Things to Do - ThinkFun Games Review & GIVEAWAY!!!

THIS GIVEAWAY HAS NOW CLOSED AND THE RANDOM WINNER HAS BEEN CONTACTED. THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO ENTERED!!

Thinkfun offered us some fun games to review, to which I immediately replied YES!!! F loves Rush Hour so I figured she would enjoy trying out some of ThinkFun's newer offerings. Our reviews are listed below. And, if you're interested (who wouldn't be interested?), Think Fun will send one lucky reader any game of his/her choice. So check out their website here and then win something.

In order to enter, either (1) Comment to this post, making sure to include your email address in the body of the message or (2) Like No Monsters In My Bed on Facebook and write on my wall that you're entering the giveaway (also, please make sure that your Facebook account allows you to receive messages from non-friends).

I will close the contest and randomly choose a winner one week from today at 5pm EST on November 13th. (NOW CLOSED!!)

OUR REVIEWS:



(1)Laser Maze - I gave F Laser Maze for her birthday (yes, I'm sure there are ethical questions involved about gifting something received for free, but lets put those to the side for now) and she LOVES it!! Actually, we all love it, which is a little surprising as lasers usually annoy me, for reasons I can't decipher (something about a bright singular beam of light). Lately, this has become our family's go-to weekend activity (and, I must confess, after the kids go to bed, I've tried to solve a puzzle or two on my own).

The game comes with several challenge cards of varying levels (we're still working on the beginning set), as well as a small laser beam and several accessory pieces (beam-Splitters, mirrors, checkpoints, and a checkpoint) for redirecting the laser's path. I wasn't sure how much we would enjoy problem solving as a family, but this game has taught us to work as a team (at times). Though my favorite part about the laser maze has been watching F concentrate over the different configurations of pieces, almost like chess, but with a quicker end game.



(2)Swish Jr.- For the last three weeks, we've Swished quite a bit. Unlike most multi-player games, Swish's rules are easy, as is set up, making it easy to play a few rounds whenever the "boreds" kick in. Swish Jr. consists of several transparent cards, which you lay out in three rows of four. You then try to match the cards up. The first player to find a match yells "swish", picks up the cards, and the the dealer quickly lays down another set.

The first time you play, it can be rather difficult to find a match, as you're not used to turning the shapes around in your mind to see how they fit together. Luckily, when this becomes easy you can up the difficulty by only looking for three card "swishes." Eventually you can work into four card swishes (we're not there yet).

I have to say, as far as children's games go, this is one of my favorites. It's fun to play and quick, with minimal prep. And it doesn't totally bore me, which is sort of awesome.

(3)Brainteaser Kit - I really like these puzzles (despite the fact, or maybe because of the fact, that I can't figure most of them out), but I'm not quite sure how best to use them with the kids. I don't want the kids to rely on too many of the hints or the puzzles may becomes "easy." But I also don't want the kids to think of these as impossible and stop trying. So far, we bring them out every once in awhile. T quits after about 10 seconds, P lasts a few minutes, and F keeps working on the puzzles for about ten or fifteen minutes (they're recommended for 2nd grade and up, so F's my only child in the toy's demographic).

I think the brainteaser set would probably work best in a classroom or homeschool setting, where activities are more structured; or maybe on an airplane or long trip, when you want something challenging to entertain children for a set period.

We like working on them, we're just not quite sure when to bring them out.