As I’ve discussed several times before, my main aim in education is to get out of the way and let my kids get on with it. Having said that, I’m not above a bit of strewing, particularly with educational games, and so when an offer of Boggle Flash
to review came in, I couldn’t resist.
Big in particular struggles with spelling. I find this rather odd, given the amount of reading she does, but there you go. It makes me think that there must be different processes going on – one on the way in, and one on the way out as it were, and that the going out process isn’t being informed as much as you’d think it would be by the incoming, but that’s probably a pondering for a different time.
So, Boggle Flash. I’m guessing most ppl have heard of boggle – little cube thing with cube letters in it, shake it up, and have a limited amount of time to form words from the letters you see. Boggle Flash instead consists of 5 electronic tiles, each with a display and a button. You line them up and push all the buttons to switch them on, and then you’ve a choice of games.
Big keeps choosing game one. In that set up each tile displays a letter and you’ve 3 minutes (I think – I’d check but who knows where the instructions are – certainly not in the box!) to form as many words as you can by lining the tiles up so that they touch. When your time is up it tells you how many words you made and how many you could have made.
I reckon this is a pretty good game. There are other options – you can play with more than one player or there’s a setting to find 5 letter words (again, I think) and it’s been pretty popular with Big and with the adults in the family. It’s one of the few that has come down of the game shelf repeatedly – never for terribly long, but I think little and often is the key with spelling anyway isn’t it? Doesn’t tick Small’s boxes, but then again, he’s more mathematically inclined, and he spells very well, so probably doesn’t quite see the point.
In fact, my one quibble with this game, as it is with so many at the moment, is in the packaging. Once you’ve got it, it comes with a really neat little plastic box, so it’s a great travel game (in fact, it’s here with us on holiday this week!) but it comes in an A4 layout of card and plastic, completely unnecessary waste. I understand that manufacturers are attempting to make their wares look attractive, but I find the amount of rubbish attached extremely unattractive, and I can’t think I’m the only person that feels that way.
When is a game/ toy manufacturer, a big mainstream company, going to step up to the plate and make a feature of a lack of non recyclable packaging in their items? I’d really love to see that happen.
But my last word should be about the game really. We like it. A lot.
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