Thinking Game

Get your thinking caps on. This one's a tough one.

I was browsing the web a while back and I ran across this game on Thinkgeek.com. It's called the Lonpos Pyramid and Rectangle Game. It's a black box and you get several little pieces of different colored balls stuck together in different shapes. It comes with two booklets both filled with puzzles. They range from ridiculously easy to stressfully hard. The start you off by showing you were some of the pieces go and then it's your job to fill in the rest. Even though the easy puzzles are basically one missing piece, I'm glad there is at least one of them there, so when I give up doing the hard puzzles I can at least put the game away quickly. I would have liked to see some more variety in the puzzles. For some reason they all start putting pieces on the left side and the right side is always bare. I would have liked to see a puzzle where you place some in the middle, maybe there are some out there. However, you can just remove all the pieces and just try to put them all back in, and as long as everything fits, you win! Also there are 3D puzzles for the bottom of the box to make a pyramid using the same pieces, which are somewhat harder. Soon I'm going to make a video showing how this game works.

The game costs $15.99 and you can find it at http://www.thinkgeek.com/geektoys/games/d245/
and if you want to test it out online you can do that at http://www.lon-pos.com/en/en_101_8_1.htm

Is This Your Card?

As I grew up, there were many occupations that I thought I wanted to have when I grew up. At one point in time I wanted to be a magician and started a collection of card decks that I used to do simple card tricks. These decks came in handy on trips where my friends and I played all types of games. When thinking about this month’s Toy Box, I thought it would be a good idea to dive into the world of card games. Even though there are as many card games as there are cards in a deck, I selected a few old favorites as well as some new ones you may not have heard of.

Uno has been a favorite for years. Based on Crazy 8’s, the object of the game is to get rid of all the cards in your hands by placing cards of the same number or color on the top of the discard pile. There are also Skip, Reverse, and Draw cards that add some challenges to the game. And if that isn’t enough, everyone has their own house rules, from playing an exact same card out of turn to slapping the deck when someone plays a 9 (the last person to slap the deck draws 2 cards). Mattel has also come out with several variations of Uno, most of which include a base. With Uno Attack, instead of drawing from a deck, you hit a button. Sometimes the base doesn’t spit out anything, but other times it spits out many cards. With Uno Spin, you spin a wheel when the spin card gets played. When it stops spinning, you may have to trade your cards or draw some. A pack of Uno cards salls for about $7 on Amazon.com and the other versions of the games between $18-$35.

Apples to Apples is another great card game. To play this game you’ll need at least four people. There are red cards and green cards. Each player has seven red cards in their hand. These red cards have nouns on them ranging from famous people to events in your life (i.e. “my prom”). The green cards have adjectives on them. One player draws a green card and reads aloud the adjective. Then the other players pick a red card in their hand and slide it secretly over to the first player. The card they pick is what noun they think goes with the adjective. The first player picks up the cards (not knowing who picked which card), and from those cards the first player picks what they think is the best answer. Whoever wins gets the green card, and the next player in the circle pulls the green card for the next round. The game ends when someone gets 3-7 green cards (this is decided at the beginning of the game and depends on how many people are playing.) The fun thing about this game is that it all depends on who is playing and their personalities. When deciding which red card to play you have to think about who the judge is and what card they’d pick instead of what card you’d pick. It’s also a good game to get to know one another with. The party box it comes in is for ages 12 and up. This is because some cards have words like “Sultry” on them. However, there is a Junior box for ages 9 and up, and kids’ box for ages 7 and up. The party box is about $27, the junior pack is about $19 and the one for 7 is about $25, all from Amazon.com.

Top Trumps comes to us from England. It’s similar to the game War, and there are many different packs with themes from Star Wars to insects. Each card contains a character; for example, Yoda would be in a Star Wars deck. On each character card there are about five statistics like knowledge, likability, or cuteness, and each character has its own numbers. When playing, one person chooses a statistic, then the players tell what number they have for that statistic. Whoever has the highest number gets both cards to place in the end of his deck. Whoever wins the cards gets to pick the next statistic. If there is a tie, those two cards are set aside, and the player who picked the statistic goes again. The player who wins those cards also wins the two cards that tied. You can find these card packs at Barnes and Noble in the Renaissance or at Amazon.com. They cost about $8 per pack, or you can get them in bundles of three on Amazon.com for around $20.

If you don’t feel like buying any of these specialty card decks to play a game, there are many card games that can be played with just a simple deck of ordinary cards. Hearts, Spades, Spoons, Crazy 8’s, Bridge, Rummy, Gin... the list goes on and on. www.pagat.com is a website with an extensive list of card games and how to play them. Some other websites focused on just one game are http://www.acbl.org/learn/howtoplay.html for Bridge and http://rummy.com/rummyrules.html for Rummy. And if you ever get board and you’re by yourself, there is always the basic game of solitaire, 10 games of which can be found at http://boardgames.about.com/od/solitaire/tp/best_solitaire_card_games.htm.

Find it online:
Uno
Uno Attack
Uno Spin
Apples to Apples
Top Trumps

Play like an Egyptian

This month’s Toy Box takes us to a far away land where the water runs from the south to the north, where pharaohs rule and mummies curse. We’re playing this month in Egypt.

Playmobil has come out with a collection of Egyptian-themed playsets. The largest playset is a pyramid with traps that you set off and secret places to hide treasure. Their other playsets include a sphinx, a floating ship, a tomb, and many different kinds of Egyptians to inhabit your own three-dimensional Egypt. I was fortunate enough to play with the sphinx of this set. It comes with two Egyptians and a mummy. The sphinx has a secret door that is released by placing an amulet in a hole and turning it, great for storing some of the Egyptians when playtime is over. The characters and sphinx itself are large, so they are hard to loose; however, the accessories are small and even warrant a chocking hazard caution. Playmobil says these playsets are for children 4 years and older, but they have other non-Egyptian toys for those younger than 4. The Egyptian themed playsets from Playmobil range from $100.00-$8.00 at Toys-R-Us.

For those who want to tour Egypt from your computer, EA has produced The Sims 3: World Adventures. This is an expansion pack for the game The Sims 3, which means you have to have The Sims 3 for the game to work. In World Adventures, Egypt is one of three exotic destinations your sim (people-like characters you create and control) can visit. In all the destinations there are several tombs that your sim can explore. These tombs are filled with treasure but also contain traps, and in Egypt you need to steer clear of mummies. You can even cause your sim to turn into a mummy by sleeping in a cursed sarcophagus, but make sure you also have a blessed version incase you want the sim to change back. World Adventures does a good job of adding a new dimension of game play to The Sims 3. Going on these adventures is almost like playing an on-line role-playing game, where you need to collect certain items to complete your objectives. With a few cheats entered in the game, you can also build your own tombs to explore; however, doing this doesn’t come easy, so you may find yourself searching on-line for tutorials to do so. The Sims 3 is rated T for Teen because of crude humor, sexual themes, and violence, and costs $30.00 on Amazon.com.

You might not get to sing “Walk Like An Egyptian” with Activision’s Band Hero, but it does have 65 other songs you can sing plus more you can download. Activision brought us Guitar Hero, and the game play is the same. There is a long strip (like a guitar’s neck) on the screen, and when color buttons pass a certain place, you either hold down the button on the guitar controller and strum or hit the color drum with the drumstick. With Band Hero there is also a “Party Mode” that will play random songs from the song list (that you can edit), and you and your party guests can jump in and out of playing along. Band Hero also allows you to change your game system into a karaoke machine, and in that mode you can sing however you want, and you’ll never fail the song. There is also a game mode that allows you to create your own song and download what others have created. Band Hero is rated E+10 for Everyone over 10 for lyrics and mild suggestive themes and is $49.00 on Amazon.com.

Find it online:
Playmobil Sphinx
The Sims 3 World Adventures
The Sims 3 (You need this to play the game above)
Band Hero for the Wii

Musical Christmas With Peanuts

In 1995 each of the members of my family got their own Christmas ornament. I know for some that’s tradition, but for us, it’s a rare occurrence. When time came for me to pick an ornament, I ran through the mall to Hallmark, and with the money my parents gave me, I picked out that year’s Charlie Brown. However, he was only one of a 5-ornament set. In 2000, I walked into Hallmark after Christmas, found that year’s Peanuts 5-ornament set for sale and snatched them all up in one swoop. Ever since then for me, Peanuts has always gone with Christmas and this Christmas is no exception. 2010 will be the 60th anniversary of Peanuts but you won’t have to wait until New Years to start celebrating. Running Press has put out A Charlie Brown Christmas Tree Kit. It comes with the book A Charlie Brown Christmas by Charles M. Schulz, which tells the story of the TV special with the same name. It also comes with a bendable replica of Charlie Brown’s tree that stands 9 inches tall (unbent), the big red ornament and Linus’s blanket. This toy is great for any Peanuts fan and makes a great decoration for the holidays. It sells for $10.76 on Amazon.com.

The book Celebrating Peanuts: 60 Years will also be in stores for Christmas this year. This ultimate collection of Peanuts comics is sorted by decades and include many quotes from Charles Schulz that add flavor to the strips included. The book includes the strips that introduced Lucy, Schroeder, Franklin, and all the others from the most to least remembered. There are also some facts at the beginning of each section that expand on Peanuts’ history. If you love Peanuts but don’t own any Peanuts books, this is the book to buy. It’s well worth the $75 list price, but you can find it at Amazon.com for $40.50.

Ever heard of a Tri-Scoot? If not, it’s probably because I just made it up, but what I’m referring to is a three-wheeled scooter, much like Pulse’s Slither. It has two large fixed wheels in the front and a single wheel housed in a pivot-mounted swivel trunk in the back, much like the wheels of the Shred Sled I reviewed in October. Unlike the Shred Sled, the Slither is more for younger kids because of the stable front wheels and the low handle bar. Being 6 feet myself, I have to stoop over to ride on it. You’ll have to assemble it but it comes with all the tools you’ll need. Check for loose parts before you throw your box away. The handle bar pulls up and bends down for storing in smaller spaces. It runs for $69.99 on Pulse’s website, pulsescooters.com but can also be found in retail stores.

What all started with Lego Star War, has morphed into an unlikely combination: Lego Rockband. All the previous Lego video games have been based on movie franchises with familiar plotlines that you play with Lego people. So is this just a Lego-ized version of Rockband? Yes and No. The game play is still the same as Rockband 2. You watch the screen and sing the song karaoke-style or hit the notes on your guitar or drums. In Lego Rockband all the characters are customizable- not just your bandmates but your manager and entourage, too. The only problem I had with this was that their skintones weren’t changeable, so the face you want to use may end up being a different skintone on the hands of the shirt you wanted to wear, which is a minor complaint. The songs that you play reach a wide range of diversity so there are some songs that parents will know and difficulty ranges from super easy to expert. The game is rated E10+ (for everyone over 10) because of comic mischief, mild cartoon violence and mild lyrics, where most Rockband games are rated T (for teen) because of lyrics and suggestive themes, which is pretty much the difference between a movie being rated PG and PG-13. You can find Lego Rockband where video games are sold for about $50. Lego Rockband doesn’t come with the instruments, so make sure you have them and that they are compatible with the game.

Also out for Christmas, from the people that brought you Guitar Hero, is DJ Hero. DJ Hero is a different experience of gamplay set along the same lines drawn by Guitar Hero, the major different being you play a turntable instead of a guitar. The songs you play are mix-ups of two different tracks. They range from Bell Biv Devo’s “Poison” mixed with Cameo’s “Word Up” to Vanilla Ice’s “Ice Ice Baby” mixed with MC Hammer’s U Can’t Touch This. Play is similar to Guitar Hero, in that you press a button down at the right moment and on some songs you spin the turntable to scratch. There is a beginner mode that allows you to hit any button to get you into the hang of it and each level of difficulty adds challenge to the game. Two people can play which requires another turntable but there are some songs that you can play along with a guitar controller. The one minor complaint I have is that the DJs aren’t as customizable as they have been in the past. The DJ avitars are premade people with different options when it comes to clothing and equipment. I would have liked to create myself; however, this will probably change in other DJ Hero games down the line. DJ Hero is rated T (for teen) and goes for around $100 but the game comes with the turntable.

To round out this musical edition of the Toy Box, I bring you Disney’s Nintendo DS game Jonas. This game puts you in the shoes of the Jonas Brothers- you even get to pick which one you want to be. The game takes you through episodes of their television show, where you run through levels overcoming different obstacles by playing a guitar chord. Different chords do different things. One of the chords entitled Amped blasts a loud enough vibrations to wake up the other brothers or boost the power to closed doors. In each episode you also get to play along to one of the Jonas Brother’s songs using the directional pad and the stylus. The game is easy to play and will help kill time, but you won’t like it if you aren’t already a Jonas fan. It is rated E (for everyone) and sells for about $27.99 on Amazon.com.

Find it online:
A Charlie Brown Christmas Tree Kit
Celebrating Peanuts: 60 Years
Slither
Lego Rockband for the Wii
DJ Hero for the Wii
Jonas for the Nintendo DS

Christmas Thoughts

Even though it’s November, everyone is talking about Christmas. They were even talking about it back in October and frankly, I have my Christmas list ready all year round. Here are some toys that you may want to think about when picking out gifts for this year.

First we have the Smart Trike. I know you’re thinking, “A stroller isn’t a toy.” Although that might be true, the Smart Trike starts off being a stroller but turns into a tricycle, so it grows with your child and gets more use than a plain stroller. It has a sun visor to keep your child out of the sun and a bucket in the back to tote stuff around. You do have to assemble it from pictures, so if you’ve spent any time building Legos then this will be second nature. To get the Smart Trike, go to flaghouse.com and search for #38959.

Next we have Brik-A-Bloks. This will change the way your child builds a fort. Basically they are flat panels that lock together to build blocks. Creations can get pretty big so you may need to account for space when building; however, when deconstructed, the panels don’t take much space at all. When I first looked at the pictures, I thought that these were probably only good for the younger kids, because the pictures showed kids crawling through blocks that were one panel-sized. But, once I started playing with them I realized that if I had enough panels I could even make a fort for myself (and I’m 6 feet). The panels come in three colors (red, blue and yellow) and you can buy packs of 46 and 26 panels. You can find them at brikablok.com.

Lastly, there is the Matchbox Croc Escape Pop Up Adventure. This playset is just one of many Pop Up Adventure playsets you can find from Matchbox. With Croc Escape, you get one Matchbox car to venture through the swamp to find the treasure. However, your car can get snagged by the giant crocodile head that is waiting in the middle of the playset. I love the crocodile part of this playset. Placing the car at the top of the ramp to have it shoot down into the crocodile’s mouth is fun to watch. It takes me back to when my parents got me a track that hooked onto the back of a chair and had a loop and ramp that the car would (for the most part) maneuver through. The drawback to the playset is that the set track isn’t as smooth as others. I guess it’s a part of the setting (there aren’t many smooth roads in the swamp), but I wish it were a little easier to guide the car around. The playset does fold into a box and the car and accessories stow nicely in it. You can find it in your local toy stores.

Find it online:
Smart Trike
Brik-A-Bloks
Croc Escape Pop Up Adventure

If you’re looking for some unique gifts this Christmas, here are some websites to check out:

Olivekids.com
This website has home décor for children, from bedding and shower curtains to wall clocks and placemats. With all their products, you choose the design theme and in some cases, have the item personalized.

2cheekymonkeys.etsy.com
This storefront offers gifts created from recycled board games, VHS movie cases, record covers and books. Each product is handmade and unique. They mostly sell journals, but they also have a few wall clocks and purses.

Kamibashi.com
This website has many products, but the most interesting is their homemade key chains. My favorite is The String Doll Gang line. Each doll helps you do something- for example, Finnegan makes sure that your luck is always Irish.

Thinkgeek.com
This website is for the geeks. From shirts that locate the best WiFi signal to shower heads that light up red or blue depending on the temperature, they have it. They also have a section for geek kids from 1 to 13 years old.

Move and Groove

What happens when you take snowboarding, surfing and skateboarding and throw them in a blender? You get the Shred Sled. It’s basically two footpads, each with two in-line wheels pieced together with a flexible connector. Instead of pushing off the Shred Sled like a skateboard, you propel yourself using your hips, legs and arms much like when you use a surfboard or snowboard. The hardest part about using the Shred Sled that I’ve found is getting on it. When I tried, one of the footpads would tilt one way or another and I found the only way I could fully get on was with the support of a wall or column. However, once on, it was fun to ride around on. I don’t recommend this for beginners but I’m sure those experienced in the ways of the three above sports will enjoy this much more than I did. Also make sure to wear a helmet and other protective gear if you want to try this out. To see more about it check out www.theshredsled.com where you can see videos and pictures or even purchase one.

There are some toys that are physically impossible for me to test out, Giraffalaff Limbo is one if these games. The poles for Giraffalaff Limbo stand a little higher than three feet and with every limbo game the height just becomes lower. Then again, I don’t believe the company had adults in mind when they were cooking this toy up. No this is geared towards preschoolers who will enjoy the moving to the beat while avoiding Giraffalaff hanging from the bar. The game comes with a dial with six different ways to go under the bar from a bird walk to the crawl. It took me a moment to figure out the difference between the limbo and what the dial calls “backwards bend”, which means you bend over and walk backwards, not bending backwards (or the limbo). One thing I learned the hard way is that once you assemble the game you can’t completely disassemble it, so don’t prepare to store it in the box it comes in (Note to self: read directions first).

Also from Hasbro is Scatterpillar Scramble. Scatterpillar is a caterpillar with four rows of seven hands. Four players have to place their own color marbles on each hand of their row. However Scatterpillar is grooving to his own beat and may drop one of your marbles while you’re playing. Whoever is the first to have all seven marbles in his hands wins. This, like Giraffalaff Limbo, is geared toward preschoolers but with this game there is a chocking hazard with the marbles. Both games require three AAA batteries and are about $25 over at Amazon.com but can also be found in the usual toy departments.

Find it online:
Shred Sled
Giraffalaff Limbo
Scatterpillar Scramble

Scent of a Toy

With summer ending, I’ll certainly miss the smells I associate with it. The smell of popcorn that engulfs the movie theatre as I go see a summer blockbuster, the smell of chlorine from the swimming pool, and the smell of hot dogs at a summer cookout. This month in the Toy Box, we have a group of toys that have a certain scent to them.

First off, we have the new Strawberry Shortcake collection. When Hasbro acquired Strawberry, they gave her a makeover. The most notable part was shaving off a couple of feet from her height, now she and her friends are “bite-sized”. Strawberry also works in her own Berry Café, which is the big playset of the Strawberry Shortcake collection. It comes with a big strawberry-like café with tables and chairs, a Strawberry Shortcake figure and lots of tiny foods to serve. And the foods are tiny, so take caution before buying this for a really young child. She and her friends are also available separately as three inch dolls.

Strawberry Shortcake also comes as an 11 inch doll. She has brushable hair and hair extensions, along with stickers, hair clips and a pen that uses water to make makeup appear. The box says that there is a choking hazard, which I guess are the hair clips, even though the size of these accessories is much larger than the ones in the Berry Café playset. All the toys also have the sweet fruity smell that lasts a while. We’ve had these toys in the office for weeks and they still smell as good as they did the day they arrived. You can find Strawberry and her fruity pals in stores now.

Next we have the Candy Land Sweet Celebration Game. In celebration of its 60th anniversary, Hasbro has come out with this new Candy Land game. They have gotten rid of the board and replaced it with a customizable track that you put together. You control how long you want to make the track, so it’s great for a quick game while waiting for dinner or for a long family game night. A spinner replaces the cards that lead you around the track to the different stops where you collect treats to take to the palace. However, Lord Licorice can and will block your path during the game to make it longer and more challenging, although he can be omitted for younger players. With the track changeable, each game feels new and different, and gives players the ability to create their own game. When I played with it, I tried to use every piece of the track, including the end pieces, but it was a little difficult to include them since most of the track is curvy and circles around itself. It would have been helpful to include a booklet of pre-made track designs so you can easily jump into a game and make setup just a bit shorter.

Finally, one toy I’m glad didn’t come scented is Norman PhartEphant. He’s a stuffed elephant that farts. Maybe I’m childish—I mean, I’m 26 and play with toys for a living—but this is one of the best toys I’ve come across. He’s soft and cuddly like any stuffed animal, and there is a button in his tale that releases the sound of passed gas when pressed. This is Fierce Fun Toys’ first toy. One of their mission statements is to promote laughter, and they hit the bull’s-eye with Norman. Everyone in our office has had a good laugh when they’ve played with him. Fierce Fun Toys has a book in the works that will help explain Norman’s gassy tendencies. But even without the book, Norman is perfect for anyone young at heart. You can find him at www.PhartEphant.com.

Find it online:
Strawberry Shortcake Berry Café
Strawberry Shortcake Doll
Candyland
Norman PhartEphant