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 – Winnie the Pooh Snow Parade 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 Winnie the Pooh – Snow Parade Game  for 2 to 4 players!

I purchased this game on a whim! I saw Winnie the Pooh and I saw the Christmas/Winter theme, and it piqued my curiosity! It was worth it! We enjoy that this game is cooperative, which is a nice departure from the competitive games we’ve been playing!

So let’s play!

IN THE BOX
  • Home tile
  • 6 character tiles
  • 6 parade tiles
  • 40 cards
INSTRUCTIONS
  1. This is a cooperative game, you will all win or lose together! Play cards to move or swap the order of the character tiles in the parade. If you can complete the goal number of parade tiles without running out of cards, you all win the game!
    • Easy – Complete 3 parade tiles
    • Medium – Complete 4 parade tiles.
    • Hard – Complete 5 parade tiles.
  2. Place all the tiles in the middle, where everyone can reach them.
  3. Place the six character tiles face up in a line to the right of the home tile in order from 1 to 6 (the numbers are on the backs). This is the parade!
  4. Separate the cards into two piles by the numbers on the backs (1 or 2). Shuffle each pile.
  5. Place the number 1 pile of cards on top of the number 2 pile, then place this single deck on top of the home tile.
  6. Each player draws a number of cards based on the number of players. Place your cards face up so all the players can see them.
    • 2 players: 3 cards each
    • 3 to 4 players: 2 cards each.
  7. Mix the parade tiles and place them in a pile above the character tiles, face-down. Flip one tile face-up.
  8. Starting with the youngest player and moving clockwise, you can do one of these 3 actions on your turn:
    • Move a character: Play a card to move the matching character tile forward or backward one spot in the parade. Character tiles at the front of the parade can only be moved backward and character tiles at the back of the parade can only be moved forward.
    • Swap: Play a card and choose another player to also play a card. Swap the spots of those two matching character tiles in the parade.
    • Discard: Discard your cards and draw all new cards from the deck.
    • Christopher Robin: The Christopher Robin card is wild and can be played as any character.
  9. If all character tiles in the parade match the order on the current parade tile, you’ve completed it! Set it aside and flip the next parade tile over! 
  10. At the end of your turn, if you played a card, draw a new one from he deck. If another player helped you swap, you each draw a card.
  11. If the deck runs out, keep taking turns until players have no cards left to play. 
  12. If you complete the goal number of parade tiles before you run out of cards to play, all the players win!

ENJOY!