ThinkFun's Zingo. A Zany Game for Kids

We've had a chance to review a number of games from Thinkfun, like Rush Hour Jr, S'Match, Chocolate Fix. All 3 of these games are great single player games but Thinkfun also produces muli-player games for kids too. One such game we tried was Zingo.

Zingo is like a zany version of bingo (hmm, zany+bingo=Zingo? Okay maybe not but it sure is fun for kids).

Like bingo kids choose a card they want to play. They will try and find the matching image from the dealer. The dealer has a slider tool that contains all the matching tiles. The dealer slides the slider to reveal 2 picture titles. The first player to find a match calls it and places it on their card. The first person to fill their card yells 'Zingo' and wins the game.

So that's the bingo part of the game, finding matching picture tiles for your playing card. The zany part of Zingo is how excited the kids get at playing. What starts off as a subdued game at the beginning turns into a frenzy of yelling (calling the matching tile before another player).

There are 6 double-sided Zingo cards included in the game, allowing for 2 levels of play (green side means not that many duplicated images on the cards versus the red where kids will have a little more competition with each other to call the matching image first).

The tiles sometimes got stuck in the slider but only occasionally and all it meant was sometimes you would end up revealing extra tiles; this didn’t affect the game play at all.

The game is designed for non-readers and early readers but older siblings will enjoy the matching fun too. It is a great game that all 3 of my kids enjoyed playing together (not too easy for my oldest or too hard for my youngest). That can be hard to find in family games.

A warning: when you start playing Zingo be prepared to keep playing. After each game my kids wanted to play 'just one more game, please'. Sometimes if I could not play (as the dealer) they would take turns being the dealer just so they could play longer.

Beyond the fun of Zingo, you can also take the fun with you in Zingo To Go. I love the cute Zingo Zoomer Car kids shake to find a match. This is just too cute and is something I think I will have to get for summer road trips. For older kids there’s Zingo 123, where kids can practice number recognition. You can find a full list of available Zingo games here.

* Product was provided for the purpose of this review

GIVEAWAY!

Get ready to Zingo at your house. The folks at Thinkfun are offering two (2) EverhtingMom members their own copy of Zingo to play at home. To enter, simply tell us who would be playing Zingo in your house?

This contest is only open to EverythingMom members. Not a member? It’s quick and easy to join. Contest is open to Canadian and United States residents and ends June 1, 2010. Two (2) EverythingMom member will be randomly chosen after that.

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About the Author

Managing Partner and Editor-in-Chief at one of the best social networking and lifestyle sites for moms, EverythingMom.com. Trying to balance life at home with my 3 kids (all under 8), while building my business, working at EverythingMom.com and developing my writing. Oh and throw a load of laundry in and a dinner that isn't burnt. Wasn't working from home suppose to be easier?

Posted by Carrie Anne in toy reviews on May 19, 2010

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Comments

0 # asmithonline 2010-05-21 06:43

I would play with my whole family. Theres nothing like an evening of fun playing a game

asmithonline at yahoo dot ca

ThinkFun's Zingo. A Zany Game for Kids