You may never hear this question again.
Rand McNally, an American company that has been making maps, atlases, and travel gear for more than a century, has introduced a series of games and activities to keep kids entertained and families connected during long drives. Boredom Breakers is a line of five fun, creative, and interactive activities for your family to play together during a day of errands or long road trips.
Why I love these games:
* They are fun!
* The whole family is involved, talking, laughing and playing together.
* These games are creative and interesting (no more mindless, individual playing of handheld electronic games or spacing out with headphones on).
* No small, easy-to-lose pieces.
* They are affordable, and easy to store in your glove compartment for the future.
I was sent Story Starters and Car Game Countdown to review. Car Game Countdown is a good choice if you like the suspense of trying to beat the clock. It retails for about $12 and was even able to entertain a car with three young boys in it. Car Game Countdown has eighteen different games to choose from on laminated, dual-sided game cards (held together with a clip ring- you won't lose any) and includes a car-shaped digital timer. We played Alphabet Hot Potato, Super Silly Nonsense Sentences, I Saw It First, and 15 other games. We used it during car rides between doing errands, and they were actually asking to play more. You can even use the timer to make up your own games.
The Story Starters is a fun activity as well, allowing for lots of creativity. The cd has twenty different stories, including mysteries you try to solve, a sort of verbal Mad Libs featuring stories with missing parts for you to fill in, and story beginnings that you make up your own endings to, prompted by the soundtrack. The cd is over one and 1/2 hours long and I found this one to be very fun.
The other games offered, which I did not try out, are Car Karaoke, Travel Card Games, and Magnet Message Makers, which all look fun too (though I would not torture anyone with my karaoke singing!).
That's a great idea. My boys love playing "I Spy" and "Name Game" (where you name an animal, a person and a thing with a given letter) but that's been the limit to my creativity in the field of car games.
ReplyDeleteChecking this out.
I would love to know that age ranges these games are good for. I went to the Rand McNally site and they didn't have it either.
ReplyDeletePatty, the two I reviewed here are for ages three and over (they may have difficulty competing with much older siblings in the timed games, but otherwise, they would enjoy them and have fun with them, especially if it's played in fun and not so competitively).
ReplyDeleteVery Nice Blog
ReplyDeletei'll be on the look out for these gaems! we spend a lot of time in the car :)
ReplyDeleteHappy SITS Saturday Sharefest
Hi. Thanks for stopping by my blog on my SITS day! I've been to your blog before but I forgot to mention that the "connect" area of my blog was done by a blog designer. www.thepixelboutique.com and to be honest I have no idea how she did it!
ReplyDeleteI've seen these and wondered if they were any good. Thanks for the review! We have lots of long road trips with my boyfriend's 9 year old and are looking for games to play. I'm just worried about the carsickness factor. I get carsick if I try to do anything that requires reading or staring at a board...
ReplyDeleteI get carsick too, so I understand. The CD does not require you to read, and you can always use a timer to play games without reading (you can even read the car games before you get in the car for ideas, so you don't get dizzy, or make up your own and use a timer).
ReplyDeleteI've also found sites that offer game ideas that are similar...alphabet games, what not. Games are a great way to keep bored children happy :)
These games are a great idea! My little guy is still too young (only 10-months), but I can see these being a big hit someday. Wish they were around when I was a kid ;).
ReplyDeletemy kids need something like this to keep them occupied They make me nuts with their fighting and the video only lasts for so long
ReplyDeleteCan I snag that stroller reviews button on your side bar I review for them too and thought I'd come visit u. Does she have a button posted?
NOM, snag away, it's not my button *wink*...I'll come visit you.
ReplyDelete