I know schedules are hectic, both children and parents are busy, but why not devote one night to getting “unplugged” and enjoying each others company over a game? If you can’t do it on the 23rd set aside a day and hold everyone in the family to making that date.

National Family Game Night comes right in the middle of Turn Off TV Week, so it’s the perfect time to spend a little time reconnecting as a family.

You can visit Hasbro’s Family Game Night website for more information, and a list of game ideas. You can also follow @familygamenight on Twitter for daily fun game facts and tips for planning your own family game night.

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Once in a while we play games on the Wii together. We have a couple versions of Guitar Hero, and Rock Band, and also have Wii Sports and their Carnival Games. I’d rather play a good board game any day, but my husband and my son love the video games, especially the music playing games like Guitar Hero. Since they humor me on some of the games I want to play, I give their favorites a try once in a while too.

We actually take turns picking the games. Each week one of us gets to pick the games we play. Of course the others can influence the decision by begging and making sad eyes. Once the decision is made, we all have to play, even if it’s not our favorite game.

We have a great time either way, playing the games as a family and enjoying the interaction and laughs we have together.

Image Photoxpress.com

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I think he got his homework done in record time. He had the game set up within a half an hour after he got home, and was ready to play. He even read the directions and showed me how to play.

The game board is 3 demensional, and you can insert cards to change the paths, and block your opponents next move, or even send them backward. The first person to get their two pawns all the way around the game board, and into the center of the Mayan Ruins wins.

We had a blast changing the board and blocking each other. I think it’s a great game to help build thinking skills, since you have to think through your next move, and your opponents next move to block them without slowing yourself down.

We took it to the lake this weekend, and I had a blast playing it with my nephews. The game is recommended for ages 10 and up, but one of my nephews is 8 and he did a great job, I think he was one of the most ruthless players. He had no mercy.

Ruin is for players 10 and up and has a suggested retail of $30.00. It can be found through online retailers such as Amazon.com, Target.com, etc., as well as Buffalogames.com, and at specialty stores and mass merchandise stores throughout the U.S.

Image Buffalo Games

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Not only does Bling Dominoes Pink come in a pink leatherette carrying case, but each domino is decorated with pink jewels!  The classic game of Dominoes is one of strategy that really makes players think.  Bling Dominoes Pink is recommended for ages 7-12, but I’m certain older girls would love it, too!

Bling Dominoes Pink retails for just $12.99 from Toys ‘R Us and seems like a great gift!

Check out my other posts about games for girls (especially tween girls):

• Jenga Pink GirlTalk
• Twister Pink
• Monopoly Pink Boutique Edition

Image: ToysRUs.com

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First, I love that a classic toy has been recreated into an eco-friendly version.  Second, I think the Earthopoly version of Monopoly adds even more educational elements into the classic board game than the original version has.  For example, the original version teaches children about money and investing, but the Earthopoly version also teaches them about the world as they become caretakers of locations across the globe.  Finally, Earthopoly teaches children about the environment (of course).  Children collect Carbon Credits throughout the game and trade them in for Clean Air.

Earthopoly is made by Late for the Sky.  According to the company’s website:

• All paper is 100% recyclable.
• The plastic shrinkwrap used in the packaging is completely biodegradable.
• All tokens are made by nature.
• The glass used for the game’s Carbon Credits comes partially from recycled glass (the goal is to use 100% recycled glass once a supplier can be found).

You can read more about Earthopoly and the story behind its creation on the Late for the Sky, Earthopoly web page. 

Image source: Lateforthesky.com

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Well, my family recently had a game night with a good friends of ours and we broke out a new game called Power Yahtzee. We had so much fun with this game that my kids keep begging me if we can play it again.

When we first started, I was wondering if my kids were even going to be able to play it. My older ones are 8 and 9 (10 in a few days!!). We did have to explain it to them a couple of times and then help them out the first couple of rounds but after that, they were totally into it.

I’m not sure what it was, (I promise we weren’t drinking) but we were having so much fun we were yelling and cheering every time someone rolled a great set. We even had someone come to our door to drop something off and they asked what in the world we were doing – if we were watching a football game or something. I laughed and said, “No, we’re playing Yahtzee.” Yes, he gave me a very weird look. He said he had no idea Yahtzee could be that exciting, lol!

So, what makes Power Yahtzee different from the original? Well the “power” part has to do with an extra dice. There is a red dice that you roll at the same time you roll all the other ones. I won’t go into any major details, but the power dice can help you multiply your score, count your score twice or even give you an extra roll. There’s also an anchor on the red dice that means you can’t roll anymore and you have to work with what you’ve got. Nobody liked that anchor very much.

All in all we just had a blast and this is definitely a game I would recommend. We are going to break it out again and play it at Thanksgiving. I’m looking forward to it!

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After we got married, Bald Man and I started building up our own collection of family games, and Clue was one of the first on my list. For some reason, though, we decided to get crazy and pick up the spin-off, Clue-The Great Museum Caper. I’d have to argue the “great,” though Bald Man happened to love it. Other than the name and that there was a kind of mystery to solve, it basically was nothing that even closely resembled the original and in the end was a poor substitute. And we still don’t have the original in our collection, yet!

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I will be looking for recommendations of books (and games)for my six year old grandson. He’s into all of the gross action figures and video games, but so far I have found books that interest him and we have quiet times under the shade tree with a pitcher of lemonade and cookies.

My son’s just shy of four so I’m not quite sure what would be good. We just learned to play Snakes/Chutes and Ladders which I’m guessing is a little too simple for a six-year-old.

Help!! What would you recommend to jan?

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