Puzzle – The Review Studio

The Genius Star

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Disclaimer: We received this product free of charge for the purpose of this review and all thoughts and opinions are our own.

We’re on the last few weeks of the summer term and on the countdown to summer holidays. Travelling with children can be incredibly stressful so if you can keep then entertained it makes the journey a lot more pleasant for everyone! In the run up to the summer holidays I am always on the lookout for compact games that I can pop in my bag to keep the children entertained, whether they are on a plane, car, hotel room or caravan.

We were recently sent The Genius Star from The Happy Puzzle Company which can be played solo or as a 2 player game. The game is great fun and will not only keep them occupied whilst travelling it is also fun to team up to play together as a family in the evenings.

Inside the box are two plastic star shaped grids, two sets of 11 multi-coloured wooden shapes, two sets of seven blocker pieces (triangles) and seven dice (a mixture of six and eight sided). The game is very easy to play, simply roll all the dice and place a blocker piece into the triangle matching the seven numbers that appear on the dice, then race your opponent to fill every other space on the grid using the 11 shapes. There is also an added twist with the ‘Golden Star’ which allows you to score a double win by solving the puzzle with the ‘Golden Star’ Apparently only 57.4% of the puzzles have a solution that includes the ‘Golden Star’ so this adds to the challenge!

The game is good for STEM learning using skills including problem solving, critical thinking and logic skills to complete the puzzle.

Each game is reasonably quick but with 165,888 possible combinations you do sometimes play a round that takes a little longer to complete, especially if you try to use the ‘Golden Star’ but that just adds to the fun. With so many different combinations this is a game that will keep children (and adults) entertained these holidays.

The Genius Star is suitable for ages 8 to adult and has an RRP of £19.99

Link Logo Board Game

Birthday Gifts, Children, Family Life, Games, Gifts for children, Toys

Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

The Linking, Thinking Picture Game!

Link Logo, the board game from Tomy, can best be described as a mixture of the TV quizzes Only Connect and Catchphrase. Borne from the game LOGO, Link Logo uses pictures to create a game with trivia questions which can be played by the whole family. Based at ages 12+, it can be played in two teams or with just two players.

The teams sit opposite each other with the flip chart in the middle. Each team can see the other team’s questions (they are different questions for each side) and for the group of logos, or pictures, you have to guess the link. Underneath, there are the answers to the other team’s pictures, followed by questions to ask about their selection, and of course, the answers! Each team uses the pegs to score.

To give you an idea about the type of questions, (but to not give away the game!) you can see on the front that there are 6 pictures; a penguin, lion, planet, the solar system, a bus and an outdoor picnic. The question asks you to find the link and to name each product. If you’re stuck already, then the answer is that they are all chocolate bars! The other team then asks questions about the pictures, such as, “Which one of these relates to a Batman villain?” Once you have worked out the link, or had to be told, you can usually get the answer to the trivia questions pretty easily. Some of the answers are real ‘kick me’ ones, where you instantly realise you should have known the answer as soon as you find it out!

There are a total of 60 booklet sheets in the game, so it doesn’t take more than a couple of hours to play depending on how much time you chat in between the rounds. It’s the type of game that when you’ve played it once, you will probably remember the answers for a while so you can’t keep playing it over and over with the same people. Likewise, if one person has played it, then they’ll be at an advantage everyone else. Maybe if that’s you, you can work out how to compare the game and keep score instead of take part.

It’s easy enough to understand and follow along as it’s just about reading the text on the booklet binder and then keeping score using the score pegs. Most of the questions could be answered by teenagers but we did find that there were a few which were more based on older generations, or were a bit advanced such as some which related to American logos and items.

It’s a lovely gentle game for the family to play together, and. The photos make it easy to follow. It often creates great conversation between the teams, and each other too.

Available on Amazon (and other retailers) for £22.99: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Drumond-Park-T73295-Tabletop-Suitable/dp/B0BB9JRM46/ref=sr_1_3?crid=2MNZKPBX99Q1W&keywords=Link%2BLogo&qid=1672769289&sprefix=link%2Blogo%2Caps%2C76&sr=8-3&th=1

Triggle Family Board Game

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Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

Families are always looking for more wholesome ways to connect and have fun, so Tomy’s board game Triggle is a gem for the winter months. Based on 2-4 players (but you could play in teams) it is aimed at 8 years and upwards and has a remarkably simple objective; to create triangles.

The starting board consists of pegs arranged in a geometric pattern. Each player chooses one of the colours of pegs (there are 21 pegs for each player) and the elastic bands are divided out between everyone playing. Taking it in turns, each player add one rubber band to the board, suspending it between any two posts in any direction. The only ‘rules’ are that the line created by the band must be straight, and it must stretch across 4 post only and touching at least one other rubber band.

Once a player creates a triangle with their rubber band, they can claim it as their own by placing their coloured peg inside it. A triangle consists of only one single space.

The game ends whenever there are no spaces left on the board to claim, or one of the players uses up all their pegs. An alternative to the full game is for each player to have a set amount of rubber bands (for instance, 10 or 20) and the players play until there are no more bands left. Whoever has the most pegs placed on the board is the winner.

This is a remarkably easy game to follow and learn the rules for, and can keep the whole family entertained. We found that playing with just two, and especially two adults or older children was exceptionally easy and allowed for conversation throughout. There was no need to remember where you were in the game, so it was easy to talk, or walk away and come back after dinner if you needed to. It also doesn’t last for hours and hours where you feel compelled to complete the game. It also didn’t require point scoring or writing anything down as you can just count up the number of pegs visible, and there’s no need for remembering characters or complicated rules!

If you are in a group who don’t speak English or have limited vocabulary, this is a great mind teaser puzzle, and if you lose the rubber bands, they can easily be replaced. Instead of using the pegs, you can use any other type of counter from another game, so there’s longevity too. I found that after a while, some of the younger children (under 12 years old or so) were able to make up new games of their own, or liked making patterns in the board after the game had finished, so there was endless entertainment to be had over the school holidays.

Triggle isn’t really a game you grow out of and can be picked up by anyone. It’s definitely a “thumbs up” from us as a family game.

Available from £19.50 at Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fat-Brain-Preschool-Educational-Suitable/dp/B08SRF4FKJ/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=2T4AYCESTM577&keywords=triggle+board+game&qid=1672763459&sprefix=triggle+board+game%2Caps%2C63&sr=8-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&psc=1