Brain Blox Fun Family Chess~ Making Chess "Easy Peasy" to Learn! {Product Review}

Chess. When we first got married, I didn’t realize that my husband had played in the chess club. We tried playing together, but I just didn’t have the critical thinking skills to play…but really it was more that I could NEVER remember which piece was able to move where or how! Chess is a game that I really have been wanting to introduce to my kids—especially my math and critical thinking game lover—but it’s not really my forte. Enter our review of the Brain Blox Fun Family Chess set from Brain Blox. Claiming to be the “easy-peasy way to learn chess”, I really wondered if this was the answer to my how-do-i-teach-them-chess dilemma!

About the Product

Brain Blox Fun Family Chess is a very fun learn-as-you-play game designed to teach anyone from age 5-105 how to play chess. Chess is a great game for the mind, as it increases skills in so many areas

Daily Bible Jigsaw from Planet 316 {Product Review}

I am not an online games person. I don't like wasting my space on my phone or computer with games, so I don't add the apps. I also don't play them on Facebook. Well, at least I didn't. Not before I was given the Daily Bible Jigsaw from Planet 316 to review. But now, I have a new favorite brain teaser to do when I am just killing time or need a mental break!

About Daily Bible Jigsaw

Daily Bible Jigsaw is a free app (from Planet 316) for iOS, Google Play, or as a Facebook game. Simply download the app (or open it up on Facebook) and you get to enjoy putting a puzzle together. It's a timed puzzle, so you can work to beat your best times. There are cheats you can use if you have coins to spend: rotate (puts all the pieces right side up), guide (allows you to see the final puzzle image), sweep (moves all the pieces to the side for you), magnet (attaches two random pieces together), and edges (keeps only the edges of the puzzle on the board, until you solve them). You can earn coins by completing the puzzles--there are chances to earn a coin by quickly piecing together a bonus piece in the puzzle. The puzzle pieces can be manipulated with a simple tap of our finger (if on mobile device) or click of the mouse (if on a computer). The puzzle pieces snap into place when they are correctly together and once the last piece goes in, the picture is revealed.

Every picture includes a bible verse, and the completed pictures can be shared on Facebook as a graphic. Another bonus of playing it on Facebook, is that you can compete against your friends to see if you can beat their times.

You can see I ALMOST beat Debra on today's puzzle!

The daily puzzle is always free to play on the day it's opened. You can go back and play any of the other day's puzzles--but after the day has passed, it is 3 coins to play each one; however, once you have played it, you can click *replay* and play it again for free without paying any coins. I have slowly been working to complete the entire month of March, since I have so many coins I can still spend.

My March calendar is almost filled!

Speaking of coins, if you want to have more coins, they are available for purchase in bundles. Starting with 55 for $4.99, and continued savings the more you want to purchase. But if you don't want to pay for coins, you do not need them to enjoy the app. You can also play the bonus puzzles which are larger puzzles for free. These are must more tricky with 56 pieces and a more plain background.

You can also click the archive to visit past months puzzles if you want to play even more of them!

Planet 316 offers Daily Bible Jigsaw on the following platforms:

Google Play (Android devices)

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.planet316.dailybiblejigsaw

Apple App Store (iOS devices)  

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/daily-bible-jigsaw/id965945806

Facebook (Mac or PC computer web browser...Chrome and Firefox work best)

https://apps.facebook.com/dailybiblejigsaw

Facebook Gameroom (for the computer, a new game platform on Facebook) 

https://www.facebook.com/gameroom

Planet 316 offers several other Christian based apps that you could check out for additional puzzles and games. 

I was given 500 coins by Planet 316 to use within the Daily Bible Jigsaw app over the last few weeks. 

My Thoughts on the Daily Bible Jigsaw

I am really enjoying using Daily Bible Jigsaw! I have it downloaded on my iPhone 6 (a free app) and from the time I started playing it, I couldn't stop! It was so much fun to try to beat the times. I didn't know about the tournament standings between friends until a fellow review member mentioned it. Once I discovered that it was playable on Facebook without having to add any extra programs, I added it to my games--unfortunately, because my email on Facebook is different from what I signed up on the phone app with, all my coins disappeared! But Planet 316 kindly renewed them for me. Now I can play on either my phone or FB using the same coin bank. My Kindle Fire won't do it because Kindle sometimes has issues with apps--I have problems getting it to upload from Google Play.

Because I wanted to see how they worked, I spent coins on the cheats and was able to get my time super low--allowing me to earn 1st or 2nd place in the tournaments. I use the edges and rotate cheats over any of the other. I also discovered I can pause the puzzle if I get interrupted. It's fun to win awards too, by hitting some goals that Daily Bible Jigsaw has--like solve 5 puzzles, solve 1st puzzle, log in to Facebook account. Each award earns you coins! There is also a running tournament for who solves the most puzzles during the week. 

I really enjoy the scripture graphic that the puzzle reveals, and the ability to share it on Facebook once it's done. They are very pretty and inspiring!

I have greedily kept the puzzle to myself without letting my boys have a go--I think it's going to be mommy's game!

I definitely recommend this app. Yes, to be able to use all the cheats the coins are nice, and yes they do cost money, but you can still earn coins just by completing the daily puzzles (for free) and connecting the bonus puzzle piece during your puzzle. I would use it even without coins, just for the daily puzzle. I am actually going to check out the other bible related games that Planet 316 offers, because those are the kind of games I would want my boys to be enjoying.

Want to Know More About Daily Bible Jigsaw?

As I said, we have been reviewing the Daily Bible Jigsaw from Planet 316. I have discussed how I used it, but please check out the rest of our review team and see how they enjoyed it!

Make sure to connect with Planet 316 on Facebook and Twitter to stay up to day for any daily specials and news!

5 Educational (but FUN!) Gift Ideas for Under $20 {2016 Gift Guide Series}

This is the time of year when most of you are starting to think really hard about gifts. Perhaps it's for the upcoming holy day or holiday season, or for all those end of the year birthdays that roll around. Maybe you just want to start stashing some goodies for next year! If you are like me, you like gifts that aren't just frivolous, but actually have a benefit to the child's brain. Another plus might be a game where ALL the family can enjoy playing, even the kiddos under age 10. Instead of just reaching for the always a winner choice of books or LEGOS, why don't you give these Top 5 Educational (but FUN!) Gift Ideas for Under $20 a look over, and see if one might be just right for you!

The links on this blog and in the posts may be affiliate links.  Please see my disclosure policy for full details and thank you for your support!

Let me begin by saying that all of these items are things that are what my own family uses and loves, I don't just recommend things that haven't been tried and loved yet! :)

Circuit Maze~ Electric Current Logic Game from ThinkFun {Timberdoodle Product Review}

My boys have very engineering minded personalities. They love to build and design and are constantly working out new LEGO creations. They recently reviewed a product that gave us a great introduction to electrical circuits, which both of my boys LOVED. When I was offered the chance to review the Circuit Maze by ThinkFun through Timberdoodle Co., I accepted hoping that it would further my boys' interest in how circuits worked.

About Circuit Maze

Circuit Maze is a single player game created by the award winning educational game company ThinkFun. In the game your child can safely explore the world of electrical circuits, through series of circuit building logic puzzles. Your child will get to experience series circuits, parallel circuits, series and parallel circuits in combination, and parallel circuits in bypass--all concepts of simple and advanced circuitry! By mixing how electricity and electrical circuits work with reasoning and logic skills, Circuit Maze really is a delightful first look into electrical engineering. Designed as a single player game for ages 8+, the Circuit Maze game includes:

FlipStir Puzzle from Enlivenze LLC {Product Review}

Puzzles. They are so good for the brain, but oy! Keeping up with all the pieces can be a bear! Did you know that there is a puzzle that is all enclosed and 3D? I was tickled to have a chance to review the Tyrannosaurus Rex FlipStir Puzzle from Enlivenze LLC with my family.

About FlipStir Puzzles

Enlivenze LLC likes to bring the smart together with the play through products that engage the brain while having fun. They think that even simple hand held games can be fun and inspiring. Enter the FlipStir Puzzle!

The FlipStir Puzzles are a unique self contained 3D style puzzle. How does it work? You will use the wand included inside the puzzle to make it all happen! Start by giving a shake to the puzzle to scramble the pieces; then using the enclosed wand, gravity and your own creativity, solve the puzzle and reveal the picture of the puzzle. FlipStir puzzles are geared for ages 7+.

There are five designs and two levels of puzzles ($24.95 ea):

Level 1
Rainbow Pencils
Tyrannosaurus Rex

Level 2
Solar System
Statue of Liberty
Periodic Table

We were given the Tyrannosaurus Rex FlipStir puzzle to review with our family.

Our Thoughts

When it came, I admit that it looked pretty easy. I figured at a level 1, you could just quickly pull it together, so I let Little Britches give it a try without me doing it first.

Just 10 pieces in this puzzle. Piece of cake, right?

Little Britches giving it a go

And that's when he figured out that while it looked like it should be easy...It was rather tricky! Here is a video I took of Little Britches trying to figure out how it goes...

He tried for about 10 minutes and then not getting past 3 pieces frustrated him and he gave up. I decided to give it a go. After a few minutes, I figured out the trick and after 10 minutes I had it put together.

Once you figure out the trick (mine was that you don't need to start it at the bottom) you will find that you put it together more quickly the next time you do it. Now I can get it together in about 5 minutes or less.

I think that it's a very clever idea and I love the fact that the pieces are all enclosed. The puzzle though simple in design was much trickier than initially expected, however, I think that with a little perseverance, Little Britches will be able to achieve success. The one thing that he mentioned as being a con--the pieces don't "stick" together once you match them up. He'd like it if they had a little tongue and groove like edge to stick them together. He got very frustrated when he'd have 3 pieces together and then tilt the container a fraction and have them all far apart again.

The only con that I really have myself is the price. It's a very very clever idea and would make great gifts...if the price point was lower. If possible, I would love to see this puzzle closer to the $10 range at some point. I PERSONALLY wouldn't pay more than $10 for this product.

Want to Know More?

We reviewed the Tyrannosaurus Rex FlipStir Puzzle from Enlivenze LLC with our family. We enjoyed the challenge of the Level 1 puzzle, but what did the rest of the team think about their puzzles?

Stay up to date on the latest puzzles and activities from Enlivenze LLC by following them on these social media sites:

FlipStir Puzzle

Facebook: 

www.facebook.com/flipstirpuzzle

Twitter: 

www.twitter.com/flipstir

Enlivenze LLC

Facebook: 

www.facebook.com/enlivenze

Twitter: 

www.twitter.com/enlivenze

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This was a really a unique and fun puzzle to try out. I think I'd like to have some of the other ones to give a go. They would be great for road trips and really just make you think outside of the box to put them together. 

Tenzi~ A Game For all Ages with Guaranteed Fun and Laughter! {Product Review}

I love it when we have game night at our house. We pop our popcorn and the boys squabble a bit before picking a game to play. With one of them 10 and the other 5, it can sometimes be hard for them to agree on a game EVERYONE will enjoy and be able to play by themselves. One of our most favorite games is a very popular dice game, however, Baby Britches always has to partner with someone because part of the game is adding up the dice which he isn't strong enough to do quickly on his own. Enter TENZI. We were given the game TENZI and the TENZI CARD DECK by Timberdoodle to review. A game with origins in the style of other rolling dice counting games, but with a much simpler method that even the youngest Kindergartner will be able to enjoy!

About the Game

TENZI is one of the most simple games to explain. Grab 10 dice of the same color. Have enough sets of 10 for 2+ players. Now at the word GO! roll your dice trying to get all 10 to be the same number--separating out the dice with the number you want each time. Keep rolling the remaining dice. When all 10 of your dice are the same number--shout TENZI! First person to get all 10 of their dice at the same number--wins!

Wonky and Tapple -- Games your whole family will enjoy! {Product Review}

Our family loves to play games. We have several favorite card and board games that come out pretty regularly at our house. It's always fun to find a new one to add to our family collection, so I was very eager to do my review for USAopoly of the games Tapple: Fast Word Fun for Everyone and Wonky: The Crazy Cubes Card Game. I really hoped that these would be some more to add to our collection of games we loved to play!

Product Information

USAopoly has been making board games since 1994, with the goal to create something fun for family and friends to be able to come together for a time of laughter and fun! They have released a couple games lately which aren't your typical board/card game.

Wonky: The Crazy Cubes Card Game Price: $19.95 Ages: 8+ Players: 2+ Take stackable blocks with unfinished round sides, a set of playing cards, and add some reverse, pass, and wildcard plays and you have an idea on how to play Wonky! This fun game includes 9 odd-shaped blocks in three colors and sizes, and then playing cards!  Each person is dealt a hand and when it's their turn they pick which card they want to play--if it's a block card, they pick a block and stack it on the tower--but watch out! These blocks have rounded corners and are a bit tricky to get to stay! If you make the tower fall, you have to draw more cards! Throw the next person in a panic by playing a skip or reverse card and let THEM be the one to knock it down! Be the first one to get play all your cards and keep the tower standing!

Tapple: Fast Word Fun for Everyone Price: $19.95 Age: 8+ Players: 2-8 Tapple is a fast moving game that everyone will love! The object is simple--draw a card with a category theme. Hit the red button to start the timer and the game it off! Each person playing has to come up with a word that fits the theme--but it has to start with a letter on the Tapple wheel--and it can't be a letter already hit by someone else! If you can't think of a word that works within the time limit (10 seconds) you are out and the wheel is passed and the timer reset for the next person! The game continues until one person is left! It's a great party game and sure to make the level of excitement in the room rise! We were given both of these games to review with our family.

How Did We Use the Product?

We were pretty excited to dig out these games when they arrived. The packaging was very bright and colorful and it greatly appealed to the boys who love playing games. I really loved how the Wonky game box was unusually shaped as it made it fun. I opened up each game to get a handle on what was required and whether or not we could incorporate Baby Britches (Age 5) into the games. I noticed that the Wonky game appeared to be much simpler and was ready to be played upon opening. The Tapple wheel needed to have 2 AA batteries before it would work (for the timer). We decided that we would investigate Wonky. When we opened the box we discovered that the blocks were in a very nice bright purple drawstring bag. The playing cards were neatly packaged. We took out the blocks and found them to be painted and wooden in bright colors. The cards were high quality playing cards.

The rules were very simple to understand and to explain to both boys. They go like this:

1. Deal the cards (7 ea). 

2. Tallest player goes first. They pick a card from their hand to play. They DO what it says whether picking a block for the tower, using a reverse card or using a pass card.

3. Next player clockwise goes and does the same. They can play any card as long as the block on the card is still available to be used. They stack their block on top of the beginning tower block. 

4. The tower must remain standing for the count of 3. If it does, play moves to the next person. If the tower does fall while they are putting their block on, after they put their block on or within the 3 count, they must take 3 cards from the deck. They then play an action card to move on.

5. The play continues until someone plays their final action card--it has to be a tower block card--and the tower remains standing.

Even my 5 year old was able to play this game--though he sometimes had issues with not being steady enough to place his block. Here are some photos from the towers we've built while playing the game!

So far seven out of nine is the tallest our tower has ever gotten! It's really fun to play and we look forward to playing it with my parents this coming weekend. Maybe we can get it to all nine blocks tall?!

We decided to tackle Tapple next. The first thing I needed to do was add 2 AA batteries to the Tapple wheel so that the timer would work. I was please to see there was an on-off switch for the game. I also love that the cards for the game are stored in a little compartment next to the batteries under the wheel. This is great for storing the game itself!

The game of Tapple is simple. You pick a category from the game cards which are double sided. One side has more easy categories while the other side has more challenging themes. Once you pick a theme, the game begins.

1. The person with a first initial of their middle name closest to A goes first (silly huh?!). 

2. The category is read and then the red button is hit starting the 10 second timer. The first person has 10 seconds to name something that relates to the category--AND it has to begin with a letter around the wheel. Once they say their word, they push down the letter that matches the first letter of their word, and hit the timer to restart it.

3. They pass the Tapple wheel clockwise and the next person has 10 seconds to think of a word or idea that goes with the theme--again pushing down the letter that matches the first letter of their word. This process continues until either someone cannot think of something in their 10 seconds, or all the letters are pushed down.

4. If all the letters get pushed down, the next round continues by sliding over the yellow ring to release the letters. Now each person has to say TWO things that match the theme--and again has to be available letters on the Tapple wheel--within the 10 seconds. This continues as before until all the letters are used up or someone cannot beat the timer.

5. Last person standing wins the game.

We played this a few times. It took some help from me for the boys since their spelling isn't quite good enough yet to know what letters start their words at times. Baby Britches even did well--though we allowed him 2 pushes of the red button to come up with his word. I think we did the best with the categories: In the Fridge/Freezer, In the Jungle, and Animals

I can't wait to try this in a party setting with adults because I think it will be quite loud and exciting!

What Are Our Thoughts on This Product?

Both boys really like the games, though they say that Tapple is their favorite. They ask to play it A LOT! They like Wonky, but say they want to play it with more people besides us to make it more fun.

I agree that these games are fun! I think that they make great family games, but they make ESPECIALLY fun party games. I look forward to trying them out with just adults.

Both games are easy to play right from the box. Each game is made of high quality materials--especially the game cards. Both games are easy to store, even without their respective boxes. They are definitely able to be played by children younger than the proposed ages--with help. I love how colorful each game is as well.

I do have a "I wish it did" for the game Tapple. I wish that it was possible to just release the last button pushed down instead of all of the letters. We had some "whoopsies" where the boys accidentally hit the wrong letters, but we had to just keep playing because we can't reset a letter without resetting the whole wheel.

Would I Recommend this Product?

Yes! They are great family friendly games and good for even the kids to play. My only concern is the pricing. I think that $19.95 is a bit steep for these games--I think the $10 to $15 range would make them more reasonable for what you are receiving with them. But they are great games and they are worth the buy because they are just fun!

Want to Know More?

We reviewed Tapple: Fast Word Fun for Everyone and Wonky: The Crazy Cubes Card Game from USAopoly. You have seen how we have enjoyed these games...but make sure you check out what the other crew members thought!

You can stay up with all the events or releases going on for USAopoly through these social media channels:

Twitter
 https://twitter.com/USAopoly

Instagram
https://instagram.com/usaopoly/

Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/usaopoly

Pinterest
https://www.pinterest.com/usaopoly/


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We are heading to a beach house with family this weekend, and these two games will be going with us! I look forward to even bigger family game nights when we play with the grandparents and my brother! I hope to have even more photos to share later this week!

Code Master ~ A Programming Logic Game {Product Review}

We are always on the lookout for educational games. Games that are not only fun, but incorporate learning are really the best games you can play because they get your brain engaged. When I learned about the programming logic game, Code Master by ThinkFun, I was intrigued to see how it worked, and if it would be something our family would enjoy.

Product Summary

Code Master is the brain child of ThinkFun. ThinkFun is the world's leader in fun games that "stretch and sharpen your mind." Code Master is a programming logic game designed for ages 8 to adult. It is a single player game that encourages planning, sequential reasoning, and problem solving skills. At the same time, the player is also learning coding concepts like loops and conditional branching.

The goal of this game is to use programming logic to help your avatar collect power crystals and then finish at the portal, but the trick is that only one specific sequence of actions will lead to your success. There are 60 different levels ranging from beginner to expert included in this game, making it a great game for the whole family to try.

Code Master is exclusively sold at Target (Retail $22.99) at this time.

How Did We Use the Game?

When I got the game, I began at the beginning...reading the directions. The directions are very concise and explain the rules and goals of the game very clearly. The purpose for every piece included in the game is also explained. The next thing I did was break apart all the pieces so that I could begin.

All the items included with the game

Baby Britches helping me take apart pieces

Colorful and easy to read directions explaining about all aspects of the game

The first step for playing the game is to decide your level to begin. You can pick your level by looking at the map book. The map book is your game board in this game.

On any map (there are 10 different ones) there are 6 different levels ranking from easy (green) to expert (red). On this first map, you can see there are levels, 1, 11, 21, 31, 41 and 51. For the sake of example, I am going to pick level 21. If you look at the photo above, you can see that level 21 uses scroll 2- The scroll is your programming guide. The guide scroll tells you what your programming order will be, including whether or not it will have conditional token spaces or not.

On this particular scroll, I can see that the path will be a straight movement, without any circular movement, or conditional tokens.

Speaking of tokens, the level info also tells you what tokens (or colored paths) we will need to use to solve this map. For level 21, there are 1 red, 3 green and 1 blue tokens. This tells us that we will need to take 5 paths to solve our map, and that we can only take 1 red path, and 1 blue path, but that we can take a green path 3 times.

But what are paths? Here is a snapshot of map 1 and you can see what I mean when I say red, blue and green paths.

Every map has paths of these three colors and a series of numbered stops. Map 1 has 6 numbers from 0-5.

The next information I glean from my level 21, is that my avatar (the red piece), needs to start at 0 and that my portal (the gray piece) will be at 5. I can also see that in this level, I need to also pick up two crystals before getting to my portal--these crystals will be set on number 1. This tells me I have to get to number 1 two separate times to get each crystal as the game denotes you can only pick up one crystal at each stop.

picking up a crystal

Okay, once you have your avatar, portal, crystals (if it calls for them) positioned, and tokens and guide scroll out, you are ready to start. Now you need to look at your map and the position of each object, and using your guide scroll determine the program code using your assigned tokens. This is where the logic comes in. You need to look at the map and the paths you are allowed to take and determined what order the paths need to be completed in. Once you have made a decision, put your tokens in place on the guide scroll and then DO IT. Work through each path color according to the order you decided on. If you are successful, you will end up at your portal. If not...well you will need to re-order your tokens and try again.

Little Britches working to figure out Level 7's programming code

The goal is simply to get to your portal, collection crystals along the way if they are required...but having to use limited paths makes it challenging.

This level 45 adds two conditionals: a troll and a crystal count

Beginning in level 30, the last of your intermediate levels, the game throws in a conditional token. These tokens are either trolls or number X and they add an extra element into your game. These depict a yes-no question that will determine the next instruction you will do on your Guide Scroll. If you would answer "No" to a question, you would follow the red x path, if you answer "yes" you could follow the arrows leading from the green check mark.

You still follow the same method for setting up your game, but you need to add these hexagonal shaped conditional tokens (as designated by your map level) to the Guide Scroll. This really takes it up a notch in the challenge of determining your paths, because there are a lot more options.

I started with level 1 and just worked my way through the levels. At about level 15, I decided to start jumping ahead levels to see how I did. It was definitely more difficult as you went up levels, and there was only one level that I just could NOT figure out. Thankfully, the directions include the answer key to every level.

My boys couldn't leave me alone to play by myself for long and before I knew it, they were asking if they could try. Because the game is very straight forward, they picked up how to play quickly and Little Britches (Age 9) set to work.

Even Baby Britches (Age 4 1/2) gave it a shot and was able to do the first level without any assistance!

As of today, we have still yet to work through all 60 levels, and each boy asks for more time to play it. Love-Of-My-Life is also interested at giving it a go, declaring single player logic games to be his favorite.

What Are Our Thoughts on Code Master?

I think I can say that the general consensus is that we really like this game! I enjoy personally challenging myself to work through the levels and find I give a little "whoop!" when I realized I coded it correctly. Little Britches is slowing working through all 15 green (beginner) level challenges and is doing very well. He gets excited when he figures it out on his first try. Baby Britches has managed to figure out the first 2 levels all on his own which I am just delighted about--I mean he is only 4 1/2! With guidance, he can work through figuring out a few others, which is great.

As to the make up of the game itself, the map and guide scroll books are wire binding with glossy cardstock pages. The tokens are made of chipboard, and the crystals actually can snap together. The avatar and portal piece are durable plastic that are large enough for the smallest hands to grasp and move.

The one thing we are all in agreement over--the game pieces need to be smaller. As it is right now, each base on the portal and avatar measure at least an 1" across. This makes it more challenging to see the paths when on the more advanced maps and we usually have to move them completely out of the way to be able to see all the paths. I think the piece bases should be only a smidge larger than the numbered circles. That would keep the pieces from interfering with the path calculations.

I would also recommend having a few extra of the tokens or conditional tokens in case they get lost.

I really don't have any other cons because this game and the set was very easy to play right out of the box and the directions were clear.

Would I Recommend This Product?

Absolutely! It really is a great way to fire up the brain into thinking about problem solving and sequential reasoning. I think this game would be a good precursor for something like chess later on. I like that this is a single person product, but it is possible to work together to figure out the proper path sequence. Because this is single person with limited pieces, I think it would also be a good game to take on a road trip or vacation. There isn't a big board to maneuver or tiny game piece to loose--though the tokens could get lost.

Speaking of getting lost, I like that the pieces aren't "critical" to the game's success because if any of them does get lost, it would be pretty easy to whip out an alternative item for an avatar or portal--or even the tokens themselves.

As for age appropriateness, I definitely think 8+ is correct, but if you have a child who enjoys logic brainy games that is younger, I think they would be able to play this one as well--remember my 4 1/2 year old can even do the first 2 levels without any help. It's definitely something every member of the family could enjoy.

***

***

ThinkFun has released several new games this year--all geared towards "igniting your mind" and I am definitely going to be checking them out. Especially their new Maker Studio: Gear set! I am happy that I learned about ThinkFun and will be keeping my eyes open for more of their products.