momstown Oakville Moms & Kids Had A Blast With These Popular Board Games For Ages 3 And Up

The colder weather is upon us and more inside playtime becomes a reality.  This week momstown Oakville held a Mommy & Me games event sponsored by Mattel to try out some great board games for kids 3 and up.  These games are perfect for a holiday wish list or to purchase now and add to the playroom for those cold, blustery days. Since we held the event a few days ago, my kids have wanted to play Uno Moo over and over and over again!

Top: Chipmunk Chompers, Bottom:  Go Piggy Go!

This event really brought back some childhood memories as I think we all remembered playing games as a kid.  I was also pleasantly surprised by how into the games my kids were.  We don't really have a ton of board games for kids in the house yet and this event made me realize its definitely time!

Here are the five games we tried and my thoughts on each:

UNO MOO!™ (Ages 3+, 2-4 Players)
This game was all about practising matching using the animals or colours and getting all of the animals safely back into the barn.  Even kids about 2.5 years old were into this game and could follow along.  The pieces are perfect for little hands.  I love the carrying case that all the animals and game pieces can fit into, perfect for packing up to take to the cottage, a grandparent's house or to a playdate.

Parrot Pile-Up™ (Ages 5+, 2-4 Players)

Balance and a steady hand are required in this tropical-themed game of skill. Players carefully stack fruit and crates on the clumsy parrot's raft using a steady hand and give it a patient push to the next player.  We had kids as young as 4 enjoying this game and I loved watching their brains think strategy when determining where they could fit a piece and what piece would be the best fit.  

Chipmunk Chompers Game™ (Ages 3+, 2 Players)

Each player gets a hungry Chipmunk Chomper and has to spell words or complete a pattern by grabbing the correct acorns from the tree.  You can either have the letters on the acorns facing out for an easier game or facing in to make things a bit trickier.  Kids about 2.5 years old and up loved this game at our event.  In fact, once the picnic pot luck dinner was over at the event, this game grabbed the kids attention and they started to play again.

Go Piggy Go!™ (Ages 5+, 2-4 Players)

Hands down, the hit with this game was being able to blast hay bails out of the tractor and knock your opponent off the board!  Each player gets piggies that they need to move from the mud pit to the food trough with some obstacles along the way.  This is a great game to get kids counting as they need to move their playing pieces across the board after rolling the dice.

Angry Birds™ Knock on Wood Game (Ages 5+, 2-4 Players)

Knock On Wood features three Angry Birds™, green pigs, one slingshot-style launcher, structure pieces and mission cards. Players draw a card and build the structure shown before their opponents launch an Angry Bird in an attempt to knock it - and the pigs - down to win points.  Launching the sling shot is really fun! Adults would have a blast with this game too.  The kids got very creative with the structures and were learning a lot about distance and force as they had to figure out how much energy to use to knock down the structure.

Left to Right:  Angry Birds Knock on Wood, Uno Moo, Parrot Pile Up

Speaking as a parent, getting to try out five different games was awesome!  Playing board games with kids is a really fun way to pass an afternoon and it doesn't hurt that board games teach important social skills like taking turns, having patience and how to be a good winner (or loser).  The Mattel games we tried out also had great educational components to them such as letter and number recognition, learning colours and patterning and improving reasoning and strategy skills.  If you couldn't join us, enter here to win your own Mattel Mommy & Me Game Pack (contest closes October 31)!

Oakville Moms Get Their Game On With A Mattel Games Night!

I have lots of fond memories playing board games and card games.  And when we posted a Moms Night Out Game Night on the momstown Oakville calendar, others must have similar memories to me as we had many moms anxious to get playing!

We were lucky to have Mattel Game On send us several games to choose from -  Mad Gab, Apples to Apples, Blockus, Uno Power and Angry Birds as well as some dice games, which would be really great for travel.  Not familiar with these games?  Make sure you check out Mattel's new Gameology App that will help you find the perfect game to fit your gaming style.  Are you an Activus, a Socialies, a Wittian or a Strategicorn, click here to find out!

As we opened the games and started to play, it was fun to hear everyone's stories about family games nights or memories of games they liked to play as kids or up at the cottage.  Playing board games or card games is a really fun way to spend an evening!

My favourite part of this event was how much laughter there was!  Good for the soul for sure.  How can you not laugh playing Mad Gabs and trying to figure out what  'Abe Lackey Leg Tricked Host Her' is supposed to be?  We also had a blast playing Apples to Apples...from Norman Rockwell to Salsa Dancing to Rust...how can all these things be part of the same game??  Well that is just part of what makes it so fun to play!

Starting the love of games early with this little one!

Thanks to all the momstown Oakville moms who came out to play last night.  By the end of the night, we were already picking what games we would play for the next Games Night!  We ended the event by giving away a few games so that the fun can continue at home.  Don't worry, if you didn't join us last night, you still have a chance to win some fabulous games as we're giving away a Mattel Game On prize pack - enter here!