Family Game Nights With Wonder Forge Games

Do you have game night in your house? We love game nights in our house. It is something that both Jeremy and I feel is important to do as a family. We make it a point to have a family game night every couple of weeks, but of course with preschoolers, a lot of times, we pull out the game tubs during the day and play.

Evan has never really been into games. He has always had a hard time understanding the concepts of games such as Candy Land and Chutes and Ladders. And I know partially it is due to the fact that he is still 3, but if the rules seem even the least bit hard to understand, he would prefer to make up his own.

When Jeremy and I were Christmas shopping in November, I came across some games at Toys R Us that I thought looked awesome. So we purchased:

Richard Scarry Busytown

Richard Scarry Busytown Board Game (not an affiliate link) and

I Can Do That Cat and the Hat Game

I Can Do That! Games – The Cat in the Hat (not an affiliate link).

What I loved about these games that convinced me to purchase them is that

1. they are geared toward preschoolers
2. they are some of the boys’ favorite characters
3. the concepts of the games seemed easier to comprehend then the traditional games mentioned about. The Cat in the Hat game caught my attention because it is an active game, participants are to get up, get active and do silly things. Which  thought would be perfect for Evan, since he CAN NOT sit still for even a minute.

A week or two before Christmas, Jeremy and I were antsy to bust open the new games, so we did! Ha! We tried the Busytown game. My mother-in-law saved a Busytown book that belonged to Jeremy when he was a child and is now a permanent fixture in the “favorites” pile of must read books. Carter loves the book and loves Lowly the worm. In this particular book, Lowly is hiding on every page. Carter loves pointing him out, he no longer has to search for him since we read it. all. the. time. ! But the game is set up similarly where participants find certain objects in the pictures on the board.

And the Dr. Suess I Can Do That Game is awesome for preschoolers. It’s gets them up, active and doing silly movements. And it’s fun to participate in too. Evan thought it was HILARIOUS watching me jump 3 times while holding a ball under my chin.

You might recall that I did a Chuggington Giveaway that included a Chuggington Matching Game. I soon found out that the Chuggington Matching Game was made by the same company that made the 2 games we purchased as Christmas gifts – The Wonder Forge. They are the creators of “I Can Do That Games“.

Because I am a Chuggington Conductor, I was introduced to the crew from The Wonder Forge. And because I am in LOVE with their products, I begged asked if I could do a review of some of their other games. Which fortunately, they sent the boys a few more games to try out. OH. MY. WORD! The games did not disappoint.

I was sent:

What's in the Cat's Hat?

What’s in the Cat’s Hat? (Not an affiliate link)

Curious George Hide and Seek Zoo

Curious George Hide and Seek Zoo (Amazon Affiliate Link and also available through Target.

Curious George Discovery Beach

I Can Do That Games Curious George – Discovery Beach (Amazon Affiliate Link and also available through Barnes and Noble.

Richard Scarry Matching

BusyTown Matching (Amazon Affiliate Link and also available through Toys R Us)

Evan’s favorite by far right now is “What’s in the Cat’s Hat?”. It is such a simple game yet entertains him for long periods of time. You place a item in the hat and a set of cards have questions on them to help guess what’s in the hat. Pretty easy right? After playing a couple of times with Evan, he really got the hang of it. This is what he put in the hat (which he stumped me):

Carter loves Hide and Seek Zoo, but not because of the game itself, but because he gets to wear a mask and hide from me – HA! But I guess that is part of the game, so it counts, right? With a combination of board game and “hide and seek” it’s a perfect match for antsy preschoolers.

A few weeks ago, Evan had a play date with his 2 very favorite people. And let me tell you, Curious George Discovery Beach was a HUGE hit with Sophie-girl. Up until now, the boys play by themselves leaving Sophie out. I had the pleasure of playing with Sophie for about an hour, yes ladies and gentlemen an hour on the same game! Holy Moly, I loved bonding with Sophie, but I have to admit, that when the boys asked to play, I was glad to give up my post. But let me tell you, this was the very first time, they all played together. Yes, I think I shed a tear. And needless to say, Sophie got to take Discovery Beach with her and let her parents play over and over and over again . You’re welcome Jenny and Bobby – hee hee!

But what is so great about Discovery Beach, is that after explaining the rules one time, ALL the kids were able to play by themselves, without me having to explain the rules over and over again. Carter, who is 2 1/2 loved playing with the big kids and Joshua, 7, loved playing with the younger kids. It was AWESOME to watch the interaction.

So, if you have preschoolers, especially preschoolers who love their PBS characters, you NEED to get yourself some of these games. You can thank me later!

And if you are on Facebook or Twitter, I would encourage you to head on over and follow The Wonder Forge, you never know when they may do a giveaway for one of their amazing games *wink*!

I think I have almost EVERY game that I Can Do That Games offers. The boys were given Dr. Seuss Matching for Christmas from their Aunt, after hearing how much I am in love with these games, which brought our total to 8 games! Which leaves only a couple of games I need to get. I would love to get my hands on the Dr. Seuss Super Stretchy ABC Game and the Green Eggs and Ham Speedy Diner Game.

So let me know, which game looks like a “must get” for your preschooler?

Disclaimer: As I said early, I fell in LOVE with the Wonder Forge. I asked to help spread the word about their amazing preschool games. They were generous enough to send me the aforementioned games to review. All ideas and opinions are my very own!