Tag: ages 4 and up

How to Play – Memory Match

Part of the fun in raising Zoey is finding things that delight and educate her; I want to find fun, creative board games to play with her during our family game nights! This week we played Memory Match, the LotFancy version, for 2 to 6 players.

This specific memory match game is designed for kids and does a great job building visual recognition and, of course, memory recall. The graphics are adorable and gameplay is fun and engaging; especially when competition narrows in Zoey’s focus.

So let’s play!

IN THE BOX
  • 39 cards
INSTRUCTIONS
  1. For standard play, remove the 3 stinky lunchbox cards. For more of a challenge, leave them in the deck.
  2. Shuffle the deck and lay them face down so the cards are not overlapping. You may place them in a grid or randomly, it’s up to you.
  3. Players take turns, the youngest player goes first.
  4. On your turn, flip two cards face-up. Make sure that the other players can see the cards too.
  5. If the two cards match, you get to keep them! Place them in a score pile in front of you. As a reward, you get to go again and flip over two more cards.
  6. If you do not make a match, flip the cards back over so they are hidden, your turn is over.
  7. If you are playing with the stinky lunch box cards and you turn one over, your turn is over.
  8. Play continues to the left and the next player takes their turn.
  9. When all the cards have been picked up (minus the stinky lunchbox cards if in play), each player counts the pairs of food they’ve collected. The player with the most food wins! 

ENJOY!

How to Play – Disney Eye Found It!

Part of the fun in raising Zoey is finding things that delight and educate her; I want to find fun, creative board games to play with her during our family game nights! This week we played Disney’s Eye Found It! for 1 to 6 players.

This is a cooperative game, which is nice when you’re not feeling competitive and want to focus on teamwork instead. Zoey enjoys the Disney content and searching the board for hidden objects (so do I honestly). The only warning I will give is that the game board is rather large, you’ll either need a long table, countertop, or you can set it up on the floor like we do!

So let’s play!

IN THE BOX
  • 1 game board (in 3 sections)
  • 6 characters
  • 6 character bases
  • 1 spinner
  • 12 Mickey marker
  • 30 search cards
  • 1 sand timer
INSTRUCTIONS
  1. Unfold the game board sections and connect them.
  2. Set the Mickey markers, sand timer and spinner near the board.
  3. Shuffle the search cards and put them in a pile near the board. Either the blue or red sides may face up.
  4. Set Maleficent’s staff to “1”.
  5. Insert each character into a base. Each player chooses a chapter and puts them on the “Start” space.
  6. The youngest player goes first. On your turn, spin the spinner and follow its instructions:
    • Move – Move your character forward the number of spaces indicated.
      1. If you land on a shortcut, follow the arrow.
      2. If you get to a fork in the road, choose which way to go.
      3. If you land on a “search” space, follow the search rules.
    • Maleficent’s Magic – Move the staff one or two spaces forward, then spin again!
    • Search – If the spinner or your character land on a “search” space, draw the top card of the deck.
      1. If you spun a search on the spinner, use the side of the card matching the color on the spinner. If your character landed on a search space you may choose which side of the card to use. 
      2. Start the timer. All players help look for the object(s) shown, hidden on the game board. Each time you find one put a Mickey marker  on it so you remember where it is. When the time runs out, stop looking and count up all the Mickey markers you placed on the board. Everyone’s character moves forward that many spaces!
  7. If all players arrive at Aurora’s castle before Maleficent casts her spell (when her staff reaches 16), you all win!

ENJOY!

How to Play – Crazy 8’s

Part of the fun in raising Zoey is finding things that delight and educate her; I want to find fun, creative board games to play with her during our family game nights! This week we played Crazy 8’s the LotFancy version for 2 to 5 players.

This specific Crazy 8’s game is designed for kids and does a great job at reminding Zoey of the shapes she’s already learned and introducing her to strategy! The graphics are adorable and gameplay is fun and engaging; very reminiscent of Uno!

So let’s play!

IN THE BOX
  • 40 cards
INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Shuffle all the cards and deal 5 to each player.
  2. Place the remaining cards face-down in a draw pile, turn over the top card and place face-up next to the draw pile (if it’s an 8 draw another card and put the 8 back in the middle of the deck).
  3. Players take turns. On a turn, play a card face up on the card next to the draw pile (it must be the same number or shape).
  4. If you can’t play a card from your hand, you must draw cards from the draw pile one at a time until you can play one. Any cards you pick up are now part of your hand.
  5. All 8’s (unicorns) are wild and can be played on any card. If you play a unicorn, you then declare which shape the next player must play.
  6. Once you play a card, your turn is over.  The person on your left goes next.
  7. If the draw pile runs out of cards, leave the top card and shuffle the cards from the common pile into a new draw pile.
  8. The first player to get rid of all their cards is the winner!
*Bonus rules for a twist!
  • When a 4 is played, wave your magic wand and skip to the next player.
  • When a 6 is played, the monster has spooked you and the order of play reverses.

ENJOY!

How to Play – Go Fish

Part of the fun in raising Zoey is finding things that delight and educate her; I want to find fun, creative board games to play with her during our family game nights! This week we played Go Fish the LotFancy version for 2 to 4 players.

This specific Go Fish game is designed for kids and does a great job at reminding Zoey of the numbers she’s already learned and recognizing /collecting matching sets! I remember when I used to play this with regular playing cards, which could be fun to introduce her to at a later date! I remember we would sometimes combine two decks of playing cards so more people could play and/or we could play for longer! Good times!

So let’s play!

IN THE BOX
  • 40 cards
INSTRUCTIONS
  1. Players take turns trying to collect sets of 4 sea creatures and whomever collects the most sets, wins!
  2. Shuffle the cards and deal 5 to each player.
  3. Place the remaining cards face-down in a pile between the players. This is your “pool of aquatic animals”.
  4. The youngest player goes first, then play continues clockwise.
  5. On your turn, pick any player and ask them if they have a specific number card (it must be one you already have in your hand). If they do, they must give you all their cards with that number. You then get to take another turn! If they do not have that card, then they tell you to “Go Fish!” And you draw 1 card from the pool of aquatic animals. If you happen to draw a card with the number you asked for, show the card to the group, place it in your hand and you get another turn! Otherwise place the card in your hand and your turn is over.
  6. When a player collects 4 of the same sea creatures, they place them face up in front of them.
  7. If a player runs out of cards at any point, they draw one card from the pool of aquatic animals at the end of the current turn.
  8. When the pool of aquatic animals is empty, the game is over. The player with the most set of matching cards wins!

ENJOY!

How to Play – Hungry, Hungry Hippos!

Part of the fun in raising Zoey is finding things that delight and educate her; I want to find fun, creative board games to play with her during our family game nights! This week we played the Hungry, Hungry Hippos by Hasbro for 2 to 4 players!

This game was a Christmas gift to Zoey from her aunt and uncle, and we love it! Zoey’s favorite color is yellow so I think she feels more drawn to the version where whomever chomps the yellow ball wins, rather than whoever chomps the most balls wins. Either way it’s a classic, fast-paced game we all can enjoy!

Let’s play!

IN THE BOX
  • A game tray
  • 4 attachable hippos
  • 4 attachable marble release levers
  • 20 balls
INSTRUCTIONS
  • Each player selects a hippo and places 5 marbles into the marble release area near their hippo.

BEGINNER’S GAME

  1. One player is chosen to release a marble by pressing the marble release lever. As soon as the marble is released, all players try to make their hippos gobble it by pressing the hippo tails until someone succeeds.
  2. Moving clockwise, the next player releases a marble and the process is repeated.
  3. After all the players have been gobbled, each player counts up the marbles in their marble collecting area.
  4. Whomever has the most marbles wins the game!

ADVANCED

  1. All players release their marbles at the same time and (once someone says “Go!”) attempt to gobble as many marbles with their hippos as they can!
  2. After all the players have been gobbled, each player counts up the marbles in their marble collecting area.
  3. Whomever has the most marbles wins the game!

*Another variation is to see who has the yellow/golden marble at the end of the game, and whoever does wins!

ENJOY!

Family Game Night: 25 Tabletop Game Ideas (Ages 4 and Up)

Weekly family game nights, now doesn’t that sound wonderful? Imagine it, gathering around a table and playing tabletop games, familiar or new. Or getting into pajamas and snuggling up on the couch or pillow-strewn floor, playing video games. There are many ways to create happy memories, and this is one of them!

We’ve already had seven family game nights this year and they were fun and relaxed. We played a mixture of board or tabletop games and video games. Our only personal rule (more-so for my husband and I) is no cell phone usage.

I’ve created a list of some fun starter tabletop games for children ages 4 and up to inspire your family game nights!

  1. Bluey Scavenger Hunt Game
  2. Boggle Jr.
  3. Candy Land
  4. Chutes and Ladders
  5. Dr. Seuss Pattern Game
  6. Frankie’s Food Truck Fiasco
  7. Frida’s Fruit Fiesta
  8. Friends and Neighbors: The Helping Game
  9. Hoot Owl Hoot!
  10. Hoppy Floppy’s Happy Hunt
  11. Hungry Hungry Hippos
  12. Hi Ho! Cherry-O!
  13. Koala Capers
  14. Let’s Go Fishing!
  15. Monster Mash!
  16. Pancake Pile-Up!
  17. Pete the Cat: The Missing Cupcakes Game
  18. Raccoon Rumpus
  19. Shelby’s Snack Shack Game
  20. The Sneaky, Snarky Squirrel Game
  21. Sophie’s Seashell Scramble
  22. Uno Jr.
  23. Yahtzee Jr.
  24. Yeti in my Spaghetti
  25. Zingo!

What games do you like to play with your family? We would love recommendations!

How to Play – Pete the Cat: The Missing Cupcakes Game

Part of the fun in raising Zoey is finding things that delight and educate her; I want to find fun, creative board games to play with her during our family game nights! This week we played Pete the Cat: The Missing Cupcakes Game by Briarpatch for 2 to 4 players! 

Zoey loves Pete the Cat and loves cupcakes so this game is a perfect fit for her! It’s also enjoyable to play a cooperative game that we all work together to complete rather than always be competitive. Competition is great, but teamwork is a valuable skill too!

Let’s play!

IN THE BOX
  • 4 game pieces 
  • 14 colorful cupcakes
  • 20 birthday present cards
  • A Game board
  • A Game spinner
  • A Grumpy Toad & cupcake tray
INSTRUCTIONS
  1. Each player chooses a character pawn and places it on one of the four corners of the game board (it is ok for 2 players to share a space).
  2. Place all the cupcakes onto Grumpy Toad’s cupcake tray.
  3. Shuffle the present cards and place them all, face down, next to Pete the Cat.
  4. The youngest player goes first by spinning the spinner and moving clockwise around the board.
  5. Players move around the board performing one of the following activities, based on the space landed on:
    • Present spots-The player picks up one present card and performs one activity (playing like charades, but sounds are okay). If someone guesses successfully, then the player who performed the activity takes two cupcakes from Grumpy Toad’s cupcake tray and places them on two of the open slots (shaded circles) on Pete the Cat’s birthday party table on the game board.
    • Activity spots-(animal, food, letters, music) If a player successfully completes one of the four activities, the player takes a cupcake from Grumpy Toad’s cupcake tray and places it on one of the open spots on Pete the Cat’s birthday party table:
      • Dog – Name an animal and say its sound (i.e. cow…moo!).
      • Apple – Name a yummy food.
      • ABC’s – Think of a letter and name something that starts with that letter (i.e. T…table).
      • Musical note – Sing a verse from a song (i.e. Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star) or make up a new song!
      • (Once something has been named by a player, other players cannot name the same thing. They must remember what others said and say something new.)
    • Grumpy Toad spots – Grumpy Toad decides he’s still hungry and, if there is a cupcake on Pete the Cat’s birthday party table, takes one (any) cupcake off the table and back to his cupcake tray.
    • Home spots – Relax, you’re home, not activity is performed.
  6. After the player performs one of the above activities, his or her turn is over and play passes to the left.
  7. When all the cupcakes have been taken from Grumpy Toad’s cupcake tray, the game ends and ALL the players celebrate the team victory by singing Happy Birthday to Pete the Cat!

ENJOY!

How to Play – Boggle Jr.

Part of the fun in raising Zoey is finding things that delight and educate her; I want to find fun, creative board games to play with her during our family game nights! This week we played Boggle Jr. by Hasbro for 1 to 2 players! 

This game will help children with their spelling in a fun, rewarding way! If this means setting up a reward system for if they could finish all the 3 letter words, then the 4 letter words and then the combined deck, do it! Education should be fun and rewarding! I could see improvement in Zoey’s word recognition and spelling almost immediately.

Let’s play!

IN THE BOX
  • Boggle Jr. game tray
  • 8 letter cubes
  • 30 picture/word cards (double-sided)
INSTRUCTIONS

Game # 1: Match it-Spell it

  1. Shuffle and stack the picture/word cards so the 3-letter words are all face up and turned in the same direction.
  2. Place the stack in the tray above the cube slots, facing the child (the word cover is flipped down & out of use).
  3. Point to the picture on the card and ask the child what it is — i.e. a pig, a jar, a pie, the sun, etc.
  4. Point to the word below the picture and say the word, then spell the word out loud letter by letter.
  5. Go back to the first letter and have the child find that letter on one of the cubes and place the cube in the first slot of the tray, directly under the letter as it appears on the card.
  6. Proceed through the other two letters until the 3-letter word is spelled out in cubes under the card.
  7. Reinforce what the child has just accomplished by saying the word and spelling together. Give the child the top card and proceed through the rest of the remaining 3-letter words in the same manner.
  8. Next play with 4-letter word cards. Then shuffle the cards and play with 3 and 4 letter words mixed.

Game # 2: Cover it-Spell it

  1. Shuffle and stack the picture/word cards so the 3-letter words are all face up and turned in the same direction.
  2. Place the stack in the tray above the cube slots, facing the child (the word cover is flipped up & in use).
  3. The child glances at the word under the cover, then hides it again. Now he/she is no longer matching letters with letter, but is actually spelling the word from memory.
  4. Next play with 4-letter word cards. Then shuffle the cards and play with 3 and 4 letter words mixed.
  5. For two players the children take turns. Each time a child successfully spells a word from memory, he or she wins that card and continues to the next.
  6. If a child spells a word incorrectly, that card is placed on the bottom of the pile of cards and that child’s turn ends. When the card comes up again, the player whose turn it is attempts to spell the word.
  7. The children alternate turns until all the cards have been used, whoever has won more cards during the game wins!

ENJOY!

How to Play – Candy Land

Part of the fun in raising Zoey is finding things that delight and educate her; I want to find fun, creative board games to play with her during our family game nights! This week we played Candy Land by Hasbro for up to 4 players! 

This is one of my childhood favorites that I hope will also be one of Zoey’s childhood favorites. Gameplay is relatively easy with movement based on drawing cards and associating colors, but the board is very busy to navigate. Zoey is currently more interested in playing independently with the gingerbread characters than progressing the game, but we’re hoping her attention will change over time!

Let’s play!

IN THE BOX
  • A game-board
  • 4 gingerbread character pawns
  • 64 cards
INSTRUCTIONS
  1. Open up the game board and place it on a flat surface.
  2. Shuffle the cards and place them facedown in a pile with easy reach of all the players.
  3. The youngest player takes the first turn. Play then passes to the left of that player and onward.
  4. Each player picks a gingerbread character pawn and places it as the start of the path near the four children.
  5. The youngest player goes first, play then passes to the left.
  6. On your turn, draw one card from the deck and then move the gingerbread pawn as directed. Always move towards the castle, unless a picture directs you to move backwards on the path.
    • When you draw a picture card, move your pawn forward or backward on the path of to the pink picture space on the board that matches the pink pictures pace on your card. For example if you draw a lollypop card, move your pawn to the pink space on the board that shows the lollipop.
    • Two or more gingerbread pawns can be on the same space at the same time.
    • When you draw a card with one color block, move your pawn forward toward the castle to the first matching color space on the path.
    • When you draw card that has two color blocks, move your pawn forward toward the castle to the second matching color space on the path.
    • There are two shortcuts on the path, Gummy Pass and Peppermint Pass. If your gingerbread lands by exact count on the yellow space below Gummy pass, or the blue space below Peppermint Pass you can take the shortcut immediately to yellow space above Gummy Pass or the yellow space above Peppermint Pass.
    • There are two licorice spaces on the path. If you land on one of these sticky spaces by exact count, your gingerbread pawn is stuck there for one turn.
  7. Your turn is over. Place the used card in a discard pile.
  8. If you are the first person to reach the multi-colored rainbow space, you’ve reached King Kandy’s Castle. You win!

ENJOY!