So there is a bit of skill in the pressure you apply to the level too, not just the timing aspect. (I’m overthinking this game? That’s how youknow I like it :)) Parents note: For an even simpler game, skip dealing cards to each player and have each child simply draw one card from the top of the pile. This reduces choice down to how the card should be rotated, and can prevent your child with being overloaded by decision. You can even skip the player elimination aspect if you wish and have them start on an unoccupied white line should they run off the board, or into another player. The first player to call that they have a matching shape gets to place that tile on their card. Cards are double sided and are comprised of a 3 x 3 grid of animals, vegetables, toys, and other very common shapes. In Loopin’ Chewie, each player is given an arm with a lever on it, and 3 blue stormtroopers discs. Chewbacca and the Millennium Falcon are attached to a central hub which, when turned on, causes Chewbacca to go zooming around in circles. As Chewbacca approaches your base you simply press a button to fend him off and cause him to skip over your base…or at least you hope that’s what happens. But I don’t know of many other dexterity games that also require timing. Fantastic Gymnastics (and others I played at HandyCon3 is one, but it also requires batteries.

This is an amazing game that is always full of laughter. The original Loopin' Louie is a great choic if you have 4 players, while Chewie is the 3 player variant. Zingo is a Bingo style game in which players call out, and place, tiles with common shapes, onto their card. The first player to fill their card is the winner. Labyrinth is an easy game. It’s light, and fun, and usually plays in less than 30 minutes. It’s bright, colorful, and has a good amount of choice, without being overwhelming for smaller kids. It also has really sturdy components so you can play it for years without it wearing out. Labyrinth is like a Where’s Waldo book in that kids will have to locate the treasure they’re looking for among the 50 tiles, and be able to work out a path to it so that they can collect it.It might just be nostalgia talking but I was surprised by how well Loopin’ Louie holds up over 25 years later. Of all of the games that I enjoyed when I was a child, Loopin’ Louie is arguably the game that has held up the best. The game is far from deep but there is something really satisfying about launching Louie into the air with your flipper. As you are doing the same thing over and over throughout the entire game, it can get a little repetitive after a while. Loopin’ Louie is not going to be the type of game that you play for long periods of time but it is the type of game that is fun to bring out every so often. The game works really well as a filler game that you play for fifteen minutes or so and then bring out another day. Keep in mind these aren’t necessarily my favorite games, but they’re fun, fast, and your kids will love them. More importantly you’ll love spending time with your kids, and introducing them to the best hobby in the world. Keep your eyes open for my next piece, where I cover games good for 5-10 year olds (a great age for gaming). The author with a Jawa at the Star Wars Day of Play in New York. Photograph: Jordan Hoffman/The Guardian Labyrinth is a 7×7 board with 50 tiles showing treasure, tunnels, dead ends, monsters, and all sorts of dungeon-crawly type things. 16 of the tiles are glued to the board with spacing that allows the other tiles to slide in between them. The tiles are shuffled and laid face up onto the board with the single leftover tile being given to the first player. This player is the last player remaining in the game so they have won the game. My Thoughts on Loopin’ Louie

The problem is that I don’t want to play those games. To an adult who has, arguably, mastered pattern and color recognition (I’m still working on the taking turns thing), I find them incredibly boring. So as a parent, what are some games that I can play with my kids that I’ll enjoy as well? Note that this list focuses on games that younger kids (anywhere from 3-7) may enjoy. Your kids might not be ready for them, or your little Einstein might find them too easy, but they’re all worth a shot! Let’s go! Teaches: It’s co-op so you can play it with your kids and guide them towards making good choices. Players roll a die at the beginning of their turn and place a new zombie on the colored space matching the die, so it also teaches color matching. At first glance some might dismiss Zingo as a mere Bingo clone, but that would be doing it a disservice. In Zingo one player reveals 2 tiles at a time using a really cool machine, then calls out their name (or shape if your child can’t read).After placing your tile, you’ll attempt to move your player marker to, or as close as possible to, a specific treasure indicated by a card that you were dealt at the beginning of the game. The game is over when one player is able to collect all of their treasure. The single downside to this game is that it only plays 3 players; a strange choice given that Loopin’ Louie plays 4. Never fear, it’s so cheap that you can buy two sets and mash them together by 3d printing pieces which can be glued to the base. Now you can play with up to 6 players! Moustache Smash is a seriously fun and silly family game for 3 to 6 people. Be the first to smash your moustache down on a card matching either the color, or shape, of your moustache. Collect the most cards by the end of the game and you’re the winner! Parents note: Zombie Kidz has a double sided board offering two difficulty levels. You can also add or remove zombies from the board to make the game easier or harder.

Another friend wanted me to teach him Lorcana and he liked it a lot as he never played a MTG type of game before. Teaches: Teamwork, coordination, pattern matching, color recognition, shape recognition, basic strategy. As the board begins taking shape players will need to decide if they take the safe path and stay away from others, or show daring and dive into the group. If at any time your path leads off the board your piece is out of the game. If your path leads directly into another player, both pieces are out of the game. The player whose dragon is still on their path after all other players have been defeated is the winner. My kids love playing Zingo, even my 8 year old son. They love getting to use the machine to reveal the tiles, and to call out the shapes, and they love getting a tile to put on their own card. Zingo helps your kids learn shapes, pattern matching, and improves their reaction time.

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I think the main reason that Loopin’ Louie is so loved is that it does what all children’s games should strive to do. A good children’s game should be simple enough that children won’t have any problems playing the game. At the same time the game should still be enjoyable for everyone playing the game. Most children’s games do a good job on the first front but forget about making the game enjoyable for everyone. A good children’s game is a game that the whole family can enjoy and even adults can enjoy without children present. While Loopin’ Louie is probably going to be better in family settings, I think Loopin’ Louie can be enjoyed by adults that don’t occasionally mind playing silly games. On your turn you’ll take your tile, rotating it in any way you desire, and place it into one of the open lanes indicated by the yellow triangles around the outside of the board. You’ll accomplish your purpose, but in doing so you’ll push one tile out the other side, which is the tile that the next player begins with. There's a lot of bad kids games out there. This father of four shows you a Top Six list of games that will entertain you as well as your kids! Loopin' Louie, is an interactive electronic board game designed by Carol Wiseley and published by Milton Bradley in 1992. [1] It was given the Kinderspiel des Jahres award in 1994. [2] Although the game is designed for a maximum of 4 players, unofficial modifications were made by modders to increase the maximum number of players to eight. [3] A Star Wars variation called "Loopin' Chewie" was produced by Hasbro in 2015. Speaking of the components I think that at least the original version of Loopin’ Louie has pretty good components. I have to say that when I got my original copy of Loopin’ Louie out of storage, I didn’t expect the game to still work. We played the game quite a bit when we were kids and the game is 27 years old at this point. We even stupidly left a battery in the game which was obviously corroded after so many years. I was pleasantly surprised that our copy still worked though. This is not going to be the case for all copies of the game but I think this is pretty impressive. The components are all plastic but they are quite durable which is important for a children’s game. I also love the game’s design as it screams early 1990s children’s game.