Tabletop Tuesday - Utter Nonsense

It was a cold and snowy Saturday night when my regular game night group met up for a night of trying out some new games. One became an instant favorite, the other one not so much. This is the story of the latter.



Utter Nonsense is an ok game... it's just not for me. Or for the other three people sitting around that glass covered table. We played the “Naughty” version. Basically, the players are each dealt seven cards with very topical statements. This is my first problem with this game. A year from now many of those cards will seem so irrelevant or totally nonsensical. I like an evergreen element in a game. I want to be able to pick up a game five years later and play it.

One player acts as the judge. He or she plays a card that describes an accent that all of the players need to read one of their cards in. Then the judge picks one player as the winner. This was problem number two. Having one judge leads to picking a winner based on factors not necessarily based on gameplay. Artificially choosing a winner to keep the game going, or to appease a complaining player or whatever. Perhaps if all the players vote on which one was best the results would be fairer.

I think that perhaps my group is too old for this game and that a younger crowd might like it a little better. Actually, I could see this being pretty entertaining to watch if it were improv comics playing the game. I’ll say this my pirate impression is dead on. But my Donald Trump was a bad impression of bad impressions of Donald Trump. I was a little uncomfortable with some of the subject matter, especially in mixed company. I know that there is an entire generation of card games that pride themselves in outrageous language. But for me, it just didn't work.

The game has easy rules, and you can start playing as soon as you sit down at the table. I could see how people could really like this game. Perhaps in addition to us being too old (late 30s early 40s ... not that old), we were also to sober to really get the most out of the game.

Note: I was given a copy of Utter Nonsense to facilitate this review but all opinions are my own.

Tabletop Tuesday - COBRA PAW

If there is one thing you need to know about my kids is my son loves cats and my daughter is so competitive she will cut you. So it was a natural fit when I brought home the game Cobra Paw.

Cobra Paw which if you just looked at the packaging you would assume it is some ninja cat themed mahjong game. In actuality, it is a speed and skill based matching game. A set of domino-like markers are spread out in the middle of the table, then dice are rolled. The dice have the same symbols that are on the dominoes when you see the same pattern come up you reach out with your paw and drag the corresponding tile into your pile. This goes on until all of the tiles have been claimed. But before this happens the games gets sneaky and cutthroat, players can steal tiles from each other's piles. All legal. Yes, there will be fights. Still all legal.

The game is very easy to pick up and like with a lot of matching games, older kids will overmatch their younger siblings. Which may frustrate them. Another nice feature is you can play the game one-on-one (very useful when you have a younger sibling pouting in the other room about the game being unfair).

Cobra Paw looks great and can be enjoyed by people of all ages.


NOTE - I bought my copy of Cobra Paw and was not influenced by anyone for this review.

TableTop Tuesday - Zendo

I was so excited when my copy of Zendo arrived in the mail. I tore into the box and saw the array of multi colored pyramids, rectangular prisms, and what can be best described as pie slices, there were beads and blocks, and of course two instruction manuals. This was going to be way more complicated than I imagined.

I had lunch with my board game people, and I was telling them about the game. Someone suggested I watch a youtube video about how to play. So before I went out for game night I watched a few Zendo tutorials and I got the basic gist of it, but when they started going into complexities (book 2 stuff) I was just lost. But like most games from Looney Labs it makes more sense when you actually play it. So that's what we did, and it totally made sense. And was awesomely fun, and that was the opinion of people who earlier that day were throwing axes.

One player is the moderator (or teacher) and he/she draws a card that has a secret instruction for making a structure. They build the simple structure and a second structure that does not follow the secret rules. They mark the correct structure with a white bead and a black bead for the decoy. The players (students) one by one build a structure.they can ask the teacher if their structure is correct or they can ask all the players to take a poll. Everyone votes on whether the structure follows the rule. And all those who vote correctly get a guessing cube. The structure gets marked either way, and if the player has a guessing cube they can guess what the secret is. If the guess is wrong the moderator builds another structure using the secret rule. This goes on until one of the players figures out the secret rule.

Some of them are tricky some are pretty simple but its really fun. And yes I know that description of the game sounds insane. But it's way better experience than read about. Trust me.

The original rules to the game were published in 2001 by Kory Heath , who also wrote the game Werewolf. Looney Labs released a boxed set in 2003, but those are out of print. This latest version, removes the religious terminology from the previous editions. But that doesn't affect game play in anyway.

Another thing that is great about this game is that there is virtually no setup. The “setup” is part of the game. It is really fun and I will be including it in our game night rotation for sure. This is definitely an early in the evening game, while everyone’s facilities are all there because you do need to concentrate and think logically.

This is easily one of the top two or three games I have played this year. It is available now, go get it. No seriously go get a copy.

The structure with the white bead is correct. The one with the black bead is incorrect. Leave a comment with your hypothesis of what the secret rule is. First one to figure it out will win a surprise prize. 

DISCLOSURE: Looney Labs gave me a copy of Zendo to facilitate this review, but all opinions are my own.

Tabletop Tuesday - Holiday Guide

With the holidays coming up, you may be at wits end what to get for one of your kids, a niece or nephew, holiday grab bag, nerdy friend or what not. So your pal Niel is here to help you. These are some of the games that I reviewed this year as part of my Table Top Tuesday series. They are all fun (for kids and adults). I haven’t been compensated for this list, it’s just a suggestion. So enjoy some non-screen time with those you love ... or slightly like this holiday season.

Great for little kids

Simon’s Cat: A really fun sequential matching game with adorably humorous cats.

Great for Bigger Kids

Snappy Dressers: A matching game featuring hipster sloths, deer and other well dressed animals.
Build or Boom: A race to build complex structures before your opponent can. And then blow up their structure.
Happy Salmon: A race to get rid of all your cards, not for the timid.

Great for Teens and Adults

Expedition the Roleplaying card Game: A great roleplaying game that you can play without reading hundreds and hundreds of pages of players guides.
Hanabi: A cooperative game where all the players work together to put on the grandest firework display.
Math Fluxx: The latest version of the FLUXX franchise. The card game with both no rules ... and a million rules.

Tabletop Tuesday - Happy Salmon

POUND IT! POUND IT! HAPPY SALMON! HAPPY SALMON! HAPPY SALMON!

To the uninitiated, that sounds really really untoward. But for those of us who have been lucky enough to play Happy Salmon from NorthStar Games games, it brings a smile to your face. A word of warning, this is not a quiet game or a game for the overly shy. It is a game that rewards excitement and punishes timidness.

Each player is given a stack of cards the cards have four commands, Pound It, High 5, Reverse and Happy Salmon. The goal is to get rid of all of your cards first. You give a read set go and you try to match another player who is trying to get rid of the same card, and you have to act out the card do discard it. So pound it is a simple fist bump, high five is super self-explanatory and reverse means you need to physically move where you are standing around the table. Sitting is really not recommended. And lastly the games namesake the happy salmon. Players clasp each other’s arm and then make flap their hand like a fish tail. All the players are shouting all at once so it’s very chaotic and super loud. Which is pretty fun.

Would I recommend playing this in a hotel late at night? Do you want to meet your neighbors, then maybe? But it is perfect to play in a common area of a hotel. Fun for kids … and adults. A great game to play at camp with scouts or even as an activity with scouts at one of their meetings. When I would have by Tiger scouts (1st graders) play it they loved the action and no one really cared who actually won the game.

One of the more fun games that I have played all year.

NOTE: I was given a copy of Happy Salmon by NorthStar Games for use in facilitating this review, but as always all opinions are my own.

Tabletop Tuesday - Simon’s Cat

As I walked along the gaming aisle it caught my eye. A bright pink box with an adorable cartoon cat. It was on clearance, it was from Steve Jackson Games the makers of Munchkin, and my son is obsessed with cats, so why not.

This fast-paced card game for 3 to 6 players features art taken directly from animator and illustrator Simon Tofield's YouTube series, Simon's Cat. which has hundreds of millions of views. This game is easy to learn and fun to play. Each player is dealt an equal portion of the cards, whoever has the pink #3 car puts that card down first and the action starts from there. The next player needs to match either the color or number. If you can’t, you pick up the “mess” and put in in front of you. You keep going until all the players have used all of their cards. Whoever has the most messes in front of them gets a blame card featuring Simon, if there is a tie, multiple people get Simon cards. The first player to get blamed three times loses. And I guess everyone else wins.

But honestly, everyone wins, because of the great artwork and the quick gameplay. You can get through a round in about 5 minutes, and a full game in about 20, so it’s perfect for a quick game before homework, or waiting in the airport, or anywhere you have a flat surface really. While the art is fun on all other cards, from fuzzy kittens, and scared chihuahuas, but the funniest cards are pink #11 and #12. If you don’t get a good laugh after seeing those cards you have no soul.

What is really nice is that you can play this game multiple times and it is still fun each time.

Note: I was not compensated in any way for this review

Tabletop Tuesday - Hanabi

I never go camping without at least one card/board game in my backpack. Nothing melts away the hours like sitting around a lantern with good friends enjoying some light hearted fun together. The Danish have a word for this Hygge.

On a recent trip my friends and I played a little bit of Math Flux and I was finally able to try out Hanabi. I had picked up a copy on clearance at a store a few months back. I just never got a chance to try out the 2013 Spiel des Jahres (German for GAME OF THE YEAR) award winner. Luckily some of my friends had already played it so it was easy to get started.


In the game you and the other players work together to build an epic firework display. Sounds easy enough. But unlike most other card based games you don't get to see your own cards. Honestly it is almost impossible at first not to peek at your own cards. Its what we have been trained to do. You get dealt cards, you look at them. I guess unless a magician specifically tells you not to. But without the mystery its just team solitaire.

As you go around the table, starting with the most flamboyantly dressed player, you have three options. Play a card. Give a hint. Or discard a card. Asa team you work together giving clues based on the number of the card or the color. And when you run out of cards, or you have played three cards that are out of sequence the game is over and you count up your points. Your team gets ranked by your final score. Playing with a few very experienced gamers, really helped keep our score near the top. We finished our second game with, missing out on a perfect score by one card.

PRO TIP - Never discard a 5

I tried to explain the game to my kids and they were not getting the idea of a total cooperative game. They wanted to know who you were trying to beat, and the idea that you are trying to beat the game was just not clicking. But I'm guessing a few slow rounds with them and they will be totally on board. 

It was really fun to play, would have been easier with better light. But for the few hours we played no one picked up their phones, we were all in the moment and our soundtrack was the crackling of a nearby camp fire. 

Sometimes you want to listen to some death metal

The other day I was at one of the last FYE stores in New York. One of my buddies was browsing, he ended up with a few Jackie Chan movies for his kids. So I had time to look around I grabbed some new headphones and checked out some of the latest metal albums. the first one that caught my eye was Dear Desolation by Australia's number one deathcore band Thy Art is Murder. Admittedly you need to be in a certain kind of mood to listen to death metal, but there is only so much of the SING soundtrack a man can listen to. I found the album on Amazon Music and as I ran some errands the sound of TAM blasted in my ears. Their music is loud and aggressive, but also oddly melodic. I'm pretty sure I was the only person listening to Slaves Beyond Death as he put a 20 pound container of kitty litter in his shopping cart. That is one of the things that I really like about Amazon Music, you can listen to full albums and individual songs. And unlike old school streaming/download sites its totally legal and the artists get their fair share as well. Its great to listen on the go or at home with my Amazon Echo.   Try Amazon Music Unlimited 30-Day Free Trial you will not regret it.

Tabletop Tuesday- Build or Boom

We could hear the snow being whipped around tapping on our windows and skylight. The wind howled like a wolf. Looking outside the snow was piling up faster than it could be shoveled. Well, at least faster than I could shovel it. There was no use to shovel at this point anyway, as meteorologists forecasted for several more hours of heavy snow. 

With homework and studying done, and not wanting the kids to be little vegetables in front of the TV or iPad for what would turn out to be a four day weekend, we needed a plan. I had an ace up my sleeve. I brought the kids to the dining room table and took out a copy of Proto.Toys new game Build or Boom. From the get go the kids were very much on board. 

Build or Boom, is a building game where two players race against each other to build increasingly more complicated structures. And whomever finishes there building first can slam on a dynamite shaped plunger which blows up their opponent’s structure. I separated the game pieces into two identical piles and placed the first card on the holder and my kids went at it. At first it was difficult to place the pieces, a combination of adrenaline, anticipation and very smooth plastic makes it tough for anyone other than nerves of steel. But after a few moments everyone got the hang of it. My eight year old daughter, a whiz at building things, easily completed her structure and before she was able to blow up her 6 year old brother’s building he blew hers up. Was he finished? No. Did and argument ensue. Yes. Did a timeout happen? Yes.

So after I shoveled our stairs and walk way and the kids played in the snow for a while, we tried Build or Boom round two. This time it was a bit more civilized. The kids went through a lot of the stack of cards, some were very tricky and I couldn't even get them to stay in place. Throughout the weekend the kids would play a bunch more times, and there isn't a better sound than hearing some silence, followed by the sound of plastic pieces hitting a table and joyous giggles and coming from the other room.

The game is beautifully designed from the packaging to the play pieces themselves. It is for kids 4 and up, but I don’t think that a four year old would be able to build some of the structures that are on the cards. But I am sure they would like the BOOM portion of the game. 

Build or Boom is available from Proto.Toys’ website and costs $29.95. If the 30 cards it comes with are not enough there is now a 25 card expansion set also available. 

NOTE: Proto.Toys supplied us with a copy of the game to facilitate the review but all opinions are my own.

Tabeltop Tuesday - Cathedral

In an effort to alleviate screen time, my kids and I are playing tabletop games. Some are full games with boards some are simple card games. All are fun!

Cathedral
Mattel
Ages 10+
Players 2

I have always been into so-called “high fantasy”. Probably never more than my obsession with Game of Thrones. I'm pretty sure that the obsession didn't start when I watched Sean Bean execute a Night’s Watch deserter, I can trace it back to two amazing games I had as a child. One was called Crossbows and Catapults and the other one was called Cathedral.

The version of Cathedral I played was the molded plastic version that Mattel produced in the mid to late 1980s. There is a set of red buildings and gray buildings, the kinds you would find in your typical medieval stronghold. And a large white cathedral. After you place the cathedral on the playing surface, the players take turns placing their pieces. The object is to get all of your pieces on the grid, while stopping your opponent from doing the same thing.

You can win by luck, but tried and true strategies are almost unbeatable.

While searching for something in my mothers basement, I found my old Cathedral set. It had been decades since I had played it. All but one piece was in the box, which was an easy fix as I just had to pull the corresponding piece from the other side. At the time my kids were too young to play, so I tried it out with some of my Game of Thrones friends. Some games took minutes others stretched out close to an hour as we plotted and planned each move trying to anticipate moves in the future.

As my kids got older and I thought they would understand the basic concept of the game I introduced it to them. My daughter is very strategic when she plays while my son just goes at it with reckless abandon. Even though they have not been able to beat me they both really enjoy it and like the overall look of the game. To be fair the game is for ages 10 and up, and my kids are 9&7, but they have a head start.

It's also equally enjoyable to watch my kids play with a “toy” that I enjoyed when I was little. Cathedral is not only fun, it's not only a thinker it is a timeless classic.

Disclosure: The maker of this game did not compensate me for this review. It was a gift from my mother when I was 11 years old.

Tabletop Tuesday - Snappy Dressers

In an effort to alleviate screen time, my kids and I are playing tabletop games. Some are full games with boards some are simple card games. All are fun!

Snappy Dressers
Mattel
Ages 7+
Players 1-10







I picked up a new card game from the store the other day called Snappy Dressers. The game appears to be a matching game with hipster animals decked out in their trendiest and funkiest outfits. But it's way more.

There are 10 different games that you can play with the uniquely dressed Foxes, Sloths, Zebras, Giraffes, Pandas, and Owls. We played the basic version of the game where all the animals are trying to get into a very cool party, and to get in you need to match one item from your card to one on the “host” card. Play continues until your stack of cards is gone.

Each card matches every other card in one unique way. Players can match by animal, clothing color, and party gifts. Within a few rounds you will find yourself screaming “Blue scarf! Blue scarf! Blue Scarf” as you try to beat your friends and family.

Like any card game around our house it can get pretty competitive. Kids and adults trying to win. As I mentioned earlier there are 10 different ways to play including a solo game, in Party of 1 you start with a random card and then have to make a 3x3 grid with a match in every direction. As fast as you can. You can either time yourself or if you have a friend with a deck go head to head. It took me 2:06, it was not super easy.

I really liked this game, the art is neat and somewhat sophisticated in a very ironic way. Unlike a lot of card games we have tried my kids have been very enthusiastic about playing Snappy Dressers over and over again. A great game that you can throw in your backpack and is ready to play anywhere with a flat surface.

Disclosure: The maker of this game did not supply a copy of this game nor did they compensate me for this review.

The Art and Science of ANGRY BIRDS

For many of us, Angry Birds was the first game we played on an iPhone. It got us hooked. And subsequently, it got our kids hooked on gaming on iPhones and iPads. Toys, movies, and dozens of upgrades later, Angry Birds has become part of the fabric of our lives. That is why I was so excited when I learned that the New York Hall of Science was going to have an Angry Birds exhibit.

I was a little skeptical, but they had me at life-sized slingshots that you could use to destroy structures and knock down pigs. No actual pigs were harmed in this exhibit, they are just large green vinyl pillows. We went early in the afternoon and the exhibit (which is actually open already) was not very full. Which was good.

 

The highlight of the exhibit is the slingshot area, where you have to build a structure. Place your “pigs” and then fire Angry Bird kickballs at them. You could hear squeals of delight and laughter as kids and grownups alike played. The staff keeps it safe by being very firm with the rules, about when you could fire. Since there were very few people there, we were able to go back on line over and over again. But during busy times, there may be a wait.

But there is more. There are stations where you can play the classic version of the game, it is actually behind a beautiful display of the Angry Birds, with descriptions of the characters. There are stations to draw, to compose music, design scenes on the computer and even make short animations.

Science!

The staff that developed the Angry Birds Universe exhibit, are very clever as they snuck in a lot of science in the fun. Don’t tell the kids but they are learning. One of my favorite parts is the interactive pulley display. There are three birds that say they weigh 25kg and you can try to pull them up by a rope. The secret is each of the pulleys that are attached to the birds makes it easier or harder to lift the bird. My son insisted that one of the birds was heavier. Then I explained the pulleys and he saw why one seemed much heavier than the others.

On the weekends this exhibit will be really crowded (especially at first) but take the opportunity to see some of the other great exhibits. My personal favorite is Connected Worlds, which is basically the virtual waterfall room. It is beautiful and relaxing and simply amazing. And you should interact with the staff, they are all very enthusiastic, great with kids and love sharing their love of science.

The exhibit which officially opens July 1^st and runs all summer through August 27^th is free with admission. The Hall of Science is located at 47-01 111th St, Corona, NY 11368

Mario Knows Sports

On of the great joys of being a parent is watching as your kids enjoy things you loved as a child.

My daughter was obsessed with Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends when she was younger. She went so far as having us make her a Firestar costume. Both of my kids love Star Wars and the Mets (I think they might just be humoring me). And in the last year or so my son has become obsessed with video games. You can't find a tablet or smartphone in our home without a bunch of games he has downloaded from the App Store. He was beyond thrilled when they released a Mario game for IOS devices, so was I. Despite having never played Mario Brothers, he knows all the charters from MarioCart.

So when I asked him if he wanted to play the new Mario Sports Superstars game. He was extremely excited. The game is five full fledged sports games; baseball, tennis, golf, soccer and for the first time in a Mario game, horseback riding.

The players are all characters from the Mario universe, like Mario, Princess Peach, Luigi, Donkey Kong, and a dozen or so others. My little guy likes playing as Baby Luigi while I'm more of a Bowser guy.

Each of the characters have different attributes which make them better at individual sports. Obviously Mario is the most well rounded character and is really good at pretty much everything. The tutorials are pretty good and thorough, though I had to read a lot of it to my six year old.

My favorite game so far is baseball. The game play is fun and the graphics look great. The pitching controls are really good. Once I got used to looking at both screens to track the ball, field was really intuitive and I was able to turn double plays with ease. The batting is not easy, at times it seems pretty random. The larger characters (Donkey Kong and Bowser) have a a huge back swing, so getting around on a pitch is pretty hard. But when you do make contact, BOOM.

While my son likes the golf game. Mostly because he likes how easy it is to see where your ball is going.

On the other hand the tennis is easy, but filled with too many bonuses and special shots that really take away from the game. 

Overall the game is fun and you can link multiple 3ds' together for multi-player action. I've never played a sports game on the 3ds but I was really impressed with the game play (for the most part) and the graphics.



Mario Sports Superstars which is only available on the 3ds, is available wherever games are sold and is also available as a download through the 3ds. The game also features amiibo integration, including new Mario Sports Superstars collectible amiibo cards. The physical version of the game even has an amiibo card packed in, for a limited time!

Note: A copy of the game was given to us for review, but the opinions are all my own.

More from Toy Fair 2017

As nice as the walk down 34th street towards the Javits Center is, it does not compare to arriving in the ultra-modern 34th Street/Hudson Yards station of the 7 train. Going into my second day at the New York Toy Fair, I had much more of a game plan.

I picked up where I had gone on day one and headed north. One of the first people I spoke with was from the UnitedHealthcare Children's Foundation. They handed me a copy of their new children's book Oliver and Hope's Good Deeds Day the book along with branded plush characters, a board game and a custom version of SpotIt are all being sold to raise money for the foundation to help offset medical costs of children.

Then I found the weirdest thing I had seen at the fair. I will admit it was one of the weirdest thing I had ever seen. I told this to the inventor and he was good with it. The Little Diablo: The Unstoppable Devil Doll. When you look at it LD looks like any plush doll of Satan, but with a Simon game on his chest. But unlike Simon this game is a bit more wicked. Once you start playing the Devil (voiced by Jon Lovitz) starts insulting you. And he won't stop. No really he won't stop. The only way you can stop his very R-Rated insults is to beat the game. Which is not very easy. One of the guys from Uncle Andy Toys showed me the battery compartment with it twelve screws of different sizes that make this doll pretty hard to stop. They are starting a Kickstarter in the early summer.

The range of toys on display is vast. From blind bags and mini puzzles to $70 collectors level action figures and drones that cost hundreds of dollars. It was simply amazing.

I saw a lot of recurring themes at the show.

• Augmented reality. I stopped in multiple booths that were tauting how their sticker, robot, pillow or action figure can interact with a tablet/phone. 
• Licensing is king. And somewhere my old publishing colleagues are shaking their heads in agreement. You could barely go down an aisle without seeing something that wasn't Star Wars or Harley Quinn. From action figures and high end statues to cosplay accessories and chess sets and literally everything in between. 
• Jumping on inner tubes might be a thing. There were at least a dozen exhibitors that I saw that had inner tube products. Some had things to hold onto some didn't. Some were stacks of tubes of various sizes. 
• Backlash against technology. Every exhibitor I visited that wasn't talking about augmented reality was talking about kids playing with real things and not just looking at screens. I went to one (who had amazing products) that both spoke for and against tech related toys. 

As a first timer I learned a lot of things. How not to shoot Facebook Live video. Which exhibitors need pre-set up appointments. Never wear anything other than sneakers. I also played amazing games like Set and Wordspiel from Set Enterprises, Wild Salmon (full review coming soon) from NorthStarGames , the Game of 49 from Breaking Games and at least three of the 22 games that are contained in the amazing Pyramid Arcade by Looney Labs. I was shot with a high powered spitball gun that looked like a machine gun at Paper Shooters and ate at least two varieties of flavored bubbles.

I'm looking forward to next time.

A first timer takes on Day 1 of New York Toy Fair

There was a buzz in the air as I walked down 34th street in Manhattan. It was indeed a nice walk, taking the 7 train to the new Hudson Yards station would have to wait for another day. Standing near a lamb and rice guy you could see inside the Javits center and see a giant Pikachu floating near the so called Crystal Palace, he was guarding the secrets of the multi-billion dollar toy industry that was having its convention right inside. I had finally arrived at the New York Toy Fair.

I checked in and entered the labyrinth. In all honesty it was a bit overwhelming. I have been to other conventions at the Javits center but you knew basically what you would see, whether it was all cars or books or comics. But Toy Fair runs the gamut from action figures to board games to drones to fort building kits. Toys as simple as a kite to robots that can be automated to fly that kite for you. Most of the big name brands were off limits with prior appointments but the real gems were in the smaller companies. In these booths you don't just meet the smiling faces from the marketing department, you get to meet the president of the company. You will sit down and play a board game with the guy who invented the game. You might even meet a magician. True believers in the products that they are trying to get out there. Don't get me wrong the PR people and the marketing department people are also super nice and enthusiastic.

I saw a lot of really cool things but my favorites were: 

  Snippets


A word game that just launched after a successful Kickstarter campaign. In Snippets you get a card with three letters and then you race against the clock to come up with as many words as you can. But unlike other word games, slang, proper names, acronyms and misspellings are all good. The design is also simple and clean and so appealing.

Cube-Tastic
 

 From Pai Technology comes a whole line of great interactive soft learning toys. Including a fit bit like device for kids, an adorable robot that teaches children how to code and my favorite Cube-Tastic. Basically it is a Rubik's cube that you mix up as much as you want. Then with the app it will scan your cube and tell you how many steps it will take to solve the puzzle. For very young children or adults you can watch a step by step tutorial. But eventually you will learn the patterns of a cube and will be able to do it with out it. And despite its interaction with a screen, it is very much a tactile toy that will enhance a child's problem solving skills.  




 A special shout out goes to the team at Fort Boards who made me a billionaire (in Zimbabwe at least).

GIVEAWAY: Learn how you can win a playdate in a box right here. The contest runs through the end of New York Toy Fair.

BUILD or BOOM

We could hear the snow being whipped around tapping on our windows and skylight. The wind howled like a wolf. Looking outside the snow was piling up faster than it could be shoveled. Well, at least faster than I could shovel it. There was no use to shovel at this point anyway, as meteorologists forecasted for several more hours of heavy snow.

With homework and studying done, and not wanting the kids to be little vegetables in front of the TV or iPad for what would turn out to be a four day weekend, we needed a plan. I had an ace up my sleeve. I brought the kids to the dining room table and took out a copy of Proto.Toys new game Build or Boom. From the get go the kids were very much on board.

Build or Boom, is a building game where two players race against each other to build increasingly more complicated structures. And whomever finishes there building first can slam on a dynamite shaped plunger which blows up their opponent’s structure. I separated the game pieces into two identical piles and placed the first card on the holder and my kids went at it. At first it was difficult to place the pieces, a combination of adrenaline, anticipation and very smooth plastic makes it tough for anyone other than nerves of steel. But after a few moments everyone got the hang of it. My eight year old daughter, a whiz at building things, easily completed her structure and before she was able to blow up her 6 year old brother’s building he blew hers up. Was he finished? No. Did and argument ensue. Yes. Did a timeout happen? Yes.

So after I shoveled our stairs and walk way and the kids played in the snow for a while, we tried Build or Boom round two. This time it was a bit more civilized. The kids went through a lot of the stack of cards, some were very tricky and I couldn't even get them to stay in place. Throughout the weekend the kids would play a bunch more times, and there isn't a better sound than hearing some silence, followed by the sound of plastic pieces hitting a table and joyous giggles and coming from the other room.

The game is beautifully designed from the packaging to the play pieces themselves. It is for kids 4 and up, but I don’t think that a four year old would be able to build some of the structures that are on the cards. But I am sure they would like the BOOM portion of the game.

Build or Boom is available from Proto.Toys’ website and costs $29.95. If the 30 cards it comes with are not enough there is now a 25 card expansion set also available.

NOTE: Proto.Toys supplied us with a copy of the game to facilitate the review but all opinions are my own.

Its Time for Yo-kai

Despite having never seeing the Yo-kai Watch show previously, having only seen a commercial and some toys at Target, my son practically jumped out of our moving car when he saw the Yo-kai box sitting on our steps.

Pure joy!

My five year old has been talking about this since I mistakenly mentioned that I would be doing something with Yo-kai Watch a few weeks ago. Here is a dad pro-tip if you tell your kids about fun things coming up they will ask you about it everyday until it happens. Every day he would ask "Where's my Yo-kai watch?" "When will it be here?" "Why isn't it here yet?" He was like a low level mafia collections guy looking to get paid. But the day finally came.

When we cracked open the box, it was even better than he could imagine. We were lucky enough to get a few watch sets, some collectors albums, a few figures, some awesome posters and a handful of blind bags. It was like Yo-kai Watch themed Christmas.

Its time for fun! ... watch doesn't actually tell time

After both of my kids got all Yo-kai blinged up in their watches we started planning a viewing party with their cousins. Guests were invited, posters were hung, popcorn was popped, juice boxes were chilled. Of course we had some technical difficulties, which forced us to watch the DVD on a laptop. But once everyone sat down, grabbed handfuls of popcorn and some juice boxes, it was all good. Honestly the intimacy of watching it on the smaller screen, had the kids sitting closer and being much more focused on the video.

Yo-kai Watch, is a worldwide phenomenon, the theatrical release of the Yo-kai watch movie, in Japan beat Star Wars:The Force Awakens head to head. The Yo-kai live in a parallel dimension to ours, they often come to our dimension to have fun or cause mischief and if you make a connection to a Yo-kai they will give you a medal, and with that medal and your summoning watch you can bring them back to help you get out of trouble or just to have fun.

Who are we going to summon next?

The show kept the kids entertained for a while, but they kept going back to the toys. My son and his also five year cousin were wearing the watches and cracking up as they tried the different character medals. The watch, which does not tell time plays tribal songs, summoning sounds and then shouts the Yo-kai name. The watch can recognize over 100 medals. Each medal which has a QR code on the back, which can be used to interact with an app on IOS and Android devices.  I'll be honest I don't really get it, but listening to five-years-olds laughing their butts off is pretty cool in my book. I do wish there was a volume control on the watch, since its pretty loud. But alas, at least it doesn't randomly start making noises.

On the other hand my seven year old daughter was really into the collect-ability of the medals. She is a huge Shopkins fan and was really into checking the checklists and searching for the rare pieces, really enjoyed putting together her collection of Yo-kai. Her favorite is Tatteltell, while me and my little guy are more Camp Whisper.

 

Yo-kai watch products are available at all major retailers and online. 

Watch episodes of Yo-kai Watch on Disney XD weekdays at 5pm and on Youtube

Like Yo-kai on Facebook

Follow Yo-Kai on Twitter

Follow Hasbro on Twitter

Disclaimer: I was compensated by Hasbro for the #YokaiWatch campaign. All opinions remain my own.