Hasbro

Family Game Night has had a slow start in our household. About a year ago, when my son was 4, we attempted to play Chutes and Ladders (what happened to the snakes?) which did not end well. My little guy, upon being moved back several squares in game play, burst into tears and that was the end of the game. Teaching fair play, gracious losing, and overall good sportsmanship is something that gets easier as children get older. At 4 my son was not able to understand why it was ok for him to not be the winner every single time. At 5 and a half he gets that not winning only means you’re the second winner (not the loser, I like that!) We‘ve tried Chutes and Ladders and a few other games cautiously in the past little while, making sure he is cool with the gameplay.

So, when Hasbro offered to send us a few games to try out as a family, I was really excited to start trying some other games to give my son a chance to learn strategy! Oh…strategy (rubbing my hands together here menacingly!)

We started off pretty relaxed with Littlest Pet Shop Go Fish! Card Game. After our first game (which I won), my son was eager to play again which is a definite good sign.

I think having familiar characters on the cards helps make the game visually appealing while the game itself helps teach memory.

The next game we tried had my son and I (and my husband who shook his head at our shenanigans) howling with laughter. Operation: SpongeBob SquarePants Edition takes everyone’s favorite under-sea character and puts him on the operating table, with the task of removing all his silliness including things like______.

I hated Operation as a kid – I never owned the game myself, which made me a lousy player since I was so nervous playing and never had a steady hand. My little guy needs to work on his fine motor skills so I thought this would be a fun, albeit nerve wracking (!!) way, for him to practice precise small movements.

I was surprised to learn that maybe my childhood experience wasn’t the norm – the buzzing sound, which used to make me cringe as a kid, wasn’t loud and annoying. It was funny more than anything (maybe it’s SpongeBob laying there that makes it so silly?) We played this game for quite awhile the first night we tried it, and it’s been a favorite in the weeks since as well.

The next game we tried was one of my favorites as a kid – Connect 4! We only tried the original way of playing the game, dropping checkers in with the goal of making a line of 4, but there are also two other ways to play this game – Pop Out which involves popping a checker out of the grid to make a line happen when the chips fall as they may, or Pop 10 which again involves popping checkers out of the grid instead of dropping in.

This game takes foresight, strategy and skill which are three things a 5 year old doesn’t naturally possess. This is definitely a learning game for him and something that I can help him work through by explaining to him what dropping a checker in a particular spot will do.

The final game we we sent to review is one that my husband was eager to check out as well. Jenga Max takes the original block building and strategy game and adds in a whole new element of balance. Again, since my son doesn’t have perfect fine motor skills, this game as a challenge for him and he got frustrated easily but I think in time as he practices more he’s going to really enjoy it.

My husband and I will play it from time to time when my son leaves it out, and I think the frustration comes to my son honestly (I’m not so patient with Jenga Max!!)Want to experience the suspense and frustration too? Sure you do! 1 of my US readers is going to win Jenga Max courtesy of Hasbo! To enter, just leave me a comment here telling me what Hasbro game is your family’s favorite.

For additional entries:
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