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 – The Dr. Seuss Pattern 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 the Dr. Seuss Pattern Party Game for 2 to 4 players!

This game was a Christmas gift to Zoey from her great aunt and uncle, and we love it! Zoey has enjoyed most of the Dr. Seuss books we have read to her and the opportunity to play a game with all the characters she recognizes is an opportunity we can’t pass up! Especially when Dr. Seuss’s birthday is coming up on March 2nd!

Let’s play!

IN THE BOX
  • 4 game spinners 
  • A game board
  • Goal cards
  • Tiles
INSTRUCTIONS
  1. Place the board in the center of the play area.
  2. Each player chooses a color (blue, green, red, yellow) and then takes all the tiles of that color.
  3. Starting with the youngest player, each player chooses a spinner and a goal card (if you are playing with fewer than four players, place the remaining spinners next the game board in front of pretend players, then leave the remaining tiles and goal cars in the box).
  4. Each player places their goal card in front of them. Each goal card has a basic green side and an advanced pink side. When you set up the game, choose which side to use (you may want to choose a different side for each player, such as younger players using green sides and older players using pink sides).
  5. On your turn, spin your spinner.
    • If you spin a picture (character, color, shape or pattern) play one of your tiles on a matching space on the game board. If there are no matching spaces, you may play on an empty space. You cannot play on a space that already has a tile.
      • If you spin WILD!, play one of your tiles on any space on the game board. You can even play on another tile if your tile will fit – only four tiles may stack in each space.
        • If you spin SWAP!, everyone passes their spinner to the left. If you’re playing with fewer than four players, don’t forget to pass the pretend players’ spinners. Then spin again!
  6. You can match squares on your goal card anywhere on the game board, even if they’re facing a different direction.
  7. The first player with four of their tiles showing on the game board that match their goal card is the winner!

ENJOY!