Editorial Review

Adhering closely to the stereotypes of the animal kingdom, wise owl Professor Oliver is ready to impart his vast learning of the alphabet on young children looking to learn. The hard plastic Professor comes complete with an alphabet game board and 26 small cardboard tiles that match up with the spaces on the board. He leads a simple sing-along of the alphabet game, teaching the melody that is at the foundation of alphabet learning for generations. Additionally, he can lead two games. In the first, kids are asked to find tiles in the order of the alphabet. In the second game, letters are called for out of sequence, providing an extra challenge. The small letter tiles seem destined to end up floating about the house if one isn't careful but this is still a charming way to practice alphabet skills. Three AA batteries required.--Charlie Williams ... Read more

Reviews (9)

really quiet
This game is easy to play and understand, even for kids 3 and 4 years. They have to put the card in Mother Goose, so it keeps them active in the game. It is really quiet though, so if the kids are too wound up to sit, they won't hear the directions from Mother Goose.With only a few songs, the game does get old quick, but it is always a fun game.

DUCK DUCK GOOSE - A Winner !
We have the Duck, Duck Goose version of this game and my 2 yr old absolutely loves it !We started her on it at 25 months and caught on to the game after mom showed her how 1 round of play.

This game teaches color matching, taking turns, winning/losing, "missing a turn", and more.Basically you push the goose's head and each time it say "duck" or "goose".If it says "duck", you move to the next duck on the game board and push the goose's head again.If it says "goose", then you pick up the duck in front of the goose and see if it matches a color on your nest.If it does you place the duck on it; if not, you place the duck back on the board. Once you've matched 3 ducks to your nest, you win !

PROS
- Teaches color matching
- Pieces are large enough for small toddler to grab on to easily
- While playing game you push the Main Goose's head down; it's extremely easy to do so
- Catchy tune is played when there is a winner (you push the goose's tail and it sings a song)
- There is an on/off switch

CONS
- Duck playing pieces are made of cardboard, which over time could break-down
- Main Goose runs on batteries, which as we all know is the norm these days :)
- When you want to play for the 1st time or want to play after pressing the "winner" song, you must wait for the Goose to sing a welcome song; daughter usually keeps pushing the goose's head down while waiting for this song to start and finish, thinking that it will go quicker.
- No volume control

Daughter loves to run around the house with the goose in hand and sing and dance to it.

OVERALL An all around cute, fun game for those that are still a bit young for Chutes n Ladders or Candyland, but understand colors and taking turns.

Way too Easy
This game really does not have much excitement and is very simplistic.My 3 years old was bored with it in about 2 minutes after getting it for christmas.The game is very simple and really does not hold a child's attention very well.It is durable and the singing Mother Goose is cute however. I guess it would be alright for a child who does not already know there nursery rhymes. ... Read more

Editorial Review

You can't yell, "You sunk my battleship!" at your opponent in this version of Battleship, because the adversary is a palm-size computer. There are 5 ships--just like in the standard full-size game--to position strategically on the tiny but remarkably easy-to-see display. Choose auto or manual positioning and skill level, then bombs away! Hits and misses are tracked alternately on the 9- by 10-inch square grid for you and your electronic rival. Three different games require different naval maneuvers to score the most points. Just see if you can stay afloat and sink all of the computer's battleships at skill level 3. --Lynne Sampson ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Great handheld adaption of board game.
Very fun if you're a battleship fan.. the other two modes and other skill levels is a nice touch.The only complaint I have is that the sound effects rather suck.

Torpedoes & broadsides
In a state of nostalgic glee, I recently grabbed this portable one-player LCD game to see how it compared to the original. I found it to be a great diversion during those times when I don't have a human opponent to go up against. Which seems to be quite often nowadays, but let's not get into that; time for me to give this product a proper review. And to do so, I've decided to follow Amazon's toy ratings format and break this down into the three big ratings factors...

FUN: Although the entire unit is quite small (about 5" by 3.5"), the game screen is big enough to be able to make out all the action, which is definitely an advantage. I found each of the three different game settings (the traditional alternating shots, one shot for each active ship, keep shooting until you miss) reasonably challenging on level one. It's levels two and three, however, that REALLY makes these little battles a tough outing for me! If I somehow manage to survive on L3, I usually have only one vessel left, and one shot to go before sinkage! You can also either have the computer choose how you want your vessels arranged with selections you can scroll through, or you can rotate `em and place `em down yourself.

The only thing I miss somewhat when I play this is the sounding out of the grid coordinates and hearing `miss' or `it's a hit!' Y'know, the classic things you hear and say when you're playing the original Battleship™ with a good friend-or complete stranger for that matter. Instead, all you'll hear here is the beeping of the shot cursor as you select a square to fire upon, as well as the dropping of the bomb and (hopefully) the hit. Then there's the playing of `Taps' after a defeat, or a victory tune if the opposite outcome transpires. If you wish to keep your little simulated vessel combat scenarios discreet, however, there is a `sound on/off' button. This feature is especially helpful at keeping folks from road-ragin' on you during those long cross-country road trips!

DURABILITY: So long as you don't touch the LCD screen, drop it on the ground too many times, or throw it into a body of water in utter frustration, this handheld game should bring you many a happy year of playing enjoyment. Oh yes, it might help to replace the large button-cell battery every once in a blue moon or so. Fortunately the game has an auto shut-off when left idle for a minute or so, which of course means longer battery life.

EDUCATIONAL VALUE: I find the fun in Battleship™ to be more diversionary than educational. Well, unless you consider the strategic spacing of your shots to get a better chance of hitting an enemy ship to be a high point of scholastic achievement that is. Otherwise, I don't think electronic Battleship™ will help you grab top honors in vessel combat tactics & strategy at the naval academy. Class dismissed!

`Late

Electronic games are sweet!
This Electronic Handheld game is a great game. It is a great part in my game collection. Instead of lugging around the regular game, this one fits right in your pocket! My family owns these electronic games: Yahtzee, Uno, and Battleship. I've played them all, and I have to say that they have addvantages that the regular games don't. Yahtzee: Instead of keeping track of the dice, cup, papers and pencils, it's all in a pocketsized game. Uno: Ever had a problem with all those cards such as shuffling, puting away, or just keeping track of. Well, in this pocketsized game it keeps track of all of that stuff. And Battleship: The regular game can be played electronicly, but there's still all those small pegs. With the electronic game, all of the pegs aren't needed. Just a simple dot on the screen tells you where you have shot. The only problem (which isn't much of a problem at all) with electronic handheld games is the batteries. They will wear out, but a simple replacement will put you back in the game. So when your shopping for a present, or just a fun toy or game, consider electronic handheld games. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Games    2. Electronic    3. Handheld    4. Action and Adventure   

Editorial Review

Children learn about taking turns and matchmaking in this game as they try to make pairs of elated elephants, panting puppies, smiling suns, and other familiar objects. The 72 (cardboard) cards have lively, colorful drawings that make them easy to remember and a tray for storing them. Played alone, Original Memory is a quiet activity for developing concentration and memory. With more players, it's even more of a memory challenge to remember where the cards are that have already been turned over. And you have to wait your turn, which is sometimes harder than anything. The printed rules in the box set the tone for this child-friendly game: the youngest player always goes first. --Lynne Sampson ... Read more

Reviews (8)

Fun game, even young children can play
The cardboard pieces are hard enough that it takes a lot of teething on them to ruin them. THey do not bend easily. My only complaint about the pieces is they are a bit small. The small size makes it a bit difficult for small hands to manipulate them at times.

THere are many small pieces so if you loose one or two, you just take the match out of the pile and toss it away too. The game will be just as fun and no one will be the wiser.

In fact, when we play with our younger children, we often times just use half of the pieces.

THe game is the traditional memory game that almost everyone has played at one point in their life. It develops eye and hand coordination, following rules, taking turns, memory skills, picture skills and more.

Well worth the money.
Enjoy.

This is not the "Original Memory".
I had the original Memory game. This isn't it. The play of the game is the same, but mine had really cool pictures. This has silly cartoon pictures. It's not as nice.

Classic games stand the test of time
You can't go wrong with most of the classic games & this one is no different. Great fun & makes them THINK! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Games    2. Cards    3. Memory    4. Learning    5. Board Games    6. Family Favorites   

Reviews (7)

Timeless and classic.
Scrabble is probably one of the games I remember playing first as an older kid; and the Spanish version was what I played at family gatherings - it's part of my heritage.It was exciting to find it on the net!I called various toys r us stores and was only able to get it through the net.Great game.

An Old Version of Spanish Scrabble!
I'm bilingual (Spanish/English) but my elderly mother's command of English is limited. Decades ago we bought a "foreign edition" Scrabble set, manufactured by Selchow & Righter Co. of Bay Shore, NY. Our set is truly a Spanish version, lacking "k" but with "ñ," "ll," and "rr" (the latter two no longer individual letters in Spanish) and with plenty of the more common vowels in the Spanish language. The letter values differ from the English values, commensurate with their degree of usage in each language. The last copyright notice on the Spanish game is from 1953. We bought it in the early 70's. Why didn't Hasbro follow this edition for their Spanish version? It is definitely a more accurate and educational one!

Spanish can be better
I live in Puerto Rico. My friends and I usually play in both in English and Spanish at the same time. But if you what to learn Spanish I will recommend playing the game entirely en Español. I will give you the pros and cons of this version:

Pros:
1. You can make higher scores in Spanish. K-8 points, W-8 points, Q-8 points but much easier to use, LL-8 points, RR-8 points, Ñ-8 points, and it is much easier to get rid of all your letters than in English.
2. Spanish words are written just as you pronounce them (that is why there are no Spanish spelling bees).
3. You can learn Spanish in a fun way, plus the game can be used in English and it has a couple more vowels.

Cons:
1. There are no really good Spanish dictionaries, other than the Spanish Royal Academy Dictionary (Amazon has it at a reasonable price). And no Spanish Scrabble dictionary is to be found. This will make it hard on verb conjugation.

Whether you play it in Spanish or English or both the Spanish tiles are definitely better. Go ahead and try this version. Come on, you know you what to. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Languages    2. Family Favorites    3. Word Games    4. Games    5. Board Games   

Reviews (2)

Fun For This Princess Fan
I am almost nineteen years old, and my mom and I think this game is fun. It's like regular Monopoly, except you go to Lunch instead of to Jail. Instead of buying property, you buy castles of pink, peach, blue, or lavendar for the characters. If you land on Ursula or Maleficent, you have to pay $2. Instead of Railroads, you have Rides that you don't buy; they are a chance to roll again.

A Great Princess Option!!
I love board games, and my 5 year old daughter loves princesses, so I thought this would be a happy compromise.As hoped, the princess factor makes my daughter much more interested in this game than she ever was in Chutes & Ladders, Candyland, or others.And my husband is MUCH happier playing Princess Monopoly than Princess Barbies!

The board is about half the size of regular Monopoly board, and has properties like Flounder & Prince Erik instead of Boardwalk & Park Place.Instead of Jail, you go to lunch, and to roll again you can land on the Magic Carpet or ride Cinderella's Coach.But don't land on Ursula or Maleficent!That will set you back an immediate $2.Chance cards give you a free castle, send you to visit Prince Charming, send you to Lunch, Go or the dreaded Ursula or Maleficent.No houses or hotels - just castles in shades of pink, lavendar, peach and blue.And forget about the dog, tophat or shoe.Playing pieces are princesses, of course.(you may choose from Cinderella, Belle, Ariel, Sleeping Beauty, Jasmine, Snow White, Mulan or Pochahontas, all of whom are also represented with properties on the board itself).

The Junior version is a game of luck, not strategy.You buy a castle for every unclaimed property you land on, receive some free castles from Chance cards, and sometimes even steal a castle from another player.You earn money when you pass Go (your allowance) or another player lands on your castle.You spend money buying castles, landing on other players castles, going to lunch, or landing on the dreaded villains.Luck of the draw, but a lot of fun for the younger set.When the first player runs out of money, the player with the most money wins.

The main educational element is counting.Counting spaces around the board, counting money - both for spending and collecting rent (my daughter can't count her money at the end of the game yet and trusts me to tell her who won).There is also some reading, but it isn't all that necessary.

This game, like the real deal, has a LOT of small pieces.There are 48 castles, 24 Chance cards, 8 princess cut-outs and stands, and a bunch of money.Pick up is an important part of the process.

The only negatives are the money (the big negative) and the playing pieces.The money is in denominations of $1, $2, $3, $4, and $5.I'm sure that was done to keep the counting in the lower numbers, but it is a litte weird trying to explain that there are no "real" $4 bills!The playing pieces (princesses) are cardboard cut-outs that fit into plastic stands.The problem is that they don't always fit very snugly into the stand, so that it falls off when you're moving the piece around the board.I view both of these irritants as minor, but thought I should mention them.

Bottom line is that we have a good time playing this game, and it spends a lot of time out of the box, not in the closet.If you have a princess fan, give it a try! ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Best,,, Game... EVER!!
AAAAAAAAAAH! I LOVE MYSTERY DATE!! WOO-HOO! I play it all the time with my buds, this game rocks!

What a blast!!!
I bought this game for my daughter for Christmas.Her 12th birthday was just a couple days after Christmas, and she had a few friends spend the night.They played this game almost all night and all I heard was giggles!!!It was a huge hit with her friends and is the perfect slumber party game!!They all want one!!The "dating" theme is more of a friendship thing than a romantic theme, so it really is age-appropriate, although I do think 9 is a little young.I played it with her and had a blast with it as well.There are actually 3 different games to play, so that increases the entertainment value as well.We have not had any trouble with the phone at all.A great game for older pre-teen and teenage girls!!A very wholesome approach to the whole boys and dating issue!

Don't waste your money!
My daughter wanted this game for Christmas so I bought it for her and wish that I would've saved my time because it went back to the store! The telephone worked for about 2 minutes tops and then became distorted. I changed the batteries and it still didn't work right. Maybe you will have better luck but I'm not going to buy it again. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Games    2. Electronic    3. Handheld   

Editorial Review

Simon is back again in a miniature 4-inch form--small enough to fit in apocket but still featuring buttons large enough to play with friends. Press the circle in themiddle and try this classic memory test as it adds one by one to a series of tones andcolors. The more notes are added to the game, the faster it gets, so even memory prosmay have a hard time following this computerized marvel all the way through asequence. --John Longenbaugh ... Read more

Reviews (14)

WARNING - Amazon has the wrong picture for this item
Warning - I ordered this item thinking I would get the one in the picture... but it turns out the picture is actually a "Simon 2"... make sure this is really the one you want.

broke in 2 weeks
The kids had a blast with this toy.I had a lot of kids over at Thanksgiving and it broke!We had only been using it for 2 weeks?!?!!?

Looks could improve, but overall design is better
Buyer beware!I bought this in July 2004 and what came was the newer Hasbro version of this (the yellow weird-looking thing) and NOT the transparent looking MB original as in the picture.I was disappointed at first, but after I started playing this newer version for a while, I began to understand why they designed it this way.It's a little bigger than I'd expected or wanted, but it's this size in order for your hands to fit comfortably and not cramp.Also, the center button to start the game in the original is gone is replaced by a small dot-like start button, which was probably placed there in case your fingers missed the play buttons (which would cause you to screw up the game you were playing).The extra 1 inch border may increase the size in a less-than appealing way, but it makes for really easy play and less cramping.I still think they should've kept the old translucent casing, but yellow will do.I love how there are 3 types of games and 4 levels.The original 1-game, 2-3 level ones offer little variety and it's easy to master the first couple levels.This one's still a challenge to me.I've only had this for about a week now, so I don't know about durability yet.It seems well-made. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Games    2. Electronic    3. Handheld    4. Wacky   

Editorial Review

VIDEONOW Jr. is the first full-color, personal video player designed specifically for preschoolers. And while the player itself is very impressive, with oversized buttons that make it easy for little hands to operate and rubberized bumpers designed to withstand the day-to-day bumps and rough handling that only preschoolers can dish out, the best thing about this portable media player is the wide variety of high-quality programming you can purchase for theplayer in the form of the VIDEONOW Jr.personal video discs. Featuring some of the most highly regarded early learning programming on TV, including Dora the Explorer, Blue's Clues, The Wiggles, Barney, and Sesame Street, all of the personal video discs for the VIDEONOW Jr. player are designed to educate while they entertain. This personal disc contains scenes from the popular TV show Blue's Clues. Designed exclusively for VIDEONOW JR.or VIDEONOW COLOR Players, all VIDEONOW Jr. personal video discs are interchangeable. ... Read more

Editorial Review

VIDEONOW Jr. is the first full-color, personal video player designed specifically for preschoolers. And while the player itself is very impressive, with oversized buttons that make it easy for little hands to operate and rubberized bumpers designed to withstand the day-to-day bumps and rough handling that only preschoolers can dish out, the best thing about this portable media player is the wide variety of high-quality programming you can purchase for theplayer in the form of the VIDEONOW Jr.personal video discs. Featuring some of the most highly regarded early learning programming on TV, including Dora the Explorer, Blue's Clues, The Wiggles, Barney, and Sesame Street, all of the personal video discs for the VIDEONOW Jr. player are designed to educate while they entertain. This personal disc contains scenes from the popular TV show Sesame Street. Designed exclusively for VIDEONOW JR. or VIDEONOW COLOR Players, all VIDEONOW Jr. personal video discs are interchangeable. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

great for toddlers!
We got our two little boys (ages two and three) the players and they love them, it is great for Christmas roadtrips!!The love Sesame Street and this is one episode just like on tv, very much worth the money! ... Read more

Features

• The Game of Life - The Simpsons Edition. Two huge brands in one game.
• Take a spin through America's most popular hometown, Springfield, with Homer, Marge and the kids.
• Spin the wheel of fate!
• Do good deeds to earn Life Tiles an more money down the road.
• Ages 9 to adult. 2-6 players.

Reviews (5)

Sort of cheaply made
All the Simpson's trivia is fun, but the quality of the game is poor.Seems like it was made so cheaply so the Simpson's franchise could suck all the profit out of it.I read the other reviews and decided to buy the game only because of the buy one get one free offer.The spinner barely spins.I think I need to go buy a 10 sided dice.

A Huge Disappointment
The Game of Life: Simpson's Edition is a failure of concept and design.The quality of the game is so low as to be almost nonexistent.The board and the spinner are terminally flimsy--the spinner almost being useless it is so unsmooth and rickety.To require assembly of all the houses and everything every time one plays the game is a slight against anyone with patience or capacity for joy.The game itself isn't very fun--differing from classic Life, in that its not very fun.I love the Simpson's.I hate this game.With my whole heart.

LOVE the Simpsons, but this is cheap & poorly constructed
Let me start off by saying that I adore the Simpsons, and I just love playing Life, so I was thrilled to get this game for Christmas.When it came time to play it, however, I was deeply disappointed.Maybe I am spoiled because I have one of the great old Life boards, but this game is super flimsy.The buildings don't fit in the slots on the board right and come out while you are trying to play and even the spinner seems like it's going to come off when you spin it (it did once while we played it) and it doesn't spin smoothly.In the old game of Life, when you are done you can just fold up the board and put it away.In this version, you have to take the whole thing apart- all the buildings, bridges, the spinner and all to make it fit in the box, then reassemble it when you want to play again (which in my case, probably won't happen).

The rules are a little different, and not quite as fun, but I do have to say that some of the cards and spaces are pretty funny, which is it's saving grace.It was a great idea, just not executed very well.I would only recommend this to diehard Simpson's memorabilia fans, just not anyone who actually wants to play the game. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Love this Game!
My daugther just received this game for her 4th birthday.She played it once at a friend's house and had been talking about it ever since.She was SO excited when she opened this present.The game is so much fun.It is a kids game that I actually like playing.(nice to get a break from Candyland and Chute and Ladders) It is easy to figure out how to play -- just a matter of reading the directions, which are simply written and easy to understand.The object of the game is to find out who ate the cake, what time they ate it and what they had to drink with it.The figures slide into the disc shaped stands and which ever figure has the picture of cake crumbs is the one who ate it.The stands slide off so the person who ate the cake is never the same.It is similar to the original clue game in that you go to the different rooms etc.It is just simplified.The game is designed for 5-8 year olds but my daugther just turned 4 and loves playing it!I do have to help her out a little but eventually she'll be able to play it with out my help.When we're not playing the game, she loves to play "house" with the figures.I'd recommend this for any young dectective or any parent who is looking for a break from other child games!

UMMMMMMMMMM.........................
OK when my dad bought this game for me I was excitied. Then my friend came over and TRIED to play it but how do you know if they ate the cake or not?! All they give you is, Miss Scarlett,Mr.Plum etc, some pieces of paper with different drinks and all that,futiture (I dont know why they gave me this)and a game board. So how are we supposed to find out? I have played adult clue. But they give you cards and a file. If someone know how to play Clue Jr please tell me!!!!!!!!!

Good Warm Up for the Older Child/Adult Version
I bought this game for my seven-year-old daughter who saw the stage version of "Clue" and I wasn't sure if she was quite ready for the regular version.

She enjoys the game thoroughly, especially the familiar characters (you know them, Professor Plum, Miss Scarlet, Mrs. Peacock, etc) though instead of murder and mayhem, they are eating cake.... Yes, it is scaled down AND in "bite sized pieces" (sorry for the pun that was `dying' to be written).

I could easily see my daughter playing this for a couple months and then graduating to the adult version. It is simple to follow, engaging and does necessitate some logical thinking for the younger set. My older daughter played along and wasn't bored like she is by some other "little kid" board games.
... Read more

Features

• Jenga Extreme is a new and fun way to play the unpredictable wooden stacking game because with a simple alteration the anticipation builds in a whole new direction to a suspenseful crashing. Be the last player to place a block on the top of the tower before it crashes.
• In standard Jenga gameplay players take turns pulling a block from the bottom and placing it on the top of the Jenga stack. But the difference is that with an angled block this Jenga game is never the same twice due to differences of building the tower.
• Also with this new angle to the game strategy comes into playing as players must now decide which way to place the blocks to enhance the shifting tower or deemphasize the shifting tower.
• For adults. For 12+ players.
• Packaged in plastic display case.

Reviews (4)

how extreme can pieces of wood be?
how extreme can pieces of wood be? not very - until you cover them in slippery paint, add an angle or two, and then! no. not very. But this game is more fun than the original. and by more, i mean not much.

Made for adults
This game is very difficult for childrens, but great for older people who has the patience building the tower. But not too older people...I think ages between 15 and 45 will have real fun with it.

THE ORIGINAL IS MUCH BETTER
MY STUDENTS WERE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT PLAYING THIS GAME.IT TAKES FOREVER TO SET UP AND THE PIECES ARE VERY SLIPPERY.YOU NEVER GET PAST A COUPLE OF STEPS.IT JUST ISN'T VERY MUCH FUN TO PLAY.DEFINITELY BUY THE ORIGINAL JENGA.THIS ONE NEEDS TO GO BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD. ... Read more

Editorial Review

Where oh where has everybody gone? In Guess Where? players will find out who is hogging the bathroom, who's lurking in the kitchen, and who is lollygagging in the bedroom. Each player gets a two-sided fold-up plastic house and two sets of the same family members, one with pegs and one with tabs. After each player hides all the pegged family members throughout their own house, they begin asking yes/no questions about the whereabouts of the other player's family. As the answers to the clues build, players place tabbed family members in the lower half of their houses, in the locations they believe them to be hiding in the other house. Questions can be general (Is there a guy upstairs?) or specific (Is Grandma in the kids' room?). First person to guess where everyone in the other house is, wins! This is a terrific game for developing deduction skills, and kids will probably end up elaborating on their answers (Yes, Mom is in the bathroom, giving Kitty a bubble bath.) --Emilie Coulter ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Guess HOW to play...? Not quite clear, but fun nevertheless!
I grabbed this a few weeks ago even though my kids are 9 & 10, because my son in particular loves the logic of GUESS WHO, and I figured this would be quite similar, but maybe a little more like Clue (in fact, someone else I described the game to said, "oh, like Clue).

Actually, it's not much like Clue.It's much simpler, for one thing, which is to be expected, because it's aimed at much younger kids.What you're doing, basically, is figuring out which family members are in which rooms of your opponent's house.

The only trouble is that the manufacturer hasn't really provided a lot of hints - let alone rules - about how to keep track of what the answers were to questions you've asked.Unlike Clue (again, because there's no writing, because younger kids), there is no score pad to keep track, and unlike Mastermind, no formal way on the board itself to keep tabs on the success or failure of your "guesses."

So I find that even at 9 & 10, the kids keep forgetting what they have asked ("did I already find out if the pets were upstairs?", "I already told you the father and grandfather were together!").

The instructions say you're supposed to work out your own "system" using a thin groove that runs around the rooms... so if you suspect that "the mother is in the hall," you can place the mommy piece somewhere just beside the hall.But what about complex things, like "are either of the kids upstairs?"There really is no way except, well, to remember, which isn't entirely a bad thing, given kids' reliance on computers to do all of that for them these days.

VERY importantly, this game is not really much like GUESS WHO because there is little of the fun of eliminating the wrong choices ("is your friend wearing glasses?").Instead, you're homing in on the right answers, which is a trickier and perhaps more dull proposition.

All in all, my kids seem to be enjoying it so far, but it may wear thin soon.And younger children might find it frustrating because of the lack of formal way to track guesses, which is why it has lost a couple of stars for educational value.

I am also taking off stars because of the bazillions of little "family member" pieces that can very easily get lost and that tip over in their grooves so you can't see them clearly.

Oh, yeah... and I almost forgot, one "house" board broke after a couple of weeks.Like Battleship, these are designed to snap open and stay open the duration of the game.As it is, one snap "snapped" and that house now has an unfortunate tendency to close on the fingers of whoever is using it.(it's the "haunted house").[...] But definitely, a few stars off for durability -- it's not supposed to do that, and our Battleship set still snaps after almost a decade.

[...] But we don't hate this game.I like it quite a bit, and so do the kids.But it probably isn't your top pick for a game they will learn quickly and enjoy for a long time to come.

Playability on Shabbat: YES!!! (no batteries, electronics or writing)

GUESS WHO - Fun for all ages!
I bought this game for my kids when it first came out over 10 years ago.They are now 25 & 19 & still enjoy playing it. It is a good memory game that also teaches deduction. Just need to make sure it's boxed safely. After so many years, we started to loose people. Fun for all ages. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Games    2. Board Games    3. Preschool   

Subjects:  1. Games    2. Board Games   

Editorial Review

Although it is designed for two or more players, this movie-based game is much more fun for a larger group of film buffs. You'll need a DVD player, along with your TV, to play the game, and it also requires the use of remote control to move the game forward as you play. The rules of the game are very simple; challenging players to recognize and call out answers based on video and sound clips they see on the screen. And because there is a good variety of classic films mixed in with more contemporary movies, the game will appeal to movie fans of all ages. Includes three different games. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Fun Game but Useless After 3 Times
I saw Shout About Movies on TV and thought it would make a fun gift.Turns out I was right, the game is fantastic and great fun.The trivia ranges from Quotes, Movie Stills and Scenes from Movies.
The only problem is that after you play the title's initial 3 games, the disc is useless.You see, the Shout About Movies gives you 3 games to play at the start.Each game has the same layout of rounds, but uses different questions.Sure questions are different between games, but if you replay a game, you get the same questions and answers thus ruining the replay factor.For $20+ I would expect a little more than 3 games.I really like the game, but I can't justify spending another $20 for the other discs with zero replay.

It's like going to a movie with friends...only cheaper!
Until now, the only movie games I found that I could enjoy with a broad spectrum of people were the Scene It? movie DVD/board game and Reel Clues. Both of these games have their advantages and disadvantages. The disadvantages of these games are largely overcome in Shout about Movies.

This game is fast-paced, diverse, and generally well-conceived. The variety of questions and the creativity in presentation make this game tons of fun.

I have played with large groups (7-10 people) whose movie knowledge ranges from movie buff to casual viewer, and although there were some who were frustrated because they didn't perform as well as other players, everyone had at least a couple questions where they were the first to shout out the answer to and, most importantly, everyone had fun.

Everything is handled by the DVD interface. I particularly like the way it keeps score. The first time we played, we assumed that we would have to remember how many points each team scored during the 10-question rapid-fire rounds. But to our pleasant surprise, after each round it complete the DVD does a question-by-question re-cap and asks which team answered it correctly. This actually enhanced enjoyment quite a bit since not only did we not have to count answers during the actually game play, it also gave the group a chance to relive the excitement that occurred when shouting out answers.

The game can only be used three times, which is disappointing (hence my durability score). But when we thought about it, for about $20 our group of seven had over two hours of excellent entertainment for the evening. In our case the choices on the table were
a) all go out for dinner (very interactive, at least $8/person, probably much more)
b) all go to a movie (no interaction between group members, about $8/person)
c) play Shout about Movies (very interactive, and about $3/person)

So it seems pricey, but when compared to these entertainment options it really isn't that bad. And it provided much more fun than any of the other options probably would have.

Obviously, there will always be a place for games that can be played many times, but I know that I will welcome Shout about Movies as a gift and will suggest it for future large-group gatherings.

The Value Question - is Shout about Movies worth buying?

As the creator of Shout about Movies, I want to respond to those reviewers who have enjoyed playing the game, but who have questioned why each disc contains only 3 games.

People expect games to provide an unlimited variety of replays (quite different than the expectation they have for movies and TV shows). The dilemma of making a game with movie clips is that a DVD is not a bottomless pit - there are only so many clips you can fit on each disc.

There are ways to stretch the number of clips and to create the illusion of re-playability. You could add non-DVD elements to the game (moving around a board, rolling dice, answering questions from cards). You could slow the pace down, by playing just one clip at a time. And you could shuffle the clips on the DVD.

We tested all these methods and here's what we found. People were bored with the non-DVD elements and found them inconvenient. People prefer a faster paced game with 10 clips in a row. And shuffling the clips actually made the game less re-playable because repeats came up too frequently. In fact we found that people would stop playing before seeing all the clips on a disc - once they played about 2/3 of the disc, they would start seeing more repeats than fresh clips.

Another problem with "shuffling" the clips is that you can get a run of clips that favors one person or fails to build an exciting sequence of game play. By predetermining the order of the clips and questions, we were able to create the most balanced and exciting matches for all ages and interests - something we did not want to leave to the chance of a random shuffle.

So, for Shout about Movies, we decided to make the best possible game experience without trying to create any illusions of repeatability. Each of the four discs (and more are on the way), provides two to three hours of non-stop competitive entertainment without ever repeating a question or clip. Our tests show that, dollar-for-dollar, Shout provides more entertainment value than any of the competing products.

While Shout is fun for even just two players, it was designed as a party game for any number (with no set-up required, players can join in while a game is in progress). Someone brings the pizza, someone brings the beer, and someone brings Shout about Movies. One disc will last an entire evening or two -- and then can be traded with a friend for a different disc. My favorites are discs 2 and 4. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Games    2. Board Games    3. Trivia    4. Party Games    5. Grownup   

Editorial Review

VIDEONOW Jr. is the first full-color, personal video player designed specifically for preschoolers. And while the player itself is very impressive, with oversized buttons that make it easy for little hands to operate and rubberized bumpers designed to withstand the day-to-day bumps and rough handling that only preschoolers can dish out, the best thing about this portable media player is the wide variety of high-quality programming you can purchase for theplayer in the form of the VIDEONOW Jr.personal video discs. Featuring some of the most highly regarded early learning programming on TV, including Dora the Explorer, Blue's Clues, The Wiggles, Barney, and Sesame Street, all of the personal video discs for the VIDEONOW Jr. player are designed to educate while they entertain. This personal disc contains scenes from the popular TV show The Wiggles. Designed exclusively for VIDEONOW JR. or VIDEONOW COLOR Players, all VIDEONOW Jr. personal video discsare interchangeable. ... Read more

Features

• For Boggle players who want to play on the go, the Folio Game Edition is the version that delivers the portability , durability, playability and coolness players are looking for with its thoughtfully-sized, hip zippered case.
• For 2 or more players, ages 8 to Adult.
• Features 3- minute word search game, a built in electronic timer, and easy storage!
• The Game Folio Edition plays the same as Boggle with a specially designed letter cube grid and dome cover which are made of unique materials that allow quieter and less disturbing play.

Reviews (2)

What a good idea, Grandma
One of my kid's Grandmother's brought this. Very portable, sturdy, would be great for traveling with kids. The trick she explained is that you can have different, easier rules for younger kids so that it can be great fun for new readers too.

Better Than The Original Version
Boggle is a game in which you try to make up the most words using the letters found in a 4x4 grid. The letters must connect and you only have three minutes to do so. The bigger the words the higher the points you get, but if two or more players find the same word no one gets points for it. The game is very fun and fast paced. Plus you can play as little or as much time as you want; no need to "finish" the game (like in Scrabble). Just add the points and whoever has the higher score wins, it's that simple.

This version is Awesome and nicely improved over the original version. Here comes the description;

NEW DOME AND GRID: The dome and grid are made of a new material that makes it QUIETER when you shake the letter dice. No more waking everyone up late at night!

BUILT-IN TIMER: It comes with an electronic timer (batteries are included) that beeps softly and changes color from green to amber, then to red when times almost up. This eliminates the need to bob up your head every 10 seconds to see if the sand timer ran out. Great!

PLAYING MATERIALS: Four pads and pencils are included, plus the instructions obviously.

COMES IN A FOLIO: Stores everything easily. The folio has pockets for the pads and pencils (extra space for more). You can carry it around comfortably and is great if you have to travel or wait for a long time in one place.

This version is so nice it should be called Boggle Deluxe Edition. If you like Boggle you must buy this. As soon as you do, you will not go back to the original version, guaranteed.
... Read more

Editorial Review

The Wheels on the Bus Game will probably drive adults 'round and 'roundthe bend, with its all-talking, all-singing action, powered by three AAbatteries (not included). But designed for 3- to 6-year-olds, this combinationof memory game, play-acting, and sing-along fits nicely into Milton Bradley's"My First Games" portfolio. Players take turns rolling the musical yellow bus totheir space on the board. Pressing the hood tells them which of the four tokens(door, wiper, horn, or wheel) to locate by turning over any two of the 20 face- down tokens. Make a match, and keep the token; collect all four, and it's anexpress ride to the winner's circle. --Tony Mason ... Read more

Reviews (24)

Annoying toy!!
I had seen this toy on tv and my son (5 years) wanted it so we bought it for Christmas.It is so annoying! The music on the school bus is so loud and there is no on/off switch.When we put it up and something bumps it, it goes off with the music.I finally just took the batteries off.My son played with it a little and now he is tired of it.I would save your money and buy a better game.

Not getting the credit it deserves
We got this as a gift for my 3 year old and he absolutely loved it. Granted the song gets old but what toy that plays music doesn't? My kids never got tired of it. What is nice is you can play the easier level for young kids and as they get older you can use it as a more difficult matching game. The best part is the bus plays the entire "Wheels on the bus" song at the end and the kids can do all the motions that go with the song. I would recommend it and I think it is taking an unfair rap on these reviews.

VERY ANNOYING
This game is very annoying. The bus never is silent. It plays over and over even if you are not playing the game. You can't cut it off. We finally through it outside in the sandbox and still sometimes it will play when we are out in the yard. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Games    2. Preschool    3. Board Games   

Editorial Review

Grrr! Getting aggravated yet? Aggravation is the classic marble race around a star shape, from base to home sweet home. It's always tempting to take a shortcut, but beware! An opponent might be waiting for just such an opportunity to aggravate. By landing on another player's marble, anyone can send that marble back to its base to start over. And this could be a serious setback, since the object is to get all four marbles back home before the others do. Each player rolls the die and moves a marble around the board, choosing along the way whether to aggravate another player, take a shortcut (or super shortcut!), or just try to quietly slide by (good luck with that approach!). The game includes 24 marbles, 18.5-by-18.5-inch game board, die, and instructions. For two to six players. --Emilie Coulter ... Read more

Reviews (8)

No Way
You can get the old vintage aggravation games on Ebay for 10 or less and theres also some hand-made wooden boards as well. These new versions dont hold a candle to the old ones, Just as old tvs seem better than some of the new ones.

Disappointed in the new game look
I have given my points based on the old aggravation game. I wish that I could find the old game which was better made and looked better.If there is such a place that sells this game please notify me ASAP. I will not waste my money on the new and so-called-updated game.

Yes, it's cheaply made... but it's our favorite game!
We got this game for my daughter's 8th birthday, and it has quickly become our favorite game.In some ways, it's like Sorry, although the board is a bit more tortuous to get around.Also, it allows you to play with 6 players (although we've never played with more than 4).

What I like the best is that this game is completely unpredictable.Yes, you could have the best strategy in the world, and be on the verge of winning, but then the roll of the dice can allow somebody who is much further behind come back and unexpectedly win!

The other great things it the portability of this game.We are about to go on vacation, and all you really need is the board, marbles and dice.It's definitely coming with us.We LOVE this game. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Games    2. Board Games    3. Family Favorites   

Editorial Review

Sometimes you can't help but wonder about the original meeting where the idea for a toy was first introduced. Because in order to get Operation Brain Surgery produced, someone must have sat down in a room somewhere and explained that they were proposing a game based on brain surgery. And that they were serious. As strange as that meeting must surely have been, the game is actually a lot of fun in a bizarre kind of way. In fact, its very strangeness probably makes it even more fun. The patient (same big-nosed guy from the original Operation game) gives encouragement and ribbing to players throughout the game. The object is to remove objects such as a bird (for "bird brain"), train (for "train of thought"), and egg (for "egg head"). As in Operation, it takes a steady hand to avoid upsetting the patient and win the game. --John Moe ... Read more

Reviews (19)

Eh?!
I bought this for my 5 year old for her birthday-she tried to play it with her 3 year old sister- and it is.....for a better word.... an "alright" game. The idea of trying to find the matching piece to your chosen card is a good idea-but somewhere along the line the thrill of the game gets lost-does not really keep them too interested in continuing with the game...find a better place to put your $21.00 bucks...maybe their piggie bank...or even a better idea-keep it in your wallet.
I would not really recommend this.
The original Operation game with the tweezers and buzzer that would sound off if you touched the sides, was the one that I played with as a kid(showing my age much?) I prefer the old to the new.

kids seem to like it OK.
My 4 yr. old wanted this one. But when we turned it on to play it, & hit the nose timer, she freaked out, started crying, and ran to her room until we turned it off. My 3 yr. old son likes it. My daughter will only play this with the game turned off. No timer. Its an ok game, & teaches kids to concentrate & rely on something other than their sence of sight to determine what things are. I think we all would have preferred a different game. We play games daily, and I don't see this one being played very often.

This is a horrible toy
This toy is the dumbest thing ever. You reach in a head and grab stuff. I think it should be recalled because a kid could go crazy trying to grab stuff in real peoples heads. dont buy it. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Games    2. Board Games