The game says ages four to eight, but most of the games on the system are in fact for older children who already have a basic understanding of what their letters and numbers are. Don’t expect playing the two preloaded games to help kids learn the difference between what a number and a letter is. They may be simple games, but they don’t explain much. However, the coloring part will suit the four-year-old kids. About the age of six or seven, kids will have outgrown this toy.

It can be plugged into the computer with a USB port so you can see their achievements. But in reality, the cord itself gets little use. Unless you remember to plug it in on a regular basis, it isn’t that effective in measuring much more than the amount of time spent on playing it.

The biggest expense aside from the batteries is the cartridges. The cartridges are on the small side and without some kind of case, they easily get lost. Keep these cartridges away from younger siblings because they are a choking hazard. If you are looking for cartridges, pick them up when they are on sale.

Stick with the rechargeable batteries or bring extras on long trips. Batteries will last a few hours when playing games.

The console is resistant to some dropping but will break on very hard surfaces. The most fragile component is the screen. If it cracks, the game system is useless.

While it is nice to have on car trips, it has its limitations. It can’t play videos or DVDs. Your child may also grow quite bored of it after a couple of hours.

Your child will get some minor education value out of it. But it merely reinforces what the child already knows rather than teaching them new things.

Drop this from your Christmas list unless they absolutely have to have it. At most, and if your child is extremely interested in it, it will only last two years before they either outgrow it or get tired of it.

My dad loves to play bridge, but it is far too complicated for elementary school-level children. He tried to get us to learn, but it only angered us. We tried to get him to play Candyland, but he always declined. We found middle ground on a Dutch card game called Rikken. It involves trumps and bidding, just like bridge, but has fewer rules and nuances to remember.

It’s great to find games that involve thinking, but not knowledge. Does that make sense? This past summer, I played a game that’s a perfect example:  Dixit. In Dixit, on each turn, one player becomes a storyteller and comes up with a sentence that goes along with one of the abstract images on the six cards in his or her hand. The other players turn in one of their cards that best matches the sentence made up by the storyteller. The “storyteller” shuffles and lays the images down on the table, and everyone then votes on which image they think is the storyteller’s. You get points if someone votes for your image, but lose points if you’re the storyteller and everyone picks the right one (yours). You certainly don’t have to be a math whiz to win this game, and you don’t need to be Shakespeare either; you just have to know your audience and play your cards accordingly (sort of like Apples to Apples).

While competition in games can be fun, one of the negative side effects is that there is generally a losing team or person. Sore losers can really ruin the experience (especially if they realize halfway through the game that they are going to lose). Is it worth playing if someone stomps away crying every time? Younger kids often don’t know how to deal with the frustration of a loss and choose to throw a temper tantrum. I was definitely once guilty of this act, but I eventually grew out of it. Set a good example of how to accept a loss once in a while and your children will eventually understand.

On the bright same, playing games as a family also opens up opportunities for teamwork within the family. Many games, such as Sequence or Guesstures, can be played in teams. Switch up the teams to switch up the enemies and allies. First play kids against parents, and then pair up kids with parents.

According to the American Psychological Association, “Playing violent video games like Doom, Wolfenstein 3D or Mortal Kombat can increase a person’s aggressive thoughts, feelings and behavior both in laboratory settings and in actual life, according to two studies appearing in the April issue of the American Psychological Association’s (APA) Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Furthermore, violent video games may be more harmful than violent television and movies because they are interactive, very engrossing and require the player to identify with the aggressor, say the researchers.”  I won’t deny that, or the fact that the increase in playing video games results in increased obesity and decreased attention span.  It also tends to be true that the more kids play video games, the lower their grades are, but this is a time management problem, not a result of games.

So, why shouldn’t they be banned, then?  Because it wouldn’t be an effective way to handle the situation.  There are many problems with it:

1. Kids would still be able to obtain the games and play them.  There is already a black market industry in video games; currently it  primarily sells pirated copies of video games.  If a ban takes place, this industry will grow.  The growth of illegal games sale would require more expensive police enforcement and presumably result in increased crime.
2. What would happen to the games that already are out there?  The government lacks the right to confiscate the games that were already sold without going to court.  Thus, the games could be taken back, but a string of resulting lawsuits would ensue.
3. The definition of what is and isn’t dangerous to children would be hard to define.  There are too many variables.  What barely affects me could make another kid dangerously violent.  So, defining it would be hard.  There is very little consistency within the game rating system as it is.

So, what should happen then? Simply, it should be harder for kids to obtain M and T rated games.  There should be carding, or at least a parent, required when a kid buys a game.  Even more so, parents should be involved.  They should know what their kids are playing and know how much the kids are playing too.

Video games may be bad for kids in many ways, but it isn’t the government’s job to be the parent, it is the parent’s responsibility.

If you see a Nintendo 3DS, you will likely confuse it for a regular Nintendo DS. It has the same basic style with some very minor changes. The biggest difference you will find is the slider bar used to adjust the 3D vision effects of the screen. But look for a very familiar play and feel with the basic game play.

The 3D graphics have gotten a lot of attention. For those who can’t watch 3D without getting headaches, this is not the device for you. Since the response to 3D is an individual one, you may or may not need a period of time to adjust to this new type of screen. The verdict is still out on whether or not this will adversely affect a child’s vision. However, the 3D mode can easily be turned off.

But its real downfall is the battery life. If you are intending to take this on a long trip or keep the kids amused for more than three hours in the car, you are going to be disappointed. Its factory battery range is only about three hours in total. Even with all of the 3D features and other things cranked down, you might get a maximum of four hours total. There is an accessory that can be purchased for a longer battery life.

The other deterrent is that there really aren’t that many games available for it as of yet. The titles are limited and you can’t play the DS titles on the 3D version. There are only a very few really good games for this. Nintendo will likely launch more games in the future. But don’t hold your breath if you are looking for certain games to make the transition.

While the Nintendo 3DS is still fairly new and contains 3D technology, it really doesn’t have enough new things to push it over the regular Nintendo DS. The constant adjustments of the 3D screen are a hassle. The limited number of games means that your choices are limited for you and your kids.

If you find yourself trying to decide between the two, go with the cheaper option of the regular Nintendo DS. You will get much more out of it. Wait until the Nintendo 3D has been out for a little while longer and has a longer game list before you decide to sink your money into this.

It works. It’s real. The harder you focus, the higher the ball goes. Relax and after a moment it will drop. There is a slight delay that can confound some users, but the game does react to your thoughts and move the ball accordingly. The levitation is created courtesy of a stream of air that blows from a small opening. The harder you concentrate, the harder the air blows.

At first, the best you can really hope for is to keep the ball aloft for several minutes and take it for a spin around the course. The game doesn’t stop there. Also included are a series of hoops and tunnels. As you improve your Mindxing skills, you can set up and take on an obstacle course. Hand – eye coordination is so 20th century. Now it’s all about coordinating between hand, eye, and brainwave.
Other than the frustrating little delay between thought and action, Mindflex is an amazing game. It is rated for ages 8+, but our four-year-old was able to manage the ball with some degree of success. The nine-year-old is better than any of the adults who’ve tried so far.

Not only is Mindflex a lot of fun to play, but the wow factor pretty well ensures that it will be pulled out and shown off whenever company comes calling.

LCR

LCR comes with twenty-four plastic chips, each about the size of a penny. The game also includes three custom dice, each one with a combination of dots, L’s, C’s, and R’s. L means you pass a chip to the player on your left; R means pass a chip to your right. The C stands for center, where chips go to retire when their time has come.
A dot means do nothing, which is the best thing you can do on your turn. You can gain chips on other player’s turns, but not on your own. Three dots, meaning you don’t have to give anything away, is the best possible roll. The last player with chips remaining wins.

LCR is a joy on several levels. There’s the aforementioned cheapness. There is also the advantage of such simple rules that a four year old who can’t read yet can play. Unlike traditional board games, set up and clean up is a breeze, and pieces generally don’t get lost. Unlike modern Collectable Card Games, like Pokemon or Magic, LCR requires only one purchase and is comprehensible to grown-ups.

But the laughing and fun around the dinner table, with the whole family together and no TV or video games, that is the real pleasure in LCR. The game itself is not attention-consuming. It is breezy and fun and fairly non-competitive (we Rowe men can make just about anything competitive, but this is definitely on the low end of the scale).

LCR certainly isn’t the most involved or comprehensive game on the shelf, but in terms of bang for the buck LCR really delivers.

What makes this game so special? Scrabble Flash uses a type of technology you might not yet be familiar with, though you are bound to be seeing it more often in the future. (The TED video on Siftables, possibly part of the technology behind this game, is well worth watching.) The game is comprised of five electronic “tiles” that initially look completely identical. When a player turns them on and lines them up, they suddenly form a “menu” screen. Select the button on the tile displaying the number one and suddenly each tile will display a letter of the alphabet. Players start with one minute and must rearrange the tiles to form as many words as possible. The tiles will recognize when legitimate words are created and keep score. When the time has run out, line the tiles up, and they display the round’s score and the maximum possible score with the given tiles. Families can work together to form words. Or, in another mode, players can take turns trying to determine the 5-letter word from the given tiles so that the tiles will display a new set of letters. Just don’t be the one who gets caught with the tiles when the time runs out!

One aspect of Scrabble Flash that I love is its portability. The five scrabble tiles fit compactly into a box that could easily slip into a coat pocket (a nice feature of which I plan to make use). Otherwise, only a flat surface is required for gameplay; even a binder or a magazine would suffice.

Scrabble Flash is an innovative word game that is educational, addictive, and just plain cool. I highly recommend it.

Bey Blades

The new Bey Blades haven’t evolved very far from their earlier counterparts. The blades are small tops powered by a zip cord. The game is played by pitting two spinning tops against one another. The last top standing is the winner.

The Bey Blades themselves range in price from about seven to fifteen dollars. There is a wide array of styles with distinctions available. Some are purely superficial, such as flashing lights or ‘battle action’ sounds. Others offer competitive advantages like a reverse spin or a rubber tip for extra balance.

The battles generally take place in a battle arena, a plastic bowl designed to contain the whirring Bey Blade as they crash and bang together. In my house, battles routinely take place on the living room floor.

Similar to Pokemon or Bakugan, Bey Blades are featured on their own TV show, which appears to be little more than an extended commercial hawking the toys. The show is awful, but the toys themselves are pretty fun. Unlike Pokemon and the hoard of similar collectable card games, Bey Blades has clear and easily understandable rules. Launch your blade and hope it knocks the other guy out of the playing area. That’s about it. In truth, once you drop the top into the battle area, there is nothing left to do but cheer it on. Because there is little to no strategy involved once the game begins the little ones can play with the older children on a level playing field.

From a parent’s perspective, I appreciate Bey Blades because a match can be completed in less than a minute. It takes longer than that to just set up the playing area for most collectable games. Bey Blades also scores over other collectable games in that it can be played with just one piece per players and requires fewer accessories.

Boggle – After shaking up a covered tray of 16 lettered dice, which are then allowed to settle, players try to list as many words as they can that are formed out of strings of adjacent dice. Three minutes later, times is up and the scoring phase begins!

Balderdash -Players take turns being the “dasher,” who supplies a word from the box of “definition cards.” This player writes down the real definition of the word, while all other players attempt to write down a convincing definition that they will eventually vote on. Players move around the board by guessing the correct definition or being the author of a definition that received votes.

Bananagrams -This game is like speed Scrabble. Players work independently to create their own “crossword” that uses up all of their tiles in valid words. Once one player is successful, he or she says, “Peel!” and all players must take an additional tile; the process repeats until all the tiles have been used.

Buyword- Players start with $200 that they will use to buy letters, which they will hope to sell back to the bank for a profit. Longer words, and especially ones that use less common letters, tend to be more valuable.

Word games are great for families because they inherently have a learning factor. In Boggle and Bananagrams, players are challenged to think quickly and creatively, but are also checked for validity, while in Balderdash, players are encouraged to use their imagination, and eventually learn the definition of a new word. In Buyword, players not only practice building words, but also a bit of understanding economics. Let the brains start cranking and the fun begin.

Just like many other board games, the object of the game is to get to the finish line before any other player. However, in addition to mover pieces and a die, you’ll be using a timer, Cranium Clay, Cranium Cubes, pencil, and paper. In Cranium: Family Edition, you work in teams. In order to roll the die and move, your team needs to complete a task and it can come from one of four categories: Word Worm, Data Head, Star Performer, and Creative Cat. Each category has four possible activities.

Data Head is the typical trivia category. “True or false? Chewing gum takes seven years to move through your digestive system.” (False!) Worm Worm is all about, well, words. In Cranium: Family Edition, you could be asked to complete a word search or link words in the same category which start with the last letter of the previous words. Teammates, parent and child, might work together to spell a word backwards.

Star Performer’s tasks include Humdinger, Cameo, Stunt Double, and Fast Find. This is one of my favorite categories. Humdinger involves one teammate humming or whistling a specific tune that the other teammate has to guess. The classic Cameo card calls for one player to act out silent clues to have others guess the answer. Similarly, in Creative Cat, you might need to use the Cranium Clay to get your teammates to guess the answer but sculpting the answer!

Cranium: Family Edition is specifically geared toward families with younger children (ages 8+). Hasbro has many other similar games, namely the original Cranium, which is intended for families with older children (age 16+), though it includes a special deck of 60 cards for “family play.” Either Cranium: Family Edition or Cranium, at approximate retail values of $19.99 and $24.99, respectively, is a worthwhile investment for a family. It has provided many nights of fun for my friends and relatives, and is a unique game that is more about having fun and being creative than winning.