Game: Mancala

Game: Mancala
4
The age range for this well-known traditional game is 6 years and up. Ian is just 4, and he is able to play a short version of this. The first time I gave it to him, he just played with the pebbles and the holes, but I told him we could play it later. The next time, we played a version of the game so we could just practice what it meant to pick up a pile and distribute them one in each hole down the line. The next time, he wanted to play for real. I was skeptical, but he did great. We actually made it through almost a whole game, so as he acquires a longer attention span, we'll be able to play more and more. I love games like this where young children can play, but it's also actually fun for adults, too. I can definitely see us playing this more as he gets older. But this is a lifelong game-I hope we'll still be playing it when he's a teenager and even into adulthood.

Game: My First Brainbox

Game: My First Brainbox by Mindware
5
This is a wonderful memory game. This is the only one that is made for preschoolers and young elementary. There are many other versions including history and such that would be for probably age 8 and up. This game consists of many cardboard cards with pictures on one side and questions on the other. Also a timer and dice. The rules say look at the timer for 10 seconds (the timer) and then roll the dice. The other player asks you whichever number you roll-a question about the picture.

However, we alter the directions and don't use the timer or dice. Ian looks at the picture until he's done, then I start asking the questions-usually all of them. Some are easy: what color is the ____?; Some are harder: Is the man on the train wearing a tie?. This is so much fun, I look forward to using the other, older games in the future. This is a game for all ages, as even an adult would sometimes have trouble with these questions.

As shown below, some pictures are scenes, some are just a group of things.

The questions for Camping are:                                         The Questions for Toolbox are:
1. How many fish can you see?                                         1. Is the toolbox opened or closed?
2. Has the boy caught a fish?                                             2. How many tools can you see?
3. Is the boy wearing a hat?                                              3. Are there any nails in the picture?
4. How many tents are there?                                           4. Is the hammer inside our outside the box?
5. Is the fish blue?                                                            5. Does the screwdriver have a red handle?
6. Can you see the sun?                                                    6. Is the toolbox blue or green?

Game: Guess Who?

 Guess Who? from Milton Bradley
4
I remember wanting this game as a kid, and I recently saw it at the thrift store, so I had to get it. You Each have the same people on your board and you each draw a card of those same people.  Then you take turns asking questions to figure out which person your opponent has. I figured it would take awhile to teach the logic behind it to Ian, but he figured it out right away: If you ask "Does your person have a hat?" And the answer is "No", do they put down the people with the hats, or without. Takes me a minute to think about it, and Ian, too, but he does it pretty quickly. Overall, a good pick for a 4 year old, and fun for mom and dad to play, too.

Game: Curious George A B See

Curious George A B See game
3
Got this at the thrift store even though it wasn't on my list of games I was actually considering. It's kind of fun, and has more potential than Ian is interested in. He played it once and we'll probably re-visit it again, but it's not a "must play" game. 

Basically, there are 4 boards, each person draws a color and letter and finds something that starts with that letter in that color on a board. Not sure why there are 4 boards instead of just one big one. I might try making up my own rules, because as it is, it's kind of boring. I like the idea, just the boards and pictures on them are not the best. I would have gone with more of a scene rather than just a bunch of objects thrown about.

Game: Eric Carle's The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Eric Carle's The Very Hungry Caterpillar Game
2
This is a rather odd game. It doesn't teach much except how to play a board game. You spin the spinner, and move your caterpillar box that many spaces. But, you rarely get to go as far as the spinner says because you have to stop every 4 spaces and "do" something.  The directions are rather confusing, so we had to make up our own version of what you do when you stop, but it mainly involves putting items that the caterpillar ate in your box. Boring, even for a 4 year old, and like I said, confusing.

Game: Zingo

 Zingo from Thinkfun
4
 This is my $2 garage sale find. For ages 4 and up is very accurate.  Ian just turned 4 and he loves this game.  Basically it's a twist on bingo. You move the thing (don't know what to call it) and it releases 2 tiles. The first person to grab the tile gets to use it on their board. The tile is listed with the picture and word so even non-readers can play. There are 2 sides to each card. The yellow side is easier-there are less pictures in common. There are more than one tile of each picture, some have 2, some 3. We started playing with 2 cards each, and I was amazed how after looking at both his cards for a minute, he was able to tell as soon as the tile was revealed whether or not he needed it. What's more, he then began helping me and telling me whether I needed either tile. 

This game improves memory and supposedly helps with word recognition, though I'm not sure how to tell that. Overall a great game-I would have payed full price ($20) for it in the future, but so glad I found it cheaper.