There Will Be A $5.00 Charge For Whining: A TOS Review: USAopoly

We love games here at our house. I have found that my busy guy seems to absorb so much more when there is fun involved. Recently we had the chance to review the funest (I know…not a word) games evah! USAopoly sent us two of their games for review, Wonky: The Crazy Cubes Card Game and Tapple:Fast Word Fun for Everyone.

Wonky: The Crazy Cubes Card Game is all about strategy. The game comes with 54 cards, 9 blocks and a fun storage bag to keep it all in. This game requires the players to build. Here is how it’s played.

Each player receives a certain amount of cards. Each card tells them what color and size of block they are able to play. These blocks aren’t ordinary, plain jane blocks. They are literally “wonky.” This, of course, requires the players to think about how he or she is placing his or her block.

This was sooo much fun! Warning. It is really easy for this tower to fall.

The “Duct Tape Strategy” was thrown in there for a possible solution.

Wonky is intended for ages 8+ and can be played with 2 or more players.

Tapple: Fast Word Fun for Everyone has quickly become Josiah’s favorite game. You might be aware that Josiah is dyslexic. I worried just a bit. How would that translate to this game?

He is frankly awesome.

The game revolves around this wheel with letters and a built-in timer. There are also 36 cards containing 144 categories. One side is harder. The other easier. You will need 2 AA batteries to run the timer for this one.

The player draws a category from the card he or she has drawn. Then the player taps the timer button and says a word beginning with one of the letters placed around the wheel. The game overlooks the letters Q,U,V,X,Y & Z. This was helpful. Nothing like trying to think of a fruit that begins with the letter Z.

The game continues as each player takes his or her turn. The timer only allows 10 seconds before that turn is lost. If you fail to think of a word you are out of the round.

Tapple is intended for ages 8+ and can be played with 2 to 8 players.

How We Played

We played both games on our own and then took them to our Reading Club to share with our friends.

They were both instant hits.

The cute bag that comes with Wonky makes this game easy to cart off to picnics and Grandma's house. I shouldn't think that this would be a good travel game. You really have to have a flat, steady surface.

You can tell from this picture that some of the sides of the blocks and angled and curved.

We did play it with a player who was younger than 8. She had a good time, but cared little for strategy. She just basically went with whatever color she was "feeling" at the time.

Tapple turned out to be an educational goldmine. Who knew that such a simple game would help this dyslexic child find his superpower? He might struggle with reading big passages, but he sure could pull a word out of thin air!

The ages in our Reading Club range from 4-13 (unless you count the mommas and then you are walking in 40land). The youngest ones needed a little more help, but they were all about it.

There is something about pushing that red button and beating the timer. It's magical!

We had quite a good time with all of the topics. Josiah's favorite has been Athletes.

Imagine that.

One of my favorite things about Tapple is the possibilities. You can literally take any educational topic (We are studying The Civil War right now) and make it into a category for Tapple.

Both games are cleverly crafted and created. They are also well-made. We didn't have any issue with all the moving parts. The blocks for Wonky are wooden. Thankfully, we are beyond the "throwing blocks" stage.

At least I hope so.

But in any event, there aren't tiny pieces to keep track of. The Tapple wheel even has a handy cubby to keep the cards in.

We LOVED these games. Can you tell?