Hungry Baby Birds

Hungry Baby Birds - Use the momma clothespins to feed the baby birds

Not having had a chance to go out for anything for what is beginning to feel like f-o-r-e-v-e-r, I took to Amazon and looked for a couple of new games to be delivered to my kids. Hungry Baby Birds caught my attention because of the clothespins, which you don't often see in games, so I ordered it.

When Hungry Baby Birds arrived, I carried the box into the house and it felt so light I wondered if it was empty. It wasn't. The game base, the nest, which I thought would be a heavy, solid plastic is actually made of a very lightweight plastic that is kind of brittle. If someone was rough with it, threw it, sat on it, accidentally stepped on it, etc., it would be over. The birds are printed on a light card stock and that picture just sits on top of the nest. That part I expected.

The worms are made of the same type of squishy plastic that fishing worms are made of, only much shorter, measuring 2.25" long. There are four different worm colors that match the four colors of the clothespins.

The clothespins were the biggest disappointment. They are made of a very lightweight, smooth wood material and instead of having a metal spring on them, like real clothespins do, the two pieces are held together with an elastic cord. When you squeeze the clothespin to open it, it only opens 3/16" of an inch. This is not even wide enough to pick up the worm. If you position the open clothespin above the worm at it's tail, the smallest end, and then push down on the worm with the clothespin, you can wedge it into the tip of the clothespin. Now you are faced with the problem of how to drop the worm out of the clothespin, since it won't open any further. To drop something out you would have to be able to open the clothespin a little wider than you need to pick up the worm.

I don't always read the game instructions because I often look at the pieces first and make up my own games with them, or I can easily tell how to play just looking at the contents. Then I read the instructions when I blog about it. So when I tried the clothespins I wrote a post about how disappointing it was and took the steps to return it to Amazon. Then I decided I might as well read the instructions while I have it and write them out here, just in case someone would want to know. The very first thing I read on the instructions changed my mind about the game. Here is the image I saw:

So instead of holding the clothespin at the wide end, you hold it at the closed end. Something just felt "not right" about it at first, but I got used to it and it works. We'll see how the kids do with it. When you look at the clothespin in the image at the top of the page, think of it as a momma bird with an eye and a long, wide, open beak. Pick up the worm with the beak end, and hover over a baby bird and drop it in.

Like I mentioned, the whole game is super lightweight, but if you are careful about the nest you will be OK. Even if you break it, you could go to the dollar store and get a package of those clear drinking cups or storage containers, position four on the table so that you can place the bird card on top and each opening will be over a cup. Then feed the birds and you can even watch the worms fall into the cups.

Object:
Be the first to find and feed all your color worms to your baby bird.

Set up:
Place the nest between the players and put the bird card on top. Scatter the colored worms. Let each player choose a color and give them the matching momma bird clothespin. Demonstrate how to hold and use it. 

The instructions suggest spreading the worms around the room and then standing while dropping them into the nest.

Play:
On go, all players scatter to search for their worms, bringing them back to the nest one at a time and dropping them into the birdies mouth of the matching color. Play until someone has found and dropped all the worms of their color. Count the worms that made it into the correct colored cup for each player. The player with the most worms that made it into the nest is the winner.

Try this:

• Play sitting down first to get used to the game before trying to do it standing up where it might be harder to hit the opening when dropping the worms.
• Try different ways of holding the momma bird. Since the wood is rather smooth, I found it easier for me to hold the part with the eye in my palm for better control, instead of it resting on the top of my hand as in the image above.
• Don't match by color, just pick them up and drop them into any color. You will have a better chance of hitting something if you have four options for places to drop them.
• Play on the table top. Scatter the worms on the table and call out colors, one at a time, as the player picks up and feeds the bird a worm of that color. Or scatter them and ask the player to feed all the blue, then all the green, etc.
• Scatter the worms on the table. Let the player pick up the worms in any order and then call each color as they drop it into the nest.
• Skip the clothespin and sort the worms into the nest by color using your fingers.
• Place the worms around the room in visible places but in locations that will requiring reaching and bending.

In the box: Game base, 40 worms (10 each of 4 colors), 4 clothespins (color match the worm colors)

If you are interested in purchasing this game or just want more information, click on the image below.

Slapzi

Slapzi - A slapping game

Slapzi is from the makers of the dice game Tenzi. The box says Slapzi is a fast-matching, card slapping, everyone-laughing picture game. The box also says there are lots of ways to play, and you know how fun it is to read that! Sounds promising.

Inside the box are 120 picture cards and 65 clue cards. All cards measure 3.5" square. Each picture card shows two different objects, one front and one back, both different, of everyday items, like starfish, cupcake and bulldozer. Each clue card is printed with one clue, such as meant to go in your mouth, too heavy to lift and often found in water. The same clue is printed twice on each card, i guess so people sitting in different places around the table can all read it. The goal is to match picture cards to clue cards. For instance meant to go in your mouth could be paired with a picture of a cupcake and too heavy to lift can be paired with a bulldozer. Be the first to slap your picture card on the clue card to win it. Slapping games may be calming and organizing to those who seek deep pressure.

With that said, the instructions list multiple ways to play, so here goes: 


Original Slapzi

Object:
Be the first to get rid of all five of your picture cards.

Set up:
Deal five cards to each player. Each player places their five cards, face-up, in a line in front of them. Shuffle the clue cards and place them in a face-down pile in the middle of the players.

Play:
Any player flips over the top clue card. All players play at the same time and look over their picture cards, both front and back looking for an object that matches the clue. For instance if the clue is something round, pictures that could be played include basketball, moon or donut. The first person to slap one of their picture cards on the clue card just got rid of one of their cards. Now the next clue card is turned over and the process is repeated. Keep going until someone plays their last picture card and wins the game.

If a player slaps a picture card and the majority of players do not think it is a fit, that player has to take back his card and draw another picture card. You could also have one person, the mighty slapper, who does not play the game be the card turner and the final judge of any questionable matches. 

Either or Slapzi - Same as Slapzi but turn two clue cards per turn, not just one.

Twisted Slapzi - Same as Slapzi but turn two clue cards per turn. Players must find a picture card that matches one of the clue cards, but not both.

Super Slapzi - All of the clue cards are spread out face-down on the table. On "go", everyone works to play their five cards. If you turn over a clue card you do not have a match for, return the clue card to the face-down position and try another one. If you find a match, leave them both face-up. First to play all five picture cards wins the game.

Reverse Slapzi - Instead of being dealt five picture cards, players are dealt five clue cards and the picture cards are flipped over one at a time for matching.

Double Slapzi - Same as Slapzi but turn two clue cards. Players must be able to cover both cards first to win.

Opposite Slapzi - Same as Slapzi except play a picture card that does not match the clue card. For instance if the clue is something you can eat, you could play a teddy bear or an airplane.

Double Opposite Slapzi - Same as Slapzi and opposite Slapzi, but two clue cards are turned simultaneously and the same player must quickly play a picture card to cover each clue that does not match the clue card.

If you are interested in purchasing this item or just want more information, click on the image below.