A Fun Family Game Night Courtesy of Imagine Toys

We've been switching back and forth between having Family Movie Nights and Family Game Nights on Friday evenings.  Starting off the weekend with a focus on some fun quality time together is a nice way to depressurize from the stresses that work, school and the hustle of everyday life can throw at a family throughout the week.  We tried out two new games during our most recent family fun night that were provided courtesy of our friends at IMAGINE TOYS.

 

Imagine Toys is a specialty toy store with a focus on providing quality toys that encourage children to use their imaginations.  They offer unique toys that promote creativity, educational learning, and athletics which normally won't be found at a mass-market store.  They provided A GEEK DADDY Blog with the Ice Age DVD Game and Inching Along board game to enjoy for one of our Family Game Nights.

My kids really enjoy the Ice Age movies so this was a great pick for a game night selection.  You are provided with some really nice playing pieces that depict some of the popular characters from this animated movie series which must be moved across a game board depicting a frozen tundra in search of acorns hidden under the thawing ice...be careful though as your opponents can move around Rudy the T-Rex and if he catches your character it is back to Start for you.  The number of spaces you can move in your quest to grab up all the acorns that are colored the same as your starting spot is determined on how well a player completes on-screen games that are randomly generated by the DVD included with the game.  In addition to the games the DVD also features humorous segments featuring the cast of characters from the Ice Age movies.

The television sequences involve 8 interactive carnival arcades style games of skill and chance that are randomly generated and have various outcomes so that players can't predict how to beat the challenge. Incorporating the dvd aspects into the game provides an extra dimension to its play but doesn't overpower to board game elements and strategy.  So while you aren't turning off the television for the night when it comes to the Ice Age  DVD Game, players aren't focused on the television for the entire game as they also have to focus on things taking place on its tiled board like finding their acorns and avoiding Rudy.

The Ice Age DVD game is for children 5 years and older and is for 2 to 4 players.  This game amused and entertained my 5 year old twins for an hour.  Go nuts with this game during your next family game night!

The next game we played was called Inching Along.  This game was dreamed up by a teacher to help kids learn basic math and measuring skills.  It is aimed for kids in kindergarten through second grade.  My twins are about 2 months into kindergarten and the game was just a little too advanced for them as we started getting into the game play.  I have a feeling they'll be ready to play it closer to the end of the school year which was somewhat disappointing because they really were excited about the artwork for the game board and pieces and interested in using the ruler that comes along with the game...but alas their counting and math skills were just not up to par once we started playing the game. So we put it aside for later on but it is a game we will absolutely be bringing back out of the closet in the future.

Inching Along has a nighttime camping theme and I just have to say again has very impressive artwork and a great game layout.  To get from the start to finish players must pull a card with instructions on it then follow those directions to measure lines and translate those measurements into numbers to know how many spaced for their characters to move forward or backward on the hiking trail.  It is a very original concept that reinforces educational lessons in a fun manner for children.

Both Ice Age DVD Game and Inching Along get A Geek Daddy nod of approval for being fun opportunities to promote creative and educational play.  For more information about Imagine Toys visit www.imaginetoys.com

DISCLAIMER:  Imagine Toys provided A Geek Daddy Blog with a $50 credit to purchase products from its website to use for a family game night.  There was no obligation to write a positive review about Imagine Toys or the products sold from it.  The opinions in this post are my own.

Get Out & Play before Summer Days have gone Bye Bye

Wow! once again summer is flying by faster than our family would like.  In just a few weeks our kids' school year will be beginning so I want to maximize their opportunities to get outside while the weather is warm and they have the time to play in the backyard or over at the neighborhood park.  A nice way to excite your kids about playing outside is to pick up a Get Out & Play! Essentials Pack from Imagine Toys.  In addition to providing some great items to keep your kids active and amused outdoors, purchasing this fun play kit helps with a larger societal goal of encouraging children across the country to play outdoors more by providing a donation to the charitable organization KaBoom!  Imagine Toys will donate a minimum of at least 8% of its sales from the Get Out & Play! Essentials Packs this year to support this national non-profit organization that works to bring balanced and active play into the daily lives of all children, particularly those growing up in poverty in America.

Imagine Toys generously provided a Get Out & Play! Essentials Pack for A GEEK DADDY blog to test out and review this summer.  I will be upfront and say that I was initially skeptical of this product being too "basic" to be of much usefulness...seemed like a bunch of "random" stuff just tossed in a bag... but upon receiving it have found it to be very convenient and have been very impressed.  The Get Out & Play! Essentials Pack gathers all sorts of child play items that you might have scattered all over your house, shed or garage and keeps them organized in a backpack that you can easily grab to take outside in the backyard or with you on a trip to the park.  If your kids whine that they don't know what to do outdoors for fun or complain playing outdoors is boring there are plenty of things you can pull out of the backpack to encourage them to play with.  Plus just pulling the items out of the backpack itself seems to add an aura of excitement for the kids.

Additionally, there is a Get Out & Play handbook that comes along with the Essentials Pack that is full of ideas for outdoor games if parents and children may be stumped for an interesting activity to do.  My kids have been asking this summer to play Hopscotch and I hate to admit I had no clue about the rules or how to play this game.  I pulled out the handy guide that came with this play set and there was a whole section that detailed everything I needed to know. So we are going to play Hopscotch this weekend!  Also included in the book are lots of suggestions for variations of tag, hide-and-go-seek, sidewalk, race, ball, and other types of games to capture children's attention and promote excitement with playing outdoors.  All of the "basic" play items that I initially though were "randomly" included actually tie into games suggested in the included Get Out & Play guidebook enhancing their value by being packaged together.  This really is a great play kit!

Along with the book, this play kit is packed with timeless playground essentials including two jump ropes, an 8" dodge ball (the rubbery type I remember from gym class), a flying disc and a few boxes of sidewalk chalk.  All thrown in a high quality backpack that can easily be slung over a shoulder to be carried to where you need to be.  Backpacks are an item that I often come across and am disappointed by flimsy or cheap construction, but I can legitimately say this backpack is really well made and very useful for packing your kids up for an afternoon outside.  The kick ball, jump rope and flying disc are also well constructed so they are sturdy enough to weather rough play and won't break after being used for five minutes by a kid.  In my opinion the Get Out & Play! Essentials Pack is ideal for use by children between the ages of 5 to 10 years old and if you have a kid in that age range I'd recommend you check it out.


The Go Out & Play! Essentials Pack retails for $59.95 at Imagine Toys.  You can select from an orange or purple colored backpack.  With hundreds of cable channels to watch and video games to play on your television, it can be easy for kids to waste away hours sitting on the couch indoors, it is so important as parents that we make an effort to get our children playing outdoors to promote exercise and health living.  This Go Out & Play! Essentials Pack is a great resource for busy parents, or babysitting grandparents like the ones my wife & I depend on when we are at work, to utilize to encourage your kids to engage in some athletic and creative play activities outdoors.

For more information on Imagine Toys:  www.imaginetoys.com
For more information on KaBoom!: www.kaboom.org

Disclaimer:  A GEEK DADDY BLOG received a complimentary Go Out & Play! Essentials Pack from Imagine Toys to review.