Hoagies' Kids & Teens: Smart Toy Companies

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Smart Toys Companies

Unusual toys and games come from unusual companies. Though we may only have reviewed a few of their games, these companies offer an ever-increasing variety of well-designed, challenging, tons-of-fun games and toys, that gifted kids and their families love! Support these great companies, so they can continue offering us great new games!

Offering many terrific toys our kids love, Toys at Amazon.com, MindWareOnline, Discovery Store, Zome! and many more - all the links on Shop Hoagies! - are all Hoagies' Gifted Education Page associates. For each purchase from Hoagies' Page links, these stores give a small percentage of your purchase price to Hoagies' Gifted Education Page, at no cost to you -- Thanks!

All Things Equal Creative products for active minds

Loaded Questions and Re-Loaded Questions Booster Pack

Loaded Questions Junior

Busy Bodies

Words of Wiz-Dumb

Blue Orange Games

Fundomino: The wild action dominoes game... Also available in travel size: Pocket Fundomino with travel pouch
Pengoloo: Which penguin is hiding the egg? A memory game for youngsters
Double Shutter (also available from MindWare): Combines basic arithmetic skills with strategy for great family fun! Be the first to shut the box... Also available in wooden Vintage Double Shutter
Gobblet (also available from MindWare): A fun strategy game, as easy to learn as tic-tac-toe, challenging for chess players, fun for the whole family... Also available in 3x3 colored version, Gobblet Jr. and Gobblet Jr. On the Go
Ringgz (or from MindWare): No single move can be made without careful thought, because just one ring can make or break the game. Players take control of a territory on the board by putting down the most rings in their color...

Buffalo Games

Photomosaics (see Smart Hands-On Toys for full list of great Buffalo Games jigsaw puzzles): Jigsaw puzzles, made up entirely of tiny scenes. Gifted kids (of all ages) often love jigsaw puzzles, and these puzzles add another dimension to the picture
Faces a game of first impressions (3-8 players, ages 10+): match your first impression of zany man, woman, and pet faces with your opponents to win. The "impression" cards are as funny as the faces... "The neat freak," "The one who's socks don't match," "The one who's reading an eye chart" A very visual game
iMAgiNiff the funniest game you can imagine (3-8 players, ages 12+): Just imagine what the other players are most like. Keep choosing the most popular answers to win the game...
Last Word The uproarious race to have the final say! (2-8 players, ages 8+): Subject: “Vegetables”…Letter: “C". Players race opponents and the random-interval timer to yell them out…Carrots! Cucumbers! Corn! Cauliflower! ‘tick-tick’… The player with the Last Word in before the timer sounds advances…Oh! Celery! BZZZT!
VisualEyes The 'What You See is What You Get' Game! (Visit Buffalo Games and click on the left margin for an interactive version of Visual Eyes...): Appealing to the visual learners, and everyone else. Find words or phrases among the pictures

Cranium Tin Edition (12 to adult) or Cranium Cadoo (7 and up), by Cranium

Spell a word backwards, hum a tune, answer a multiple-choice question, draw with your eyes closed, and more when you play Cranium, with 14 talent-tapping activities designed to bring out the best in you and your friends... Cadoo is the funky fusion of tic-tac-toe, general knowledge, sculpting skill, and scavenger hunt designed for kids

Cranium Family Edition (8 to adult) players compete by building, flipping, sketching, sculpting, and guessing
Cranium Wow (12 to adult) Uncover a player’s talents--or lack thereof. Wow’s objective is to move around the board until you’ve reached Cranium Central, where your team completes its final activities to claim victory. Collect the new personalized markers, too!
Cranium Turbo (12 to adult) Cranium in an embossed tin with all-new cards!
Cranium Booster Box 2
Cranium Cadoo Booster Box 1
Also... Cranium Turbo (12 to adult) Adds 6 new activities to the original 10, for even more Cranium fun!
Cranium Hoopla (12 to adult) Players act, draw, and craft hilariously clever clues to get the other players to guess the answers on their cards - great party game!
Cranium Pop 5 (13 to adult) How much pop culture do you and your team know??
Cranium Whoonu (8 to adult) have unforgettable fun as you reveal your favorite things, share hilarious stories, and bond over surprising connections. You'll be amazed at what you'll learn about your friends and family -- especially those you think you know best!
Cranium Zigity (8 and up, much younger gifted child) Quick card game, complete a puzzle, spell a word, sum it up, or match instruments...
Cranium Zooreeka (8 and up) create and build your own zoo. Dodge danger and encounter all kinds of outrageous zoo events as you collect food, animals, and shelters in a race to opening day...
Cranium Conga (7 and up) Fast-paced "guess what I'm thinking" game \will get your whole family acting, sculpting, guesstimating, and picking hilarious words
Cranium Bumparina (7 and up, much younger gifted child) Quick strategy game, no reading required. Place your bumpers to head the balls your way, but watch out for you opponent - one twist of a bumper can wreck your plan!
Cranium Giggle Gear Mega Mask with Robot, Bug, and Alien Parts and Cranium Giggle Gear Mega Mask Fun Fairy (5 and up) Creating hilarious face masks and change your voice using a variety of eye, nose, ear, and mouth parts and voice morpher...
Balloon Lagoon (5 and up) While the merry-go-round music plays, compete thinking, matching, flipping and fishing as you collect balloons
Cranium Hullabaloo (4 and up) Twister meets Simon Says... Listen closely and think fast as you bounce, twist, spin, high-five, and dance to the music, sounds, and friendly voice of Hullabaloo. Rewards quick thinking, cooperation, and creative problem-solving. Also Cranium Hullabaloo DVD Game: Amazing Animal Adventure
Cranium Cariboo (3 to 6 years) Teaches wee ones a few colors, shapes, numbers, and letters

Days of Wonder

Ticket to Ride to learn more, visit Ticket to Ride website: Cross-country train adventure where players collect cards of various types of train cars that enable them to claim railway routes connecting cities throughout North America... Also Ticket to Ride: Europe, Ticket to Ride: Märklin, Ticket To Ride USA 1910 Expansion, Ticket to Ride Switzerland, Ticket to Ride: Nordic Countries and Ticket to Ride Dice Expansion
Gang of Four

Mystery of the Abbey

A new kind of "whodunit" game of deduction and intuition, set in a medieval abbey

Terra

The world is in crisis. Ecological disasters, socio-economic difficulties and diplomatic challenges abound. Will you be able to help your fellow players save the planet while balancing you natural desire to come out ahead?

Dream Green

Tic Tac Chec Part chess, part tic-tac-toe - a quick, fun game, also provides amazing challenge, and teaches some chess rules (or from Amazon)
Noble Celts Circular chess, the old fashioned way!
1-2-3 OY! and A-B-C OY! card games (numbers or letters) for the younger folks, multi-player or solitaire... lots of fun!

Educational Insights the folks who bring us Capsela!

Tunnelz: 2-player tunnel maze game - tilt the cube, and plan your route...
Obscurity (ages 8+ / 3rd grade+): Find all the words you can on the card, but beware, words found by other players get removed from the score!
Castle Logix (ages 5+, 4+ gifted): Construct the castles in each diagram out of beautiful hardwood pieces. Challenges start easy, but quickly make you think "outside the box"...

Fire Escape (ages 8+, 6+ gifted)

Navigate the corridors on both sides of the hotel to find fire extinguishers and put out the fire; a 3-D maze puzzle. 48 rescue missions included...

Zookeeper's Nightmare (ages 6+, 5+ gifted)

Slide the runaway animals home, but watch out! Don't let the leopards lunch on the rhino, or let the lion wave it's tail in front of the tigers, or... A sliding puzzle with a twist! 18 challenges included, plus instructions to create your own

Playfoam

Squish it, shape it, save it or smoosh it and start all over again, colorful foam sculpting material won't crumble, and it won't stick to skin or surfaces and it never dries out... Or try Creativity Kit, Giant Pack, 12-pack or Sparkle Playfoam 6-pack or 12-pack

Rattled (two players or teams, all ages gifted: as soon as kids can spell words)

Shake the letters, and race to find the longest word!

Traverse 20th Anniversary Edition Checkers gone Wild! (ages 7+ (5+ gifted), 2 to 4 players)

What do you get when you cross checkers and Chinese checkers with a hint of chess and some extra-wild rules for advanced players? Traverse!

Blokus (or from Amazon)

take turns placing as many of their 21 geometric shapes on board as they can, but only the corners of their own pieces may touch. The real challenge comes toward the end of the game... Or take a new twist, with Blokus Trigon. Also Travel Blokus

Heximania

Spinning the board as you go, take turns placing letter tiles and earning points for each word you build...

Traverse

Easier to learn and play than chess; and it’s more fun and challenging than checkers

Fox Mind Games Smart, fun, original games!

Shokoba (or from Barnes & Noble): The goal is simple - collect more gems than anyone else. But getting there will take sound strategy and a strong memory. Tons of fun for 2-4 players!
Six (or from Barnes & Noble): It's simple - create a shape with your hexagons... at the same time your opponent is trying to block you, and create his own shape. And the strategy really begins once all the pieces have been played...
Oops (or from Barnes & Noble): Simple but complex logic game; move the hats to reassemble Simon, the scattered magician. Dozens of challenges, tons of fun...
Abalone: Learn in a minute, but a lifetime to master. Loosely based on sumo wrestling, the point of Abalone is to push just 6 of your opponents 14 marbles off of the playing surface, but there is a catch... Also Travel Abalone
Jungle Smart (or from Amazon): Use the set of commands to rearrange the animals from the start to end position, drawn from cards. Can you figure out the series of commands before your opponent? Or play solitaire...
ZooLogic (ages 4-adult) (or from Barnes & Noble): An animal gridlock of cats, dogs, mice and their favorite foods: fish, bones and cheese lies before you. Can you arrange them while keeping each animal away from its rival and away from its favorite food? Hungry ants, angry bulls and fierce dogs are also introduced as the puzzle difficulty gradually progresses...
Meta-Forms Logic in Shapes (ages 4-adult) (or from Amazon): Intro. to logic. Follow the clues to place the 9 wooden shapes on the grid. Starts simple, becomes more complex as you move through the challenges until the highest levels, which often challenge adults! Also available in travel form in Logix I. When you get through Meta-Forms or Logix I, try Logix II - these start at a challenging adult level!
Architecto (or from Barnes & Noble) and Equilibrio (or from Barnes & Noble): Use the 18 precision-cut blocks to construct 3-D structures illustrated in the challenge booklet: 50 illustrations, ranging from simple shapes, requiring only a few blocks to complex ones. As players develop stronger notions of perspective and geometric concepts, the challenges become more demanding...
Babylon (or from Amazon): Quick to learn, quick to play, but lots of room for strategy and challenge! Stack the stones following simple rules, and force your opponent to run out of moves. Even comes in it's own small carrying pouch - great for travel and waiting rooms
Tangramino: Construct pictures from 18 shapes; each new picture contains additional challenge...

Game Development Group

Stare! You have 20 seconds to stare at the image, then try to answer quick questions. How much can you recall? Also Stare! Jr.

Wit's End Categories include Teasers, Odd-1-Out, Sequence, and Wild Card. Exercise parts of your mind you forgot you had! Also Wit's End Junior Edition

Bonkers Can you hit a BullsEye while you're in the Hot Seat? What's the {blank}?, Add Ons, Letter Perfect, or Rhyme Time...

Mystify Solve mystery words, names, and numbers, in 5 categories - can you guess right? You only get one chance...

Gamepuzzles

for the joy of thinking, by Kadon Enterprises

Wonderful acrylic (and some wood) puzzles for kids and adults - my kids loved them since 2 and 3, my husband and I still love them!

Roundominoes, Super Roundominoes and Grand Roundominoes
Rombix Jr. and Rombix
Hexnut and Hexnut II
Quintachex the most beguiling checkerboard ever!
Dezign-8

Games for All Reasons

Finish Lines Challenges players to finish, popular lines from TV, movies, literature, nursery rhymes, history, proverbs, religion, science, sports and music. Loads of fun for large groups of players, too!
Paired All Up The Lone Ranger and.... Corned beef and.... Dungeons and.... Paired Up challenges your knowledge of pairs--words that just seem to go together--whether they're people, places, or just parts of an expression. Sort of a verbal Pictionary...

Gamewright

Tiki Topple by Gamewright (or from Amazon): Tactical game of Totem Domination! Play the right sequence of action cards to maneuver your secret tikis to the top of the heap. Use Tiki Topple to send your opponents to the back of the pack, but watch out for Tiki Toast--it'll knock your tiki off the board! Become the undisputed Tiki Master!
Pieceless Puzzle: This one has to be seen to be believed - watch the Video at YouTube... it's a one-piece jigsaw puzzle?!
On the Dot the Super Spotted Brain Teaser (1-4 players): Try to arrange four transparent squares so they perfectly match the pattern shown on the dots card. Flip, rotate, and overlap the squares to create a "spot on" copy...
PDQ - Pretty Darn Cute Game (ages 8 and up): Quick! Try to make a word out of the letters SMP. Sound SiMPle? How about PTR. Get the PicTuRe? Race to be the first player to shout out a word using all three letter cards in play. Each round starts with a different set of letters - you fill in the blanks. Are you the WNR?
Frog Juice (ages 8 and up): How would you create a magic spell? You might need some unicorn horn or some eye of newt, or maybe some bats or toadstools or star and moon dust. But be wary of a black cat or the powerful All-Purpose Witch Wash!
The Curse of the Ruby Rhino, a Dastardly Dice Game (ages 8 and up): Behold the Ruby Rhino! The most coveted of ancient treasures stands inches from your grasp but a curse makes it nearly impossible to capture. Roll the dice and try your best to corner this elusive jeweled beast. Watch out for a bevy of fake gold that will get in your way... (counting and visual discrimination)
Hisss the Colorful Snake-Making Card Game (2-5 players, ages 3 and up): As each Hisss snake slithers its way across the playing area, it introduces color identification and visual logic: Does it make sense to have a snake with two tails and no head' Are those two colors the same or not' Even elementary counting skills come into play during scoring at the end of the game. No reading required...
The Scrambled States of America (ages 8 and up): The 50 United States of America have traded places so they could see another part of the country. Now they need your help to find their way home! Players will learn everything from state capitals and nicknames, to the shape and location of each state...
Chomp 2-5 players, ages 6-8: It's a shrimp-eat-plankton world out there, and small fry will easily get hooked on Chomp!, the fast and finny food chain card game...
Maya Madness (ages 10+, or as soon as the gifted child is ready to play with zero!): Among their many achievements, the Mayan civilization was the first to understand the power of zero. Use Mayan principles and symbols to bring positive and negative numbers alive for kids. Add and subtract cards to reach your secret token number. But be careful or you may plunge into the world of negative numbers!
Aunt Millie's Millions, the Frenzied Game of Family Fortune (3-6 players, ages 10-15): Play the role of one of the colorful characters out to get Aunt Millie's fortune. Use speed, strategy and persuasion to collect the most coveted valuables. Will you get her vintage jukebox or get stuck with a rusty toilet? Claim the same item as another player and you must give the best sob story to convince the judge that you deserve it more! Heir-splitting fun!
The Legend of Landlock 2 players, ages 8 and up (gifted ages 6+): Employ a variety of complex-thinking skills like visual discrimination and spatial relations to achieve your goal. At the same time, learn the importance of thinking ahead before you play...
Hit or Miss 3-8 players, ages 10 and up (gifted kids even younger!): Draw a category card and in 45 seconds, list as many related words that come to mind. When the timer runs out, roll the die - if it lands on HIT, pick a word that you think everyone wrote; if it lands on MISS, pick one that only you wrote. Choose wisely and score big points...
Rat-a-Tat Cat 2-6 players, ages 6 and up (gifted kids even younger!): Can you keep a poker face? Can you remember the numbers on the other players cards? Sharpen your memory and your timing with this clever game of strategy, skill, and awareness. Rules for younger and older kids...
Granny Apples (ages 8 and up, or as soon as a gifted child can add and subtract halves!): Quick counting game using 1/2's and wholes, addition and subtraction. Watch out for the worm!
Sleeping Queens: Play a knight to steal a queen or take a chance on a juggling jester. But watch out for wicked potions and dastardly dragons! The player who wakes the most queens wins...
Castle Keep (ages 8 and up, a few years younger for gifted kids): Raise your castle! Raze the enemy! Build a castle with walls, towers, and a keep by matching color, shape, or both. Will you use your game tiles to strengthen your fortress or to attack vulnerable opponents?
In A Pickle (10 and up): Creative thinking and outrageous scenarios. Try to win a set of cards by fitting smaller things into bigger things -- a baby goes in a bathtub, which is in a house, in Hollywood. Play the fourth word card to claim the set, unless one of your opponents can trump with a larger word...

Gigamic / Family Games

Batik New classic wooden strategy game... Also Batik Kids Cathedral battle to gain the most land space by strategically repositioning your building pieces... Also Cathedral Travel
Corintho Two ancient Greek architects attempt to form a line of 3 constructions which are topped by the same type of playing piece...
Quoridor Classic (also available from Amazon): Get your pawn across to the opposite side of the board. But first decide: move your pawn, or put up a fence to slow your opponent? The choices don’t come easily in this carefully crafted game of mazes and madness for 2 to 4 players. Also Quoridor Kid and Quoridor Travel
Quarto (also available from Amazon): You decide your opponent’s next move. The object: Be the first player to line up four pieces that share at least one common characteristic
Quits Offense and defense at it's best. New classic wooden strategy game...
Quixo: Like ticktacktoe? You'll love Quixo. Twenty-five wooden cubes are shifted up and down and side-to-side as players try to line up five--diagonally, vertically, or horizontally...
Skybridge (or from MindWare): Classic wooden pieces create a skyline full of towers and bridges. Can you create the highest towers, and add ceilings to create the most roofs?

Klutz Books

From paper airplanes to Legos, marbles and jacks, from juggling to peg solitaire to desktop football, from knitting and sewing to watercolor art to thumbprint art... There are so many of these great books, they get their own Hoagies page! Click Klutz Books to investigate them all...

LoloFun

RohSzamBo - two player strategic fun
Bandito - lots of fun for lots of ages
Bucket Blast - a bucket full of indoor or outdoor fun for families and friends, with it's own storage (back)pack

Looney Labs

Fluxx: The card game where the rules always are! Also available in EcoFluxx, Family Fluxx and Zombie Fluxx versions. Or get Fluxx Blanxx , and make up your own Keepers, Actions, Rules and Goals; visit Home Brewers New Card Suggestion Page for ideas for cards, plus tips on printing! Other Fluxx Editions: German Fluxx and Japanese Fluxx, plus Monty Python Fluxx
Chrononauts: The card game of history! Also try Early American Chrononauts!
IceHouse: A high-speed game of pyramid stacking, or try a beginner set in TreeHouse, then add Zendo makes IceHouse into a strategy game plus...
Treehouse by Looney Labs (or from FunAgain Games): Logic-based pyramid game, lasts only 5-10 minutes, but you'll want to play again and again each time someone wins. Each player rolls the custom die to determine if they will TIP, SWAP, DIG, AIM, or HOP their Tree of three pyramids while they try to make them match the configuration of the shared goal called The House. Roll a WILD and you can change your own Tree or The House!
Nanofictionary
Proton
Aquarius

Mayfair Games

The Pillars of the Earth (or from FunAgain Games): England at the beginning of the 12th Century Prior Phillip of Kingsbridge has a glorious vision. To build the largest, most beautiful cathedral in England. To accomplish the task, Phillip recruits the most renowned builders in the country. However, the fate of the Cathedral is constantly threatened by all manner of catastrophes and oppositions. Players join together to help build Kingsbridge Cathedral. Wisely deploy assets to overcome unexpected difficulties and shortages to prove yourself the greatest builder of them all! Will your efforts be recognized when the Great Cathedral at Kingsbridge is complete?
Road to the White House by Mayfair Games (or from FunAgain Games): We all know that presidential candidates make and break the rules. Simulate the race to become the president of the United States, using all the campaign tools available to real candidates and their managers, players plot strategies, plan travel, raise money and react to events outside of their control. Three games in one; a light version that is quick to learn and play, a version that incorporates positions on issues and the use of dirty tricks, and an advanced version that allows players to develop their own candidates in a complete simulation of a presidential primary campaign. Travel the Road to the White House!
Elixer: The most powerful wizards of the fairy realm participate in a friendly and prankful magical joust. Each wizard competes to be the first to cast upon his opponents spells from his list of hilarious spells...
Hey! That's My Fish!: Shuffle fish tiles into a square array, and play your penguins to catch the most fish. But don't be fooled by the fun theme - this is a tricky strategy game!
Settlers of Catan: Catan is an imaginary unexplored island, and players are explorers and settlers. The playing surface is made of hexagonal tiles that, depending on their placement, create a different environment each time the game is played. Settlers must use their resources to develop their island home, building roads and houses to create new towns. But watch out! There's a robber on the island... Expansion sets include Settlers 5-6 Player Expansion, Seafarers of Catan, Cities & Knights of Catan, Starfarers of Catan, Settlers of the Stone Age, Settlers of Catan Travel Edition

McNeill Brighter Minds

Twisted Fish (or from Amazon): Takes "Go Fish" to a whole new level, and adds challenge that even the adults won't get tired of!
You've Been Sentenced (3-10 players, ages 8+): Using a unique word deck of pentagon shaped cards containing conjugations of funny words, famous names from throughout history, familiar places, and wild cards, players have to make grammatically correct and justifiable sentences. The real fun begins when players have to read their sentences out loud and explain what they mean to the rest of players. They form the jury and vote thumbs up or down on whether the sentence and justification stand and the points are scored...

Out of the Box Publishing the folks who brought you Apples to Apples, and much more!

7ate9 (or from Amazon)

Easy as 1, 2, 3! Add or subtract 1, 2, or 3 to the number on the top card on the pile to determine if they have a card that can be played next. Sounds simple, but with everyone playing simultaneously...

Dachshund Puzzle

Flip and slide the cubes to solve each challenge; 36 challenges in three levels per puzzle

Snorta

The party game where everyone is an animal... or at least sounds like one! Fun for all ages...

10 Days in Africa

Plan your trip across Africa... can you plan a cohesive trip in ten days? Some skill, some luck, lots of fun - great to study geography of Africa. Also available 10 Days in the USA

and now, 10 Days in Asia

and 10 Days in Europe

Apples to Apples, Party Box Edition or Apple Crate Edition (ages 12+)

This game receives rave reviews from our gifted community, for family or group fun!
Also check out... (And for a full list of the words in each set, visit Munching Apples fan site)

Apples to Apples Jr. (ages 7-12) fun as soon as they can read!
Apples to Apples Jr. 9+ (ages 9-14) an intermediate level, tons of fun! (or from Amazon)
Apples to Apples the basic set Apples to Apples Customizable Cards create your own green and red apple cards (for inkjet printers)
Party Box Expansion #1 and Party Box Expansion #2 more apples, more fun!
Apples to Apples Bible Edition
Apples to Apples Jewish Edition or Apples to Apples Yiddish Edition

Blink

2 or 3-player card game, somewhere between Uno and War, fast and furious and lots of fun!

Qwitch

3 to 5 players race to play cards in sequence. But watch out! Letters and numbers can go up, down, or stay the same... and switch at any time

My Word and My Word Junior

Fast-paced word-building card game - Junior has more vowels and less difficult letters in the deck

Squint (or from Amazon or MindWare)

Build a picture of the item listed on your SQUINT card. Get one of the players to guess what you are building before time runs out, and you both score points! Also try Squint Junior

Patch Products

Bubble Brain: Make up funny captions for silly photos, then try to guess which player wrote which caption... it's tons of imaginative fun!
Buzz-Words Easy to learn, fun to play. What Buzz-words do you know?
Marlarky: Test your powers of deception with Malarky, as players try to bluff answers to Imponderable questions as "What is the 'cottage' in cottage cheese?" and opponents try to determine the real answers from the ones that are simply malarky...
Swap Uno variant card game adds a fast-paced hand-swapping to create a great new strategy card game Toss Up!: Pocket- or purse-size game of chance in it's own case, great for those unexpected delays... toss the dice, try to get as many greens as you can... but don't get stopped by a red!

Pywacket LLC

Gemlok (or from Amazon): The dice determines your moves, but your strategy determines your fate. You finally land on a diamond and a ruby and two emeralds. But can you keep them from being taken by the other players? This game plays better than it sounds - and it's a visual/spatial playground! Strategy different than any other game...
Keesdrow Deluxe by Pywacket LLC (2 to 6 players or more in teams, also a great solitaire game) (or Keesdrow with plastic tiles from Fox Imaging): The ultimate word seek game! Real wooden tiles contain 4 letters each, double-sided for more combinations, and then distributed in an 8x8 board - a new challenge with each game. Find words in adjacent letters, use letters your opponent already used for double or triple points, but watch out for "red" letters...

Rio Grande Games

Bohnanza Card game all about planting, trading, and selling...

Carcassonne

A clever tile laying game. The southern French city of Carcassonne is famous for its unique Roman and Medieval fortifications. The players develop the area around Carcassonne and deploy their followers on the roads, in the cities, in the cloisters, and in the fields. The skill of the players to develop the area will determine who is victorious. Game expansions, and other editions

Carcassonne Inns & Cathedrals Expansion
Carcassonne: Princess & Dragon Expansion
Carcassonne: The Castle
Carcassonne Traders and Builders
Carcassonne Hunters and Gatherers

Caylus Complex strategy game, to gather wealth and build castles...

Dominion construct the most advantageous deck of cards, with lands, minions, riches and more...

Gipf Project series of 6 terrific strategy games for the gifted child or adult! Rio Grande Games

Gipf An abstract strategy game for two players based on a classic concept:... more about Gipf
Tamsk Earth. The second game of Project GIPF, played under permanent time pressure... visit Tamsk
Zertz Water. A fast, dynamic game for 2 players... more about Zertz
Dvonn Fire. A stacking game, played on an elongated hexagonal board... more about Dvonn
Yinsh Air. Players each start with 5 rings on the board. Every time a ring is moved, it leaves a marker behind... visit Yinsh Pünct The fifth element. A connection game: the goal is to link two opposite sites... more about Pünct

Hare & Tortoise Features the legendary race between the hare and the tortoise, but with a twist... Great fun for families, but with serious strategy...

Chicken Cha Cha Cha Chaos in the chicken yard! Play the chicken Olympics... Also available in original German edition! Zicke Zacke Hühnerkacke

Gulo Gulo (ages 5 and up)

You are the wolverine (Gulo Gulo) trying to be the first to rescue the baby wolverine. Moves are made based on the eggs drawn from the bowl... but don't knock down the alarm!

Niagara Battle the river and your opponents to recover jewels from the riverbank... but watch out for those falls!

Set Enterprises

Purchase this great card game, or play the on-line version that changes daily, plus resources for teaching with SET . Also from SET Enterprises:

SET The Family Game of Visual Perception (or from Amazon.com) Quiddler word game

Triology gin rummy with SET cards! (or from Amazon.com)

Xactika Five Crowns

Jurassic Jumble from the makers of SET

Fun family game of switching and swiping dinosaur cards and bones, for up to 9 friends or family members of all ages!

SET Cubed A Curious Game of Clever Connections

How many SETs can you make by adding the three cubes from your hand to the SETs already on the board? Your favorite game in a whole new dimension!

Spy Alley Partners

Bluff-n-Peg Turns poker into family bluffing game, with entertaining results...
Spy Alley Game (or from MindWare): A little bit of paranoia helps in this business, what with secret agents from all over the world following you around the board as you try to pick up clues to their identity and keep your own well hidden...
Simply Suspects The Game Of Suspicion and Betrayal! (or from MindWare): A fast-action game of suspicion and finger pointing. Much like Spy Alley, Simply Suspects is deceptively simple yet surprisingly intense

ThinkFun (was Binary Arts) great logic puzzles and games for all ages (mostly labeled 8 years and up, but great for gifted kids much younger). See Smart Hands On Toys for the whole collection...

And LOTS more... see Smart Hands On Toys

University Games

Beat the Experts

Check your wits against more than 40 world class experts like feminist Gloria Steinem, Bill Nye the Science Guy and Steve Young, former 49ers quarterback. This game features hot shots in all kinds of fields...

BrainQuest (click left for MindWare, or click below for Amazon links)

K - 7, with extra decks on America, Black History and more. Each deck is packed with hundreds of intriguing questions on one side and answers kids can’t wait to discover on the other...

My First, For Threes, Pre-School, Kindergarten, Bedtime (ages 3-5)
1st Grade, 1st Grade Math, 1st Grade Reading, 2nd Grade, 2nd Grade Math, 2nd Grade Reading
3rd Grade, 3rd Grade Reading, 3rd Grade Math, 4th Grade. 5th Grade, 6th Grade, 7th Grade
America, Hispanic America. For the Car, Black History, Presidents (all ages 8-12)
Canada (ages 8-12)

Colorforms by University Games

Remember these? 350 brightly colored Colorforms pieces in an elegant, spiral-bound book, limitless possibilities...

Worst Case Scenario

The game that represents the times we live in. Can you fend off a shark? Land an airplane? Give your best answer, and see if you survive. Also Worst Case Scenario Jr.

Fact or Crap It's your call!

Fast-paced trivia game challenges players to separate fact from fiction...

Totally Gross the science game (2-4 players, ages 8+ (5+))

Kids travel around the game board answering questions like “Name three places on your body that aren’t growing hair right now!” or “Can you milk a snake?” When a player correctly answers enough questions to stretch his Totally Gross Slime all the way to number 10, he gets to perform a “bizarre” experiment... Also try Totally Awesome, the game of fantastic facts!

U.S. Games Systems

Hexago Continuo Match color, number or both... simple but complex!
Signals and Semaphores: History in a box, including the fascinating historical background of the signal flag, semaphore, phonetic alphabet, and Morse code systems, in training dial, postcards, playing cards, posters...
Snatch-It: Quick to learn, always fun and challenging. Players shout out words as they see them, taking them from the center or stealing from their opponents...
Optical Illusions Playing Cards 54 different illusions, created by Pentagram design company

Wizkids Games

Oshi The Game of Influence. An elegant dance of power, as players vie to push each other right off the board...
Tsuro Build your own path, without your opponents steering you in the wrong direction - or off the board!

Zome System

DaVinci Kit, Explorer Kit, Glow-in-the-Dark Adventurer Kit, Crazy Bubble Kit, (or from MindWare) from triangles to DNA strands, the smart new building toy

Great math learning tool, too! Available lesson plans, model instructions, on-line manual. My kids (and their parents) love this stuff! Plus literature including lesson plans for K-12, Kepler's Solid essay and more...
Naked Zome Explorer - Explorer Kit without the box, save almost 40%
Paul's Hefty Bag of Parts - 2 pound of assorted parts!
Greenline Expansion Kit - take your Zome into 122 building directions! (regular Zome builds in "just" 62 directions)

Zome Geometry

Hands-on learning with Zome Models

Great new book to accompany Zome System, particularly for the advanced Zome user, studying Geometry and beyond!

Last updated February 16, 2010

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