Old School Fun with a Modern Twist - UNO & Friends: iPhone App Review

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Yes, I'm a gamer... A true lover of many different games, from the classic board and card games to everyones favorite favorite digital upgrade - video games. 

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Did I happen to mention that I'm also a busy mom of 2 active daughters and a hard working fiancé, who also enjoys a good game every now and then too?!

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Some of you may be asking yourselves: "How do you juggle all of the responsibilities of parenthood and home, while still finding time for gaming?!" My answer to that is... With Phone Apps, of course! Just about everyone has personal experience with the app world. It's literally an endless world of possibilities and I, personally, can't get enough of my mini-game apps!

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Honestly... Who didn't grow up playing card games with family and friends? When it comes to my old school card game addiction, I couldn't of been happier when I ran across UNO & Friends!! I started playing the Uno app about a year or so ago, on my Windows phone. I loved the app so much that I ended up finding it for my iPhone as well! I love how the actual concept of Uno 
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The addition of campion pets mix things up a bit and add a dose of excitement! They're both cute and quite helpful at times. I'm also excited about the variety of Tournaments available to compete in. And last but not least.... The Houses are like time UNO Sororities/Fraternities! Complete goals to earn points (You don't even have to win a game to get goal points!) Win Boosts, Metals, Tokens, etc! There's always a new surprise and/or opportunity around the corner.... And best of all... *•NEVER CHANGING FROM THE CLASSIC UNO GAME WE ALL GREW UP WITH!!•* All original with a touch of amazing extras that do nothing but make your game play more exciting!!

I love this game more then ever!!! The only thing that I have a minor issue with is the amount of tokens available to get from scratch cards... a 45 minute wait time is pretty harsh! But that's just my opinion.

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Disclaimer: This blog accepts compensation in the form of products and/or monetary for selected posts which will be labeled as sponsored. Please note that I only write about items and/or services that myself or family have had personal experience with or ones that I believe you, my readers, will enjoy and/or benefit from. All opinions are my own and may differ from those of others. 

This post may contain affiliate links.

View Full Disclosure for further details..

Free Bingo 2: iPhone App Review

Every now and then I get random, outta the blue, cravings to play Bingo... I can't explain it, the urges are unexpected & strong. (I'm a game fanatic w/ a slight addiction to the oldish ones that shaped my childhood.) Through out the past year, I've tried an extreme amount of Bingo apps. Sadly, it seems that 99% of the time I end up disappointed... It seems that after playing for a bit actually enjoying the app, which ever version of Bingo I happen to have at that moment, to quickly realize that I have no more tokens/tickets or whatever else used to "pay" for each Bingo board. With most of the Bingo games I've downloaded onto my iPhone, stocking back up on game tokens has meant that I had to purchase them with actual money and I don't have the extra cash to toss out for games like that. Which is the main reason they all got quickly uninstalled. It's aggravating because it's extremely rare that my Bingo craving is satisfied enough to be happy!!! A gamers worse nightmare!!

**Lucky for me, I believe I may have finally found the Bingo App to satisfy my cravings once and for all!!!** 

Though I'm not saying there's not any flaws...

We'll get to them soon enough.

Below is my personal opinion of the iPhone game app: Free Bingo 2.

From one phone gamer to another......

When I ran across Free Bingo 2, I figured it was going to be just like all the other Bingo's I've downloaded in the past. Not really caring, I figured I'd simply play for a little while and when I ran outta tokens, or in this case diamonds, I'd uninstall the game as I did in the past. If I remember correctly, the game begins with either 20 or 30 diamonds. Each Bingo board cost 2 diamonds a piece to play, with a max of 4 boards per round. If you choose to 3 or 4 boards, you're only able to see 2 boards at a time. To view the other boards you'll have to click an almost see thru arrow located near the bottom right of your boards, and click it again to go back to the top boards. The Bingo balls are ran across the top of your screen and if your phone volume is turned on, the voice can be quite loud. (I don't normally keep my game sounds on when playing apps due to them annoying me and everyone else around me.) Now is when my mixed feelings come... Unlike other Bingo games I've downloaded in the past, if I don't have the number being called, I have to wait the full amount of time given by the game between ball selection. Anyone who's played Bingo before knows how annoying and time consuming this can be. With Free Bingo 2, there's a button on the right side on the boards (below the time gauge) that you can press to quickly receive the next number! That option has to be my favorite of the game! The downfall is that if your boards match the current ball number selected, and you don't mark it before a new number is called, you loose that mark and it don't count as a bingo... You'll still be able to mark it but the dot color is red and no Bingos using that missed number will count in the end... Not really fair if you ask me. Another way that Free Bingo 2 is different from other Bingo games is that you don't actually call Bingo when you get 5 in a row, like we're a use too. Instead, you play all 70 balls and get rewarded for the total amount of Bingo's you were able to get. I'm actually not upset about that way of playing due to my continued frustration during other games where I'd end up with no Bingos when either the time went out or the selected amount of Bingos chosen for each round were quickly won by other online players. With Free Bingo 2  you're not playing with other online gamers in a race to finish first, you're simply playing by yourself... for the fun of playing the game. My one final complaint (which only makes two total for the whole app) is the ads..... No one likes the interruption of adds popping up in the middle or at the end of rounds. I will admit that Free Bingo 2 has way to many ads and can get quite annoying at times. But if you can overlook the ads and quickly for your numbers, this app is will be very entertaining.

I'm happy to say that I won't be uninstalling it anytime soon! 

Interested in downloading this game onto your iPhone?

Visit App Store

Search: Free Bingo 2

You should see the app on your screen with the option to download!!

ENJOY!

 

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Disclaimer: This blog accepts compensation in the form of products and/or monetary for selected posts which will be labeled as sponsored. No matter the compensation, I only write about items and/or services that I have personal experience with and believe my readers will enjoy and/or benefit from. All opinions are my own and may differ from those of others. 

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Find the Perfect Gift to bring to all your Summer Party's! Plus Save some Cash for Yourself!

School is about out and In just a couple weeks, Summer Vacation will be in full force. Which means there's a good chance that you'll be attending at least one birthday party since the warm months are most popular for party planning. Before you head to the department store and pace up and down toys isles, I personally suggest that you check out Fun.com first. What do you have to loose? :)

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Disclaimer: This blog accepts compensation in the form of products and/or monetary for selected posts which will be labeled as sponsored. Please note that I only write about items and/or services that myself or family have had personal experience with or ones that I believe you, my readers, will enjoy and/or benefit from. All opinions are my own and may differ from those of others. This post may contain affiliate links. View Full Disclosure for further details.

11 Classic Games to Help Enhance Your Child's Math Skills on #FamilyGameNight!

Turning Family Game Night into a Math filled Learning Experience!

Family Game Night can be much more beneficial to your family then you realize and could turn out being one of the best additions to your family schedule! Everyone knows that spending time together as a family and playing a few games is great for family bonding but not many people realize how educational your favorite board/card game can be as well. So many of today's most popular games, secretly have the ability to help kids with skills such as math, spelling, reading comprehension, colors, patterns, storytelling and so much more!! There's no since in spending hundreds of dollars on high-tech learning devices when you already have the learning materials your child needs to practice to enhance their brains. Games like Uno and Connect Four can almost always be found in the family game closet and are great choices to help practice numbers, colors as well as patterns! 

My fiance and I try and fit in a Family Game Night every now and then with the kids and now that the girls are back in school, games packed with "brain juice" get grabbed first! Nothing's better than a good dose of educational fun! 

Speaking of educational fun - I've listed a few of our favorite games below that help kids exercise their brain using math skills and enjoying every bit of it!

Other games that can be used for math practice but are not found in the list below are Yahtzee, Set, Monopoly and Battleship.

Family Game Night games that can be used for enhancing other important skills can be found in future lists that I'm currently putting together and plan on sharing with you all very soon! Check back often for new lists and game additions.

1. The Original Uno Card Game

Uno was one of my favorite games as a kid and still makes the top of my list today! It's a game that the whole family can enjoy without boredom. Played with 2-10 players - For ages 7 and up - Children get the chance to practice their strategizing and planning plus a bit of addition as well. The younger players can partner up with parents or older siblings while practicing to recognize their numbers as well as colors. 

Find Origial Uno Card Game for just $5.94 at Diapers.com and Save 20%!

2. Mancala

Mancala is an addition filled game where you count out your marbles into game slots while trying to clear your side of the board of any marbles. Players also practice their problem solving while planning their next moves.

You can purchase Mancala for less than $10 at Fullfillment By Amazon

3. Candy Land

Candy Land is already an outstanding game to help with learning colors and is often played by more girls than boys - Not any more! - You can now easily transform this all time favorite board game into a Math game as well! All you have to do is make up a few math sequences to attach over-top of Candy Land's colored square playing cards. Have each player choose a card and either identify the number, say the number word or find the sum of a simple "add or subtract" math problem to move forward.

Removing the "bridges" help slow down the winning process and stretch out the learning! You can continue to use the color blocks on the cards to distinguish where to move next on the board or use the number answer found on your newly enhanced playing cards! The choice is yours!!!

(Other skills can also be added, using same idea)

Snag the Hasbro - Candy Land game for the low price of just $10.49 (plus $4.67 shipping) at Fullfillment By Amazon

4. Connect Four

Connect 4 is childhood classic that's pretty much an advanced/oversized version of Tic-Tac-Toe. Kids will have a blast playing together in this 2 player game where pattern recognition is a key point as well as planning your next move and geometric thinking. Children love playing this game together and get a kick of beating their parents as well! (Great choice for occupying the kids before supper, bedtime and such. You can also find travel versions but make sure to keep up with small parts due to them being easily lost.)

Find the Hasbro - Connect Four for just $9.70 at Fullfillment By Amazon

5. HiHo Cherry-O

HiHo! Cherry-O is a fun game for children as young as 3 years old but is great for any age! Loved by everyone, the concept of this 2-3 player game is to compete with other players while trying to be the first one to pick all the fruit off their trees! Great choice for help with counting, addition and subtraction as well as number recognition!

Purchase the Hasbro - Chutes and Ladders & HiHo Cherry-O Combo Pack for just $12.9 at Amazon.com Marketplace!!

6. Chutes & Ladders

Chutes & Ladders helps teach your child how to count while adventuring through the many slides and ladders in this math filled family favorite!

Find Chutes & Ladders for just $8.49 at yoyo.com

7. Rush Hour - Traffic Jam Logic Puzzle

Rush Hour is a one player game that's not only portable but fun and challenging as well. A problem solving game played with a small board that's full of vehicles that have set directions in which they are allowed to move. The goal is to arrange the vehicles in a particular pattern in order to drive the ti red car out of the traffic jam. Every game piece is important so be sure to keep up with all of the pieces. It's small enough for children to set on their lap which makes Rush Hour a perfect choice for waiting rooms, car trips and so forth.

The Rush Hour - Traffic Jam Logic Puzzle is only $17.35 at Fullfillment By Amazon

8. Playing Cards

The all american game is "Go Fish" can help kids with recognizing their numbers and a bit of their colors as well.

Poker is also a good teacher for math but should be kept for older kids and must first be taught that gambling is not something to be think lightly of.

Get Aviator Playing Cards for just $1.59 from the WEBstaurant Store

9. Hisss Card Game

Hisss is a super simple card game for ages 3 and up, where players build snakes using cards that have pictures of a heads, middles, and tails. Once you complete your snake, you add up everyone's scores to see who won! Kids will be practicing basic counting skills, color and pattern recognition logic. (For 2-5 players)

The Hisss Card Game is available at Fullfillment By Amazon for $9.95

10. Sumoku

Sumoku is a math-centric game for 1-8 players (ages 9 and up) and is somewhat of a number version of Scrabble as well as a little bit like Dominoes. Play by adding to the existing layout of tiles - based on a specific mathematical goal. Along with practicing basic computational skills - players are also planning and matching. There is no speed element so young kids can take as long as they need to check their math before placing the tiles on the board.

Save 24% off of Sumoku on Amazon.com

11. Rummikub

Rummikub is a color and number matching game for 2-4 players. Each player receives 14 tiles that can be sorted by groups or runs: Set of 3 or more tiles of the same number but different color - OR - Set of at least 3 tiles with consecutive numbers but are the same color.

You can find Rummikub at Target.com for just $10.59!

What's your favorite game to play?

Could it be considered educational
or
Can you easily transform the game into a fun learning experience? 

Disclaimer: This blog accepts compensation in the form of products and/or monetary for selected posts which will be labeled as sponsored. No matter the compensation, I only write about items and/or services that I have personal experience with and believe my readers will enjoy and/or benefit from. All opinions are my own and may differ from those of others.

View Full Disclosure for further details.

This post contains affiliate links provided by Postpresso.

Learning on the Go - Roads Trip with Kids

While on a road trip with kids, it can be hard to keep everyone occupied. Kids get bored easily and while coloring books and crayons are fun, they run out of interest with them pretty quickly. Try out a couple of the ideas below on your next road trip and see what works for your family!!

When you stop at a gas station or rest stop, grab a map.

• Hopefully you keep a couple pens or markers laying around the car /in your purse, or you can use a crayon.
• Draw a line through the road or area that you've driven through and keep track of where your going and where you've been.
• If you stop at a store, look for small stickers, even yard-sale dots, you can add them to the map as well.

You can also collect tiny rocks or pebbles and use them for Math Problems.

• For Example - Pick up a few pebbles at a rest stop or use pennies, etc. - Mom hands the child 4 pebbles, Dad hands the child 3 pebbles. How many pebbles does the child have now?
• If you have paper or a notebook, have the kid(s) write down the math problem as it's happening to help them figure it out.
• The written problem for the above Math Problem is 4+3=7

If your driving through a state that's different than your home state, Play the Tag Game!

• To Play the Tag Game you'll need a piece of paper and something to write with. Then simply keep an eye on the tags of passing cars. If you find a car from your home town then you can put a tally mark on your paper. You can play it many other ways as well.
• For Example - Write the Current State that your driving through at the top of the paper.
• Keep an eye on the passing car tags and when you see one from a different state than the current one, write it down and add a tally. 
• See how many different State car tags pass through each state that you pass through!
• Don't forget that your car has a tag that may be different than the current state that your driving through so that counts as a tally too!!
• If you have crayons or markers - Try using a matching marker to the color of the cars. Doing this will let you see what color cars are popular in the states that the tags/cars are from.

Picture It -- Your driving through Tennessee and see a Blue Car/Truck with a tag from North Carolina and a red car/truck from Georgia and a Black car from New York and another Car/truck from NC, a Red one. -- Your paper could look something like this:

Tennessee

North Carolina
I I 

Georgia
I

New York
I 

You can also use the Road Signs as learning boards!

• Ask the kids to read the road signs out loud.
• See how many of them they sound out correctly!

Playing I-Spy is always a fun way to incorporate colors into a road trip trivia game!

• While sitting in traffic or in the store parking lot while your waiting on dad to get directions to your next stop: Start the game like:
• "I spy with my little eye... Something Blue" The answer could be: The sky, a car, paint on the store, a road sign, or anything else you may be able to see from your car.
• Once the kid(s) figure out what you spy, the one who is right - Gets to spy next.
• I Spy is also a great game to play in a plane, a train or even a bus!

Make a Field Journal before you start your trip.

• Have on for each child that will need occupied. (0-4 will need other ways to keep occupied like small toys)
• Use a pre-made Notebook and come up with questions that you would like answered while on your trip. Do you know what states or cities that you will be traveling to or through?
• You can also Make-Your-Own Notebook -  Use lined paper as the center and 2 solid colored pieces for the front and back. Staple it together or punching 3 holes and tie the sheets together with string.
• Use Questions Like -- What is the State Bird, State Flower, State Capitol, etc.
• Mark off a few pages for Post Cards, Maps, Photos and other small State Finds.
• You can even collect food labels from products that are only sold in that city or state.

Always collect the information while on your trip and collect little items and such. Including Post Cards, Take photos, Food Labels, Maps and such

Your Field Journal may look a bit like:

North Carolina

State Bird - 
State Tree - Dogwood
State Capitol - Raleigh
State Song - 

Tape or Glue Collected Maps and Postcards as well as pictures that you take throughout your trip, on the extra pages!

I hope your next family road trip is 10x more fun when you start including some of these awesome little car games!!

Safe Travels!!

Question of the Day - April 17

- Question of the Day -

What's your favorite Board Game?

I Love Monopoly but I have to go with the childhood game of Candy Land when it comes to my favorite game! I love the concept of running around the sweet land of candy and ice cream while trying make it to the finish line before the other colored Gingerbread men do!

I guess I never really grew up :-)

What's your favorite Board Game?

Enter to win a Black Wii and Super Mario Game

Who doesn't love Mario? That little guy dresses in red has been around since we were kids and is still just as popular now as he was back then.  Look below to find out how you can win a BLACK WII with the New Super Mario Brothers game.

Just Free Stuff - Enter to win a Black Wii Console with New Super Mario Brothers!

You can click the link or the photo and follow the instructions to Enter!

The Perfect Travel Toy ~ A Road in a Pocket

It's pretty much a Carry-Along Toy Road in a Pocket!

This is a simple toy that can be taken along on to friends houses, trips, etc. It's also very easy to make, boys are more likely to love it but girls will like it also!!!

1. Cut out road patterns to use on the fabric. (I made the roads about 2 1/2 inches wide but you can go smaller or larger. It's the perfect size for 2 cars side by side.)

2. Cut off 1 leg of a pair of jeans. (I got 6 road peices out of one leg)

3. Lay out the patterns on the fabric, try and cut the pieces as close together as you can so you can get more out of the space.

4. Trace the patterns onto the fabric, I use a regular pencil but you can use a fabric pencil if you have one.

5. Lay out our pieces to see if you have a cool road (This step is not necessary, but you know you want to!) (I did this to see if I needed an extra road pieces)

6. Paint on the Lines down the middle of the roads (I used Yellow Acrylic Paint)

7. While the paint is drying, Cut a pocket out of the same jeans. (This is going to be for storing the road when it's not being played with, It's also what makes it so great for travel!)

8. If you like, You can paint the yellow lines on the pocket to match it to the roads.

9. After the paint dries, you can fold up the road pieces and fit them inside the pocket!

Just add a few cars then you and your kiddos are ready for a day with no boredom!The road pieces can be put in all different road formations! Your kids will have fun making different roads, you can also make buildings with left over jeans if you like (I didn't this time, but I may in the near future.)

I got this idea off of pinterest.com and had to make one for my friends little boy! I hope you enjoyed the walk through steps. Enjoy!!!!

Idea found on Pinterest
Post by Autumn with Thru My Eyes Creations and Thru My Eyes Photography