Enchanted Forest

For the past month, this memory-based game has replaced Busytown as our favorite go-to family game. My 7 year old is the one that likes it the best, but I enjoy it and my 4 year old can definitely play too. Even the 2 year old can sort of pretend to play, though he’s messed up the board a couple times by knocking over the pieces. It’s also a great game for teaching kids some memory tricks.

Product: Enchanted Forest
Company: Ravensburger
Website: www.ravensburger.com
Recommended Age Range: 4+
Price Range: ~$25
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Comments: My kids received this game for Christmas over a month ago. I’m a huge fan of board games, but our game closet is already pretty packed, so I have to be selective. We almost didn’t get this one, because the price is a little higher than I’m used to paying. However, I’m extremely glad that we did. It is a great game to play with all ages, because it’s fun for adults, but even the littlest kids can understand the concept. My 7 year old son loves it so much, he’s even played it on his own with his friends a few times. (I love when I don’t have to participate!) On his birthday recently, his dad was going to take him skiing, but he wanted to play Enchanted Forest instead.

The main concept behind this game is that all the players are on a search for a specific treasure (like Jack’s beans or Cinderella’s glass slipper). You move around the board looking under trees for that specific treasure. After a treasure is located and earned, another card is flipped over with a different treasure to search for. The first person to earn 3 treasures is the winner. Here’s the trick: If you remember what is underneath ALL the trees as you hunt for a treasure, you might already know where the next treasure is when the card is flipped over. Therefore, even if someone is losing, it’s possible for that person to earn 3 treasures in a row if they just remember where everything is. I think that makes this game fun.

I think one of the reasons why I most like this game is because after reading the book Moonwalking with Einstein a couple years ago, I like to practice memory tricks. One trick is that it’s easier to remember things in pairs. For example, you can remember that the trees with Little Red Riding Hood’s cape and Hansel and Gretel’s Lollipop are next to each other. It is even easier to remember when you make a mental image (like Little Red Riding Hood eating the lollipop). The crazier the image, the easier it is to remember. Another trick is to picture yourself going on a walk seeing these images in order. You can picture yourself walking through the Enchanted Forest and first you come across Little Red Riding Hood eating the lollipop, then the 3 Little Pigs climbing Rapunzel’s castle, etc.

Kids are pretty good at just remembering where stuff is. I need my memory tricks. All of us have fun. Well, except the 4 year old who doesn’t like to lose. However, sometimes we only play a quick game to see who can find the first treasure. She has just as good odds as everyone else when we play this way. When we play a full game for 3 treasures, I usually win. (I’m competitive like that.) As my kids get older, I’ll teach them my secrets. Ancient memory tricks or not, this game is definitely a keeper.

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