower, steps, etc.) to recreate using the blocks. However, the key is to build the structure in the right pattern, because the colors on the blocks need to match each other. If you look in the picture to the left with the blue tower of blocks, notice how the blue spot on the bottom block, must be alligned with the blue space on the next block placed? Looks easy, but harder than you might think, especially when you are trying to be the first to build your structure correctly! Be the first to complete the structure in the correct pattern and win a victory point.

Building the structure is only the first part. The second round involves rolling the “demolition dice.” Roll a boulder, flick the dice at your opponents structure. Roll a dragon, drop the dice over the top of the structure. Roll an ogre, perform an underhand throw.  If you are successful in knocking the crown off the structure with the dice, you win a victory point. If you are not successful in the demolition round, the builder can win extra victory points for defending.  The first player to accumulate 7 victory points wins. The game is a little more complicated with the directions than I am describing here, because there are additional ways to win victory points based on the degree of difficulty in the structure you built, but those are the basic steps.

When we play, I often act as the facilitator to monitor that the block patterns match in the structure, and to assist with keeping track whose turn it is to destruct or defend. The boys have really enjoyed destroying the structures, but what I like is that it’s organized destruction with clear rules!  One thing I have found is that the more you play, the more you remember what patterns will let you build each structure the fastest, which can add to your strategy. This game has been excellent for children who tend to have difficulty noticing small details to improve their approach and organization. Some children can still be impulsive with the building portion, potentially not being the first one to capture the demolition dice, but there are so many other opportunities to win points, it has been fun for a variety of children with academic levels and abilities to play together.  We have even seen kids 4 points behind the leader catch up and win, so the outcome can change quickly with each round.

This is a fast moving game, where we have  inished it entirely with 2-3 players in about 15-20 minutes. So it’s a great family game to play as well even when you don’t have a lot of time.  We’ve also incorporated writing assignments such as, “Why or why not would you recommend this game to a friend?” Some children who are working on their organizational skills have chosen to write down the steps of the game to serve as directions to the next group of players.

Gamewright provided this game free to facilitate a review. The opinions are my own.