A TOS Review: The Climbing Knights (SimplyFun)

We love games. Games are not only great for family togetherness, but they provide wonderful learning opportunities for the players. Last year we got to review a wonderful game from SimplyFun. Well. They just came out with some NEW games. We just got to review one of those four games, The Climbing Knights .

SimplyFun  creates educational games for families, homeschoolers, classrooms…just about for anybody learning games are appreciated. They do offer a homeschool membership that provides two free games a year and a discount on all other games you might purchase. I appreciated this section on the SimplyFun website that talks about the Importance of Play and give a number of resources about the importance of play. They made my "Early Childhood Teacher" heart sing.

For this review, I received The Climbing Knights. My request (i.e. begging and pleading) for The Climbing Knights was two-fold. For one, who doesn’t secretly wish to live in a castle? This is about the closest experience we are going to have. My other reason is a bit more practical. This summer our theme for our annual Cousin Camp is Knights and Castles! I couldn’t have planned it more perfectly.

You bet your bippy this game is going in my box of perfectly wonderful things to do.

The Climbing Knights is intended for ages 8 and up and can accommodate 2-4 players. In our house a 14-year-old and a forty-something (which would be me) got into to the action. I plan on taking it with me to our Reading Club when we next read something “Castleish”. They will be thrilled to play.

The purpose of the game is to have your knight climb the castle. You are to capture your Coat of Arms. Actually, you have to capture your Coat of Arms twice. It’s not an easy climb. You have to avoid all windows and (bahahaha) two gnarly looking guards.

Can you see why I wanted this game? What a game! I think it could provide at least some shelter in a pinch.

The game, itself, was easy to put together. I was worried about complicated bits and pieces, but found that the construction took little time. The castle is only a few pieces and is made out of some kind of magnetic board. It is also easy to put away. Score!

Here is my knight and coat of arms. I would have liked my knight to be sporting a sparkly tiara, but we can't always get what we want.

Someone else in the house found the Castle to be perfectly enchanting. I believe this is one of Josiah's favorite time lords. He's everywhere.

The whole set-up didn't take any time at all. We read the directions (which were easy to follow) and we were off!

The game starts with the knights at the bottom of 2 scaling walls. There are 3 dice included with the game. The black die tells you what to do with the black guard. The gray die tells you what to do with the gray guard and the white die tells you how many spaces you can climb.

The game requires spatial reasoning. For example, Josiah had to decided what direction would be the best way to proceed around the window. For Josiah, who is dyslexic and has a few other issues to go along with that, spatial reasoning can be difficult. This was a great, non-intrusive way to work on that skill.

This guard is asleep right now, but if you get in his sights you have to start over again!

Because the player also moves the guards according to the roll of the die, he has to decided what direction to move them...using some strategy, of course.

Yikes! I'm almost caught.

Josiah won this particular game, but Momma was not out yet. I lived to climb another day.

This game is fun, fun. We didn't have to think too hard. It didn't take up too much time. It made us get up and move around a bit. We had to strategize and think about what to do next.

I also love that this game is sturdy. The pieces are not flimsy or cheaply made. It is something that will stand up to multiple playing experiences.

The whole set-up is unique and perfect for kids like my guy who needs a hands-on experience. I mentioned that Josiah is dyslexic and, while he is reading beautifully, he prefers activities that do not require any reading. The instructions obviously have to be read, but I did that and he simply followed instructions and his own intuition.

This is a game I am thrilled to add to our game closet.

You can connect with SimplyFun via the following social media outlets. Don't forget to click on the banner to read more reviews (some members of The Crew reviewed different game).

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/simplyfun/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SimplyFun #HSREVIEWS #FAMILYGAMES #LEARNINGGAMES #HOMESCHOOLRESOURCES
Instagram: @SimplyFun
Blog: http://blogs.simplyfun.com/