Review of Gigamons - a Game for Family Time

When I first opened Gigamons (from Blue Orange) I thought "Oh it's just a fancier variation of the game of Concentration" I was wrong! It is much more than that.

Yes, Gigamons is a game of memory. But it's also a game that engages our imaginations. The colours and designs are extremely well done and compelling.

My 5 year old grandson loved the Elemons - creatures who have magical powers that are only released when a pair of matching Elemons are put together. Different Elemons have different powers which give whoever holds them a special advantage throughout the whole game. 

Finding three Elemons that are identical allows you to take the matching Gigamon. Three Gigamons and you win the game.

Each player in turn reveals two Elemons on the play area (a 3x3 square of Elemons whose faces we cannot see until they are turned over). If they match, that player takes them. If they do not match, they are turned over again and everyone tries to remember where thy were.

Thankfully there is a reference card that lists each Elemon and its powers or I'd have been lost! The creativity in this game is of high calibre and the visual appeal is very good. Rules are easy to learn, and presented in a colourful fold-out brochure that is somewhat like reading a children's book.

Gigamons is for ages 6 and up, and 2 to 4 players can play together. It's a perfect game for grandparents with a couple of grandchildren, or a family of 4. I loved this game for bonding time with my grandchildren. We played, we laughed, and I talked to them about my grandmother, comparing the kinds of games she would have played and games such as Gigamons. Their great-grandmother comes alive for them as a real person, not just a name on a chart.

There is so much you can discuss education-wise:  problem solving, decision making, planning, tricks for remembering what Elemon was turned over (and where) and so on.

What could be better than combing fun, bonding time with your children or grandchildren, education and yes - genealogy!

Contents:

• 7 Gigamon Figures
• 42 Elemon Tiles
• 3 Rock Tokens
• 4 Reference Cards
• Illustrated Rules

I give this game a 9 out of 10. My 5 year old grandson rates it a "mega TEN!"  

Disclaimer: I was given a free game for review purposes. 

Review: Dr. Eureka Is Fun for Everyone

Today I had an opportunity to play a new game by Blue-Orange called Dr. Eureka. This is a really fun game where every player is a scientist. Each scientist is trying to solve a formula using plastic test tubes to get coloured balls into the same pattern shown on a card. Sounds easy, right? Wrong!

The challenge is that you have to  pour your balls from one test tube to the other in order to get them in the correct order. You can't just dump the balls on a table and sort them. This game is great for young players but also for older ones, including adults! What a great activity for genealogists to bond with their children or grandchildren. Imagine the ancestor stories you can tell as you all try to solve the formula.

It's also educational. Younger children are going to learn planning and thinking ahead. All players need to think logically, devise a plan and then execute their ideas for getting those balls into the correct order.

To put it simply a card is chosen. Each player races to be the first to solve the formula (getting all the balls in the same order as shown on the card). The first player to solve the formula gets the card. The rules say that the first player to get 5 cards wins, but you could set the final number at anything you wanted. Playing to get 5 cards takes around 10 to 15 minutes.

Two of my grandchldren, now aged 8 and 10, spend a week with me every year and sometimes it is during school days. As a former teacher I have them write in their journal each day, and do some math with me. I found that having a couple of games of Dr. Eureka between the Math and the Journal writing helps them switch to a different mode of thinking. We do Journals first, then Dr. Eureka to switch their thoughts from creative to logical, then we tackle Math.

The Cards

I rate this game 5 stars. It's easy to understand, fast and easy to play as well as lots of fun.

• Age: 6+
• Players: 1 – 4
• Play Time: 10 – 15 mins

Dr. Eureka is available at Amazon.com and Amazon.ca

Disclaimer: Blue Orange sent me a free game for review purposes.

Froggy Boogie - A Fun Game for Children

Recently Blue Orange Games wrote and asked me if I would try their new game, Froggy Boogie, and review it on my Olive Tree Genealogy blog.

Having ten grandchildren, I'm always happy to try a new game and this one looked like fun.  I've found that there's no better way to bond with my grandchildren than to play games with them. This fun time together also lets me brainwash talk to them about their ancestors.

The game arrived and my initial impressions were good. The game is attractively boxed with lots of bright colours and graphics.  The inside is beautifully packaged with each game piece individual wrapped in tissue paper.

Basically Froggy Boogie is a memory game. You place two different eyes in each frog (one with a stamp of a baby frog on the bottom, one without) then you place the frogs in the middle of the lily pads.

Choose your own game piece (a frog of course!), throw the dice and see what colours the dice display. That corresponds to the frog you have chosen. Lift one eye and if there is a baby frog on the bottom, the adult frog has seen you so you stay where you are. If there is no stamp, move ahead one lily pad. Put the eye back and the next player takes his/her turn.

The memory part comes in with every player trying to remember which eye on each frog has a stamp and which does not. Believe me it's not easy!

Frogs are in the middle of the lily pads and we are ready to play

This is some serious concentration between my 5 year old and 8 year old grandsons

Checking the eye of the frog. Stamp or no stamp?

My grandsons loved this game and we played it over and over one night. Even Grandpa got in on the action and agreed to play. We laughed, we talked and we shared lots of ancestor stories. Best of all my 8 year old grandson invented new ways to play after we played following the rules.

All in all I thought this game was a terrific one for the family to play together or for children to enjoy without any adult supervision. It's a good memory game as well as tons of fun. And I have to admit I loved the bright colours and cute frogs.

I'm sure you will think of many ways to incorporate genealogy and ancestors into the time you share while playing this game but here's something I did - I asked my grandsons if they liked the game. Then I asked them if they thought great grandmother xxx had any games like Froggy Boogie when she was a child. I reminded them when she was born and where. The 5 year old didn't really "get" it, but the 8 year old did and the conversation evolved. I also showed them some examples of toys that children in the 1800s had. All in all, a great lead-in to a genealogy teaching moment.

It is rated for 2 to 6 players ages 4 and up. The pieces are all good quality and made of wood. 

Disclosure: I received a free game for review purposes but my opinions are my own and I was not told what to say

Speedeebee! A Fun Way to Have Family Time

I like to talk about fun games adults can play with their children. Because as much as I love technology and social media, it's too easy to forget to spend quality time with our children and grandchildren. It's much easier to turn on the X-Box or Wii or your iPad so they can play Angry Birds or some other popular game. Not that there's anything wrong with those diversions! They're great fun and they teach many skills. But they're solitary activities and as parents and grandparents it's up to us to encourage family time - sharing stories, talking and playing games. And what better way to share your ancestor stories than during a fun game activity.

Speedeebee is such a game. I really liked it. I played it first with hubs and we had some good chuckles! But the real fun came when my son and my 7 year old grandson played it with me over Easter. It was so much fun and it also gave us a chance to share stories and chat.

Speedeebee is meant for 2 to 6 players, ages 8 to adult. And it's perfect for that age group. My 5 year old grandson couldn't play it, but the 7 year old loved it. It comes in a nice little canister, making it perfect for road trips.

There are 4 dice (one each of red, green, purple and blue) with letters instead of dots, and 50 cards.  Basically you roll the dice as instructed on the top card. Each card has 3 choices of "challenges" and the person taking their turn chooses which challenge to read to the players. He or she then throws the number of dice instructed on the challenge question and reads the question. The first player to yell out a correct answer, takes the card. The player with the most cards at the end of the game wins.

Questions include such challenges as

Name something you could find in a kitchen that contains this letter. Throw one die

Name something associated with winter, starting with one of these letters. Throw all four dice

Name a word containing the blue letter but NOT containing the other three. Throw all four dice.

When my 10 year old granddaughter saw us playing she joined in and so did her mother, so it became quite lively and loud at that point.  All in all Speedeebee is a really good fun game which encourages memory, quick reactions, thinking and interacting with others.


Disclosure: I was sent a free game for review purposes but my opinions are entirely my own.