Learning the origins of board games, illusions, journey, and math

We love playing board games and have a few family favourites. As children, we have played lots of different board games from monopoly to mancala, and made sure to introduce our children to board games at a very young age. A few years ago, we made a wooden convertible storage cart just to keep our games. We believe most board games are a wonderful way to socialize and connect, and they have become part of our lifestyle. Over the past decade, we have documented a few board games on CreateWithMom. When we saw the Board Games in 100 Moves by Ian Livingstone, we were curious to discover different board games and their origins. 

Fun Activities for Children

Although most parents and guardians of young children may be exhausted by the time their children get home from school, the children usually have plenty of energy left. Filling the hours between school and bedtime can be tricky — especially now that it’s getting dark outside before we can even get dinner on the table. It is easy for young children to zone out in front of their tablet or a television screen, but everyone knows that giving children too much screen time is detrimental to their health and development. If you are looking for ways to keep your kids busy after school, there are many options.

Family Time with Memorable Board Games & Win your own

I think sometimes we spend a little too much time as a family watching movies and shows especially on Netflix :) than playing a friendly interactive game.  Sometimes with hectic schedules we forget to spend quality time playing with each other.
The upcoming family day weekend reminds me that we need to make it a routine to sit around our family room and play interactive board games. This will allow us to reconnect, reenergize relationships and create memories.  Hasbro has a broad collection of over 60 timeless games that the whole family can enjoy.

JENGA Boom Game is similar to the classic JENGA game and is aimed for everyone over the age of 6 years.  We need to delicately pull the blocks out of the stack without knocking it down. With this JENGA Boom, we have to move fast because the detonator is pulled before we take our turn, and this is like a timer.  In order to win we have to get our block out before the time runs out and the stack "explodes."  This game includes 36 JENGA hardwood blocks, toy detonator, stacking sleeve and instructions and can be played alone or with more players.  

 

Some people might be offended by the violent aspect of the game i.e. it being called a "detonator" etc., if we keep aside this "opinion" then it is a fun game for the family to play and try to remove the block before it all comes down.  My children enjoyed laughing when the blocks came down before we got a chance to carefully remove the block.  We will be practicing this more during the long weekend :)

The CLUE The Classic Mystery Game is for everyone over 8 years and is played with 2 to 6 players.  This game includes Mansion Game board, 1 Yellow Murder Envelope, 1 Detective Notepad, 6 Character tokens, 21 Black CLUEDO cards, 13 Red Bonus cards, 6 Weapon tokens, 2 Dice and Game Guide.

We have to be detectives and crack the case of who killed the millionaire Samuel Black by questioning everything to unravel the mystery and finding clues; Who did it? Where? etc. The person who solves the murder first wins.  This is a fun twist on the classic mystery game and features new characters and a two-player version.  I haven't played the classic before so this game is new to me.

The ZYNGA Draw Something Game is for everyone over 8 years.  There is no need to be an artist to win this fun-filled Draw Something game.  While one player draws, everyone else shouts out their guesses at what they're drawing.  Whoever guesses the word earns coins along with the drawer, and the harder the word, the more coins you earn.  To win, the person has to have 15 coins.  We really enjoyed this game and I think it does test our artistic skills :) and imagination so people can guess correctly.  This game includes 4 draw stations, 180 cards, 4 crayons, 4 pads of paper, 4 coin tracker clips and game guide.  My children enjoy playing this game on the iPad so it was nice to have something physical to play with instead.

I remember spending lots of time playing board games with my brothers and friends when I was little.   Sometimes I feel my children are missing making these memories because of all the technology that surrounds us.  Hope we will all get to play some fun board games and reconnect with our families during this weekend and then make it more of a regular routine to create lasting memories.

Giveaway:
To help you get started and have your own family time playing board games, enter this giveaway below through the rafflecopter below and win the ZYNG Draw Something Game.  This giveaway is open to everyone in Canada and ends on March 15th. 
Update: The winner is Sam
a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Vote for Our #LoveYourWood Convertible Gaming Storage Cart and Win

We are very excited to be part of the Rust-Oleum and Varathane #LoveYourWood Challenge. For this challenge, we were provided with a gift card to purchase our choice of wood and any other material we needed for the project. Our surprise package included a Varathane Top Coat, a Varathane Wood Stain, glass pebbles, cabinet door handle, hook, wire, and rope.

Fun Board Games to Encourage Learning

I believe playing board games with our children is a fun way for us to get involved in teaching lifelong skills such as problem solving, team playing, communication skills, and help in the development of cognitive thinking. It is so much easier to shop for these toys for children in all ages right from the comfort of our home through Amazon.ca.

Games that bring family and friends together

Joining friends and family to play educational and fun board games is a wonderful way to connect while stimulating thinking skills of all players, despite their age. Playing games develop a variety of cognitive, social, and physical skills.  

Summer Travel and Outdoor Games

We love taking games with us when we travel. This keeps everyone in our family engaged while travelling. Games always come in handy on rainy days, or when we look for something relaxing to do. This summer, we took a look at a few outdoor and travel games from Goliath Games and Pressman toys.  

Fun Activities We Do To Relax At Home

I long to spend quality time with my children at the end of the day, especially after school started in September. We have been quite busy this summer so like me, my children prefer to stay home and read a book or do other fun things indoors these days. To relax and revitalize we do many things like...

4 In A Row Board Game Giveaway

We love playing board games! Classic games have been around for years because it is fun for everyone in the family. 4 In A Row is simple competitive game of strategy where two players at a time try to be the first to connect four colour disks.

Summer Activities: Board Games and Creative Workbook

To keep ourselves occupied during the many rainy days we have had this summer, we have been playing a couple of fun board games and doing creative projects. This trivia quiz game, Totally Trivia, and a hilarious speed drawing game, Speedy Scribbles are quite engaging. We agree with the author of The Bright Book that art helps process thoughts, emotions, and ideas, and this workbook has been inspiring are creativity.

Start a tradition with games

1/4 cup popcorn

1 tbsp maple syrup

Put the popcorn in a brown paper bag, fold the top of the bag, about 2" on the top. Microwave it for 2 minutes. Put the popcorn in a bowl and toss with maple syrup. Be careful popcorn maybe hot. This would be a lovely homemade snack to have with children... when you are having a family fun night or day :)

Hasbro has a variety of games for our preschoolers i.e. Memory game, Candy land, Chutes and Ladders, Hungry hungry hippos. All these games encourage taking turns, sharing, following rules; which are all important skills for preschoolers and young children to learn so they can be ready for school.

The Memory game is a matching puzzle game with 72 vibrant picture cards. Candy land is another fun game for children over 3 years. It has coloured cards and fun pictures that the children will love. The players have to go through fun destinations like mountains full of chocolate and get to the castle first to win this game.

Chutes and ladder is similar to the traditional snakes and ladders; instead of the dice there is a spin wheel with 6 numbers. It is easier for young children to look and start counting and learn their numbers up to 100. It too has lovely illustrations on the board.

Hungry hungry hippos is a toy game for children over 4 years of age or older because it has small marble sized balls. A maximum of 4 players get to press and collect has many marbles they can with their hippo. Children will have lots of fun pressing and collecting the marble with their colourful hippos.

Take the time to have fun with these Hasbro board games as a family and create lasting memories.

All rights reserved on photographs and opinion of the written content Createwithmom © 2012. Please Ask First

Fun educational games everyone in the family will enjoy

Learning doesn't have to be boring! Games are a fun way for families to spend time together while children develop a variety of skills such as problem solving, critical thinking, teamwork, sharing, and many other fundamental skills. Pressman Toys promote learning with its STEM and educational products. We have been playing with three of their games - Mastermind®, Tri-Ominos® and Rummikub®. 

Activities We Do With Our Children to provide Inspiration

As parents, we find it our responsibility to make our children comprehend that everything around them needs to be respected and appreciated. To make them understand that all experiences provide knowledge, we do a variety of activities with them. Making these activities as part of our lifestyle, helps them become savvy. These activities do not cost us financially, and helps build memories.

Our Camping Adventure at Earl Rowe Provincial Park

One thing we love doing in the summer is camping at Ontario Parks. After a couple of years of pausing all travel plans due to the pandemic, we were super-excited to get back into some of our favourite things to do. With both our children being teenagers now and having their own schedule of activities to do, timing adventures become difficult. Planning a quick camping trip less than a couple of hours from home was fun and exciting for all of us. Thankfully, a camping trip has a lot of engaging and exciting activities for everyone in our family. We believe camping is a good way to connect with nature, which is great for our physical and mental health - and most importantly great for creating family memories!