A couple months ago my inventor pal Gina Manola asked if I would take a look at her new game when it came out.  While I don’t really fit into the target age demographic (kids 3-6), I am a sucker for cute and funny.  Her new game is called Feed the Woozle manufactured by Peaceable Kingdom Press and yep, you guessed it — it’s about feeding a Woozle!  The game is pretty simple and it all revolves around using a spoon to feed the charming monster a series of disgusting yet funny foods, like worm pie and moldy macaroni.  It’s a cooperative game and there are three different levels of play so a variety of ages can enjoy this game.  The key thing to remember is that the Woozle doesn’t abide by the “5 second rule” and won’t eat any foods that drop off the spoon, so dexterity is key to the players being successful.  In more advanced levels you have to do funny actions are even blindfolded and you still have to feed the Woozle — with a little help from the other players.  It’s hilarious for humans of all ages!

And now, a couple questions for the inventor!  (Thanks Gina!)

1. How did you get started inventing board games?

In my business, CALICO, I design games and packaging for toy companies and I have a background in product development. It was a natural transition for me to get into inventing. 

2. Can you tell me how you came up with the idea behind Feed the Woozle?

The name for the game came first. Then I built a narrative around the character from which the components and game play evolved. I wanted to create a game where the character made silly demands while wanting to be entertained by the players. This is where the twist comes in—we think of games as entertainment for us, which they are, but in Feed the Woozle, the imaginary character driving the game also wants to be entertained by YOU. 

3. Did you know right away that it was a cooperative game, or did you change it to make it a cooperative game?

From the beginning it was meant to be a cooperative game. Typically, when I invent games, the theme, content or targeted age range of the game will dictate whether it is competitive or cooperative. If appropriate, I will write rules that offer both ways to play. 

4. Did you come up with all of the funny foods in Feed the Woozle? 

Yes. The silly snacks are a key ingredient of the game play!

5. Can you share your inventing and prototyping process?

It depends on the game. Some games are built from the title and a narrative as described above. Other games grow out of an objective or challenge that I, or a client may set. Some games are developed around a philosophy of play that I think is important. In all cases, I do a lot of sketches—first on paper. Scribbly and fast to get my thinking down as quickly as possible. The game really begins to take shape for me when I can see it. Then I build a prototype, play with it and push myself to remain open to the game going in a direction that I hadn’t planned for. Play-testing and refining of game play comes next. From the beginning, I look at the game from a marketing perspective and ask myself what the distinguishable features are. I try to see it the way a customer might see it on the store shelf. Ultimately I try to create an experience that’s fun and meaningful. (actual prototype pic at right — thanks Gina!)

6. You do a lot of work with the Young Inventor Challenge, which is judged at ChiTAG.  What kind of advice do you give the young inventors you work with? 

I encourage them to keep their antennas up because ideas can come from anywhere. I also encourage them to cast a wide net and never discount any idea when they begin the brainstorming process. Eventually, their ideas will coalesce into a few strong concepts to take to the next stage. Once they have a strong concept, I’ll ask them to pitch their idea to me. This helps them focus their thinking and really define the essence of their idea. Based on that, they can make sure that the best or most unique aspects of their toy or game come through.  

Website for Young Inventor Challenge: www.chitag.com/yic

More about Gina: 

Gina Manola is an inventor and the  owner of CALICO, www.calico-kids.com, an award-winning, design studio offering product development, design, branding,  and marketing to companies in the toy, game, gift and educational markets. Gina has developed successful toy, game and gift products for the specialty and mass markets and her work has been honored by “100 Best Children’s Products” and “10 Best Socially Responsible Products.”

Feed the Woozle stats:
$20 Amazon soon but now some mom & pop stores
2-5 players
~10-15 minutes
Ages 3-6

If you live here in the US, Memorial Day is this weekend; which means the kids will all have a truckload of extra energy – you know, the kind that comes from knowing that they don’t have school on Monday.  I don’t know why this occurs, but whether they’re your own children, your relatives, neighborhood kids or ones of questionable ownership that show up just in time to snag a hot dog fresh-off the grill, you’re going to need to find something to keep their salty potato-chip fingers off your garden gnomes, your vintage board games and the game of bags you and some of the other adults want to play during the requisite Memorial Day barbeque.  May I suggest grabbing a copy of Out of the Box’s new game Shake ‘N Take – it will keep them occupied and out of trouble, at least for a little while.

Shake ‘N Take is a fast-paced, frenzied game for up to 10 players, although you only need 2 to play.  Everyone gets a sheet of funny-shaped aliens and then one kid is selected to start with the dry-erase marker and shape die and the player to their right gets the egg with the alien die in it.  When the game starts, the kid with the marker rolls the die and starts circling aliens that match the shape on the die.  The kid next to them is shaking the egg hoping to get the alien face-up on the die inside.  Once the kid with the egg is successful, they grab the pen from the other kid and roll the die and start circling aliens on their own card.  Obviously the kid on their right is going to grab the egg and start shaking it feverishly so they can get a chance with the pen since the object of the game is to be the first player to circle everything on your sheet.  With 2-5 players you play with one pen and one egg but with 6-10 players you play with 2 pens and 2 eggs to make things a bit more exciting.  It’s a simple, fun and fast-paced game invented by Keith Meyers and since I know Keith, I thought I’d ask him how he came up with the idea.  Here’s what Keith said:

“I’ve always felt that to be a good inventor you need to be a good observer.  I think my development of the game Shake N Take is a good example of that.

Shake N Take was born from a game played at camp and in classrooms.  The original premise had the sheets filled with letters or numbers and you would be progressing down or up through the alphabet or counting down or up a string of numbers.

In watching the game play it was obvious the fun factor was there: lots of screaming and laughing amongst the kids and a certain palpable tension that made the game very exciting.  But in watching several groups play over time, I noticed a couple of core repeating issues that I thought detracted from the heart of the game.

First, the older kids, or at least the ones with better critical thinking skills, would spend time plotting out where their next batch of letter or numbers would be when they weren’t marking their sheets, while the younger kids were caught up watching the insanity revolving around the table.  Invariably, these methodical kids came out ahead, but also seemed to miss out on the fun and laughter surrounding them.  Changing the numbers and letters to symbols and adding a die that allowed you to mark them off, solved this issue nicely.  There was only so much planning you could do when it came down to dice rolling.

And the second issue was the tug-of-war that often ensued when one person was ‘stealing’ the pen from another person.  Someone would have a death grip on the pen, the other desperately trying to wrest it from the other.  While initially funny to watch, it did not help the play of the game, and it put younger players, again, at serious disadvantage. Some tinkering with pencil toppers and other concepts, yielded the workable, but ugly, design you see pictured (wooden spool with packaging tape).

These observations lead to my design of “On A Roll” which took another step forward in the capable hands of Out of the Box, who upped the quality of the components – like the awesome alien-egg shaker, and added spiffy alien-themed graphics to make this design out-of-this-world!”

Thanks to Keith for sharing the story behind Shake ‘N Take!  I should also mention that the sheets have 2 sides, one with aliens and the other with basic shapes so kids of all ages can play and the game is pretty even, so whether you are having just a couple kids or a small army at your house this weekend, I highly recommend you have a copy of Shake ‘N Take to keep them entertained.  And let’s face it, if kids are playing games, they probably aren’t causing any trouble – at least not any major trouble.

Shake ‘N Take Stats

• ~$29 Amazon.com, FatBrainToys.com, FunAgainGames.com and some mom & pop retailers
• 2-10 player
• Time completely depends on the number of players
• Ages 8 and up is what the box says…I say 6 and up

I’ve always believed that every board game is in some way, shape or form educational.  One of the biggest things I think EVERYONE can learn from playing games is how to be a good winner or how to accept defeat gracefully.  And now there is this new category of games cropping up in which players either win or lose together as a group.  There’s no one winner nor is there one loser – and players compete TOGETHER against the game itself.  So maybe these games won’t teach you to be a good winner or good loser but they will teach you teamwork and group strategy – and that’s not a bad deal.

Any of you who have met me in person know that I love competition…I thrive on competition – especially when it comes to Boggle. (Which I won last night, oh yea!) So how do I feel about these “cooperative” games?  I actually like them.   One in particular I fell in love with initally because of the game’s look is called Hoot Owl Hoot and after playing it, I think it’s a great game for kids.

The object of the game is to get the owls to the nest before the sun rises.  There is a a little sun token that starts by the moon at the top of the board and if it reaches the sun before all of the owls are in the nest, the game wins.  The sun moves forward one space everytime a player discards a sun card.  To start the game off, you decide how many owls you’d like to attempt.  For younger kids, you start with 3 owls and then work your way up to using all 6 owls for the hardest game.  Players each are dealt 3 cards and on their turn if they have a sun, they must play it and move the sun token forward one space.  If they don’t have a sun they can play any color card in their hand.  Then they move any owl forward to the next available space of that color.  The strategy is to get owls jumping over each other because the nearest space of that color is occupied.  If all of the owls make it to the nest before the sun rises, the players win!

Hoot Owl Hoot is for kids ages 4 and up – but just to make sure it was actually fun for adults AND there was a real chance that the game would win, I played with my husband.  Just the two of us tackled the hardest version with all six owls on the board I’m happy to say that we won only 3 out of 4 and the one we lost, we lost BAD.  Why does that make me happy?  Because I want to know this game is decent competition…and it turns out it is.  The odds are in the favor of the players, but if you lost all the time would you ever play?  Probably not.  Which brings me to another important point: parents make sure you have time to play 2 games in case the sun wins the first one.

Couple other things to note: the rules are in the box top – and it’s a NICE box so you probably won’t smash or mangle it for many years.  Also the game is “Green” meaning it’s made of earth-friendly materials including soy-based inks.  Even the pieces come in a paper envelope instead of lots of little plastic baggies.  I have to say the design, artwork and planet-friendly parts make me smile.

Hoot Owl Hoot Stats:

• $15 at Amazon.com, some Barnes & Noble stores and some Learning Express stores
• 2-4 players (must omit challenge cards with 2 players so 3-8 is better)
• ~10-20 min.
• Ages 4 and up

I mentioned the ThinkFun game Solitaire Chess in my 2010 Picks article and said I needed to play it some more.  Well I got to play it some more during the holidays and I really enjoy it….to the point I leave it on my desk in case I have some down time.  (which I don’t ever, but it motivates me to try to make some!)  Before I tell you about Solitaire Chess, we’re going to do a little flashback to the late 1980s…

When I was in grammar school I was lucky enough to be pulled out of class a couple times a week and put into what my school called “challenge.”  We played board games, did logic puzzles, played with tangrams, learned advanced problem solving techniques.  At the time I truly had no idea why I was being pulled out of class and to this day I’m convinced it was just so I didn’t end up totally disenchanted with school because I was unhappy or bored when I wasn’t in “challenge.”  Maybe this is why I invent games, regardless I think that veering away from the traditional math/English/social studies/science made my school experience far more enjoyable and I wish every kid got a “brain recess” a couple times a week!

Sadly, most schools out there that don’t have anything similar to a “challenge” program but I think every kid — and adult — should get a “Brain Recess.”  I guess I should specify that “Brain Recess” is not when students’ brains take a time out – we have TV for that – instead it’s when students get a break from the math equations and science terms that they are bombarded with all day and have the opportunity to let their brains play!  Luckliy, there are plenty of products out on the market today that can be fun, challenging and can be enjoyed solo.  Personally, I’m a fan of tangrams, pentominoes, logic grid puzzles, edge-matching puzzles and of course products that come from ThinkFun (which was called “Binary Arts” back when I was a kid!).  They have the fantastic Rush Hour puzzle series which has been out since 1996  (read my review of that HERE) and now I’m totally geeked about their newest puzzle product, Solitaire Chess!

I’ll admit I’m not a huge chess player, mostly because I don’t have the time to play and study it enough to be a decent player, but I love the idea that different pieces can move in different ways and this is what Solitaire Chess capitolizes on.  It’s a logic puzzle with 60 challenge cards that dictate which of the pieces you’ll be using and where they go on the 4×4 grid.  Then it’s up to you to find out how to knock off all of the pieces so only one piece remains on the board (you must knock a piece off every move you make).  If you get stuck there’s a booklet that will give you hints like which piece should remain on the board and which is the first piece you should move, so it’s not horrible to people who give up easily when they’re stuck.  I’ve really enjoyed playing with my copy of Solitaire Chess and I think it would have been something we would have had in our “challenge” room if it existed in the mid-80s.

Last Thursday the folks at ThinkFun released the Solitaire Chess app!  (awesome)  Try it now:

And a funny video about Solitaire Chess…(not by me.)

Solitaire Chess Stats:

$17-$20 at Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, Fat Brain Toys, and mom & pop stores
1 Player
How long do you want to play for?
Ages 8 and up

]]> http://www.thegameaisle.com/solitaire-chess/feed/ 9 http://www.thegameaisle.com/zingo/ http://www.thegameaisle.com/zingo/#comments Wed, 01 Jul 2009 19:29:20 +0000 Kim Vandenbroucke http://www.thegameaisle.com/?p=92

I’d bet that if you were in a room with a million people and asked “does anyone like reading directions?” not a single person would raise their hand.  Okay so no one in their right mind would take that bet, it would be like trying to win a raffle when you didn’t bother to buy a ticket.   Seriously though, directions are the necessary evil that comes before the fun.  Whether you’re learning how to use your new super-complex digital camera or learning the commands for your cool new Robosapien so you can tease your dog, directions stink.  I just want to get to the fun part.

Apparently, I’m not the only one who has come to this realization because there are games out there that have gotten you half the way with their name alone.  A great example is ZINGO.  From the –INGO you can guess that the game’s got some bingo in it, right?  But wait, there’s more, those smart cookies at ThinkFun even put pictures on the back of the packaging so when you open the box, there’s only about a paragraph of actual directions to read.  So 20 seconds of reading, 3 twist ties to remove and you’re ready to play!  Outstanding, right?

All of this would be for naught if the game wasn’t good, but it really is top notch.  And while the ZINGO box suggests it’s for 4-8 year old, I know a couple parents who don’t mind playing it over and over and over.  Sure beats some board games that leave you literally bored after a couple games.

So you’ve already got that it’s bingo, but it’s bingo with a zing.  (Actually their tag line, I ripped that off.)  Forget numbers and tokens, this bingo is played with little tiles adorned with pictures but the real “wow factor” is the extremely addictive mechanism that spits out the ZINGO tiles.  It’s kind of like the “chook chook” old credit card copying machines, but with each “chook-chook” it magically spits out two tiles.  It’s not the first time ThinkFun has used the “chook-chook” machine, it’s also in their fast-fire adult word game Smart Mouth which I also highly recommend to people looking for a fast-paced word game.  But back to ZINGO…

So now that you’ve spent the 90 seconds to read/view the directions, unpack the game and fall in love with the “chook-chook” machine, it’s time to play.  Once the machine has been “chook-chooked” and tiles have been spit out, players quickly scan their cards and yell out any matching objects.  The first person to holler out “frog,” “ghost” or whatever image is on both the tile and their board wins the tile and is one step closer to covering their board and winning.  Simple, right?

A nice added feature – as if ThinkFun hasn’t already done enough for us thus far – is that there are two levels of play, one for youngsters so it’s a little less competitive and one for older kids who want a more exciting game.  The ZINGO cards of the easier version have fewer duplicate images so there’s not as much of a rush to skim the images on your card for a tile-card match.  I will admit, the easy version is really for the kiddies and it’s the competitive version I’m a fan of, but the 4 year olds of the world will appreciate the extra time.  And either way, I appreciate that I can spend more time playing and less time reading the directions.

ZINGO stats:

• ~$15 at Target, Barnes and Noble and Amazon.com
• 2-4 players
• ~5 min.
• Ages 4-8 (parents might find it fun too)