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Mega Bloks Domino Build Game

March 17, 2011 By

Thanks to Mega Bloks and Team Mom, we had the chance to review the new Mega Bloks Domino Build Game.  Aimed at children ages 3-6, this fun game combines the counting of dominos with learning about colors and shapes, plus the fun of stacking blocks to build animals!  These kinds of games help develop fine-motor skills like patience, practice, and determination, muscle movement and hand-to-eye coordination. Both boys and girls will have fun playing the Mega Bloks Domino Build Game!  Best of all, the retail price is only $10.99 and you can buy it at Amazon.com, Fred Myers, Toys R Us Canada (Quebec only), and Wal-Mart Canada.  At that price, you can buy one for yourself and one to give as a gift!

Kaitlyn was very eager to test out this game. For two players, each player gets four cards plus one is turned over to start. Each player also decides which of the four animals they want to build. The youngest player goes first, and looks in their hand for a card that has either the same shape or the same color as the starter card. If they can make a match, they put their card down, take one animal block, and draw another card. Play continues this way until one player gets all four blocks needed to build their animal. Here’s a photo showing the table while we were playing, you can see we started with a purple hippo card and built out from that:

Playing Mega Bloks Domino Build

After we played a couple of rounds, Kaitlyn had fun building with the animal blocks. After she built them the right way, she had fun mixing and matching, swapping heads and bodies and feet and giggling about the results. Here are the animals the right way:

Kaitlyn with Mega Bloks

In addition to reviewing the Domino Build Game, I have some information to share. MEGA Brands, Inc., a trusted family of leading global brands in construction toys, games and puzzles, arts & crafts and stationary, is launching the Mega Bloks Family Club and Mega Bloks Mom search. For more information visit http://familyclub.megabloks.com.

Mega Bloks Family Club
MEGA Brands is launching the Mega Bloks Family Club, a brand new MEGA Brands blog and online community. It’s FREE to sign up! When you become a member, you receive:

  • A PRINTABLE COUPON for $5 off of any $30 or more Mega Bloks purchase;
  • Other exclusive OFFERS, CONTESTS, SWEEPSTAKES and PROMOTIONS on Mega Bloks toys;
  • Information on NEW Mega Bloks toys for kids ages 1 to 6
  • An EDUCATIONAL and INFORMATIVE BLOG by a leading panel of mom bloggers with articles on the benefits of construction toys, product reviews, pictures and more;
  • FREE EMAIL NEWSLETTER with great new building ideas, toys for kids ages 1 and up and more.

Mega Bloks Mom Search
Mega Brands is looking for five – count em’ five — Mega Bloks Mom personalities to contribute to the Mega Bloks Family Club, a brand new MEGA Brands blog and online community. Mega Bloks Mom bloggers will post about new products, play tips, contests and more for the Family Club online community. If selected, each Mega Bloks Mom blogger will receive monetary compensation, along with free MEGA Brands products. For more details, requirements and application, visit http://www.megabrands.com/en/familyclub/megamom/

We had fun reviewing the Mega Bloks Domino Build Game for Mega Bloks and Team Mom! I think your kids would like it to :)

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Thumballs by Answers in Motion – Fun for all ages!

December 9, 2010 By

ThumballThumball by Answers in Motion is a game, a toy, and an educational learning tool all in one!  Shaped like a multi-sided soccer ball, Thumballs have a soft exterior and a squishy interior, making them easy for even little hands to catch. The balls come in 4 or 6 inch diameters with either 12 or 32 panels, and on each panel is a letter, number, word, phrase, or question.  Someone tosses the ball and the person who catches looks at where their right thumb is (or the left one, you make the rules!) and responds accordingly.

What’s great about Thumball is how open-ended it is. The only rules are whatever rules everyone playing decides on.  Even the simplest ABC Thumball can be used in a variety of ways – young players can simply pronounce the letter their thumb lands on, older players can be asked to think of a word that starts with that letter.  Other Thumballs to get for playing with  little ones are Numbers, Shapes, and Animals. 4 inch Thumballs are $10.99 and 6 inch are $13.99, or buy the Early Learner set for $49.99 at www.thumball-store.com. Includes two carabiners to hook the Thumballs together for easier storage.

We received a variety of Thumballs to review, and I was pleasantly surprised to have everyone in my family, including my husband, want to play and participate. We started with the Icebreaker Thumball, which is aimed at teens through adults. It has prompts to discuss topics like “Foods you can cook”, “Fantasy vacation”, and “Must-have Chinese food”.   This is the perfect Thumball for a family gathering as well as for companies to use for training and team building.

We also got the Entertainment Talk Thumball, with questions about books, TV and movies, and one I really like, the Move Your Body Thumball. Players act out the movements used in sports and other physical activity, like “Flap your wings and soar”, and “Kick a goal and cheer.”  Once everyone gets over their initial hesitation of possibly looking silly in front of everyone else, it gets really fun!

I think Answers in Motion has done a great job of creating a product that can be used by almost anyone.  From preschoolers to senior citizens, there’s a Thumball that will entertain and educate!  I highly recommend Thumball as a holiday gift too. You’ll love it!

Filed Under: Featured Reviews, Games, Holiday Gift Guide 2010, Toys Tagged With: , ,

JumpStart Pet Rescue for the Wii

September 23, 2009 By

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I’ve been buying JumpStart learning games for my boys since they each were old enough to use a computer, so I was thrilled to be asked to review the new JumpStart Pet Rescue Game created just for the Wii. Aimed at preschoolers,   JumpStart Pet Rescue takes the fun of controlling characters on your computer and moves it to your Wii for a whole new kind of fun! The Entertainment Software Rating Board has rated Pet Rescue “Early Childhood”, and I can attest to the fact that it’s fun for grownups too :) JumpStart sent us a copy of the game to review, and I had as much fun playing with it as Kaitlyn did!

Product Description: Join the JumpStart friends in a rich world full of learning and creativity! JumpStart Pet Rescue contains 5 Discovery worlds where Preschoolers navigate through 5 stories in a search for lost pets. Each Discovery world contains a guided story told by one of the JumpStart friends, leading children on a learning adventure through more than 70 learning lessons and activities that teach kids over 75 essential skills they need to succeed.

JumpStart Pet Rescue

To play the game, you first create your main character, called your Jumpee. Then, in Story Mode, a JumpStart friend guides the player through the various virtual worlds. Kaitlyn’s favorite part of the game was getting to take care of a pet and decorate her own house. At 3.5 she’s still not great with the Wii controller, but she was more than happy to let me help her by telling me what to pick and where to go while I did the actual controlling. Kaitlyn liked that each time she rescued a pet, it followed her around.  The Pets have to be fed and played with, too.

At $39.99 this game is priced at the mid-range for Wii games, and for kids who like controlling their own virtual world, it would be a good choice. It’s available on Amazon, at Walmart, Toys R Us, Best Buy, GameStop, Sam’s Club, and other game retailers.

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