Boredom Busting Bundle – John Adams

We were very kindly gifted a massive bundle of boredom busting goodies from John Adams just before the Lockdown struck.

We are a family who have always loved board games and the girls were delighted when this huge box of goodies arrived. These goodies have certainly kept us busy and in those down moments (yes there have been some) we have picked our moods up by choosing a game to challenge each other to. We are mega competitive and there is no ‘letting the children win’ in our house! We play fairly and understand the importance of learning you can’t always win in life – harsh as it may seem.

Our wonderful parcel included:

Othello – Stare Off – Shake Off – Think words – 7ate9 – Rummikub junior – Rummikub – Rubiks cube – Rubiks cage – Bank Attack – Clock it – Grabalo – Triominos – The great game of Britain

Before receiving this bundle we hadn’t actually played any of these games before which is good going as we have a vast wardrobe of various games. The only one we had had a go at before was classic Rubiks cube. Which I now find mega frustrating but I am determined to complete it! I’ve even been watching tutorials on youtube to work out how to complete it following it step by step – but still I fail! Haha!

We are still yet to play a few games but here are a few of our favourites so far

Think Words:  This is the go to game when I ask the girls what they want to play at the moment. You choose a category card, then press the timer in the middle. You get 10 seconds to think of a word that begins with a letter available. You then press the letter down to take it out of play and press the button for the next player. Play continues with the same topic and you have to think of all the letters until somebody gets stuck!

Grabolo: A game that the girls can play together without needing an adult. You take turns to roll both dice and then have to find that object of the colour rolled first and GRAB it. The first player to collect 10 items wins. This is a great game to fill 5 minutes up the table whilst waiting for Mummy or Daddy to finish cooking dinner or just to break up the day when we will be back homeschooling next week during lockdown.

7ate9: This is a great game for maths and thinking quickly. You each have some cards and you can play a card which works out to be the answer of the card in the middle. You need to consider what it says in the top + or – a number and then if you have a card which fits as the answer to that sum you can lay it down. It is a fast maths game that practices those simple addition and subtraction sum at speed.

Rummikub junior: Another also a fun game we have enjoyed (man I sound like a broken record but we have literally enjoyed every game). Even Benji the dog has joined in with playing this one. Rummikub is the fast-moving numbers game which develops numeracy skills, aids logical thinking, but above all is lots of fun to play.  If you can count to 10, you are ready to play Junior Rummikub and join the Rummikub family.  Collect as many stars as possible to win the game.  Earn stars when you make runs by laying down 3 or more consecutive number tiles of the same colour, or add to runs which are already laid down on the table.  How many stars can you get?  Junior Rummikub is ideal for younger children but also a great game the whole family can enjoy!

Othello: As it says on the box is a classic game that I have seen many times on the shelves before but have never played. The girls really enjoyed this game, you basically need to pop one of your counters either side of your opponents and then you can flip them over to be your colour. The winner is the person with the most counters of their colour when all counters have been used or neither player can place a counter. This is really easy to play once you’ve had a go.

‘Othello takes a minute to learn and a lifetime to master! The internationally acclaimed two player strategy game, the object is to trap and capture your opponent by placing your disks on the board.  “Sandwich” at least one of your opponent’s pieces to turn their disk to your colour….but look out, your opponent will do the same to you.  The lead can change with the flip of a disk in this classic fast-paced strategy game.’

Othello can be purchased here: Othello Classic on Amazon

 

Triominos: Triominos is a fascinating variation of the well-known game of dominos, but with triangular pieces. Every Triomino is unique because it only occurs once in the game so it must be used wisely to gain an extra score. Who can score the highest number of points to be the winner? Bonus points can be won by laying your pieces and making a ‘Bridge’, a ‘Hexagon’ or a ‘Double Hexagon’. A game which requires insight, strategy and logic, providing great fun for all the family!

Rubiks: We were sent 2 x Rubiks cube and Rubiks cage which is a fun and strategic game of Tic, Tac, Toe. It may seem easy to get 3 in a row but you can twist and turn the Cube to re-shuffle the game and deter your opponent. You can even ‘flip’ the Cube upside down to really scramble the Cube pieces! It makes it great fun and challenging.

Rubiks cube are also launching a Junior verision this summer. The four collectable Rubik’s puzzle toys, aimed at little ones as young as four years old, bring kids’ favourite baby animals to life in iconic Rubik’s form, with a puppy, kitten, bear and bunny to choose from.

A great back to school treat that’s perfect for little hands to fiddle and play with, Rubik’s Junior helps develop logical thinking and problem-solving skills. Just like the classic Rubik’s Cube, each character can be scrambled many different ways, for children to twist back to their original form. Designed specifically for younger children, the pets have fewer mix-up possibilities than a classic cube, so solving the puzzle is satisfyingly just a few moves away.

Easy enough to fit in a bag and enjoy at home or on the go, the colourful Rubik’s Junior pets are guaranteed to keep the kids entertained with every twist and turn! Rubik’s Junior pet puzzles are all sold separately, priced at £9.99. You can check out the range available here: Rubiks Cube range on Amazon

What we thought:

We absolutely loved all the games we have tried so far! We think games are a great way to bring a family together and see the value in playing a game a day or many more in the current climate of being locked down in our homes. We loved the range of different types of games which can help to keep the brain stimulated, through numbers, letters and using your thinking skills to practice logic and tactics. Some of the games are easily transported for trips away (when we are allowed) such as grabolo and triominos and 7ate9. Rubiks cubes are a classic will be played with FOREVER and the addition of the Rubiks cage game brings a new element of a tactical game which is wonderful for those that loved Rubiks cubes in the past.

We cannot wait to continue to explore these games, we know Nanny is excited for lockdown to be over so we can take some games round for a games night and we can basically start our own games lending service with our friends.

Thank you John Adams for sending us these games too. These games were #gifted in exchange for an honest blog review.