I was recently asked to review a number of family board games as part of the #PrimaGamesFest sponsored by Prima Toys! I have to admit, I was a bit dubious about this. Whilst I love my girls, my eldest is very competitive. I tend to avoid situations such as board games where I have to manage this. #badmom

Also, my husband is away so I am solo parenting the girls and I wasn’t sure I could handle refereeing the board games on my own.

That said, family board games have many benefits. Not least of all:

  • family time
  • perception
  • hand to eye coordination
  • calculation
  • perception
  • learning about competition
  • learning to lose graciously

That last one for me is a really important life lesson that playing board games as a family can help to promote.

I reviewed the LOL Surprise Board Game last week, but they sent me four other family board games as well. I was so glad when I opened the box that arrived from Prima Toys. All the games they had sent were perfectly age appropriate for both the girls. My eldest is six-years old turning seven in a months time, and my youngest is four-years old turning five in two weeks time. Here are the board games we got to play as a family.

Disney Princess Brainstorm Activity Game

Disney-princess-board-gameThe box consists of 18 ‘Wipe-Clean’ activity sheets all featuring different Disney Princesses and other characters. Each sheet has six different activities on them. Using the magic marker included, the kids get to mark up the answers to each activity on the sheet. The answers are also provided on separate answer sheets. Once the answers have been checked, you simply wipe the sheets clean with the sponge provided.

We divided the sheets evenly so they each got to do 9 activity sheets each. It was definitely easier for my eldest to answer the questions. My youngest needed a bit more help from me but she still enjoyed it.

What really struck me about this was that some of the questions about patterns and shapes were much easier for them than they were for me. Sometimes as adults I think we always look for the ‘why’ when trying to figure out problems. Kids simply see the problem and accept it without trying to apply any preconceived notions or learnings to explain the answer.

RRP: R139.99 

INLINE

Inline-board-gameThe aim of the game is to create a line of four chips of the same colour before your opponent does. This classic family board game teaches kids about strategy and planning. My girls have absolutely loved this game.

Initially it actually caused a little bit of upset because my eldest lost twice to her younger sister, and once to me before she eventually calmed down and realised what was required in order to win! The fact that it’s not only about what you are doing with your chips, it’s also about keeping an eye on your opponent and blocking them too.

They have played this game a lot. I would say that it is probably their favourite of the four. I think a lot of that has to do with the simplicity of the set-up, the real competition, and the fact that each game is different so it doesn’t feel like they are playing the same game over and over again. It’s different every time.

RRP: 199.99

Who’s There?

whos-there-board-gameThe game that keeps you guessing. This family board game comes with 2 plastic game board each with 24 face cards. It also has 48 mystery cards.

The aim of the game is to try to guess who the mystery card is by asking questions to which your opponent can only answer yes or no. Such as, “Is the mystery person wearing a hat?”. If the answer is yes, then you flip down all the face cards that aren’t wearing a hat. Through the process of elimination you will eventually get to the mystery card. By taking it in turns to ask questions, the race is on to see who can guess who is on the mystery card first.

Once they got the hang of this game they really enjoyed it. It’s also one that didn’t require me to play with them all the time, they could get on with it themselves and I just helped with the reading of the names when they asked.

Another fun family board game that they have played more than once.

RRP: R199.99

Bouncin’ Bingo Bondisant

Bouncin-bingo-gameThis is definitely a fun family board game with a modern farmyard twist to the classic Bingo.

The players choose one of the double-sided bingo cards, and take turns throwing the ball provided into the game platform. Whichever farm animal it lands on, is the one they need to cover on their bingo card. The aim is to get a row of four first. When they do, instead of shouting out ‘Bingo’, they make the sound of the animal on the top of their bingo card.

The girls have played this a couple of times. I would have to say that it definitely appealed more to my youngest than it did to my eldest, but it was a great family board game to play.

RRP: 199.99

Family Board Game Giveaway!

I have one Disney Princess Brainstorm Activity Game to give away to one lucky winner. To be in with a chance to win, make sure you complete both steps below:

  1. Comment on this blog post with your favourite Disney Princess
  2. Like the post on Instagram and tag two friends in the comments. (See rule no. 5 below too.)

For an extra entry, share this post on Twitter or Facebook and make sure you tag me so I can add your extra entry to the draw.

The Rules – Because there must always be some!

  1. This competition is only open to South African residents.
  2. If you have won a prize from a Giveaway on my blog in the past 3 months your entry will be disqualified.
  3. Please note that you cannot win a prize for the same competition on another social media platform, website, print publication or any other medium sponsored by Prima Toys. If that does happen, the winner will be redrawn.
  4. Prima Toys have sponsored this post so the winner’s prize will be posted out directly by them.
  5. The winner will be announced on my Instagram page so please make sure you are following me on there.
  6. The competition will run from today until midnight on Friday 8 June 2018

I’d love to know what your family’s favourite family board game is.

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post but all thoughts and opinions are my own.