Game Review: Hey that’s my fish!

Over the week, Jay and I got acquainted with some new friends.

Meet my new yellow penguin buddies. And with these cute little fellas (don’t you love their expressions? Hahaha…) it bodes well for this new game that I tried out with Jay.

It is an easy strategy game for children, cos it basically involves… fish-eating.

We laid the hexagonal tiles on the floor randomly, and each penguin starts off on a different tile. (After the second game, to make things fairer, Daddy decided each penguin should start on a 3-fish tile!)

On your turn, you can choose to move any of your “in play” penguins, and they can move in any of the six directions of the tile, and go as far as desired. However, if there is a “gap” or missing piece in the way, they cannot hop over the divide.

The point is to collect as many fishes as possible. If you happen to be the sole surviving penguin on the “island”, well then congrats! All the fishes in that island belong to you and you alone (cos no other penguin can cross the gap to reach your little “island”) & that penguin which runs out of legal moves is also retired from the round.

At the end of the game, you tabulate the number of fishies…

and the winner is the one with the most fishies!

Jay really enjoyed this game, though he wasn’t as “deviously” scheming as Nic & I were. He also had a harder time trying to see the six directions, and usually only moved one or two squares max. However, he got the “point” of the game easily. That week, we got this game and City Square Off to play with, and he enjoyed both so much! Budget constraints meant I could only opt for one game, and I purchased City Square Off.

Disclaimer: Game was on loan to us by My First Games, with no compensation received. All opinions are 100% my own.

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City Square Off!

I had a chance to play the City Square Off with Jay… and we loved it!

The game play was pretty easy in this two-player game, and Daddy and Jay decided to face off for the first time!

Each player get the board, and chooses to be either the green or the orange team.

Each board will have one of these “cities” placed in middle.

 

These are the cards, and each card has a picture of one of the tiles. As my cheeky little boy was insisting on doing the shuffling of these cards, he started singing… you guessed it… “Everyday I’m shuffling!”

And… it’s game on! Daddy vs Jayvon.

The cards are opened one at a time, and the aim of the game is to place the corresponding tile on your board – making sure the tiles at least touch one another, and not going outside the boundary.

It might be Jay’s love of jigsaw puzzles, and he quickly understood the game. I had to give Jay some pointers on how to stack the pieces, but other than that, he was on his own. When one person is unable to place his tile, the winner is out!

And Jay crushed Daddy in the first round! Haha…

Following that, we’ve been playing this game every night before bedtime. This is a good game to train his analytical skills. City Square Off is recommended for ages 8 and up, but the game play is easy enough for Jay (a 4 year old) to enjoy as well!

Disclaimer: Game is on loan to us by My First Games, with no compensation received. All opinions are 100% my own.

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Review: Gobblet Gobblers

I was given the chance to try out this brand new game for a couple of days: Gobblet Gobblers.

And just looking at the cheery cover and those cheeky grins is enough to make you smile!

This game has a familiar premise… Tic-tac-toe, but with a twist! The aim is simply to get a row of your tokens in a row – horizontally, vertically or across.

Each player gets a total of 6 tokens – 2 small, 2 medium and 2 large.

I explained to Jay how to play, and as he recently learnt about small, medium and large (小 中 大) in school, he quickly caught on the fun part of the game. That the larger token can literally “gobble” up the smaller one! And during your turn, you can also use a token that is in play to move to another spot, which also means the “usual” tic-tac-toe gameplay takes on a new dimension.

The recommended age for this game is for ages 5 & above. Jay could understand the gobbling part very well (and loved gobbling up my poor little fellas), but he had difficulty trying to “spot” the 3-in-a-rows at first till I pointed them out to him. However, he still managed to beat me in the first two games we played! Haha! (And I didn’t try to purposefully lose out to him at that… sigh…)

Well, I loved this take on a game I loved as a kid, and I expect to have a few more good games with Jay!

You may have noticed I have been playing a few games with Jay, mostly on loan from Pamela who is passionate about board games! After trying out Jurassic Wars, I even purchased a set for Jay! I personally feel these board games are great fun for the family, and allows for some seriously fun family bonding!

Games time is also a great opportunity to teach Jay a very important principle… how to be a gracious loser. Once, I played Froggy Boogie with Jay (which he thoroughly loved!) and on the first round, he won me by a mile! So he wanted another round, which I obliged. A few turns in, I was leading him by a bit, and he started to become upset, which led to him not concentrating and thereby not being able to win me – cos the game is all a matter of simple memorization.

It took just another 2-3 rounds and Jay insisted that he had “enough” and started picking up the pieces to keep.Which meant I had the chance to have a long conversation with him, about learning to lose graciously. I also introduced a new catchphrase to him then: “It is just a game. Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose!”

And ain’t that the truth?! :)

[I also realised that there is a version of this game for older kids/adults – called Gobblet which features a 4 by 4 square and slightly more refined rules and it seems so fun! You can check these games out and more on myfirstgames.sg]

Disclaimer: The games were loaned to us for review. I did not receive any payment, monetary nor in kind, in exchange for this post. All opinions are my own and not influenced by any external sources.

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Shopping Away with Mastercard this GSS!

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Many things change when one becomes a parent. Priorities change, sleep patterns change… even one’s figure changes (sigh, don’t get me started).

One thing hasn’t changed much – my love for shopping! It’s now more channelled and controlled, of course. Quite controlled. Somewhat controlled. Okay, so there are weak spots here and there. And impulse buys sometimes. Ahem. But channelled. Did I mention channelled? Now, I look out not just for bargains for ME, but good deals for the kiddos!

This Great Singapore Sale season, I was happy to receive a spanking new M1 Prepaid Mastercard (PayPass-enabled), and we were given the opportunity to splurge on the kiddos for the weekend! And in the midst of the shopping frenzy (or can-hardly-stand-still kids or bored spouse or all of the above), it’s sometimes not the clothes-trying or toy-choosing time that is tiresome, but the queuing to pay! And in this respect, PayPass makes it easy to make your payment in a simple, swift and safe way! Shop, and simply tap away at the various shopping, dining and entertainment outlets around the island. This GSS, there’s an awesome deal – every 5 taps (regardless of amount) at any of the 20,000 acceptance points during GSS period will earn you a $10 shopping voucher (for the first 1,500 cardholders a week).

A treat for the kids… means starting with a trip to Toys R Us!

Where both boys had a BLAST once they knew they each get a special present from us!

 

As you can see, Jay took it seriously… poring over his various options: A new Transformer? A new Dinosaur Train? While his younger brother had some tough choices to make of his own.

Finally the decisions were made and we went with a Ben 10 toy for Jay and two Sesame Street DVDs for Xav.

If you spot these terminals around, you know PayPass is available – and you just need to tap and the transaction is done in a matter of seconds!

It’s like going up the bus and tapping on the ez-link machine. Even Jay could do it!

Later that day, we proceeded to a yummy dinner at one of our favourite restaurants – Waraku!

Jayvon and his kid’s meal – which Xav happily slurped off a lot of that ramen as well.

Dinner with the two boys is never dull… as they entertain each other as much as they entertain us.

This GSS season, look out for special privileges for Mastercard holders, and the PayPass platform as an easy way to pay and go – a dream for busy, on-the-go parents! Coming up – a purchase for me… as I make my way to Adidas to get a brand new gym bag (Didn’t you read about the first paragraph? Haha!) as I get ready to do more tapping!

What are your recent good GSS buys? Share share! :)

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Jurassic (World) War (Right at home)

I love my games, and once upon a long time ago I used to play Bridge with a group of friends. Of cos, you understand, that I am talking about pre-Jayvonian days here. Like how I used to play Scrabble and Boggle during my University days. And how I love playing Cranium, Saboteur and other games with friends now!

Recently, I had the chance to get a few games for Jay to try out, courtesy of Pamela from My First Games.

Seriously. Jay loves this game, if only for that ferocious T-Rex on the cover of the game! While it was recommended that this game be for 8 year olds and above, the game play was simple enough for Jay (a 4 year old) to grasp, and the fierce-looking dinosaurs (all so familiar to him, courtesy of the Dinosaur Train DVD series he watches religiously).

There are a total of 20 dinosaurs – 10 carnivores and 10 herbivores, and the cards were to be randomly & equally distributed to the players. Jay was busy examining the cards, and “announcing” he wanted to have the T-Rex & Triceratops cards!. Of course, I told him we had to shuffle and distribute the cards equally.

There were also 10 Combat cards – giving an extra boost when played!

The 3 Time Line cards also added another dimension to the game.

 

We then tried out one round – Daddysaurus vs Jayvonosaurus.

Jayvon selected his favourite T-Rex, and Daddy played his Ankylosaurus card. (Bad shot cos the photographer – Mummynosaurus – was busy reading and refereeing the game!)

The red/green diamond shapes on each card indicates how many of that coloured dice you are allowed to play against your opponent. Maximum of 3 red and 4 green dice.

Each red die has TWO “hit” sides, and each green die has only ONE “hit” side. If the opponents have the same number of hits, they both throw again. If one has more hits than the other, the difference in hits represents the die/dice “lost”… and the winner is determined when the opponent’s dice run out!

First throw: Jay had two hits vs Daddy’s one hit… and by the end of 4 throws, Daddy’s ankylosaurus was defeated!

Jay was so serious, and insisted on throwing each die separately and squealed in delight at every hit, and asked for a rethrow every time he came up blank! Haha… Mummy-referee allowed some rethrows. :P

In the end, it was four straight rounds of Daddy’s dinosaurs being annihilated, before Daddy made some headway.

Any favourite kids’ games you have?

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An excavation expedition

Nic and I have this unspoken rule, that we’d generally try to get Jayvon a toy or souvenir whenever we bring him to a new and interesting place. So he has got knick-knacks from our overseas trips – and seeing the animal magnets on the fridge also helps him remember those outings. We’ve bought Daddy & Mummy Elephant cups from the Singapore Zoo, a toucan plushie from the Bird Park… you get the idea!

And when it comes to the Science Centre, I mean, dinosaurs and earthquakes and all the button-pushing and knob-turning’s fun, but Jay adores the Gift Shop! So when I last went to the Science Centre, I was swayed by my little boy to get him another toy. For my palaeontologist-in-training.

Just to be clear… Jay ADORES this toy. Almost as much as his Daddy dreads it! Haha!

See? Mr. Stegosaurus had a predecessor in our house. Meet Mr. Brachiosaurus – who also looked on at the proceedings of the excavation.

Daddy toiled for an hour that time, supervised by Jay who told Daddy to “continue” after he was tired. After five minutes. Which is the reason why Daddy was so enthusiastic about the Stegosaurus.

See that pinkish block?

That is Mr. Stegosaurus. The “excavation tools” Jay uses is a mini-hammer cum knife and a tiny paintbrush to slowly brush away the sawdust to reveal the gem within.

Jay soon got to work!

 

He was busy sawing, brushing, sawing, hammering, brushing away! Does Daddy to need to help? Nope! (Not yet, anyway…)

After just 10 minutes, check out the sawdust generated!

And Jay was still going strong! The entire excavation expedition took an hour to complete… and this is how the unformed Stegosaurus looked like, encased within the block…

The dinosaur, like a real expedition, comes in different parts, and once uncovered, you can fix them together like a simple 3D jigsaw. And ta-da! Meet Mr. Stegosaurus!

Jay is looking forward to our next trip to the Science Centre because… yes, you got it! He has his eye on the Triceratops. And all Nic can say is… “Thank God there’s only FIVE dinosaurs in this series!” Hahaha…

How about you? Any toys that are uber-fun for your kids and more than a tad torturous for the parents?

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Indoor playground (plus the 2nd giveaway!)

I love to bring Jay to indoor playgrounds.

I mean, a confined area where he can use up his energy and have oodles of fun while I can relax and sip coke at the same time? Win-WIN situation, I tell ya! The moment we step into Polliwogs or Amazonia, it’s a shriek, a shout, and flurry of activity as he scrambles in to have fun, leaving his poor ol’ Mommy no choice but to play games on my iPad while occasionally flinging a glance to make sure he is neither trampled not the trampler.

And it took a while before Jay could go and run wild in the playground by himself. Relieving me of the need of contort my body through a playground not meant for anyone above 1.5metres.

So you see, training for my little one starts early too.

I present… my makeshift indoor playground. Perfect for a little tod who can’t really go anywhere.

It entertained him for about… 3 minutes.

But then something else distracted him from wanting out of the ball pit.

Yes. Jay’s brachiosaurus.

As big a hit with Jay as it is with Xav.

Oh… and the winner’s for the first Birthday Giveaway been chosen… Congratulations to KLESSIS! :) I hope you enjoy the Isetan voucher for some nice stuff for your girls (or of cos, you :P)

And now, it’s also time for the next giveaway…

I put a lot some thought, and it must be my frequent movie outings now that GV Katong is up and running… so it is apt, that the next giveaway is for:

A pair of GV Tickets! :)

3 simple steps to win this voucher:

1) “Like” the SANses blog Facebook page.

2) Re-post this giveaway (you can retweet it if you like)

3) Leave a comment once you’ve done it!

I will mail out the voucher, so you’d need to have a valid Singapore mailing address. :)

Simple, eh? You have till this Saturday, Jan 14, 2359 hours to enter, and I will draw a number out of a hat or something to choose the winner!

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