This month I got a unique opportunity to try some new games through Tryazon and SmartGames in hopes to put them in my classroom. The games were IQ Stars, Asteroid Escape and Shooting Stars. All three are logic games and ask the player to think critically, trouble shoot and work with perseverance. Being that Covid is as prevalent as it is, sadly students aren't in class to really play and get excited about these games. When I first broke them out at home, my 4.5 year old loved the colors of the IQ stars and thought it would "be so much fun." As he tinkered with the game, I brought out the other two and started looking at them. He wasn't drawn to the Shooting Stars but INSTANTLY was in awe of the Asteroid Escape. The little ship sucked him in right away and begged to be played with. I let him "fly" it around the table a bit and then we talked about the game. This tiny boy spent 45 mins playing and solving the puzzles. He struggled with putting the pieces in for set up, and it was hard to help him understand why you couldn't (or rather shouldn't) begin with the pieces anywhere you wanted. Once he got over that hiccup, all bets were off. He LOVES the game and took over teaching everyone how to play, including all the neighbors. This game reminds me of Rush Hour, but planet edition instead of cars. IQ stars reminds me a bit of Pentominoes. You have a few pieces in the board to start and then need to fit the rest of the pieces in and around them to fill the container. It was good, but the game wasn't super thrilling as an adult. I liked it about as much as Shooting Stars. In that game, You try to match a certain sequence and there is a little block inside of the big pieces that shifts side to side to provide different pieces/change pieces. This was enjoyable and mindless, but I wouldn't say that it was super challenging. I think both would be interesting for my 4th grade students and would be a great early finisher or indoor recess activity - I only wish they were in my classroom so that I could share them with them! Hopefully soon! We had a drop in party where people could stop in with their kiddos and play and explore. It was fairly well attended, but no hard competition got going since we all had to be so socially distanced. Thats another benefit to these games... being that they are all plastic, they were able to be cleaned and disinfected between uses. The kids that came were drawn to the star game first, much like my son. It was interesting watching them try to decipher the game. It seemed that the adults spent longer with the stars than the asteroids - not quite people after my own heart! :) Declan did take over the teaching of the asteroid game and owned every second of it - including telling other players to set up the game! He loved being the teacher and while he got frustrated with some puzzles for sure, it was also really interesting watching other adults and older kids learn from him. Overall, a very enjoyable experience and Im super lucky to have been chosen by SmartGames and Tryazon to experience these games firsthand. For sure games that I would buy as Christmas presents or for my classroom now that I have played them - I'm not sure I would have grabbed them otherwise. #tryazon #smartgamesusa
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