Wednesday, October 11, 2017

Unconventional Fun: a box of awesome things matching game

a box of awesome things matching game
by wee society

This is a well made matching game for young children with nice thick cards and bright colors. The box to hold the cards is all one piece with a top that flips open. It comes with 40 cards, 18 matching pairs and one set of blank cards to design your own. The creators recommend permanent markers or acrylic paint.

The back pattern of the cards shows hearts, hexagons, circles, semicircles, and smiling faces, all a bit abstract.

The illustrations on the cards are based on those found in An Incomplete Book of Awesome Things. The text beneath each picture is in all capital letters. For those that don't have the book or haven't seen it, here's what you get:

green cards
lava
magnets
morning
ssssssnakes
eye patches

blue cards
Pluto
yellow
tacos
confetti
argyle

pink cards
fireflies
lightning
nests
camoflage - like an animal in its habitat; all you can see are eyes (lest you think of hunting)
science

orange cards
helicopters
trapdoors
s'mores
masking tape

Some of the choices seem a bit odd for very young children. Science is a bit abstract (a molecule). Most young children don't play with magnets (shown attracting screws and nuts). The eye patches card looks a lot like a skull rather than a pirate.

That being said, these cards are a lot more interesting and vibrant than most matching games you can find. They'll be much more fun for a parent to use along with a child and the matching part of the learning experience will be just as valuable. These are a good gift choice for the child who has everything or the youngest in a larger family because they will be completely different from everything the family already owns. They're also a good choice for the parents who want to be unconventional - nothing overtly boyish or girlish here.

I received this game for free from Blogging for Books for this review. The opinions above are my own. The links above are not affiliate links, but the game is also available at Amazon (affiliate link).