The other day I talked about our family having a weekly family game night, usually on Fridays, today I want to tell you about National Family Game Night coming up on September 23rd. Hasbro is challenging families to turn off their TV’s and play a game together as a family on the 23rd.

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 …read more

We try to get together as a family and play a couple games at least one night a week. Usually it’s a board game like Monopoly, Clue, Sorry, or Chess, and the last couple weeks it’s been Ruin.
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 …read more

You might have noticed that Play Library looks a little different these days. b5media’s Lifestyles channel has now become a part of Blisstree.  It’s an exciting change from this end, and I think it will be a fabulous change for you too.
I’ll still be here bringing you toys, games,  fun activities to do with your kids. I’m also a couple other places at Blisstree. I’ll still be blogging at She Knows Parties, bringing you ideas for birthday parties, holiday entertaining and more.
I’m also one of the new Food and Nutrition bloggers at Blisstree, where I’ll be sharing more of the …read more

We have a giveaway this week for the Bloggy Giveaways courtesy of Buffalo Games. Before Christmas they sent me a couple games to take a look at, Likewise was one of those games, and I want to pass this game along to a lucky Play Library reader.
Likewise! is a fun party game where you’re rewarded for thinking alike. The game is recommended for 3 to 6 players age 12 and up. It would make a fun game for a tween or teen party.

From the Buffalo Games website:
In Likewise, individuals are presented with a random pairing of a Description …read more

Connect Four was one of my favorite games ever when I was younger. It was always the most popular game for indoor recess on rainy or snowy days. I think I liked it best because the kid I happened to have a crush on also liked the game. I remember getting in trouble one day because we were both singing, “Help Me Rhonda” at the top of our lungs while we played. Not very conducive to quiet indoor time. Ah well. It was worth it for the memory.

One of Bald Man’s least favorite commercials depicts some type of fast retail environment (there are variations on the scene) where customers are quickly making their way through the checkout lane by making their purchases via a credit/debit card swipe. Everything is moving so smoothly until, oh my gosh how dare he, a customer actually brings a halt to it all by having the nerve to present the teller with…..wait for it…..CASH.
That’s all I could think of today when I saw the commercial for the latest rebirth of Monopoly…Monopoly Electronic Banking Edition. Yup, Monopoly without the …read more

So, a friend spent a portion of this weekend participating in a blogathon to raise money for charity. At one point, she and another blogathoner (yes, I’m making up words, I think), started chatting about a game called Swingball. From what I gathered, it seemed similar to what I grew up with as Tetherball.
I remember Tetherball poles at one or two of the grade schools I attended, but I never remember it being a huge craze or anything. Certainly nothing like four-square. Baldman, however, remembered playing a few games in grade school. He says, “I …read more

One of the games my daughter received for Christmas was Milton Bradley’s, Guess Who? It’s a good game for introducing deductive logic to the kids, though I think that kids younger than the recommended 6 year old could easily begin to master this game. One my favorite features of the game is the extremely easy set up, unlike another game I bought (why didn’t I think Don’t Break the Ice through a little better?).
It looks like Milton Bradley has another game in this line called Guess Where? Unlike Guess Who?, where you just have to figure …read more

The kids received Cranium’s Hullabaloo for Christmas this year. They are having a blast with it! The music starts, and the kids listen to the instructions to swim/hop/jump/fly from one little colored shape to another. While it’s listed for ages 4 and up, our 3 year old can follow along enough to get the gist of the game. That is, if he’s staying focused long enough to actually hear the instructions and not just run around laughing (which is fun, too!). I also like that the game is easy to travel with so that we …read more

Check out these cute LEGO magnets! My brother-in-law’s friends at Wine Ought also has magnets and wine charms in the shape of Connect Four, Scrabble, Life, Trivial Pursuit, and Sorry! playing pieces. Perfect for the game loving family!