We play lots of games as a family and, while my two oldest are at a point where they can play some advanced strategy games, I make sure to balance those out with some actually intended for kids. So this three-pack of games from Chip Theory Kids seemed like an ideal set to try out. The pack includes three games: Octo Grabbo (previously released in 2018) and Woodland rush, each designed by ZHAO Whenxue; and Bear in Mind from Reiner Knizia. Each one is playable in twenty minutes or less.
Gameplay Overview:
Octo Grabbo: 2-4 players | 10+ min | Ages 4+
This game allows kiddos (and adults) to practice their chopstick skills! Little wooden pieces shaped like various sea creatures are dropped into the box lid. In the basic version of the game, players take turns rolling a die then doing the action depicted: grabbing a specific creature with their chipsticks, returning one of their collected animals back to the box, or stealing one from another player. In the advanced game mode, players flip cards and rush to be the first to fill their player board with the depicted sea creatures.
Woodland Rush: 2-4 players | 15+ min | Ages 5+
Players flip through a deck of cards, doing the action depicted on each, rushing to see how many cards they can complete before the timer runs out. The actions include things like finding a matching pair in a mini game of Memory Match, making a funny face or striking a pose, and placing certain wooden pieces in specific locations on the board. The game ends after everyone has had three turns, and whoever has the most leaf symbols (points) on their collected cards, wins the game.
Bear in Mind: 2-5 players – 15 minutes – Ages 4+
Five storyboards, each depicting two scenes, are placed in the middle of the play area, and a stack of smaller picture tiles is shuffled and placed facedown. On a player’s turn, they draw a tile from this stack and place it next to one of the pictures on a story board. They must also tell a short story, linking the item on the tile they place with the scene on the storyboard, then flip the tile facedown. Players take turns doing this until every location has a tile. From that point on, players take turns rolling a die, moving a bear pawn that many spaces. They must try to remember which memory tile was placed next to the scene they land on. If they are correct, they collect the tile, draw a new one, and tell another story involving this new item, then place it face down. When the memory tiles run out, players stop drawing and the game ends as soon as someone lands on a picture without a memory tile next to it. Whoever has collected the most tiles wins.
Game Experience:
Each of these games is quick to play, with Octo Grabbo being the shortest and simplest. That one is the best for small kids: it’s the only one my 3.5 year old has the patience for, and he often requests to play it. The game includes neat little octopus chopstick holders, which make them easier for kids to use. While my 3yo plays the easy variant with the die (and, honestly, usually picks the face it “lands on”), my 7-year-old likes the speed variant. While it’s a cute game with great components, I dislike the mean actions, like stealing from other players or losing a fish from your board, that turn up on the die. The speed variant is likely to favor the adults playing, but the kids are allowed to “skewer” pieces with their chopsticks and have the assistance of the chopstick holders, which does help balance it out.
Woodland Rush will favor the older/faster kids. My 10-year-old usually finishes with a huge pile of cards, while my 7-year-old gets frustrated, not quite able to keep up with her. For younger kids, the rules do suggest flipping the timer twice, which we’ve done some of the time. The problem is, when doing that, the deck would often run out before each player had three turns. And honestly, three turns felt like a lot. As an adult, I found this game slightly annoying. It outstays its welcome and tends to frustrate kids who fall behind. It’s not bad, and is probably my 10-year-old’s favorite of the mix (because she tends to win), but is my least favorite of the pack.
Bear in Mind, for me, is the star of the set. It feels fresh and a little different than other kids’ games out there, even though it still relies on memory, which is often used in an attempt to balance games between children and adults (and, let’s face it, usually works). I loved the artwork and enjoyed the short stories we came up with during the game. The gameflow is also smooth, despite the transition from placing tiles to picking them up, and I didn’t feel it lasted too long. Sadly, I think I like this one more than my kids as it’s not one they’ve often requested. My 3-year-old did ask to play it, and the little stories he told were pretty amusing, but he lost patience partway through.
Final Thoughts:
This is a good set of games geared toward young kids. I found that the variety worked well for my family as each person seemed to prefer a different one. Admittedly, my 7-year-old is the only one who is really in the ideal age range for these games. My 3-year-old isn’t quite there, and my 10-year-old found them a little boring, but if you have kids in the 4-8 range, I think this set would be most ideal for that group.
It’s difficult to find games that are legitimately fun for adults and young kids to play together, and most of us as parents have learned to just endure and play the kids’ games, so it’s nice to have options that offer us more agency than Candy Land. I legitimately enjoy Bear in Mind and would be happy to play it, maybe even with other adults who enjoyed storytelling. Octo Grabbo is quick and pretty simple, and I’m happy to play it if the kids request it. Woodland Rush is, for me, just okay, but it was the one dubbed “least boring” by my 10-year-old, so that’s something! Overall, for anyone looking to add some kids game library, this set is a solid choice.
