Friday, September 2, 2011

Griddley Games - Nature Nuts/ TOS Review

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As part of the TOS Crew, we have many games on the list to be reviewed this year, and the first one that I received was Nature Nuts.




Our family has really enjoyed this game. The video above explains pretty well how this game is played, but I will tell you a little more about it, and how our family plays.

There are three ways you can play Nature Nuts. All three ways use the same cards. There are 4 different card sets: Earth, Animals, Plants, and Wise Alec.

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Each card has a 3 point and a 7 point question. 

The Earth cards ask Earth Science questions like:

*7 point question - This damaging rain is caused by man-made pollution and natural events, like volcanic eruption. What is it? (acid rain)

*3 point question - What is another name for a water molecule? (H2O)

There was one question that I didn't like, so I just removed it from the game.

It was: These types of fuel are formed naturally from dead organisms that lived millions of years ago. What are they called? (fossil fuels)

I think we have made it through all of the cards. So if this is the only one, that is pretty good. I have had to take out questions from other games before. That is the good thing about card games. If you don't like a question, you can just take it out. lol

The Animal cards ask questions like:

*7 point question - What animal is the largest living type of marsupial? (the Red Kangaroo)

*3 point question - What are baby kangaroos called? ( joeys)

The Plant cards ask questions like:

*7 point question - In a flower, what is the male part? (stamen)

*3 point question - Which part of the plant is responsible for reproduction? (flower)

Now this is an easy question. Most of the plant questions are hard. lol

Now, the Wise Alec cards are different.

These cards say things like:

*OOPS! You forgot to water the plants. - 2 points

Or

*BRAIN TEASER Name 5 animals that start with the letter "m". + 5 points.

To play the game all you do is roll the die, and whatever color you roll is the color card you pick, unless you roll a blue or orange. For these you get to pick the card you want, or the player to your right gets to pick for you.

As for the 3 ways you can play this game, you can either play until a certain point goal has been reached, or you can set different goals for different ages.

For example: Mom and Dad need 75 points, Big sister needs 50, and little brother needs only 25.

The third way is to make all answers worth 5 points, but older players only get to answer 7 point questions.

This is the way our family plays the game.

I love that this game is educational. You really learn a lot. At least I did. My kids knew a lot more than I thought they did!

My sister played the game with us this week, and she loved it! She said she was going to have to get the game for her kids, she loved it so much.

It comes in this great travel case, so it is easy to store, or take on the go.

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The cool thing about this game is that it is a game in and of itself, OR it can be an expansion pack to the Wise Alec game.




So if you have the Wise Alec game, you can add Nature Nuts to it as well. How cool!

I really want to get the Wise Alec game, and the other travel/expansion packs.

The other expansion packs are Civilize This, and a sports one. Can't remember the name.

Some of my Crew Mates reviewed Civilize This, so make sure you check out their reviews too!

Here is a preview of Civilize This:




These games are for 2-6 players, and geared towards ages 8 and up, but I'll tell you that my 6 year old won Nature Nuts more than anyone else did. I think younger children can also play if they have some knowledge of the topics covered.

If you are interested in purchasing Nature Nuts, you can find it at Amazon, $14.99 and other retailers.

Our family really enjoys playing this game. It will be a game that we continue to play for years to come.

And hopefully we will get the board game and the other packs too! that would be so fun!

Have fun playing a game with your family!



*I have received Nature Nuts, free, as a member of the TOS Crew in return for my honest opinion. No other compensation has been given to me.*


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7 comments:

I Live in an Antbed said...

We love great games! Thank you for the review. :)

Michelle Smith said...

Really good review, Rodna. I love the way you explained how to play the game and the types of questions it has. We really have enjoyed playing it, too. :)

Debra said...

Great review! I think we would enjoy Nature Nuts a lot. :)

Heather @ Marine Corps Nomads said...

We thought the plant questions were the hardest questions as well. lol! Guess we really need to brush up on those plant facts.

We didn't see the evolution card yet, but I'll probably just black out that pesky little portion and continue to use the card. My daughter would just roll her eyes. ;)

Jennifer said...

We enjoy playing games together, and it is nice to see a review of one that would be easily portable for vacation.

Catherine said...

We loved "Civilize This!" and I'm thinking Nature nuts will probably be on the list for Christmas. Thanks for the review.
Catherine

Kelly said...

We got Civilize This! but I sure do think my kids would love Nature Nuts. I'm definitely thinking about getting the Wise Alec game to and Nature Nuts expansion. Thought these were great games!

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