Cranium Games for Kids

Cranium is one of my favorite games. It is a unique combination of tasks and questions that allows every person to feel that they can contribute, and have a blast playing.

I was so excited when we found that Cranium has a complete line of games for children of all ages. My oldest received Balloon Lagoon for Christmas this past year, and it is as much fun for her to play as it is for us to play Cranium. And even cooler? We have a blast playing Balloon Lagoon with her as well. Yes, it is a little below our ability level, but it is not mind numbing, as some kids’ games can be for adults. And though our 2 year old doesn’t get all of the concepts of the game yet, he can still physically participate in all aspects of it.

It is very colorful, with fun cartoon art, and has with different stations where the kids can earn “balloons” for their game pieces. I really like the fact that kids can earn anywhere from 1 to 4 balloons in each turn. It’s not all or nothing.

The drawbacks? The board comes in four puzzle-like pieces, with each of the four stations fitting into the board with pegs. Because you can end up at any of the four stations in each turn, there is a good deal of moving around the board. The board can be shifted around on the table, unless you have a table with seams or tiles, and then the board gets caught on the seams and comes apart, or the stations fall out. And there are a lot of pieces involved in the game, so not for those of you who tend to separate game pieces from their boxes.

But the game is really worth those inconveniences for the fun and excitement that it brings to playing with the kids. And, who knows, maybe Cranium is reading and will try out a folding board for the game. My family and I would be happy to test run it. :)

By the way, I know there’s more than 9 of you out there! Have you voted in our toy spending poll yet? C’mon everybody. This is one poll where you can be sure that your vote counts!!!!