Orijinz is the fun card game that educates players on why we say the things we do! With 150 cards that each teach the definition and meaning of common words and phrases, it is literally hours of fun and learning.

I’ve been pulling out cards at random and reading them to the boys. Each card has a word Origin, the definition, and some have a “tidbit”, a fun fact about the word. To play the game, one person reads the origin and definition, and the other players try to guess the word. For example, a word whose origin is the Arabic meaning for “storehouse”, definition is a periodical that contains articles and stories, the word is magazine.

I’m planning to take Orijinz with us to visit my sister and brother-in-law, so we’ll have a group of boys ages 10,12, and 15, and four adults. It will be interesting to see how many words we will know. The game is only $14.95, and the “Buy” link on the site goes to a PayPal page. Unfortunately, purchases made now won’t be delivered until at least January 2nd, and for that I owe the sponsor an apology. I was hoping to have this posted by December 19th so there would be time for delivery by Christmas, but I didn’t make it.

If you are looking for a gift for someone who loves to read or learn about language, or a fun game to take to a party, please support my sponsor and pick up Orijinz!

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Brighter Minds Media publishes multi-media educational products such as books, games, and software. They sent me three popular PC titles to review, and I’m happy to recommend all three for holiday gifts.

• Bob the Builder Can-Do Zoo is rated EC for Early Childhood, which means it is suitable for ages 3 and up. Featuring the very popular Bob and his Can-Do Crew, the game teaches problem solving, pattern and size recognition, and shape and color identification skills among others, while players have fun helping Bob and the Crew build the new Bobland Bay Zoo. Learning is available in both English and Spanish, too. If you’d like to try a demo game or purchase the online version, visit Beanstalk Games. Purchase a Windows or MAC CD-Rom game to give as a gift from the Brighter Minds Media Store, for $19.99, or find it at retailers like Target.
• If you haven’t already read a review of or heard someone talk about World of Goo, it probably won’t be long until you do. This is a sampling of the reviews for the game:
  “If there is any justice in the world, World of Goo is going to be a hit this year”-PC Gamer
• “One game that puzzle fans shouldn’t miss”-IGN “Wicked Cute”- WIRED
  The artwork of this game is charming and surprising. It looks like a game that Tim Burton might have designed. The adorable little goo balls have one goal, to get into the pipes that lead back to World of Goo Corporation. Your job is to help them get to the pipes by linking them together. Sounds easy, but not so much. As you drag goo balls, you’ll see white lines appear that show the links they are making to other goo balls. Stack too high, and the whole structure collapses. Some levels have time bugs that let you undo your last action. You’ll find yourself talking to your game, encouraging the goo balls to just “stick to the sides of the wall, come on guys, you can do it!”-or maybe that’s just me. The levels get more and more challenging by adding hazards like poky spikes that “pop” the goo balls that get too close. Or by making you move the goo balls horizontally- good luck with that, I had to quit at that point.The most amazing part of this game is that it’s the FIRST game created by the guys who call themselves 2D Boy. If this is their first game, I can’t wait to see what they’ll make next! You can download a demo of World of Goo or purchase the full game for yourself on Beanstalk Games, then make someone on your gift list very happy and buy it for them. Trust me. It’s like knowing the secret game that everyone “in the know” is playing. Price on Brighter Minds site- $19.95
• Top Chef- you love the show, now play the game! My 12 year old son volunteered to review the game, and this is exactly what he says about it-”It’s not so hard that people who don’t usually play puzzle games won’t be able to play it, but not so easy that regular puzzle gamers will find it boring”.You play as a Top Chef contestant, competing in quickfires and elimination challenges. In each round, you first prep ingredients, such as grilling meats or chopping vegetables, then you must create a dish using main ingredients plus flavor. For example, you might be asked to use meat, vegetables, and spice to create an entree. Choose from hundreds of ingredients to get the flavor combinations just right, but there’s a time limit for each round, so you have to be quick. Your “dish” is judged by show Host Padma Lakshmi and Head Judge Tom Colicchio. The benefit to playing this as a computer game is you can’t actually be sent home for messing up your dish! Download a demo or the full game from Beanstalk Games, and purchase it for a gift from Brighter Minds Media for $19.95. FREE SHIPPING in the Continental US!

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One of the reasons I most wanted to get a Wii was having a much wider variety of games to choose from for my kids. The Xbox just didn’t have that many games for kids 12 and under, and none at all for preschoolers. Well, the Nintendo Wii is sure picking up on that untapped market by releasing just a ton of games meant for younger players. There are games for Bratz, Build-A-Bear Workshop (review coming soon!), Rubik’s Cube, Hasbro Family Game night, and this one that we reviewed this weekend, Littlest Pet Shop, which we received from Parent Bloggers Network.

You start the game by naming your first three pets, which are a dog, a kitty, and a bunny. Kaitlyn named the dog “Elvis” (our dog’s name), the kitty “Kaitlyn”, and the bunny “Bunny”. That’s what you get when you let a three year old pick the names! You start by controlling the dog, and the game shows how to move the controller to move the dog over to the Pet Store where you buy a pair of sunglasses. Then you are prompted to move over to the Pet Salon and shown how to open the accessories menu. You can choose from about a dozen different pairs of sunglasses, capes or collars, and hats or headbands. It’s fun to dress up the pet

The game does a good job of explaining how to switch between controlling the different pets, and you are prompted to take each of them to the Salon for outfits. You also pick up coins along the pathway as well, which earn you more items in the Pet Store. You unlock games for each pet as well, like keeping the pet on top of a moving ball, and one where you blow bubbles to bounce coins in the air.

I tried to show Kaitlyn how to use the remote and play the game, but her hands are just too small and she really doesn’t get how to point it at the screen. I would say that this game is really best for children ages five and up who have learned to use the remote. I must confess, I kept playing even after she ran off to do something else. I changed the pets’ outfits a few times, and I even earned enough coins to unlock a new pet! This part is cute- you have to buy a train ticket, then the pet arrives on the train, and the graphics are really cute for that part. I unlocked a Polar Bear, which Kaitlyn named…Pants. Yes, Pants, because that is her new favorite word that she thinks is the funniest word ever.

This is a wonderful game for Littlest Pet Shop fans or just as a fun game for younger kids (and Moms too). It really brings the Littlest Pet Shop world to life, and the best part is, no tiny little plastic accessories to lose. I’m hoping that once Kaitlyn is a little bigger and can work the Wii remote, she’ll have as much fun playing Littlest Pet Shop as I do!

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During this upcoming holiday season, many of us will spend time with our parents and grandparents. It can be so hard to have time to just sit and talk these days, with everyone’s schedules so busy. Even my parents are hard to spend time with, they have busier schedules than I do! But while we are visiting this Thanksgiving, I’ve got the perfect way to “break the ice” and get us all talking- the Grandparent Talk game from Around The Table Games.

Grandparent Talk is 100 cards held together with a sturdy clip, and on each card is a question designed to get Grandparents talking about their lives. Grandparent Talk is designed to help deepen intergenerational relationships among family members and keep family history alive. Children might be surprised at how much they have in common with their Grandparents. Here are sample questions:

• What kind of toys did you have?
• What kinds of pets did you have? What were their names?
• What is the scariest thing that has ever happened to you?

Here’s a link to Retail Locations where you can buy Grandparent Talk and other Around the Table Games like Family Talk and Family Talk 2.   This game would be an excellent gift for Grandparents or a purchase to make to keep around the house for when Grandparents visit (or if you are a Grandparent, for when the Grandkids visit). You might even want to videotape the answers to the questions for a video family history!

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When I was at BlogHer last summer, I stopped by the VTech table to ooh and ahh over the cool new electronic toys and games they had out on display. I told the ladies at the booth how much I liked VTech products, how I’d been buying them for my boys since they were toddlers, but how I hadn’t tried anything new lately. I left my business card with one of the ladies and said, in a hopeful way, “if you ever need someone to review your products, keep me in mind!” Ha ha, right? Like they hadn’t heard that a dozen times already that day and would take me seriously?

Except the thing is, they DID take me seriously. Shortly after that, I got an email from Kristin at Edelman letting me know that VTech was recruiting Moms for their Demo Team, and was I interested in joining? Was I?? I just about fell off the couch! I replied with the ages and sexes of my children, and a week later, a HUGE box arrived in the mail. Inside were three of the Hottest, Newest products from VTech for 2008! We got a V-Motion Active Learning System with a Dora game, a Wall-E Learning Laptop, and a Kidizoom Camera!

Neither VTech nor Edelman paid me any money to write a review of these products, in fact, they didn’t even ask me to write a review, just to try out the products and let them know what I think of them. But it’s in my nature as a product review blogger to tell everybody what I think of stuff, so I can’t help myself!

The V-Motion plugs into your TV and plays game cartridges that teach math, reading, spelling, science and more while your child plays fun games! The controller is very cool, it is adaptable to either right or left handed kids. It comes with a V-Link that connects to the V-Smile website and unlocks bonus game downloads as well as keeping track of game scores. And if you already own the previous V-Smile console, your games will work with the V-Motion! Plus you can get new games featuring Dora, Scooby-Doo, Thomas the Tank Engine, and Spider-Man, as well as Kung Fu Panda, Wall.E, and Wonder Pets. If your child has been begging for video games but you want it to be educational too, the V-Motion is the perfect solution for ages 3 to 7. It retails for $69.99 and includes one sample Smartridge. Additional Smartridges are $19.99.

How cute is this?!? The Wall-E Learning Laptop has 15 activities in five modes of play, teaching letters, words, math, logic and games. It comes with a flip-down QWERTY keyboard, moving arm controllers, an LCD screen and a “winking” right eye. It’s meant for ages 4-6 so the activities are too hard for Kaitlyn right now, but I’ve noticed Nathan (who will be 10 in December) playing with it too. At the affordable price of $29.99, this would make a great gift for any child who’s a Wall-E fan!

The Kidizoom Camera, at only $59.99 retail price, is both a digital camera and a movie camera. Kidizoom includes a connector cable to plug in and watch a picture slide show, or view the movies on TV or PC. It also features fun photo editing options that allow kids to distort pictures or add silly frames. My kids have all taken turns using it, even my 12 year old son who doesn’t mind at all that it’s pink. I have the cable and the software CD right on my desk, but I haven’t had a chance to upload the photos they’ve taken yet! I promise I’ll post them when I do. With large rubberized grips, the Kidizoom is built to be tough and is consistently rated as the best digital camera for kids. Your little shutterbug or budding filmmaker will be sure to love the Kidizoom! It’s for ages 3 to 6.

All these great VTech products are available at Toys R Us, Target, Wal-Mart and on eToys and Amazon. I can’t thank Edelman and VTech enough for asking me to join their Moms Demo Team and providing my kids with these wonderful electronics to play with!

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