PLAY GAMES ON YOUR TV NOW THROUGH NETFLIX

Netflix just made game night a whole lot easier. Now you can play games on your TV. All you need is Netflix and your phone. That’s it. Just like that, everything you need to start playing with your friends and family is in the palm of your hands.

“Starting today, you can play games on your TV, using your phone as a controller — no setup needed, it’s as easy as streaming your favorite shows,” Alain Tascan, President of Games at Netflix, communicated to ageekdaddy.com “You can now go from watching KPop Demon Hunters to playing Pictionary: Game Night without ever leaving Netflix. And for those who love to play anywhere and everywhere, we're bringing even more games to your phone with our own special Netflix touch.”

CLICK HERE for more information!

A CHRISTMAS GIFT THAT KEEPS ON GIVING

My family LOVES family game nights, so we were GEEKED to be invited to participate in a review of the unboxboardom.com subscription service through this blog's affiliation with U.S. Family Guide.

Looking for a Christmas gift that will keep entertaining its recipient long after the holiday season has passed by? Unboxboardom.com is a subscription service that helps keep family game nights fresh by sending something new out each month to play. Who doesn't love getting something fun in the mail and this subscription service provided entertaining games to play throughout the year.  

Each month subscribers can select one of three games featured by unboxboardom.com to be sent to them or agree to be surprised with the subscription service choosing what will be received based upon a customer profile provided to the company about your family. Last month's selections for example were Photosynthesis, Wordoku, or Fuse: 

PHOTOSYNTHESIS 

In Photosynthesis, take your trees through their life-cycle, from seedling to full bloom to rebirth, and earn light points as their leaves collect energy from the revolving sun’s rays. Carefully pick where you sow and when you grow, as trees in the shadows are blocked from light, and from light points. Players score light points if their trees are in the direct lines of sun rays or taller than the trees blocking them from the sun rays. In a second phase, players use their light points to reserve seeds or trees, then plant or grow them on the board. Points are scored by maturing trees and removing them from the board.

WORDOKU

Create as many words as possible using puzzle tiles printed with both letters and symbols. Use letters to make words while balancing symbols to double your score. Crossword and Sudoku come together for tabletop gaming fun. 

FUSE

A real-­‐time cooperative dice game for 2-­‐5 players where friends work together to quickly save a ship from impending doom! Intruders have infiltrated a ship! Their goal: Total Destruction! Twenty bombs have been detected onboard, and the countdown has begun. 

Your elite Bomb Defusal Team (BDT) has been called upon to neutralize the threat. Does your team have what it takes to work through the intricacies of the bombs and defuse them all in time? You'd better get moving, because this game will self-­‐destruct in 10 minutes.

Next month three different games will be available for subscribers to receive. Subscribers who choose their own games must make a selection within 5 days of receiving a notification email which arrives at the beginning of the month or the service defaults to the surprise pick option. Games normally arrive about 2 weeks later around the 15th of the month and the service sends subscribers an email with tracking information as it is in route. 

Selection emails include the following information about the available games:

• Number of players;
• Average time the game takes to play;
• How "family friendly" is the game; 
• How much complexity is involved; 
• Is it a good game for groups;
• The UnboxBoardom team's "insider" thoughts/advice about the game.

Still looking for a last minute Christmas gift? Purchase an unboxboardom.com subscription and provide information about it in a card. This is a present that will continue delighting recipients well after this year's Christmas presents have all been unwrapped. The subscription service has earned a Geek Daddy nod of approval. Check out this Geek Daddy's review! 

HAUNTINGLY GOOD GAMES FROM USAOPOLY

Get into the Halloween spirit with some family game night fun! Game nights are a great way for parents and kids to spend quality time together having fun and bonding. These evenings can get quite competitive in our household! My kids are always dying to beat me and of course I'm not willing to give up my reign as family game night king. It is nice to turn off the television and video games for a while and instead actually have good times interacting with each other.

A lot of the games we play are from a company called USAOPOLY and here are some selections that you may want to consider picking up that are sure to make for a spooktaculer night of family fun this Halloween season:

SCOOBY DOO CLUE

Monstrous abductions are happening at Mrs. White's Haunted Mansion! It's up to Scooby-Doo and the gang to discover WHO was abducted, WHERE the abduction took place and WHAT Item the Monster left behind! CLICK HERE to look at the rule book. Recommended for ages 8+.

HOCUS POCUS YATZEE

Bring fun and magic to a full rolling bubble with this bewitching twist on America's #1 Dice Game! Inspired by the classic Halloween comedy, YAHTZEE®: Disney Hocus Pocus lets players "Shake, Roll, and Shout" spells and ingredients from Winifred's evil book with a custom cauldron dice cup to mix Dash of Pox, Dead Man's Toe, and more into winning combinations! Recommended for ages 8+.

TRIVIAL PURSUIT: HORROR MOVIE EDITION

The Movie Horror Edition of Trivial Pursuit allows players to test their knowledge of 100 years of horror including 600 questions relating to psychological thrillers, epic monster films, the paranormal and the goriest and most disturbing cinema of all time. This compact, quick-play version that you can grab on your way to the panic room includes the categories Monster, Gore/Disturbing, Psychological, Paranormal, Slasher, International. Recommended for ages 17+.

HARRY POTTER HOGWARTS BATTLE

Play as your favorite characters and defend the wizarding world from evil forces. Enhance your abilities as you build your deck with over 140 cards. Seven successive game adventures offer increasing difficulty as you battle Villains and unlock new abilities, secrets and challenges. Also included are four Hogwarts house dice, game board, over 50 chip pieces, and sorting cards to keep everything organized. Recommended for ages 11+.

THE THING: INFECTION AT OUTPOST 31

In the hidden identity game The Thing™ Infection at Outpost 31, you will relive John Carpenter's sci-fi cult classic in a race to discover who among the team has been infected by this heinous lifeform. CLICK HERE to look at the rule book. Recommended for ages 17+

This post has affiliate links, which means this blog could earn advertising money if you buy something. This doesn't cost you anything extra, ageekdaddy.com just has to give you the heads up for legal reasons. Click away!

BOP IT! GAME MARKS QUARTER CENTURY OF PROVIDING PEOPLE WITH FUN TIMES

My daughter loves the game Bop It! In fact, when she was seven years old there was a phase where we constantly heard her playing a Star Wars version of the game all day and all night for almost a year. I have to admit after that whenever I hear C-3P0's voice, which yells out Bop It! Pull It! Twist It! from a model of R2-D2 in the game, it both makes me cringe as well as smile because I not only remember constantly hearing those phrases over and over again but also the joy it brought my little girl. If a game brings a child that much joy it absolutely earns a Geek Daddy nod of approval!

So, I wanted to wish Bop It! a happy twenty-fifth birthday. This Hasbro game is celebrating a quarter century of providing people with fun times! Whether it’s a party, family game night, or a travel game for car rides -- Bop It!  with its "Bop It, Twist It, Pull It" actions is sure to entertain kids and kids at heart. 

Here is a look back at some of the biggest moments from this Hasbro brand:

• In 1996, Hasbro released the first in its Bop It line. Simply called Bop It, the game features three inputs: A cyan pull-handle on one end, a twistable yellow crank on the other end, and the depressable purple button in the middle. The maximum score is 100. 
•  In 1998, Hasbro released the Bop It Extreme. The game included 2 new inputs along with the original three from Bop It. The green flick-switch is flicked when the Bop It Extreme commands "Flick it!" and the free-spinning red wheel is spun when the Bop It Extreme commands "Spin it!". The maximum score was increased to 250, and the game features 4 games modes (Vox Bop, Beat Bop, Vox Bop Solo and Beat Bop Solo). 
• Released in 2002, Hasbro's Bop It Extreme 2 was a re-working of the Bop It Extreme. The layout of the toy was changed and the shapes of several inputs were altered for ease of use. Volume controls were added. Bop It Extreme 2 was released in black and white as well as pink variations. In addition to the 4 modes featured in Bop It Extreme, a "One on One" mode was added. 
• In 2003, Bop It Extreme 2 was the top selling toy in the Bop It line 
•  2005 saw the release of Hasbro's Bop It Blast, a re-creation of the original Bop It differing in little except in software. Bop It Blast again increased the maximum score to a total of 500, and for the first time allowed different high scores for different modes rather than having one high score for all modes collectively. In addition to the original 2 Bop It modes adding a new game called light bop. Bop It Blast included "One on One" mode as with Bop It Extreme 2. 
• 2007 saw the introduction of Bop It Download, also created by Hasbro. Bop It Download is the third re-working of Bop It Extreme, and it features 15 levels, a maximum score of 1000 points, and the ability to record your own voice, and download music and sounds.

To celebrate the game's 25th anniversary, famed toy designer and original Bop It! creator Dan Klitsner has introduced a new version known as the Bop It! Button. The Bop It! Button plays with your brain as you try to follow the commands: “Bop It,” “Don’t Bop It,” “Do Bop It,” “Do Not Bop It” and many more in multiple voices. The Bop It! Button is available at a limited quantity for pre-purchase at BopItButton.com.

A standard version of Bop It! is also available at all major toy retailers. The current edition looks somewhat like a musical instrument in my opinion with knobs and buttons to twist, pull and bop! If you don't have Bop It! to pull off your family's gaming shelf you are missing out. Go ahead and Bop It! 

This post has affiliate links, which means this blog could earn advertising money if you buy something. This doesn't cost you anything extra, ageekdaddy.com just has to give you the heads up for legal reasons. Click away!

MS MARVEL AND SHE-HULK MARVEL UNITED GAME NIGHT

Excited about the upcoming Ms. Marvel and She-Hulk live action series coming to the Disney+ streaming service, my daughter and I had some game night fun this weekend with these new leading ladies of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Carnage is on a rampage in New York City and it is up to Ms. Marvel and She-Hulk to foil the villain's master plan in this game of MARVEL UNITED. It won't be easy as this alien symbiote has a number of offspring to battle before you can go head to head with him. Plus he is continuously transforming more people around the City into dangerous clones of himself that speed up the time frame of his master plan coming to fruition.

Why is Carnage trying to infiltrate the labs of Stark Industries and Oscorp while flooding New York City with an army of monstrous Symbiotic clones? Ms. Marvel and She-Hulk leap into action to battle this evil threat! They don't have much time though ... if Carnage completes ten turns he WINS and that timeline speeds up as he assimilates innocent bystanders as hosts for the Symbiote organisms that make up his alien army. There is no time to waste in stopping Carnage!

Carnage belongs to a race of amorphous extraterrestrial organisms known as Symbiotes, which form a symbiotic bond with their hosts and give them super-human abilities. Carnage has no regard for life and a desire to promote total chaos. Yet he can be methodological and meticulous in his plots to become the dominate lifeform on the planet. 

Ms. Marvel is a leading character in Marvel's development of a diverse lineup of superheroes appealing and relatable to new generations of young fans. This Pakistani-American hero has the power to shapeshift being able to transform her body to do feats such as elongating her limbs or enlarging her fists. Ms. Marvel often teams up with Squirrel Girl and America Chavez to create an amazing trio of girl power that can give any bad guy a run for their money!

After getting a blood transfusion from her cousin Bruce Banner, Jennifer Walters gained all the powers of the Hulk without losing her personal consciousness or sense of conscious in fighting for justice as the She-Hulk. She is a combination of brains and brawn! In addition to her solo crime fighting endeavors, She-Hulk has also been a part of the Avengers and Fantastic Four superhero teams.

Ms. Marvel and She-Hulk have a lot to take on in a limited amount of time. Before the can even tackle Carnage head on, this super duo must clear threats from four locations and either defeat nine Symbiotes or rescue nine bystanders. Plus, in this MARVEL UNITED game scenario the heroes must also defeat three of Carnage's henchmen in combat before unlocking the big boss char acter for a final showdown. 

We focused on the tackling the henchmen and clearing location threats as our first priority. She-Hulk and Ms. Marvel tore through the henchmen and unlocked three of the four locals trying to move forward to battle one-on-one with Carnage. Unfortunately, Carnage was able to capture numerous people off of New York's streets adding them to his alien army and speeding up the completion of his master plan by giving him some extra jumps ahead on the Spawn Track further reducing the number of turns She-Hulk and Ms. Marvel had to work with. BAM! The villain was victorious this game night.

Doah! Unfortunately, you can't win every game; but it is fun trying! Win or lose it is always a good time playing MARVEL UNITED during a family game night. Looking forward to a rematch against Carnage and watching the Disney+ Ms. Marvel and She-Hulk tv shows.

This post has affiliate links, which means this blog could earn advertising money if you buy something. This doesn't cost you anything extra, ageekdaddy.com just has to give you the heads up for legal reasons. Click away!

MARVEL UNITED RHINO ATTACK

A rhino is on the loose in New York City! He is rampaging through sites ranging from Central Park to Time Square with the goal of stealing technology from OSCORP and Stark Industries labs in Manhattan to sell to the highest bidder.  Stopping this villain's masterplan is our challenge in this Marvel United family game night!

Aleksei Sytsevich, also known by the alias RHINO, was an enforcer with the Russian mob when one of his oligarch bossed "volunteered" him to have an experimental combat suit grafted to his skin. He possesses extraordinary strength and is amazingly fast making him as dangerous as a charging rhino. Aleksei is now an independent contractor providing muscle for mercenary work and burglaries. Rhino charges around the game board with a BAM! that both KOs heroes that oppose this super villain and forces them to waste turns by placing action cards facedown within the storyline. 

In the MARVEL UNITED tabletop game players each assume the role of superheroes cooperating to stop the master plan of a powerful opponent controlled by a deck of cards that serve as artificial intelligence competing against the real-life players. The supervillain's master plan is unveiled as cards are played that trigger different effects and threats are activated that pose challenges across the locations on the game board. Players cultivate their own deck of special effects cards that are placed in a storyline along with the villain's cards to create your Marvel United adventure. Cards placed within the storyline activate superpowers that individual characters can use or can be passed on to teammates for extra powerful combo moves. Build your storyline, unite your powers, save the day!

Who will stand up to Rhino and save New Your City from his crime spree? It appears the Avengers and Spider-Man are tied up dealing with other threats to the world. So, the fate of the city is up to an unlikely trio of heroes: Black Cat, Howard the Duck and the Unbeatable Squirrel Girl!

Black Cat

One of the most talented thieves on the planet, Felicia Hardy is an anti-hero who will standup against wrongdoers committing evil acts and hurting the innocent while also picking the pockets of the ultra wealthy to finance her own lavish lifestyle. She will standup to Rhino to protect civilians in his path, but is she out to do good or simply trying to take his score for herself. This cat burglar has feline-type abilities that include enhanced agility and the power to project bad luck onto others.

Howard the Duck

Howard was transported to Earth from another dimension where water fowl are the planet's leading intelligent form of life. Howard has no superpowers but is skilled in the martial art of Quak-Fu which allows him to hold his own against much larger and more powerful opponents. He also carries a big freaking gun that can be used to clear locations on the gameboard of the thugs that are serving as henchmen for the Rhino's masterplan. 

`

Squirrel Girl 

Not intimidated by the Unbeatable Squirrel Girl? You should be! Doreen Green has squirrel-like abilities that include super speed, strength and senses. She has the sharp teeth and jaw strength that allows her to chew through almost any material including metal. She can also communicate with and command squirrels to assist her. Plus, she has a big, fluffy tail! Most importantly, in a nut shell Squirrel Girl has some of the best cards available in her deck to provide the final blow for a hero victory in the game.

The heroes in our game were having a rough time with Rhino stampeding theme preventing them from getting any traction against him. In Marvel United, players must unlock two of three objectives involving rescuing civilians, stopping henchmen and eliminating threats before they can combat the villain straight on. Things were looking bleak as the Rhino knocked out Black Cat over and over again with his charge move and the villain's masterplan kept resulting in player's not being able to play their special effects cards.

Black Cat, Squirrel Girl and Howard the Duck remained persistent though. They kept fighting! The team held out long enough that Squirrel Girl was able to play an action card from her deck that squashed Rhino's masterplan. She used her Common Sense ability → If the number of your Special Effects cards in the Storyline is greater than the Villain's current Health, the Heroes win the game.

While our heroes hadn't been able to unlock the accomplishments needed to attack Rhino directly, Squirrel Girl's common sense was his undoing. Rhino had 8 health points, but the team had played 9 special effect cards within the Storyline when Squirrel Girl's turn came up. Luckily, she had been able to hold onto that card in her deck without it being drained during the gameplay. Tossing that tenth special effects card down won the game!

Just in the nick of time too! If a villain, expends all of its A.I. action cards that completes the masterplan and ends the game with a loss for the heroes. Rhino only had 2 cards left when Squirrel Girl made her move! Whew ... that was close! Doreen Green really did earn the name Unbeatable Squirrel Girl with that game winning move.

MARVEL UNITED combines strategy, teamwork and luck in an entertaining combination of board game, RPG and card decking building competitive play. It provides a nice time having players engage in cooperative play where no individual wins the game but rather everyone wins or losses as a team. We've had some great family time playing the Marvel United tabletop game. It has absolutely earned a Geek Daddy nod of approval! 

One last note. Playing pieces come unpainted with the Marvel United MARVEL UNITED game. The characters shown in this post were decorated with my own amateurish skills. Be nice!

This post has affiliate links, which means this blog could earn advertising money if you buy something. This doesn't cost you anything extra, ageekdaddy.com just has to give you the heads up for legal reasons. Click away!

MARVEL UNITED WELCOME TO WAKANDA

Welcome to Wakanda! We had a marvelous game night playing the RISE OF THE BLACK PANTHER expansion to Marvel United.  Marvel United allows players to role play as their favorite superheroes attempting to stop a villain's evil master plan. Combing strategic elements from both board and card games, Marvel United provides a fantastic tabletop gaming experience.

What I particularly appreciate about Marvel United is that the rules are simple enough for kids to join in to play with parents for a family game night, but it is challenging enough that adults can have as much fun as their children in playing it. Plus, it is a cooperative game, so all the players work together instead of competing against each other trying to win. So, you are all on the same team going for a joint win in Marvel United.

Our most recent bout in Marvel United took us to Wakanda with the RISE OF THE BLACK PANTHER expansion that I picked up by investing in a CMON / Spin Master Games Kickstarter campaign. Our team consisted of my son who took on the role of Black Panther, my daughter who played as Princess Shuri and myself who joined the team as Okoye, captain of the Dora Milaje Wakandan royal guard. I painted up our game pieces and we were ready to go to Wakanda. Let the battle begin!

Despite its technological prowess and wealth, the kingdom of Wakanda finds itself embroiled in a struggle for its throne. Erik Killmonger has taken an oath of vengeance against the royal bloodline for the killing of his father and has a master plan to take control of Wakanda as its new ruler. To that end Killmonger seeks to radicalize the population against their king, smuggling weapons and mercenaries into the country in preparation for an uprising that would place him on the throne. Can Black Panther, Shuri, and Okoye stop Killmonger's master plan?

Our heroes are defeated if Killmonger earns three crisis tokens being placed on four or more locations on the game board. Crisis tokens are earned when villain cards pulled result in more thugs or civilians being placed on a location than available slots. Also, the heroes lose if they or the Killmonger expend all of their action cards before the villain's health points are depleted. 

The heroes win if they deplete Killmonger of all his health points. They just can't attack the villain right away though. Before attacking the villain directly, players must first complete two of three task cards by rescuing civilians, defeating thugs or clearing threats. Keep in mind Killmonger can knock out our characters and earn crisis tokens from the start of the game but until we complete a few tasks the villain has an advantage on us.

Killmonger also has another bit of an edge on our heroes in an aspect that is unique to the RISE OF THE BLACK PANTHER Marvel United expansion. During setup, each player is given an endangered location token. Each hero selects a different location on the board to place their token. If the villain's actions result in there being more civilian or thug tokens on a location then there are allocated spaces, a hero who has his or her endangered location takes 1 damage each turn until the overflow is reversed. Heroes need to protect these endangered locations or risk being KO'd.

The advantages of the villain though are the heroes can strategize and work together to win the game. From cooperating to achieve objectives or passing on action tokens from one turn to another for other players to utilize, teamwork is very important when it comes to winning in Marvel United. We've found it really takes a united effort to be competitive in Marvel United.

Black Panther, Shuri and Okoye held their own in our game, but Killmonger was able to keep filling locations with thugs that kept us off kilter and unable to achieve completing the two tasks needed to engage him one on one. Killmonger was able to KO Black Panther, Shuri and Okoye as our being aggressive to complete tasks opened our heroes up to taking damage. Knock outs can really throw you off your game plan and we never really recovered from those setbacks. 

In the end Killmonger outlasted us and achieved his master plan to become ruler of Wakanda. While he didn't win by accomplishing his villainous plot, our team of heroes exhausted all our action cards without eliminating all of Killmonger's health points. Doah! 

While we weren't victorious this game of Marvel United, the kids and I had a blast having a super time battling Killmonger. We are geeked about having a rematch! And actually since my kids look forward to game nights playing Marvel United in the end we actually do win every time we spend quality family time together. Wakanda Forever! 

Buying a product through a Geek Daddy affiliate link provides this blog a small commission at no additional expense to your purchase. Your support of ageekdaddy.com is appreciated!

HARRY POTTER SPELLCASTERS GAME

Thanks to Goliath Games who sent us their HARRY POTTER SPELLCASTERS GAME to try out. We had lots of family game time fun pretending to be wizards and witches practicing for our Hogwarts exams. Instead of being in the drafty castle of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry though we were flicking and swashing the replica Harry Potter wand that comes included with the game on our comfy backyard patio.

In this charades style game players need to guess what spells are being cast by whoever is wielding the wand. A number of spell tiles are laid out for everyone to see. The first spellcaster then secretly pulls from a blind deck a card selecting one of those spells to cast. That person waives the wand to duplicate the pattern displayed on their card to cast a particular spell that is a mystery to the game's other participants.

The first person to recognize the spell being cast from the tiles on display laid out before them wins the round. That person picks up the tile for the spell they guessed and becomes the next Spellcaster.  When someone successfully guesses a spell the caster keeps the card otherwise it gets put back into the draw deck. The game goes on until the last card from the blind deck is drawn. Whoever collects the most spell tiles and cards wins the game.

Recommended for 3 - 8 players aged 6+. A typically game lasts about twenty minutes. HARRY POTTER SPELLCASTERS GAME includes 32 spell tiles and spellcaster cards, a plastic wand and play instructions.

Can you master spellcasting like your favorite characters in J.K. Rowling's Wizarding World of Harry Potter? Do you know the difference between accio and incendio? When to swish instead of flick? Cast and recognize spells to earn Hogwart's Barnabus Finkley Prize for Exceptional Spell-Casting or in the Muggle World bragging rights among your family and friends.

GAMES WITH BENEFITS

Every family has it struggles and sometimes it isn't comfortable to share these troubles with others. I don't mention this much out of a sensitivity to her privacy but we've had a fair share of trouble with my daughter having dyslexia. It went as far as us engaging in litigation against our public school system to get her some assistance in addressing this learning disorder. 

So I thought it would be beneficial to mention our challenges with dyslexia to let others know they aren't alone and share with you some products from Super Duper Publications that are great learning resources for children who have this neurological condition. These dyslexia learning aids are great educational tools because they ingrain beneficial skills in an enjoyable manner. They are games with benefits!

Dyslexia causes people's brains to process imagery differently than the average person. This can make it difficult to read or do math. It doesn't mean people with dyslexia aren't intelligent; they just need to put in more effort to sort through things. 

Many smart and successful people have been diagnosed with dyslexia including Thomas Edison, Steven Spielberg, Jennifer Aniston, Tom Cruise and Richard Branson. A district court judge I regularly appear before in my law practice often tells people struggling in life about her own issues with overcoming dyslexia. It is estimated that 1 in 10 people may have dyslexia which is around 40 million Americans. 

People with dyslexia aren't dumb or lazy; they just see things differently and need a bit of extra help. While there is no cure for dyslexia there are coping strategies that can help people with this condition be on even par with everyone else. A key component of mastering these strategies to overcome dyslexia is repetition so that these ways of reading and comprehending become routine.

In addition to achieving some special education tutoring at school to help her obtain the tools she needs to cope with this learning disability, we also work with my daughter at home in focusing on utilizing various coping strategies not just in school work but in her overall everyday life. One of the ways we do this is by incorporating learning games from Super Duper Publications into family game nights. 

By doing this we are all involved in helping her overcome reading difficulties while also having fun. There isn't as much stigma for a kid if they feel a parent isn't making him or her do extra homework but rather everyone is having a good time together by playing games that are also learning aids. Make learning fun so children don't see it as a chore!

Here are some of the Super Duper games available that are entertaining ways you can help a child with dyslexia overcome their educational difficulties:

PHONOLOGICAL AWARENESS CHIPPER CHAT

Phonological Awareness Chipper Chat targets twelve different areas of phonological awareness skills. Phonological awareness is the ability to recognize and manipulate sounds in language. This is a vital foundational skill for reading. 

Focusing on phonological awareness can help someone with dyslexia determine a word when written letters may seem mixed up on a page. Practice makes perfect and this game is an enjoyable way to work on phonological awareness. This game is useful from Pre-K to Middle School.

READING FOR DETAILS IN STORIES 

To become successful readers, it is imperative for students to identify and remember the important details in a story. Reading for Details in Stories Super Fun Deck features 100 engaging stories divided into three levels of difficulty. Students read the story on the large cards (4" x 7") and answer the comprehension question that follows. Then they use the Super Duper Secret Decoder to check their answers. The comprehension questions increase in difficulty with each level. Recommended for use with 2nd through 8th graders.

SEQUENCING EVENTS IN STORIES

To become successful readers, it is imperative to be able to identify and remember the important details in a story. Reading for Details in Stories Super Fun Deck features 100 engaging stories divided into three levels of difficulty. Read the story on the large cards (4" x 7") and answer the comprehension question that follows. Then they use the Super Duper Secret Decoder to check your answers. 

SENTENCE BUILDING

Use cartoonish cards to formulate simple, compound, and complex sentences. There are four levels of sentence prompts beginning with one word (noun or verb) and ending with four words (noun, verb, adjectives, adverbs, conjunctions, or connectors). Includes 56 illustrated cards (3¼" x 4¼"), game and content cards, and a sturdy tin. Recommended for ages 7+.

WHAT IS THE MAIN IDEA

This Super Fun Deck for kids in school grades 3 - 8 has 120 story cards to help students learn how to identify the main idea in a paragraph. Each card has a short narrative followed by three possible choices for the main idea of the story. Players listen to or read the story, and then decide which choice best represents the main idea of the story.

If you have a child in your life who could benefit from dyslexia learning aids like these head over to superduperinc.com. This dad blogger is always looking for entertaining ways to help with my kids education. These games are a Super Duper way to do that so they get a Geek Daddy nod of approval!

If you want to check out any of these products, use promo code GEEKDAD10 to get 10% off a purchase at superduperinc.com. Valid until 7/31/2021. These are games with benefits beyond a fun family game night.

ACROSS THE BOARD BASEBALL GAME

While the Major Leagues may not be back in action yet, we've been having fun playing the Across the Board Baseball Game in our backyard. Across the Board Games produce unique handcrafted board games with sports themes such as horse racing, soccer, hockey and baseball that are crafted right here in the USA. We have a lot of fun playing their baseball game!

This 2-player game replicates an outing to the ballpark. Players compete on a wooden board shaped like a baseball diamond. Each side has a dug out filled with four batters designated by sturdy metal chrome or brass pegs. Just like in a real ball game each team has nine innings to score as many runs as they can. Whoever scores the most wins!

During a team's at bat they continue until they get three outs. In this game hits, walks and outs are determined by the role of the dice. Get a hit or walk and move your teams' pegs around the diamond. Roll an out and move a marker that designates how many outs you have on the scoreboard.

Roll two dice for each at bat. Roll two 1s and you've just hit a HOME RUN! But roll two 5s and you STRIKE OUT! Other combinations in die rolls include singles, doubles, triples and walks as well as well as ground outs, pop outs and fly outs. This game is all about luck but still is really fun to play!

As you go through innings, use the included dry erase marker to update the score board. It provides an easy way to write in team names and scores. We've found you can rub away the ink on the score board with no residue left behind maintaining a clean look to your scoreboard game after game.

This baseball game has been a home run for our family. It has earned a Geek Daddy nod of approval for being a relaxing way to enjoy some family time while playing it. The game isn't complicated to play making it great for family game nights. The game's real wood board makes it stand out and gives it the appearance of something you'll want to keep around the house long term to bring out when friends and family visit.

If you are looking for an all ages game that is easy to play yet is sure to provide hours of enjoyment, this dad blogger recommends this handcrafted, made in America game from Across the Board. It is unique and the type of thing that could one day become a family heirloom thanks to its quality workmanship. Play ball!