Getting the giggles is serious business when you’re trying to snicker
and snort your way to victory in some of today’s board games. Silly questions
and activities, passionate performances, family tales, and other uproarious
behaviors are destined to make get-togethers more fun.
Don’t Make Me Laugh
Whether you’re an adult or a child, Lolo Company tests
your ability to keep a straight face with its two latest board games:
Don’t Make Me Laugh ($24.99), and Don’t Make
Me Laugh Jr. ($14.99). Serious matters disintegrate quickly as
players, partners and whole groups win points by performing wacky activities
described on Ha Ha, Ho Ho, Hee Hee laughter cards, such as “Pretend you’re
a sprinkler” or “Play a short tennis match with another player.”
Cranium Cadoo
Can’t Stop the Giggles
Winner of more than ten prestigious awards, including the 2002 Toy Industry
Association’s Toy of the Year Award in February 2003, Cranium
Cadoo ($19.95) by Cranium Inc. uses kids’ brains
and bodies to get them giggling. Children ages 7 and up laugh out loud
as they sketch, sculpt, act, puzzle and crack secret codes while trying
to get four correct responses in a row.
Birds, Bugs, and Beans
The Birds and the Beans
A laugh riot for ages 6 and up, R&R Games’ Birds, Bugs, and
Beans (ToyFairPreview)
($9.95) sets kids off on a slap-happy expedition through the jungle. They
vie for the chance to catch sneaky living things with a chorus of “tweets”
for birds, “claps” for bugs and “toots” for beans. The first explorer
that makes sounds to match the subject catches the creature and wins the
advantage.
FamilyLore Game
Family History
Remember those holiday meals with the family, when, while sharing tales
of yore, you found out that your mother never really did walk five miles
to school--it was more like five blocks? FamilyLore Game
(ToyFairPreview) ($34.95)
allows families to reminisce about their roots: ancestors, pets, celebrations,
vacations and details like family rules. Sharing these facts and events
with family and friends can bring people together the way a good game
should.
Karaoke The Game™
Some Things are Better Left Unsung
Karaoke The Game™ from Newton’s Mind Inc.
(ToyFairPreview) ($25.95),
for ages 12 and up, encourages performances in all styles of music from
pop to country and even rock ’n’ roll. Whether you want to belt out a
ballad or simply give clues about a song, you’re sure to laugh as players
try to steal the show.
Writers Bio: Tamara Halbritter has been teaching creative
movement and dance to children for over 15 years. As a professional dancer
and freelance writer, she puts plenty of playtime into her schedule. Currently,
she is writing a book about a gifted pair who see other people’s dreams.
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