Playing Is For Everyone - A New TOS Review!!

As a part of the TOS Schoolhouse Crew our family was chosen to get to review some new games.  These  games are unique in that they have been designed to encourage creativity and imaginative thinking while playing.

The Product:
There are 3 games in the playPLAY line which can be purchased either individually or as a set and all of them are created for ages 5 and up. The games use activities like story telling or painting which are creative in nature to create game play. 

ColorPlay is for ages 5 and up and requires at least 2 players, but room for up to 6. There are 3 ways to play the game - Pattern It! Shape It! or Build It! Each game takes 20 minutes or less and uses color recognition, pattern recognition, cooperation, and imagination. The game comes with 24 double-sided color/pattern shapes made from thick cardboard, a large paper color wheel game board, 24 Shape It cards, a spinner, and instructions.

PaintPlay is for 2-4 players that are ages 6 and up. The players have to work together to create a piece of art while trying to collect 6 Paint tokens.  Problem is that they have to stay away from the 6 "Meanies" who are working hard to try to steal your creativity. The game includes 6 tokens and 6 "meanies", 2 paint brushes, paper, a spinner, 40 Action cards, and an eight color paint tray. This game also builds color recognition and the ability to match while maximizing your child's creativity and imagination. It will only take about 20 minutes to complete a game.

StoryPlay  is the last game of the set, for ages 7 and up.  You will also need 2-4 players.  There are also  3 games to choose from, Let's Story Play!; Name It & Draw It! or Totem Pole!  Each game takes about  10 minutes so there's always time for one of these playPlay games!  In Let's Story Play! the players work together to write a story collage using the included Write & Wipe board and pen.  There are 125 double-sided word and image titles to jump start their creative juices which will make each story unique and a blast! 

Each of these games (or the set) will be available at retailers such as Toys-R-Us and Barnes & Noble and other specialty stores as of July of this year.

Our Experience:

These games did not stay in their boxes very long once they arrived AND since then they have been asked about on an average of once per day including weekends! So from that statement alone you will know that these games are fun and easy.  We started with ColorPlay because that one I figured even my 3 year old could play - and I was right!  They all loved it, even though I think it was a too easy for Arianna, who just turned 9. She just enjoyed the game and playing with her siblings.

We ended up playing all three versions of this game on the same day.  I took more pictures of that game then any of the others and unfortunately I can't find any of the other pictures. :(  But here are some for you to enjoy.

The one thing I don't like about the ColorPlay game is the game board.  It's made out of paper. That just won't stand up to much use.  I wish it was made out of fabric or that special paper that feels like cloth but can't be ripped.  Even laminating the board won't work because you'd have to cut it so it could fit back in the box.  I suppose you could cover it with clear contact paper, but I just wish it would have been made from a more sturdy material from the start.

Where all of my children could play the Color Play game, only the girls could really play the StoryPlay game or PaintPlay.  PaintPlay is by FAR Audrie's favorite.  I knew she would LOVE this game from the start and I was right.  Arianna likes it too, but I truly think there's a crazy artist locked inside of Audrie waiting to burst out.  The PaintPlay game allowed her to use her creativity and expression through painting while also having to work with her sister/teammate.

StoryPlay was a little harder for Audrie, but she was able to play as long as there was someone helping her out.  Since she is still working on learning to read some of the words were beyond her, but she can make up a crazy sentence when she wants to once she knows the words she has to choose from.  This game was more a game for Arianna and it's a better fit for her age too.  One thing I would have wished they had done was made the tiles for this game magnetic so that they would stick to the board and you could hold it up and show everyone.  

Another thing I loved about these games were they were all short.  You could play any one of them and any version and still be sure the game would be done in no more then a half an hour.  That's a great change of pace for the day, but still allows you to get all your work done without getting behind.

My Thoughts:

I think these games are really awesome and use the right amount of logic and thinking with creativity and imagination to create fun family times.  I encourage you to check them out next time you are at Toys-R-Us or  another retailer that sells family games.

I know that we will be playing these games a lot throughout the year and maybe I'll find some other pictures to share with you in one of my 'look at our day' blog posts.

Be sure to check out playPlay on Facebook or Twitter as well as your nearest retailer of  Toys-R-Us or Barnes & Noble.  Make sure you read what my other Crew members thought about these games, as well as those who reviewed Noteable Novelists by clicking the banner below.

*** I am a member of The Old Schoolhouse 2011-2012 Crew and receive free products and services in exchange for a thorough and honest review. Though I am compensated with free products (and a one year premium membership to this program), I am not compensated in the form of money for any of my reviews. My reviews will always reflect my honest opinions, findings, beliefs and experiences with the products and services that I receive.***