Keeping the Kids Entertained with Spin Master Games

(ad - Gifted)

There are many times that we are looking for things to keep the kids entertained, that horrible rainy day for example. Well Spin Master has some amazing games on offer that will really come in handy and stop kids saying those dreaded words "I'm bored". 

We was sent 4 games to try out -  

Baby Shark - Lets go hunt fishing game
HedBanz 
Otrio
Jumanji - The Next Level

Lets start by talking about the Baby Shark Game.

This is a classic came for kids but with a baby shark twist to it. You simple have to catch the sharks as they pop their heads up, and the baby shark twist? Well that's the game singing Baby shark to you, over and over again! Lily loved that is had this element to it. Me not so much, as just like most parents, the song can slightly drive you crazy. But not to worry, it just means that your child spends ages in their bedroom playing it while you drown out the music with other things like vacuuming. That is the one thing I do love about the game, Lily can play it all by herself as well as with family and friends. 

The game is super easy to set up and you simply pop the fish into the holes. You will need 2 AAA batteries to make it work. It also comes with 4 fishing rods which are all different colours so the players get a colour each. Winner of the game is the one who gets the most sharks. It is a lot of fun to play though and me and Lily have had lots of games of it where we raced to catch the most sharks. If your little one likes baby shark then this is one for them! 

The next fun game is called Hedbanz. This game you need at least 2 players but you can have up to 6 players involved. It is recommended for ages 7 plus but we played it with children aged 5, 6 and 7, and they all enjoyed the game. That said they did all need a little help understanding how the game was played. Especially Lily who is 5. 

The game comes with 6 headbands that can all be easily adjusted to different sizes. Then it comes with cards that all have either a object, food or animal on it. The card shows the picture and says the word. This gets slotted into the front of the headband. It also comes with a timer and some rewards chips that get slotted into the headband when a player correctly guesses. 

The idea of the game is to wear your card on your head. But your not aloud to look it. Only the other players of the game can see it. You then have to ask questions to be able to figure out what picture is on your card. There are 3 cards in the pack which gives you questions that may help you figure out what you could be. For example "Am I an animal? 
For each go, you turn over the hour glass times and you are meant to try and ask your question with in that time and see if you can figure out what you are by hearing the other players answers. We ended up stopping playing with the timer to give the kids a little more time to think. The other players are meant to only say yes or no to the answers. Though we did say a little more to again help the kids be able to guess. 

I really enjoyed this game, and so did the kids. It can be quite amusing when you get the answers wrong, or when you find out you are something funny like a biscuit. It is a game that really gets you thinking and makes such a good guessing game. I love how much everyone gets involved in the game which makes it such a good one for families. 

The next game is called Otrio and this one was my favourite. I had never heard of it before and I will be honest, looking at it in the box it didn't excite me, but when I got playing (and winning) I really grew to love it. It did take my head a little time to understand how to play, but when I did understand, it became really good fun. That said, I am going to try and explain the game the best I can as I think the game is easier learnt through playing over and over. 

The game is a little like noughts and crosses only with a lot more ways of winning involved. Instead of playing with noughts and crosses you are playing with circles. You get 9 in total of each colour, and 4 colours, meaning you can play with 2 or 4 people. When only 2 people are playing, you play with 2 colours each. 

The circles are all different sizes. So you get 3 large, 3 medium and 3 small. You have a while playing board that fits all the sizes of the circles on. The idea of the game is to get 3 in a row, but there are many different ways you could get this and different patterns you can use. 

For example -

3 of the same colour and size,
Small, Medium, Large (all in the same colour and in that order) 
Or you could build up, by placing small, medium, and large in the same circle. 

My partner says that if you are a fan of chess then you will probably enjoy this game as it can be a lot about thinking ahead to make the other player move in ways you want them too. The game is recommended for 8 plus. We played this game alone and also with the kids and I'm not sure the kids fully knew what they were doing but they somehow still managed to beat us at times. I do love games that you are able to play between 2 people and also play over and over again and so I do really recommend this game. 

The last game is the Jumanji game. I am a big fan of the films and so was really looking forward to this game. Though was unsure how they would make a game out of it. 

The game comes with board that spins, some tokens, a pack of cards, dice and some token boards. It is pretty easy to set up and you can be ready to play in no time. 

It comes with instructions, which I did find it took time to get my head around but when we did, it was easy enough to play. The idea of the game is to collect the tokens and fill up your token card to be the winner. But there are things that can stop you from winning and you also only have 3 lives. 

 
The game is very much a draw of the cards sort of game. You pick a character and start with 3 cards and the youngest player who goes first gets to choose a card they wish to play. Each card has a meaning to it. You could end up in battle, taking a token from another player, gaining an extra dice, or spinning the board which would end up meaning you have a new character. You may also be lucky enough to win an extra life card, which you can save to use when you need it. 

Your battles are the cards you need to use to be able to win tokens. Each character has special moves, which give you extra points. So when battling, you need to beat the cards XP by rolling the dice. So for example, 20Xp, you need to roll more than 20. You can get other players involved to be able to roll more, and this is also where the extra dice comes in handy.You also can look at your character and use their special move to add up the dice total. It would for example say +2 on there board section. If you beat them you and the other players who helped win a token, if not you and only you loose a life. 

We did not play this with the kids as we felt they were too young with the game being 8+ and us trying it first and finding it tricky to get our heads around. It is a great game to play together and I think the more players you have, the better the game would be. 

Over all we have had so much fun with these game and it really has kept us entertained. We can't wait to spend more quality time together playing them. 

Which of the games do you like the sound of?