It doesn’t take a Mom long to look around the kitchen table, the living room, or even in the backseat to see that electronics has taken over the family! And while they all have a time and a place for entertainment, this Mom tends to miss the family interacting together. Making eye contact, telling jokes, or good nature competition together.
So it’s time to find a solution and games for some screen free family fun! Let me share with you a few of our favorite items that we’re playing with right now.
About Goliath Games
Goliath Games was established in 1980, and remains one of the few family-owned and run businesses in the world of toys and games.
WordSearch
A great twist on the standard word search game. Each player finds words on the board by placing see through colored tiles to mark their word. Then the next player can twist the board and add their own word! Win the game by having the most tiles on the board at the end. Plus you can generate and print new boards for your family to play with.
Make sure to follow Goliath Games on social media:
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube
About Pressman Toys
Founded in 1922 Pressman Toys has been delighting families for decades with classic games such as Mastermind, Rummikub, Tri-Ominos and innovative licensed products!
Mastermind
If you enjoy making or breaking codes, then you should definitely give Mastermind a try. A player “builds” a code with different color pegs which remain hidden at one end of the board. The other player will take a turn by guessing the code.
The only feedback they get after the guess is how many of the colors do they have right and how many are in the correct hole that match the hidden code. Either guess the code correctly within 10 turns or lose the game!
Hydro Strike
Pinball with water on the table! Two players use flippers to launch a ball back and forth towards the opponents goal. Score a goal and your opponent gets wet! The first player to score 5 points wins the game.
Tri-Ominos Deluxe
This is a step up from dominoes, where you have three sides to match before you can place the piece on the board to score points. There are different points available depending on the shape or length you create, and the first player to 400 points wins the game!
Images of America: Divine Light Panoramic Puzzle
This is a beautiful 504 piece puzzle, perfect for puzzle lovers. It has a fantastic “Americana” photograph you have to piece together, measuring 25″ by 9 1/2″ once completed.
Make sure to follow Pressman Toys on social media:
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube
My Thoughts
When I think back to some of my fondest memories growing up, it wasn’t how much TV I got to watch or what new gadget we got to play with. It’s usually about my friends or family crowded around a table or sitting on the floor, putting together a puzzle or playing a board game. And I have tried since my kids were little to spend time playing board/table top games as much as on electronics. Not only is it screen free family fun, but they also learn other skills by playing multiple games with other people.
Puzzles
Myself and a select few of my children have always loved puzzles. We’ve done puzzles where there are no straight edge pieces, multiple pictures within one puzzle, puzzles with pictures on both sides of the piece, you name it! And sometimes we’re quiet as we work the pieces into place, but usually there are cups of coffee and enjoyable conversations as we build the puzzle. Putting together the Images of America: Divine Light Panoramic Puzzle was wonderful to build on the dining room table one night after dinner. And the image was so beautiful, I will probably gift it on for another family to enjoy piecing it together.
Word Searches
When I think of word searches, I usually think of a solo activity as it can be hard to share a page with another player while you both search for words. So I loved trying out Wordsearch where we can find words together on the board. It’s always funny to listen as the kids try to find the “best” word they can find on the board to score the most points. There are even certain moves that allow you to remove another player’s tile from the board, thus losing those points! And probably one of the neatest features is you can go online and make your own wordsearch puzzle to print and play together. This is great for special events, birthday parties, or even to help with spelling words. This game is suggested for 2-4 players ages 7 and up, but we’ve also teamed the younger players up to “help” the big kids play.
Logic and Strategy
Certain members of my family are very much into logic and strategy games. Those same few are also competitive and their games tend to get…lively, shall we say! Put the game of Tri-Ominos Deluxe or Mastermind® in front of them, and they will play for hours!
It gets loud quickly as they shout for joy or groan when they see a mistake they’ve made. Both of these games are played over and over since they are different each round and are easy to toss in the car when we go out of town. Tip: Keep the pieces in plastic sandwich bags within the box in case they pop open or get knocked over.
Pinball
The newest game the kids especially love to play combines pinball with water squirting! I’m serious; Hydro Strike is a pinball type game where each player uses their flippers on their end of the board to sling a ball to the opponents side. If you score a goal, then the other player gets sprayed in the face with water! It pays to be fast and accurate since the first player to score 5 points wins the game. It’s not a bunch of water, so you don’t have to worry about getting your furniture or floor soaked. It’s also a game recommended for 2 players, ages 7 and up. But believe me, the younger crew can be just as fierce when they are given a turn to have their older brother or sister squirted in the face!
No matter what kind of games your family enjoys playing together, you can find it with Goliath Games and Pressman Toys! These are just a few of our current favorite titles, but they have something for everyone.
Whether you need a game for a lot of players or ones that start with a younger age range, you’ll find what will make your family enjoy some screen free family fun time together. And they’ll remember those fun memories for years to come.
We’ve added Goliath Games and Pressman Toys to our Sweet 2019 Valentine’s Day Gift Guide! Check it out here!
