Toys R US

Summertime…when the playing is easy (Guest Blogger Wendy Smolen)

Eddie Moore — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 21:14:34 +0000

No batteries. No lights and sound. Almost no rules. Seems like 1970? Some of the newest toys I’ve played with this summer are also some of the simplest and most fun. Here are three to reach for when the hot sun and lazy days seem to zap your desire for battery-powered energy.

Rory’s Story Cubes by Gamewright literally keeps the good times rolling with nine die, each covered with six pictures instead of numbers. Roll ‘em then, starting with any image, begin to tell a story using all the face-up pictures. Players can take turns, share the plot, or play solo. The myriad “once upon a times” promise an open book of possibilities.

Stix & Stones by Educational Insights is a mash-up of Pictionary and Name That Tune. Players vie to see who can use the fewest sticks and stones to “draw” an object chosen from a deck of cards. “I can build this object in 6 stix!” Variations for team play, young kids, and 3 players make it adaptable to most situations. I also found it fun to challenge myself to make solo “prehistoric” pictures.

For the youngest (6 months and up) kids, the newness of the Stacker by Green Toys isn’t in the classic play pattern, but in the use of recycled plastic material; the non-traditional, non-primary colors (egg yolk yellow, orange juice orange, sky blue, and lime green) and the cleverly molded shapes that stack in any order, not just big-to-small. Each shape also has tiny holes that will probably fascinate a baby who watches water seep through them in the bathtub. -- Wendy Smolen

Guest Blogger Wendy Smolen is co-founder of Sandbox Summit®, a series of conferences that explore the synergy between play and technology. The most recent Sandbox Summit was presented by MIT’s Education Arcade in May 2010.

Club Penguin Party Ideas — Guest Blogger Lisa Kothari

Eddie Moore — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 17:27:26 +0000

Club Penguin is a hugely popular video game for school aged children. If your child is a fan, building a birthday party theme around Club Penguin may offer a fun and unique party theme. Club Penguin can also serve as a fun play date party for kids to gather together and play the games.

Create a Puffle Penguin Invitation using heavy card stock in bright colors that the Puffles come in: red, blue, pink, black, green, and more. Further decorate with Penguin stamps and stickers. On the reverse side of the Puffle, write all of your party details.

Currently, there are no Club Penguin birthday party supplies, so go the budget-friendly way and use your favorite solid colors to decorate the party area with balloons, streamers, and table ware. Club Penguin merchandise (if you have any) can also add to thematic decor. Penguin posters, stickers, decals, etc. are also additional decor pieces to bring Club Penguin’s on-line world alive.

Play Club Penguin as a group!

Hold a series of Puffle Relay Races or send them on a Puffle obstacle course.

Create a Penguin Igloo using sugar cubes and vanilla frosting. This sweet craft could be taken home as the party favor.

Hold a Puffle Snowball Contest. If it’s winter, real snow can be used in this contest to see how far the snowballs can be thrown. White wiffle balls can serve the same purpose for warmer times of the year.

Using a penguin cookie cutter, cut out sandwiches, cheese, brownies, gelatin in the penguin shape for a Club Penguin menu.

Any Club Penguin merchandise would serve as a wonderful party favor, although other penguin merchandise would also be great.

Hope the kids and their puffles have a very happy Club Penguin Party. -- Lisa Kothari, Peppers and Pollywogs, Inc.

http://www.pepperspollywogs.com

Kool Houses for Kids

Eddie Moore — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 15:00:00 +0000

I saw these really cool playhouses for kids on MSN.com earlier this week. (Yes, even the bug-thing pictured above is a playhouse...sort of.) Though some can be a little pricey, they definitely capture one's imagination. Click here to see the entire slide show. Enjoy. -- E. Christian Moore

Having Fun When “We’re NOT Almost There Yet” — Guest Blogger Wendy Smolen

Eddie Moore — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 23:49:32 +0000

As much as I love our tradition of spending long holiday weekends with best friends at the beach, I dread the thought of sitting in traffic (especially when it’s sunny outside and I’m sitting on sticky leather rather than soft sand). When my kids were younger, games and activities that kept them busy were a backseat must. Though iPods, iPads, and their own sets of car keys have now replaced the necessity of boredom busters, I’m still always on the lookout for great travel games. Zingo! To Go, by Thinkfun, is a simple variation of Bingo with some clever car-compatible twists. Each player gets 2 to 4 sets of plastic “traffic lights” as their Zingo board. The lights click together to make a flat game board that’s easy to hold on a small lap. Kids take turns shaking a dice-filled “smart car” that displays two pictures of objects that may or may not be on each player’s game board. Like Bingo, the first player to get three objects in a row (in this case, complete his traffic light), wins. But unlike most travel sets, nothing in Zingo! To Go is loose -- or lose-able. The game board images “flip” to show a blank side when called; the dice are enclosed, and there’s even a travel bag to store everything when you’re done playing. No reading is required so you 4 year-old can play just as easily as your 7 year-old. Each game takes only a few minutes so, if one child wins first, the next game will hopefully produce another winner. All in all, a good option for families on the road this summer. -- Wendy Smolen

Guest Blogger Wendy Smolen is co-founder of Sandbox Summit®, a series of conferences that explore the synergy between play and technology. The most recent Sandbox Summit was presented by MIT’s Education Arcade in May 2010.

Get Your Game On…Together

Eddie Moore — Mon, 24 May 2010 22:52:16 +0000

We here in the Magic Land of Toy Awesomeness decided that we needed to start playing more board games at the office. (Okay, Michelle, our Games buyer, did, but still...) The first one we tried was "Forbidden Island" by Gamewright. (They also make the new outdoor game, Boochie.) The object of the game is to work together as a team (not against each other or other teams) and figure out how to help one another get off of a sinking island. The game requires strategy and some luck, but it can be played by just about the whole family. (The game is for ages 10 and up.) I personally had never played a cooperative game before but I enjoyed the experience. I'm sure your family and friends will, too. -- E. Christian Moore