My kids love it, and so do I, when I find a new game to play. I mean, come on, you can only play CandyLand so many times. So, I am happy today to bring you two games from Blue and Orange Games, Gigamons and Top That!
First up, Gigamons. It’s a great game if your kids are especially into Pokemon. The apprentices, aka the players, must summon a Gigamon to be allowed into the Wizard’s Guild. The player who summons the most Gigamons wins! This game is for kiddos ages 6 and up, so about Kindergarten. It is kind of like a matching game.
You place the tiles face down in a 3×3 square and the kids take turns flipping over two tiles. The tiles have cute little characters called Elemons on them. If they match, the player may take the two tiles and replace them with others from the pile. If they don’t match, they flip them back over.
Once they get three of the same Elemon, they make the corresponding Gigamon. If a different player has the Gigamon already, they can steal it too! Once they have summoned 3 Gigamons they win.
What can you target with this game?
- Memory
- Following Directions
- Describing
- Pragmatics
Next up, Top That. This game is just too cute! It is for players 6 and up, but I would play this game with my 1st graders or 2 graders, not Kindergarteners.
Each player get a set of pieces: top hat, red cup, orange tube, green coin, and a white rabbit. To play, players take turns flipping over cards from the deck. Then, players race to stack their pieces following three rules: objects printed in color on the card must be visible in the stack, objects printed in grey on the card must be midden inside the stack, and objects not printed on the card must be set aside.
First one to make their stack yells out ‘Top That’. If they made the stack correctly they keep the card as a point. If not, then the other players keep going until someone has it. The winner is the player with the most cards.
What can you target with this game?
- Following Directions
- Attributes
- Turn Taking
- Basic Concepts
You can learn more about these games and watch some short videos at Blue Orange Games.
