Board Games for Kids That “Ignite Your Mind!”

I received the products below to review in exchange for sharing my honest opinion.

     

Last weekend my son and I were at the mall and they had an educational toy store there that we stopped in. It was a speciality toy store full of toys that you wouldn’t necessarily see on television commercials nor do they feature popular tv characters. My son kept playing with these few games and honestly I had trouble dragging him away from them. I made a quick check to see what brand they were to look them up and they were all ThinkFun products.

So I looked up ThinkFun and found they are a company that is passionate about creating products that spark young minds from puzzles to brainteasers to games. They believe learning should be fun and their award-winning games are proven to help stimulate brain development.

I got the chance to check out four of their games and I will say they are all pretty awesome. Gravity Maze is my son’s favorite while my other son is leaning towards Code Master since he wants to learn to code like his dad.

Gravity Maze

Gravity Maze is a game that challenges the user to create a path for a marble to move through to its target. It is a single player logic game that you can of course play as a group and work together. There are various levels to work your way through starting with Beginner and ending as an Expert. The game is pretty easy to start off where you get a card challenge that you have to build upon to get that marble to move. My 7 year old laid on the floor in the store with this and I could see his little mind working, now that we have it at home I know it will continue to be a hit! It really is a game that encourages kids to problem solve and do some creative thinking and who doesn’t love a challenge! You get everything you need including three marbles. I would say no younger than maybe 7 years old and up to adults for this game – with the different challenges it can really grow with the users plus you can always make up your own!

How to Play Gravity Maze:

Code Master

Code Master is a programming logic game that is strictly a board game, no computer needed. You have to create a sequence according to the level you choose and the logic is similar to what you’d do if you were mapping out a program. To me its kinda a foreign language but my husband picked it up right away and was able to explain it. Luckily my kids brains are more absorbent than mine and they seem to get it! The game is minimal as far as pieces go which is nice because it seems less overwhelming. There are 60 levels total and it is for just one single player, but you could always work as a team to go through the levels. It has nothing to do with Minecraft as the picture somewhat depicts but what is nice is the picture might attract more users because of the Minecraft-like design – the logic I think is that Minecraft is a program that was written and so many kids want to create their own games. My boys are 7 and 8 years old and I love that this will not only challenge them but encourage strategic thinking. Great for STEM learning as well!

How to Play Code Master:

Laser Maze Junior

Laser Maze Junior is a game that I admit I was excited to try out and it is still a game I love watching my kids play. It is a single player game where you have to set up pieces so they reflect a laser light around a game board. There are different challenges to follow across various levels of play. You do need to add batteries to this for the laser to work but otherwise it is good to go. So if you are giving this as a gift don’t forget the batteries. It is a great game for getting kids thinking about how to engineer something the right way. Now we haven’t made it past the 40 challenges yet but once we do I think my kids will just work on building their own challenges. I would say this game would be great for ages 7 and up through adult – the Hard level puzzles were  challenge for me. No real reading is required other than picking your level, then the rest is visual and a great brain exercise.

How to play Laser Maze Junior:

Rush Hour Shift

I remember years and years ago I worked in a toy store and I played a similar game of Rush Hour that was a huge seller. I love that this version now is for two players as it not only teaches problem solving but also strategy for beating the other player. Each player has to think strategically to decide where to move their car in order to get across the grid. Its like a card game as well as each player is dealt cars and has to move according to what the cards say. The game is pretty easy to follow – just set up the game board and then deal out cards. It is neat how the board may move which may change the way you were going to move initially. This would be a great game to play with you kid as its fun for both young and old. I would say youngest would be a 7 year old for this game.

How to play Rush Hour Shift:

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This Giveaway Ends January 8, 2015.