Why haven't we discovered this game before??
Written: Jan 01 '06
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Pros: Easy to play, no little pieces, non-competitive and FUN learning
Cons: corny names to the animals
The Bottom Line: Very nice combination of tasks needed to play. Learning and mastering skills has never been so fun!!
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| thriftymommy's Full Review: Sequence for Kids |
It's been awhile but here we go: my New Year's resolve is to return to writing here at least monthly!
We returned from our holiday in Denver to find that there were presents left under our tree at home. In the midst of the chaos of paper and ribbons, there was a board game that neither my husband or I remember purchasing nor do any of the relatives remember gifting to our daughter. So, without fanfare, we decided to play this new game last evening to see if it's worth adding to our collection...and, to my complete surprise, it is absolutely a captivating game for not only our preschooler but also our kindergartener!!
What's in the box:
One folding playing board covered with squares that hold two colorfully painted pictures of each animal: giraffes, zebras, tigers, panda bears, penguins, sharks, kangaroos, elephants, camels, ostriches, turtles, killer whales, gorillas, foxes, hippos, and alligators. These are not in any given order and there is no set pattern to their location on the board. There's also four free spaces in the opposite corners of the game board that are highly identifiable.
42 playing cards that have the picture of the animals on the board and a cutesy name such as "Lucas the Lion", "Willie the Wolf" and "Camille the Camel" on them. There are also two of each "Dorothy the dragon" and "Ulysses the Unicorn" specialty cards that allow the holder a special move...the dragon allows a player to remove any chip of an opponent and the unicorn allows a player to place one of their chip anywhere they choose.
There are 21 chips for each color (red, yellow, blue, and green) that are given to a player in a small ziploc bag for safe-keeping. My suggestion is to buy the Ziploc snack bags before opening this game box. The provided ziploc bags failed to zip after they were opened the first time.
The last item in the box is the instructions. I think they were written for the three year old (as this game is intended for 2 to 4 players and ages 3 to 6)...they are so complete that they seem redundant and long-winded. It took an entire paragraph to say that anyone holding the dragon card can remove another's chip is beyond me; I thought by writing on the card to remove one chip was self-explanatory but I guess the manufacturer, JAX LTD., didn't want any confusion...
How to play
Each person gets their choice of colored chips (all 21 chips at one time to a preschooler is not recommended by me unless you want to spend your time picking them up off the floor time and again...).
Then, the designated dealer shuffles the deck of 42 playing cards and deals 3 cards to each player(another task best handled by the adult...unless you enjoyed 52 pick-up as a child).
May I suggest a face-up game the first time? Unless your significant other is playing with you, you will eventually show your hand to your children and they in turn will show their hands...eventually, someone will whine that the other player is looking at their cards and cheating...we know where this we lead, don't we?
Place the remaining cards by your hand (and not somewhere accessible to little hands...again, 52 pick-up is only fun if you're the spectator). There must be 3 cards in everyone's hand at all times. This is in bold letters on the instructions...so here I am stressing its importance to you. It's best to either play with your children or supervise the game-playing. I found it annoying to listen to the "he has more than me" or "I don't have enough cards" so unless you want to buy some cheese for that whine, I suggest monitoring the card level for each player.
Starting with the youngest player, a player takes one of their cards and places one of their chips on the corresponding picture. For example, if the card they choose to play is "Trevor the Tiger" and they have the red chips, they would take one of their red chips and place it on the corresponding picture of the tiger on the playing board.
Then, after placing the played card on the discard pile (nearest your hands so as not to lose this card forever in the abyss), the player draws a replacement card from the draw deck next to you. Another idea: after every turn, simply hand your preschooler their next card. They have years to learn how to draw from a deck of cards...do you really want to lose these cards?
Going in a circle, each player takes their turn. If a Dragon card is played (Dorothy the Dragon allows a player to remove one chip), the player is allowed to remove one of their opponents chips from the board. Another helpful hint right here would be to have your preschooler remove one of your chips and not one of their siblings or friends...this will make the pain of having a chip they placed so carefully to match the card in their hand minimal; I don't think it will bother you as much...unless of course you like the sound of tears. In that case, let the player remove whatever chip they want to...don't say I didn't warn you.
If a "Ulysses the Unicorn" card is played, the player can place a chip any space they want that doesn't already contain a chip. Now, as the parent, this card allows you to strategically help your child align their chips. If the child is agreeable to your suggestions, help them get their much needed four in a row with this card by pointing out the best open space for their chip. This not only helps them win, but also gives you the chance to avoid any disagreements ("You placed it there so I wouldn't win. That's not fair!!").
The idea is for each player to line up four of their chips in a row; vertically, diagonally or horizontally. Just like Connect Four, it doesn't matter which direction the chips are facing; if the player manages to get four chips in a row, they win. Since this game is geared toward the preschool sect, my advice to you is to either lose gracefully or cheat. Unless you are bent on teaching a child how to lose gracefully, this lesson is fine for the kindergartener but difficult for the preschooler to grasp. I won and lost fair and square but the tears when I won were not worth the value of teaching a four year old how to lose...so I managed to squeak out of the winner's circle clandestinely each game.
When playing with preschoolers, it's important to try to teach them how to win and lose gracefully but for their maturity level, it's not going to happen. Only time will help them adjust to the pressures of competition; this game should be fun and not competitive. You can help keep the fun in the game by continuously praising your preschooler for matching their card to the picture on the board and placing their chip in the corresponding space.
This game reinforces the concrete tasks that are critical for the 3-6 year olds who are little sponges: memory skills, connect four-type lining skills and matching skills all in one innocent looking box. Games should encourage learning without letting on that a child is learning any skill and this one does flawlessly.
Overall, when I found out who gifted this game to our children, I will definitely send a thank-you card to them. Not too many pieces to lose, very easy to understand directions, and very enjoyable and non-competitive play made this game a resounding success in our home with both the preschooler and kindergartener...our fifth grader liked it also!
Recommended:
Yes
Type of Toy: Board Game
Age Range of Child: 3 to 5 Years
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Epinions.com ID:
thriftymommy
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Member: April
Location: Home of the Hindenburg Disaster, NJ
Reviews written: 90
Trusted by: 49 members
About Me:
The number of people below the official poverty thresholds numbered 36.1 million in 2005.
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