Family games gift guide - puzzles, cards & board games for kids

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Ubongo!

Ubongo! (RRP £34) from Thames & Kosmos is a fast-paced, addictive, and easy-to-learn geometric puzzle game. Players race against the timer and against each other to solve a puzzle of interlocking shapes. The faster you solve the puzzle, the more gems you get. The player with the most valuable gem treasure after nine rounds of solving puzzles wins!

Each player receives a set of 12 polyominos — geometric shapes formed of equal-size squares joined edge to edge in different arrangements. At the start of each round, each player gets a new puzzle panel. A roll of the die determines which polyominos you must use to perfectly fill in the empty spaces on the puzzle panel. Any players who complete the puzzle within the time limit yell out “Ubongo!” and grab a gem at random from the bag. The fastest player also gets a blue gem and the second fastest an amber gem. Each gem colour is worth a different amount of points. After nine rounds, the player with the most valuable gem collection wins.

The game supports STEM learning and not only does luck come into it but children have to use quick thinking and develop their strategy skills and spatial reasoning.

Munchkin’ Monkey

Munchkin’ Monkey (RRP £20) is the eating, swinging, nappy splitting game from John Adams.

Meet Charlie the cheeky monkey with fun interactive sounds. The only thing he loves more than swinging in his tree is eating. His favourite food is coconuts and he especially likes being hand-fed! 

Designed for 2-4 players, the aim of the game is to make Charlie’s nappy burst! Roll the dice and feed Charlie his coconuts and coconut water. Watch his nappy get fuller and fuller and bulge when he eats too much! Can you be the first to burst the nappy and win?! 

Big Money Game

Big Money Game (RRP £20) from Ravensburger is the game of risky rolls and fabulous fortunes!

In this fun money game everyone gets crazy rich! But who will end up the richest? You have three rolls of the dice to rake in the dough. Then buy amazing investments for your empire! Do you want a candy factory or a pro soccer team, a robotics lab or a movie studio? You decide what risks to take as you collect companies and become a Zillionaire! 

With familiar game play, masses of money to earn, eye-catching and original art style and outrageous assets to buy such as a drone racing league this game is a money maker!

Frozen II Charades 

Bring the magic of the movie to life with Frozen II Charades and take Elsa, Anna, Olaf and Sven on an adventure through the enchanted forest whilst acting out frozen inspired charades in this fun Frozen II Charades board game (RRP £20).

A Frozen twist on a much-loved family classic this fun family game is perfect for Frozen fans and those who love playing charades with the game designed for ages 4+ and suitable for 2-4 players.

Choose your favourite character from the super cute 3D figurines of Anna, Elsa, Sven and Olaf, and race around the beautifully themed board, winning steps as you perform and guess the charade before the timer runs out! There are lots of objects and actions to put everyone’s acting skills to the test with picture icons for the younger players. There’s even more fun If you land on the “flip” icon as all players must perform a charade! 

Read All About It 

Providing some much-needed light news relief this Christmas, Read All About It (RRP £15) from VAP Games is a brand-new family friendly question and response game. All the answers are already in front of you, but can you be the first to find them? 

Designed for whole family fun from age 7+, teams of players have to answer a series of questions about information found in the hilarious ‘Rapid Observer’ newspaper. Players need to use their memory, quick reactions and observation skills to defeat the opposing team. Each game is made up of five different rounds - Whose Page is it Anyway?, Have I Got News For You?, Fake News, Blatantly Blank and Say What You See. If a player finds the answer they grab the fun Read All About It cone and shout the answer!

 

Filled with laughter and friendly competition that brings the whole family together this new game is a wonderful game to play with family this Christmas. 

Color Addict Go!

Perfect for Christmas celebrations and fun games at home, Color Addict Go! (RRP £7.99) is a colourful and addictive family card game suitable for 2-6 players aged 7+. The classic game of colour addict has now arrived in shuffle go format, so you can take the fun anywhere! 

This mixed but not matched game is fun for the whole family and great for encouraging cognitive memory skills.

 

Fun for all the family, Color Addict Go! is a quick-paced, brain-teasing card game where you race to get rid of all your cards as you try to match them with the colour or word card in the centre! But be warned, it isn’t  as simple as it sounds when orange is written in green or blue is pink!! First player to match all their cards wins!

Jurassic World Number Rumble

This shuffle card Jurassic World Number Rumble (RRP £6.99) is a fun, fast, dinotastic game!

Take your decks and let chance favour the brave as you go head to head. The deck will decide the strategy. Go High or Go Low, pick your power and let fate decide your outcome.

Perfect for fans of the film franchise and children 6+ who love dinosaurs this game is rawrsome fun!

Sketchy 

Sketchy (RRP £20) from the TOMY brand Drummond Park is all about drawing quick, simple pictures so your team-mates can guess what they are. Played in two teams it is a speedy game of sketch and swipe designed for children aged 8+ and adults for whole family fun.

The aim of the game is to guess the common theme. The Sketcher has a list of 6 items to draw that are connected to the topic and the Guessers can see a hint card about the theme. Thanks to the clever, unique 2 sided Sketchyscreen the Sketcher’s teammates can see the pictures in real time. 

Sketchy is quick, simple and very easy to learn.The perfect family game for battery-free fun. An ideal gift for children it is a great present to give at Christmas and birthdays, Sketchy is sure to bring the family together and get your creative juices flowing as you race to guess as many drawings as you can to win!

Screwball Scramble Level 2

Screwball Scramble Level 2 (RRP £20) is a fun retro maze family game.

The sequel to the classic game of Screwball Scramble tests coordination and skill as players try to guide the marble on a journey through a brand new maze full of new surprises. Control the action with the buttons, twisting, turning the obstacles different ways to guide the screwball through each one. It starts with Zig-zag steps, next the See-saw leads to the Ferris Wheel Maze then onto the Corkscrew. Gently twist the dial to tease the ball along. Other challenges follow with a final Catapult blast to the Finish bell!

This educational toy is great for developing dexterity and hand-eye coordination within children. Watch as kids master each task using skill and patience to control the sliders, wheels and buttons that operate each obstacle. The game encourages independent solo play as well as being great for play together as you challenge family and friends. Double the fun, Screwball Scramble 2 is compatible with the original TOMY board game as you can lock the two mazes together with a connecting bridge for a super-challenging action game!

Great as a gift and suitable for 1+ players aged 5 and over, children will love to play with this exciting board game. 

* We were gifted items to include in this gift guide *