CrAzY Working Mom: McNill Designs Games = Fun Family Time

Friday, April 30, 2010

McNill Designs Games = Fun Family Time

I recently teamed up with the folks over at McNill Designs via Business2Blogger to review a couple of their products which I thought the readers of CrAzY Working Mom might enjoy! I see commercials all of the time advertising "Family Game Nights" and I always think that would be so much fun, to implement a night to playing board games or card games with the kids. Since our kids are so spread apart in ages (7, 4, and 19 months) it's hard for us to find games that aren't too hard for one while being too easy for another. We received two games from McNeill: Twisted Fish and You've Been Sentenced.

Twisted Fish is described on McNill Design's Website as follows:
"For Ages 8 and up, 30-40 min, 3-6 players

The old game of go fish just got a very challenging twist. It isn’t child’s play any more! Twisted Fish takes a traditional standby and casts it into the 21st century.

13 unique Fish characters in five different colors, plus 8 unique “Zingers” that allow you to break the rules, makes “Twisted Fish” a unique game experience. The real challenge takes place when asking for the fish cards you are collecting—Now you have to be specific about the type of fish and color you are seeking. “Twisted Fish” challenges you to remember every question asked at the table. It is challenging and fun right down to the very last card!

We promise you’ll fall hook, line, and sinker! Twisted Fish offers laugh-out-loud fun for the entire family"

Since none of my children fall into this age category I was worried that we'd have some trouble playing. We were determined to give it a try. We opened the box and took a look at the silly cards included in the set. The characters are oddly original and wonderfully illustrated. The kids really enjoyed this but what we all found perplexing was the rubber duck that was included in the box. To find out, the instructions tell you that you must go online to do so. We did and thought it was a royally fun idea! All in all it's a fun game and way better than the "normal" go fish game. It can take a while to play especially when you're playing with younger children or CrAzY Mom's who don't have a very good memory. With the Zinger cards such as the Glass Bottom Boat, Dead Scuba Diver, and The Game Warden it can add loads of fun to an already interesting game. It's a wonderfully witty idea and would be a great addition to anyone's game closet. It would be especially fun at slumber parties and the likes.

You've Been Sentenced is every grammar teacher's dream. Who knew that turning words into sentences could be so much fun?! The cards contain words, phrases, famous names and places in which the players have to use to make sentences. Sounds easy, right? Well, the tricky part is that the sentences have to make sense and be grammatically correct! There are several methods of play that you can try out according to your preferences and the amount of players. You've Been Sentenced comes with extensions such as Pop Culture, Sports, Sci Fi/Fantasy, Gourmet Cooking, and the official Readers Digest Word Power Challenge.

A portion of each retail sale of You’ve been Sentenced goes to fight illiteracy in the USA through the not-for-profit organization Success Won’t Wait, Inc. Founded in 2002, the organization’s mission is to encourage reading, particularly by children. For more information about Success Won’t Wait and its literacy programs, please visit www.successwontwait.org.

If you're interested in being on the television version of this game, you can click here! I've always thought it would be fun to be on television, but I'm afraid that my brain would freeze and I'd never be able to do it.

McNill Designs has won multiple awards. You can click here to see them all.

McNill Designs sent me the above products in order to review. I was given no other compensation for doing so. Any opinions stated above are my own and I have had no outside influence. Any statements made by McNill Designs or affiliates must be validated by those companies as I am not responsible. To see my full disclosure policy, please click here.