Rack-O Details

Product: Rack-O
Company: Winning Moves Games (originally Milton Bradley)
Website: https://winning-moves.com/product/Rack-O.asp
Recommended Age Range: Box says 7 and up, but younger kids can play as well. They just might need someone to help them score at the end.
Price Range: ~$12
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Review

My biggest complaint about this game is that since I have four kids, I can’t play too. I really prefer games that allow up to 6 players, since that’s the size of my family, but we can’t always get what we want. Actually, if I really wanted to, I could buy a second box and then just double up and I think that would work great. The game is cheap enough, that it wouldn’t even be that expensive. I don’t think I will, mainly just because my game closet is already overflowing, but it’s nice to know that would work in case my kids ever developed a Rack-O obsession.

The premise is simple. You start with 10 cards in your rack in a random order. The cards have numbers between 1 and 60. Players take turns drawing cards and replacing cards in their rack until ALL of the cards are in order from smallest to largest. Then they yell Rack-O and are declared the winner. It literally takes about 2 minutes to learn and only about 15 minutes to play. Sometimes even just a few minutes if someone gets really lucky!

I think this is a great math game for kids who are learning to understand double digit numbers. Even if they were just working on their teens, you could remove all the numbers higher than 19 and tell the child you are only going to play with the first 5 slots instead of using all 10. This will allow children to understand concepts of greater than and less than in a fun, low pressure, motivating way. As they get better at this skill, you could gradually increase the number of cards and slots used until they can play the full game.

I also love that this game encourages critical thinking skills. There is an end goal of having your numbers in order from lowest to highest. The strategy for making this more likely to be possible probably won’t be obvious to all kids. As a tip, you can tell kids to try to make the card numbers closely match the numbers on the rack itself, because this will leave the cards fairly evenly spaced and prevent them from backing themselves into a corner. However, as they play more and get better, their intuition for good decisions will improve.

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No Thanks! Details

Product: No Thanks!
Company: Amigo Games
Website: https://www.amigo.games/product/nothanks/
Recommended Age Range: Box says 8 and up. Any child that recognizes their numbers up to 35 (or is working on that skill) would benefit from this game.
Price Range: ~$13
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Review

I recognize that this is a small thing and doesn’t affect game play, but one of my favorite aspects of this game is all the words written around the cards. It’s like each card has a personality and is trying to entice you to pick it up or warn you against it. Many of the cards read like advertisements and my kids think it’s hilarious. It’s just a delightful touch.

As a family of 6, I am a huge fan of any game that allows for all of us to play, especially one that doesn’t take up much space. This one has fewer cards than a standard deck of playing cards, plus some tokens. In a pinch, you could use something else making this game higly portable. It is also very easy to learn to play. The instruction video produced by the company is just a touch over 3 minutes and we found it sufficient. Game play time is also only about 15 minutes, which is kind of perfect when you want to squeeze a little family fun into a busy schedule.

This game also has a suprising amount of addition and subtraction practice embedded within it. Unlike many games in which you really only have to pay attention to the numbers at the end when you are counting your score, this one requires strategic decisions throughout in which someone who wants to win will be motivated to do some simple on the fly addition and subtraction. Anytime I can get my kids practicing math facts without them complaining is a win in my book.

The last thing I love about this game is that there is not really any “meanness.” There’s no stealing or punishing other players. You make all the decision that affect your own score. There is strategy, so it’s not based just on luck, but you don’t have to hurt other players in order to benefit yourself. Don’t get my wrong…I love a good cutthroat game as much as the next girl, but when you’re playing with children, sometimes it’s just more headache than it’s worth if the game is going to end in tears. This one won’t!

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Cover Your Assets Details

Product: Cover Your Assets
Company: Grandpa Beck’s Games
Website: https://www.grandpabecksgames.com/
Recommended Age Range: Box says 8 and up, but this is a great game if you are trying to teach your child to understand double digit numbers.
Price Range: ~$17
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Review

First the good: My teens think the name is hilarious. It is super quick to learn and easy to play. Anyone can play, even kids that don’t know their numbers yet, as long as they can match pictures and understand the concept of a wild card. It encourages math skills because kids have to add numbers like 5, 10, 15, 25, and 50 to keep score at the end. The entire game can be played in about 15 minutes, so it’s a quick way to squeeze in a little fun. The pictures are colorful and appealing. Also, it seems like a delightful, family friendly company.

The less-than-good: If there is anyone in your family who gets frustrated when they feel like they aren’t being treated fairly and is going to be upset by someone stealing their points, this game is probably not for you. Granted, there are a lot of games like this, and I definitely think that being a gracious loser and having good sportsmanship are qualities that we want to cultivate in our kids. However, I don’t feel like there is enough “fun” aspects of this particular game to justify the unpleasantness of an unhappy kid.

Personally, I would like to see a little more strategy and variety in game play to keep it fun and entertaining. When I polled my kids on what they thought of this game, my 10 and 13 year olds said they really liked it, my 15 year old said “meh,” and my 8 year old was not a fan. (Guess which one is working on losing gracefully. ) I’m sort of with my older teen. I definitely don’t hate it, but I don’t get excited about it either. Than being said, card games take up so little space, that I will probably hang onto it for quite some time!

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Skyjo Details

Product: Skyjo
Company: Magilano
Website: https://magilano.com/en
Recommended Age Range: Box says 8 and up, but younger kids can enjoy it as well. Being able to recognize numbers and count to 12 is helpful.
Price Range: ~$17
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Review

We got this game back during the 2020 lockdowns and we used to play it ALL. THE. TIME. I was actually shocked when I checked the website and saw that I had never added it. It was definitely a family favorite for an extended period of time. However, it’s probably been over a year since the last time we played, so I was surprised when my 15 year old suggested it. As soon as I started setting it up, my 10 year old walked into the room and exclaimed, “I LOVE this game!”

There is a LOT to recommend about this game. One of the aspects I love most is that literally anyone who can count to 12 can play. My 10 year old was 5 or 6 back when we used to play this all the time, and was just as into it as the rest of us. It appeals to a wide age range. Grandparents seem to enjoy it too.

Second, up to 8 people can play. It’s hard to find a game like that for under $20 that is ACTUALLY fun. With a family of 6, it’s disappointing that so many of the most fun games are limited to 4 or 5 people. We usually make up house rules so everyone can play, or buy expansion packs or a second box so we have extra pieces, but the fact that this one works flawlessly, as is, for up to 8 people is a huge plus in my book.

Third, it is actually a math game and no one seems to mind. Kids have to add numbers between -2 and 12 at the end of the game to get their scores. You can help kids who are too young to do this, obviously, but I find that my own kids are impatient and don’t want to wait for me to get around to helping them to find out if they won. It provides a lot of adding practice. Also, the fact that it includes cards for negative numbers is a huge benefit. I know many high schoolers who struggle with negatives, but this game helps even the youngest kids gain an intuitive understanding of what they mean.

Fourth, the game does not actually take that long, so it’s an easy one to just squeeze into an afternoon with making a huge commitment. The box says 30 minutes, but I would say 20 minutes tops, even with 6 people. Or maybe we’re just having so much fun, that I don’t notice how much time is passing.

Lastly, I don’t know if this is an advantage or not to most people, but I would say this game is based more on luck than skill. There is SOME strategy involved, unlike the similar card game, Trash, which my family also likes to play, but I would say that luck is the bigger factor. Especially if you are playing with many different ages of kids, I think this is an advantage. No one gets discouraged by always losing, because honestly, if you play long enough, everyone will win at some point.

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Ribbon Ninja Details

Product: Ribbon Ninja
Company: Fat Brain Toy Stores
Website: sempersmartgames.com
Recommended Age Range: Box says 8 and up, but younger kids would enjoy as well as long as older kids went easy on them. My husband and I enjoyed it as well.
Price Range: ~$17
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Review

Probably the biggest endorsement for this game is that it has the words “Ninja” in the title which my 12 and 14 year old think makes it sound baby-ish and yet they were still intrigued enough that they wanted to play. Ordinarily they would avoid anything with Ninja in the title with a ten foot pole. The way the game work is that everyone gets two velcro wrist bands and 3 ribbons. They attach the ribbons to their wrists, reminiscent of flag football.

The players all put their front feet into a circle so they are the correct distance apart. The entire game, their back foot is supposed to stay planted. Everyone tries to rip off everyone elses ribbons until there is one person left standing. You put 2 ribbons on one wrist and 1 on the other (your choice), but once a hand loses all its ribbons, that hand has to go behind your back and can’t try to grab other people’s ribbons anymore. When you lose all your ribbons, you’re out.

The circle seemed a bit unfair given the length of my husband’s arms compared to the young kids, so after a couple minutes we changed our family rules and just specified that you had to stay in the room. This led to utter betrayal when I was going after mt 14 year old and my 8 year old snuck up behind me and grabbed my ribbons. I think it also led to a lot more laughing though.

The one downside of this game is that we have a family of 6 and the box only contains supplies for up to 4 players. I thought about buying a second box, since the color of the ribbons doesn’t really matter, but honestly, I think 6 people running around is too much for one room. We decided to go in groups of 3 and then have the winner of each group (which ended up being my husband and teenage son) go against each other. I have to say, it is fun even for spectators.

I think Ribbon Ninja will become a staple of family tournament days in the future. Normally we do minute-to-win-it games involving knocking over solo cups, trying to get cookies from our foreheads into our mouths, carrying balloons on plates carried by our mouths, that sort of thing. Those games are still a lot of fun, but Ribbon Ninja has the same silly energy, but takes it up a notch. I will definitely be hanging onto this game for awhile!

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Check the Fridge Game Details

Product: Check the Fridge
Company: Melon Rind
Website: https://melonrind.com/products/check-the-fridge
Recommended Age Range: box says 8 and up. I think it is ideal for 6 and up, though everyone thought it was fun
Price Range: ~$20
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Review

A lot of the time when we play competitive games one of my kids will meltdown at some point during the game, however, though for some reason, this one tends not to cause that. Maybe it is because my kids know that things can change rapidly, especially towards the end of the game. Maybe it is because the older kids do not have a significant advantage over the younger kids, so they all know it’s anyone’s game. I think the most likely reason, however, is because my kids all enjoy the bluffing aspect, so they are just too busy having fun. (When we played today, one of my kids proudly stated that he was good at this game because he’s a really good liar. Insert palm to forehead emoji, LOL! We had to have a little talk about how that is not something to brag about.)

Honestly, as far as being a math game goes, I don’t really think it teaches a whole lot. The cards are coded by vegetable, so there is only one way to make 25 for each of the 6 vegetable options. Even my 5 year old can figure it out without even needing to add. Like the Clumsy Thief games by the same company, I think this game is good for number recognition and increasing a child’s comfort level with numbers, but since it is marketed as a game for 8 and up, I don’t think it really adds a lot of value to its target audience. Clumsy Thief has slightly more educational value, since being able to add numbers to make 100 is slightly more useful. However, as far as my kids are concerned, Check the Fridge is a lot more fun!

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Word on the Street Junior Game Details

Product: Word on the Street Junior
Company: Educational Insights
Website: https://www.educationalinsights.com/word-on-the-street-jr
Recommended Age Range: 6 and up, though kids as young as at least 4 can easily play as long as their is an older child or adult on their team
Price Range: ~$20
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Review

We borrowed this game from a friend and the first thing I realized as we are setting it up is how beneficial it was for my 4 year old who is still working on memorizing all his letters. As part of the setup, you have to match the letter tiles to the correct spot on the “street.” He would pick up a tile and I would say things like, “Do you remember what letter that is? That’s a K? Can you find it on the board?” Of course, my older kids rapidly had this task taken care of, so he only got to do a few letters, but I could see in the future doing this activity alone with him so he can receive the most benefit.

Next, this game stretches your thinking skills. First the players are divided into two teams. The category cards give a team a topic, you flip over the timer, and they have until the sand runs out to choose a word that fits the category card. For example, one of our categories was “an animal smaller than an ant” and my oldest came up with tardigrade.

Generally speaking, you want to find the longest word possible, because the more letters in the word, the more letters you get to “tug” on. However, sometimes there will be certain letters that you want to use to capture those letters. For example, one of our clues was “something you can see through” and the W letter was one pull away from being captured. In my frantic, muddled adult brain, I came up with words like glass, glasses, plexiglass. Then my four year old shouted out “window” which was perfect, because it let our team capture the W.

We have only played this game twice so far. Once we had an adult on each team which made things balanced. The time we played with four kids and an adult, I played both sides. This caused some minor problems as one team in particular was upset that I seemed to be giving better suggestions to one side than the other, which was coincidentally true. After that, I only helped the losing team.

I also help with a lot of the spelling once kids have decided on their word. Overall, I think this a fun, enjoyable way to practice spelling and creative thinking while getting kids working together. While we may not purchase our own version of this game, it is one that I would happily borrow periodically from my frend.

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Zeus on the Loose Game Details

Product: Zeus on the Loose
Company: Gamewright
Website: https://gamewright.com/product/Zeus-on-the-Loose
Recommended Age Range: 8 and up, kids as young as 6 can play, but they might need help adding
Price Range: ~$10
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Review

There is so much to love about this game. For one, our family LOVES Greek mythology. My kids are all into the Percy Jackson book series. We love listening to the National Geographic Kids Greeking Out podcast in the car. My kids enjoy watching really old Mythic Warriors episodes on You Tube. I have been a fan of D’Aulaires’ Book of Greek Myths since I was a child, and now I enjoy sharing it with my kids. My kids are even planning to be Greek gods and goddesses for Halloween.

Given our deep passion for all things Greek mythology, I knew my kids would get a kick out of this game. The illustrations are colorful and entertaining. I think it really helps my kids feel connected to this game that they know all the featured gods backstories. For those that don’t however, the instruction booklet also contains a little blurb about each one.

The reference to Greek mythology and Mount Olympus is probably the main reason my kids love this game. The main reason I love it, however, is for the math. This game sneaks in so much math and my kids don’t even seem to mind. They are continuously adding single digit numbers to a total until the total reaches 100. For kids that do math worksheets, this will probably be really easy for them. Since I hardly ever have my kids do math worksheets, this is the exact sort of the practice they are missing when I use my Minimalist Math curriculum.

Not only do they get practice adding, but they also need to think about which numbers are needed to make a multiple of 10. Again, this will likely come easily for many kids, but for my younger ones, this is the exact practice that they need to help them gain confidence in mathematics. Unlike many games where the math is just found at the end of the round for score totaling, this one has math as a critical component of game play.

I had been thinking about buying this game for a long time, but I think I was worried it would be too “old” for my kids. However, now I wish I had bought it sooner. The box says 8 and up, but even my 6 year old can add a single digit number to a 2 digit number by counting on as long as they have a little help. My 4 year old likes to play as well, but he sits next to me and I give him hints about which card to play and add his totals for him.

The last reason why I love this game is because it’s just downright fun. Even when none of my kids need the math practice, I can still see us playing this game as a family. It is fast-paced, fun, and a great mix of strategy and luck. There is a sneak attack rule that we are currently not using, because I think it would be too complicated for the younger players in our family. However, I could see that rule making the gave even more fun when my kids are older.

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Pac-Man Board Game Details

Product: Pac-Man Board Game
Company: Buffalo Games
Website: https://buffalogames.com/pac-man-the-board-game/
Recommended Age Range: 10 and up, kids as young as 6 can play, but they might need a little adult help
Price Range: ~$20
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Review

I’m really not sure why this game is meant for kids that are at least 10. The rules are fairly simple. My 8 year old has no trouble playing on her own. She frequently beats her 10 year old brother. However, my 6 year old definitely has a little trouble with strategy. He doesn’t always remember that he needs to plan ahead in order to avoid the ghosts. This leads to some frustration.

However, I like it when he plays this game, because on every turn, whoever is Pac-Man rolls all 3 die and adds them up to figure out how much they are allowed to move. This is a great, way to get my 6 year old (and even my older kids) practicing some simple math without realizing it. It’s like sneaking in vegetables.

It also allows my 4 year old to practice not only counting, but also one-to-one correspondence. He needs help in order to move Pac-Man the correct number of spaces around the board, but this is valuable exposure.

My younger children love the munching noise Pac-Man makes as he moves around the board. The physical act of pushing the pegs down to represent eating up the dots like in the arcade game is very satisfying. There are lots of aspects of this game that are really fun.

At the end of the game, players get 40 points per peg they have pushed down, plus bonus points for killing ghosts, eating fruit, and completing certain quadrants of the board. This makes it great math practice for my older kids as well.

Apart from the fact that I don’t personally enjoy helping my younger kids play with my older kids, I do not have anything negative to say about this game. In fact, once in awhile I even enjoy being Pac-Man and kicking my kid’s booties.

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Dixit Info

Product: Dixit
Company: Libellud
Website:  https://www.libellud.com/dixit-2/
Recommended Age Range: 7 to adult, younger kids can play since no reading is involved, but they will not be as able to play strategically
Price Range: ~$30
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Review

This game is gorgeous. The illustrations that come on the set of 84 cards used in Dixit are completely enchanting. They are perfect for sparking a child’s curiosity. The open-ended images could be used on their own as story prompts.

Since there is no reading involved in this game, it is one of those rare strategy games that is appropriate for pre-readers. If younger kids are playing, however, I would recommend these playing card holders. To win, it is important that other players can’t see your cards. Winning isn’t as important with the toddler. He just has fun playing with the family and we all let him score some points.

I also love that this game can be played with up to 6 players. With our family of 6, it’s sometimes frustrating to get 4 player games. I end up having to buy 2 copies of the same game so that everyone can play at the same time. If your family happens to have 7 or 8 people, it would be easy to adapt this game to more players without needing to purchase anything additional.

The way this game is played is that everyone is dealt a hand of images. Whoever’s turn it is will pick one of their cards and give a clue. For example, the clue could be something like “falling” or “light.” My 7 year old once said, “low and high.” Everyone will look in their hands and pick the card that best matches the clue.

All of the cards will then be mixed up and everyone will try to guess the original card that the player chose. The trick is that the player who chose the card will be penalized if either no one or everyone guesses their card. That means their clue needs to be vague, but not completely unrelated to their card.

Extra points are awarded if you guess the right card or if someone guesses your card. This makes the game fun for everyone. My toddler and kindergartner might not be the best at coming up with clues, but grown-ups can remedy this. I usually pick a card I know is wrong when it is their turn so they don’t lose points for everyone guessing their card. Cheating? Maybe a little, but it keeps it fun for everyone.

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