We love classic board games (I see you, Candy Land!) and the many skills they teach. We have also been known to invent many games of our own, like Noodle Beads or Hallway Shufflepuck. However, we’ve recently been introduced to two new games so fantastic for fine motor development that I’d be remiss not to share them with you.
Yeti in My Spaghetti
This game was completely new to us last Christmas when one of the aunties gifted it to our four-year-old. (Thanks again, Aunt Pam!) In the tradition of Don’t Break the Ice, Yeti in My Spaghetti is a brilliantly simple and yet fantastically entertaining game of balance. To be honest, my husband and I stayed up until way past our bedtime playing it the first night. The premise is simple: There’s a yeti in the spaghetti. If he falls in the bowl, you lose.
Why we love it:
- Set-up so easy, a caveman could do it. Also, a two-year-old could do it. My kids can get this game out and play it all by themselves.
- Both the objective and the rules are simple and crystal-clear.
- This fine motor game doesn’t require much intellectual work or strategy, so it’s great for group settings. An unlimited number can play — we’ve had up to 10 — while talking, eating, and generally enjoying themselves.
- There’s quite a bit of luck involved, making this a fun game for adults and children to play together on a more or less equal field.
- Play moves very quickly, keeping little ones engaged and making it possible to play several rounds in one sitting, which gives everyone a chance to win (or rather, to avoid losing).
- Players can jump in and out without disrupting the flow of the game, so if our two-year-old decides to wander off for a bit, nobody minds.
Stack Up
Stack Up came to us as a gift as well. (Shout out to Aunt Lori and Uncle Greg!) Players need to work together to construct a tower with twelve wooden blocks before the hand, the game’s villain, reaches the tower and knocks it down.
Why we love it:
- Another simple set-up. Even very young children don’t need help once they’re familiar with the game.
- Stack Up requires players to work together. If they build the tower quickly enough, they all win. If they don’t, they all think it’s hilarious to knock the tower down. Either way, my kids are happy.
- The inclusion of some typical game elements — the spinner and cards — helps give young children experience they can later apply to more complicated games. Adults may take for granted a skill like using a spinner, but kids benefit from the practice. The cards used in Stack Up are made of heavy cardboard, which my toddler easily handles without damaging.
- Stack Up is well-designed for sibling play. Each player can work at his own skill level to stack the blocks. Very young children can use their hands, but the sticks provided also have two different ends allowing for two different levels of challenge. Right now, my two-year-old likes to use the smaller ends of the sticks, which can be inserted into a block to hold it; my four-year-old prefers gripping the blocks between the sticks’ flat foam ends. Their older cousins enjoy the challenge of using just one stick to move and stack the blocks.
- Like Yeti in My Spaghetti, Stack Up moves quickly. We can usually complete four or five games before little brother’s attention span wanes.
What board games are your kids into? Do they like the classics or have you discovered some new gems? Share in the comments!