Family Game Night Round Up

We are huge on weekly family time, especially family game nights. It stems as far back as my childhood as a matter of fact, and I always wanted to keep up the tradition with my own kiddos. Here are a few of our current favorites.


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About a month or two ago, Goliath Games and Pressman Toys sent me a huge package with a bunch of new games for us to play  during our family nights. They even sent two Harry Potter games which we were super stoked about. We've been having a lot of fun playing all of these, and some of them actually end up being kind of educational, like Wordsearch and Make 7. They also ended up sending a second package with a game called Smath. Surprisingly, my son has been having a good time playing those ones by himself during the day.

Here's a rundown of all the games that we received and are currently loving.

Smath

Smath is like a crossword puzzle, but instead of letters, you have numbers and math symbols. It's recommended for ages 6 and up and makes learning math a little more fun. I've never liked math, myself, but my kiddos have a lot of fun with this game, and it helps them sharpen their skills, so I can't really hate on it. Think of scrabble, but you play off of other player's equations.  This would actually be a great addition to classrooms!

Rummikub

This game plays exactly like the card game Rummy, but instead of cards, you are using tiles. Apparently, Rummikub is a pretty popular game, however, up until we received it, I had honestly never heard of it. We had a lot of fun playing this one, though. The kids like this better than playing Rummy mostly because they have a tray to hold their tiles, instead of trying to hold a handful of cards, which they usually inevitably end up showing everyone. It's really easy to learn and is a quick game, so you can get a game or two in before bedtime on a weeknight as a little treat.

Mastermind For Kids

Mastermind For Kids wasn't as big of a hit with my kids as I thought it would be. They usually like puzzle type games, and I love the STEM aspect of it, but they just weren't as interested in this one. Mastermind has three levels of play where you take turns setting codes and then trying to break them. The pieces are cute little jungle animals, and game play is a short 15 minutes, usually. I think my kids might like this one more once they are a bit older, but it just didn't pique their interest.

Wordsearch

Wordsearch is exactly what you think it is; a wordsearch game for the entire family. It comes with 16 different puzzles and can still be fun even if you are playing by yourself, which my son does quite a bit. There's no turn taking in this game, so basically everyone is looking for the same word at the same time. The green frame around the board rotates to reveal new words, and all words are actually pretty simple words. My 5 year old can read all of them and identify them on the board quite nicely. I like that it also teaches him new words and spelling. Win/win!

Make 7

This is the one my son plays the most. Make 7 is like connect 4, but all your tiles have to add up to the number 7. The twist is that only a certain number can be placed into a red square. That's literally all there is to it! It's another one of those quick games, and is for two players, but my son still enjoys trying to come up with different ways to make 7 on his own. No complaints here as he's learning math and having fun with it!

Harry Potter Triwizard Maze Game

The Harry Potter Triwizard Maze Game plays out a lot like the game Trouble. So it's really easy to learn. The twist is that there are magic spell cards that determine where you go and can send you back to start. My kiddos like the simplicity of this game, and I love that it's Harry Potter. You can't go wrong with Harry Potter.

Harry Potter Magical Beasts Board Game

This was my personal favorite of the entire bunch (of course). Harry Potter Magical Beasts Board Game has one of the coolest boards for gameplay that I've seen since the 80's and 90's when board games were pretty elaborate. It's a swinging board which allows you to play inside and outside of Hogwarts.  The object is to collect clues in order to try and figure out exactly which magical beast you have captured. This game makes my nerdy heart happy!


Thank you so much to Goliath and Pressman for sending all of these fabulous games over to add to our game collection and have fun with on family (and friend) game nights!


Sample was received for promotional purpose. All opinions are that of Simply Nerdy Mom