Playroom Entertainment Game Review: Saddle Up!

Get it here.

Saddle Up! by Playroom Entertainment is a quick card game that requires logical thinking and relies on students' visual processing skills. It would also be a great game to complement a farm / cowboy / horse theme in your classroom setting. This game can be played with 2 to 6 players and the recommended age range is 5 years and up (although it may be challenging for young players).

Example of game play.

The game consists of 50 cards, each of which depicts four horse-related object in four different colors. The object of the game is to place your cards in such a way so that no two identical colors or objects are touching. As with most Playroom Entertainment card games, there are multiple variations of play, which allows you to be flexible with the level of difficulty.


Incorrect card placement (the
arrows indicate the mistake).

Version 1: Set up a starting grid of two adjacent cards and put the remaining 48 cards in a pile. A player flips over two cards from the pile. The first player to identify where to place one of the cards correctly on the starting grid keeps the second card as a point. The player with the most points wins. If a player identifies an incorrect place, they lose a turn in the next round and relinquish one of their points.

Version 2: Shuffle all of the cards. Each player receives 7 cards and the remaining cards are discarded. All the players then race to create a grid using their seven cards while observing the rules. The first player to create a correct grid is the winner.

Version 3: Shuffle all of the cards. Each player receives 7 cards and one card is placed face up in the middle of the table. The remaining cards are discarded. All of the players simultaneously  look for a position on the grid to place their card. The first player to play all of their cards is the winner.

Of course you could also play the game after the rules of "Uno", and have players take turns playing a card. If they can't go, they draw a new card. The first player to play all of their cards is the winner.

I actually found this game quite challenging! It is easy to overlook a picture and make a mistake. This makes it a good game for children who are working on visuo-spatial processing  and impulse control. Because this game is quite affordable, it would also be an excellent stocking stuffer!

~Viola

Halloween Inferencing Activity

With Halloween drawing close, I figured I should share some of the themed activities that I created for my students this year. I do have quite a few groups working on logical thinking, listening, and inferencing skills, so I love doing "riddle" type activities with them. My Easter Egg Inferences were a pretty big hit with my students, so I figured I should create a similar activity with a Halloween theme.


Halloween Inferencing - get it here!

The activity consists of 54 gravestone cards, each of which features three clues. Students then have to guess what lies buried in this spot. To check their answers, they flip over the card to reveal a picture on the back. Several of the cards feature Halloween-themed objects, alongside common every-day items. Blank cards are included so you can add your own! If you teach large groups, it might be fun (or macabre!) to have student pictures on the back and write clues about them onto the gravestone. The riddles are fairly easy and would probably be most appropriate for Pre-2nd grade, depending on students' cognitive levels. You can also adapt the activity by playing in any of the following ways:

• Simply read clues and have students guess what the item is.• Place all the picture cards on the table, then read clues and have students find a corresponding picture.
• Give students points based on how many clues they needed (e.g., one clue = 3 points, two clues = 2 points, three clues = 1 point).
• Show students the picture card first, then have them come up with possible clues that might be on the card. Give points for correct guesses!

Just something fun for October. You can find this activity (priced at $3) in my TPT store.

~Viola

Playroom Entertainment Games Review #1: Barnyard Buddies

Barnyard Buddies - get it here!

Note: This post contains affiliate links.

I received some generous game donations over the summer and need to catch up on writing product reviews! One publisher who contributed is Playroom Entertainment, a company that offers several preschool and family games that help develop logical and critical thinking skills.

The first game I will be reviewing is "Barnyard Buddies", a card game that capitalizes on quick cognitive skills. This game can be played with 2-8 players and is deemed appropriate for children ages 5 and up.

The game consists of 50 cards - 25 animal cards and 25 herd cards. Each animal card has a picture of one of five farm animals in a different color. The herd cards contain four of the five different animals in different colors. It is the players' job to determine which color animal is missing on a herd card -- the winner is the person who figures out the most missing animals.


Example of game play.

To play, all of the herd cards are placed upside down in the middle of the table, while the animal cards are spread face up around the herd card stack. One player turns over a herd card and everyone tries to identify the animal that is missing as well as the color. Whoever manages to find the animal first, receives the herd card as a point. In the example to the right, the face-up herd card shows a yellow horse, purple cow, green cat, and red goat. The missing animal is therefore the blue dog, since that color and animal are missing from the herd card.

A nice variation to make the game more challenging is to play it "reversed": place the animal cards in the middle and scatter the herd cards around. Players then need to find a matching herd card for each animal card.

The quality of these cards is very sturdy, which makes it a great game for little hands! I like this game because it is a great way to work on colors as well as promote logical thinking skills. You can use this game for students who are working on exclusion and turn-taking as well. It would also make a great activity for a farm theme!

Stay tuned for more great game reviews for this and other companies!

~Viola