It’s about a week until the next term break…at least for those in Victoria and I’m sure there are some who would be going away somewhere. So I thought I’d give you a few suggestions on what type of games that our E-Shop has, which would make great travel buddies. Not only are they educational, fun, but also…wait for this….there’s no need for batteries! Even if you’re not, these would be perfect for all those cold, wet and blustery days.
So here are some great ideas:
Magic Forest Magnetic Puzzler rrp$20.00
I featured this in my puzzle pack giveaway and I still am harping on about it because, it’s one of my kids’ favourites. I mean really, why sell something my kids won’t like right?! They are after all my “testers”. The Magic Forest is great for travelling because it’s magnetic, so won’t fall off the board. An all-in-one game with all the challenges included inside this “booklet” and all the puzzle pieces too. Great for kids aged 5 and even up to adults. Yes, there are some pretty awesome challenges for us too! Besides solving the puzzle, why not create a story afterwards with each challenge. That’s for when say, you’re at a stop to have lunch or even when you’re at your holiday destination while you’re in the room.
9 piece Magnetic Puzzle rrp$30.00
Another favourite of my kids is this Wooden 9 Piece Magnetic Colour Puzzle. It’s basically about putting the magnetic pieces together. Some pieces might repel, so you never know which combination might work. It can end up with hours of intriguing fun!
Wooden Tic Tac Toe - Spaceship rrp$15.00
The Wooden Tic Tac Toe might not be one for when you’re in the car. Or maybe it could be if your kids have got something solid like a book underneath the mat. But, it is great for when you’re passing time, waiting for food to arrive or even when you’re lounging around at your holiday home. It comes with a small pouch to store all the bits and bobs!.
Chicken Shuffle rrp$25
This Chicken Shuffle game by Smart Games is making a come-back on this blog because well, it’s a fab game! It’s not just shuffling the pieces to create an image. It’s more than that. Try and shuffle the pieces so that each chicken sits on an egg or change the challenge to a more difficult one and try to shuffle so that the chicken isn’t sitting on any of the other animals! Gah! Not easy I tell you! But again…hours of fun, because that’s what you want when you’re travelling, something to keep them occupied. Again, like all the Smart Games puzzles, it’s all stored in the one box! Great for kids from ages 6 and all the way to adults.
IQ Puzzler by Smart Games rrp$18.00
Finally the game that can not only challenge them (and you) in 2D but also 3D – the IQ Puzzler. Again, all in one – with the beaded puzzle and challenge book in a box. Try to complete the challenges by placing the correct pieces in the right order. Looks easy? Think again!
Those are just a handful of awesome games from our E-Shop, check-out what I can’t include because…well…there’s just too many!
It’s back to school for most of our kids now, well, mine will be this Thursday! I can’t wait and I think neither can the kids. It has been a fun and relaxing Summer break, and now it’s time to get our butts back into gear and into some much needed routine!
School starting also means homework for some of us, and by homework I don’t necessarily mean memorising words, doing sums and the like, it also means going back to doing the nightly reading, learning new words from the M100W word list. This can either start feeling tedious or, fun, depending on you and your child of course. So, how can we make homework more fun? Or rather, instead of having them just chilling out and watching television (yes my kids do that and there’s nothing wrong with that), get them into stuff that will actually still challenge their minds? Educational games that are also fun of course!
I’ve got 3 which are my favourite (and the kids) so far:
This is a game that will not only test your child’s (and yours for that matter!) word building and spelling skills, but also how quick you are at building those words. It comes in a handy box, which makes it great for travelling. There are 117 letter tiles. Here’s how you play the game. Each player takes 8 tiles from the set of overturned tiles. Once everyone is ready, they can then turn their 8 tiles over and create words with them, in a crossword style if they need to. Somewhat like another popular word boardgame. The only difference is, there is no board, and each player creates their own words. Once someone finishes using up all the 8 tiles, they say out “Take 2″ and everyone including that player takes 2 more tiles to build more words. The great thing about this is, you CAN rearrange all your words again to form new ones, or build with what you’ve formed. The game finishes once all the tiles are used up. You then add up all the individual scores and deduct whatever left over tiles you have.
Miss 8, Miss 10 and I had a ball playing this. I had to help them out a little, and have to admit, I did change the rules a little. Sometimes we would get stuck with one or two tiles and not be able to take another 2. So what I did was, to let us choose 2 tiles we do not want, turn them over, add it to the pile and re-shuffle the pile then pick 2 tiles again. That way, it ends up being a game of chance – you might get the same pieces again – and it keeps the game going.
A new game that has just been introduced to our E-Shopis this amazing IQ Puzzler by Smart Games. There are altogether 101 challenges in the booklet that comes with this game and they are all stored in this black box. Basically, the idea is to solve the puzzle via the challenges by placing the right spherical puzzle piece in the right position to complete the rectangle. Or, challenge yourself further and do it in 3D! Simply close the box, turn it around and play it in 3D. Same concept – complete the puzzle with the pieces left.
Another great game that challenges your child’s spatial and lateral thinking. In this booklet are 6 puzzle pieces and challenges in varying degrees from starter to master level. The puzzle pieces have a magnetic base so that the pieces would stick to the board inside the booklet.
The puzzle pieces
Magnetic backing on the puzzle pieces
The challenges would normally tell you which character has to go where, and with the puzzle pieces, you have to create paths to lead them to the places. The harder the challenge, the more obstacles you would have to avoid! And you also have to use all 6 pieces to finish the puzzle. Don’t worry if you get stuck, because at the back are solutions!
Challenges in 4 different levels
An example of the challenge
Solutions at the back of the booklet
Because this game is magnetic and has everything you need stored in the booklet, it also makes it handy for travelling – anywhere!
Especially for Just Us Kids Online readers, we have a special giveaway. Thanks to the people at Take 2, I have ONE Take 2 game valued at $30 to give away. And as a thank you to all readers, I have a pack of the IQ Puzzler AND the Magic Forest Magnetic Puzzle worth $38 in total to give away too!
To enter, simply tell me which one you would like to win – the Take 2 or the Puzzle Pack and why. The winner with the best answer will win the game/s they have chosen to enter for. Hurry as this giveaway closes on the 12th February 2012. *Open to Australian Residents only.
Please fill in the form below with your details and answer the question in the comments section.
Promising all the humour, fun, and adventure, this Lego Starwars III game delivers its promise. It begins with Obi Wan, Anikin and Padma, being dragged into the arena to battle the baddies (ok so I don’t really know what they’re called, but I did watch it a long time ago). Because they are all lego figures, you can be rest assured, these battles do not end in blood and gore…only broken lego pieces, which in my opinion is pretty cute! There are some funny scenes thrown in too for entertainment. And I think it’s also to give us a little break before proceeding to the next level. Good idea!
There is a multi-player option, with two players playing the same battle in split screen mode. Collect new characters to add to your team, who can help you battle in the different levels. Master 5, who has just started school and doesn’t know how to read the different hints delivered by Yoda, needed me to guide him, but after that he was able to work out how to play each level. The girls, Miss 7 and Miss 9 enjoyed playing this game, and so did their mother – yes me, who used the excuse that I had to trial the game thoroughly, when in fact I was hogging the game! It took awhile for me to sort out what I had to do, but that’s probably because I didn’t read Yoda’s messages (shame on me). I loved how we could ride on the different vehicles or enemy’s creatures to help defeat the enemies. The great thing was, the four of us worked as a team to find out how to proceed to the next level. It’s not just a point and hit or shoot game, but involves a lot of thinking, strategising and figuring out which character is best for what.
Other features include:
Massive Ground Battles
Multi-Layered Space Battles
New Combat Abilities
All New Lighting and Animations
This game is now in store and is available for XBOX 360 (rrp$79.95), Nintendo DS (rrp$49.95), Wii (rrp$69.95), and PS3 (rrp$79.95) game consoles. The good news is…I’ve got one from each console to give away! Yes, I’ll have FOUR winners in total, picked at random (one for each console). To enter, simply leave a comment saying why you should win this game and the version of your choice (eg. XBOX360, Nintendo DS, Wii or PS3). Entries close on the 28th April 6pm AEST. Winners will be notified via email and published on this post. You can enter as many times as you like. Yes, I’m being generous. BUT it’s only open to Australian Residents only.
*Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of Wii Lego Star Wars III to review. All comments are my own.
This giveaway is now CLOSED. Thank you for entering, to find out who the winners are….click here.
uDraw GameTablet & uDraw Studio Bundle. Pictionary & Dood's Big Adventure
As promised from yesterday’s post, here’s my review of the uDraw GameTablet from Wii. I got the chance to trial the uDraw, which comes bundled with the uDraw Studio software – a drawing, colouring and art-based program. For those of you who haven’t heard of uDraw, it’s a GameTablet that combines a handheld drawing pad and pressure-sensitive stylus to provide a drawing surface that can be used to create pieces of artwork, keep minds active and play games. Included with my trial were two other games “Pictionary” and “Dood’s Big Adventure“. According to THQ Asia Pacific Managing Director, Rodney Block, “uDraw fosters creative expression and freedom, with the ability to bring family and friends together”. So, like with most new technology that’s on offer out there, I was really keen on having a go at using this new device.
It is easy enough to put pen to paper and see what you’ve written automatically (unless of course you’ve run out of ink), with the tablet though, you’ve got to get used to the idea of looking at the television screen and writing on the tablet. So, some hand eye co-ordination is needed here. On the plus side, kids can also practice on their pencil grip whilst playing, which is great for Master 5 who has just started school and as I’ve recently found out, is lacking a little bit in the confidence department when it came to writing.
uDraw Studio
This featured a myriad of tools for the kids to choose from, there were more than nine painting and drawing media to allow them to draw simple lines with a pen. You could also add character with the airbrush tool or chalk. There’s also the “paint fill” tool that allows you to fill in the areas with the colour of their choice. Speaking of which, there were so many choices of colours, textures and surfaces, which is great for those who love to experiment with different hues, textures and environments. There’s also soothing music that plays in the background whilst you draw or colour, which according to Justin from yesterday’s post, fosters positive feelings. If your child is not into drawing, there are also images that they can choose to colour from the program that acts like a virtual colouring book.
uDraw Studio (using the paint-fill tool to fill in the colouring page)
This software reminded me a little bit of Photoshop on the computer, but the difference I guess is the fact that you’re using a pen like tool (the stylus) to draw. I still prefer the real deal when it comes to art – as in using real tools for painting, colouring and adding texture. But, this is a great software to have to encourage creativity instead of having them sit in front of the television or play games that really don’t teach them much.
Pictionary
I love love love this game! It’s the same deal with the original non technological kind, but the upside is, you save on paper. There are over 3000 clues to choose from and two levels – Adult and Junior. With three modes of play – Pictionary, Pictionary Mania and Free Draw, you can create endless fun with this program! There are also a number of drawing tools you can use to create your masterpieces and all to be solved within a limited amount of time. If you’re into something more challenging, then Pictionary Mania is definitely for you. It’s challenging when you have to concentrate on drawing your clue under different rules. For instance, the instructions might tell you to draw your clue in the One Line mode. This requires you to draw your clue in one continuous line WITHOUT lifting up your stylus off the board! TRICKY!! Or, drawing whilst the image on the screen rotates in Rotation Frustration. My kids loved this game too, and it’s pretty funny seeing what they come up with from the clues they get!
Dood’s Big Adventure
Another game I actually enjoyed. There are 60 levels of fun with 4 different game modes – Pen Panic, Roly Poly, Bubble Trouble and Fan Frenzy. The aim is to get Dood to the finish line, with the different tools provided. In Pen Panic, you have to use your stylus to draw lines and create a trampoline for Dood to bounce off to get to his destination, whilst avoiding the his enemies. In Roly Poly, you use the tablet to roll, Dood through each level by tilting the tablet left or right. Bubble Trouble sees Dood in a bubble and using the stylus, we have to lead Dood through to the next level, avoiding all the bumps, sharp surfaces and enemies – TRICKY! For Fan Frenzy, like what the name states, the stylus acts like a fan. The aim is to “blow” and move Dood, who has been inflated like a balloon, around to the different levels. There’s also a Paint Dood, where you can personalise your “Dood”, the baddies, obstacles and much more!
Dood's Big Adventure (Pen Panic)
The thing I loved about this game is the fact that you actually have to think and strategise the best way to get Dood moving, in each of the four modes. You will have to experiment with the length of line and direction of line to draw in Pen Panic, in order to get him moving. Each of the modes also have a chance for you to score bonus points by getting him to the end of that level before the bonus points run out! Master 5 loved this game and yes, so did I. I found him advising (ok telling me) which direction to draw the lines in or what to do or how to get to another spot without getting “injured”, and this was the first time ever that he’s actually seen the game. A definite must if you want your child to develop their lateral thinking.
There’s one new game on the market, Spongebob Squigglepants, I know this is something Miss 9 would love as she is a HUGE fan of Spongebob. I guess we’ll just have to wait for Christmas or her birthday to get her this. Too bad we had to return the uDraw GameTablet, this could probably be next on the birthday list – for me? Oh and a word of advice, try not to play with it for too long at a time – I got writer’s cramp from playing with it! This is where the discussion about time limit should come in.
Details
The uDraw GameTablet is available at all major retailers.It retails for $119.95, which comes bundled with the uDraw Studio software. The individual games retail for $59.95 each.
