Zingo

The price: P749.75
Number of players: Two to eight
What?s in the box: Eight double-sided Zingo cards, 72 picture tiles, Zinger
How to play: Pull the Zinger to reveal two mystery tiles. Players try to be the first to call out tiles that match images on their cards. Pull, call. Pull, call. The first one to fill his/her cards and yell ?Zingo!? wins.
The verdict: Forget Bingo, this game is way more fun. I played this game with one adult and six hyper kids and there was a lot of shrieking and laughing. Because Zingo is a game of both skill and luck, everyone has an equal chance at winning.
In five words or less: Pig! Duck! House! Foot! Panda!
Best for: Kids 4 to 8 years old. At least that?s what the box says. But the truth is, even older kids and adults can enjoy this fun, fast-paced game. Get kids to play double cards for a bigger challenge.
Why your kids will love it: The game is exciting and energetic. They will have a blast trying to beat everyone else.
Why you will love it: It practices your kids? image and vocabulary recognition, memory, concentration, matching ability and social interaction.
Warning: Kids can get addicted to this game, so get ready for hours of Zingo play.

Munch Math

The price: P1,149.75
Number of players: Two or more
What?s in the box: Game board, dice, 72 tokens
How to play: There are three ways to play. With Clean Your Plate, you have to be the first to ?eat every bite? of your food. Players roll the dice, add, subtract, multiply or divide the numbers that appear to create a single number. If the single number appears on their chosen food, they get to cover it with a token. The person to cover all the numbers on his/her chosen food first will win. Magic Doubles follows the same rules as Clean Your Plate, with special rules on rolling doubles. To win the Four Food Groups, the player has to be the first to ?take two bites? (cover two number spots) from each of the four food groups. The rules are easier than they sound.
The verdict: Don?t let the math factor turn you off. Kids can have a lot of fun with this board game. You might be surprised to learn that this game was invented by Martin Schneider, a 7-year-old who won the National Young Game Inventors Contest in the US. He said: ?Because I love math so much, I wanted to make a game that might help other kids have fun with math, too.?
In five words or less: Math can be fun!
Best for: Kids 7 and above
Why your kids will love it: It?s a great chance for them to show off their math abilities.
Why you will love it: It?s a good way to practice your kids? addition, subtraction, multiplication and division skills.
Warning: Munch Math is best played by kids whose mathematical skills are of the same level. I played the game with six kids between the ages of 5 and 10 and the older kids got antsy waiting for the younger ones to count and compute.

Kids Battle the Grown-Ups

The price: P799.75
Number of players: Two teams?kids versus adults
What?s in the box: Game board, one tug-of-war rope, one ?Who knows?? board, one erasable crayon, 132 question cards for kids, 132 question cards, 66 ?Who knows?? cards
How to play: Kids compete against adults in answering trivia questions. The first team to pull the rope off the game board wins.
The verdict: This is a fun game that can bring kids and adults together. The game had all of us laughing. We tried teaching the kids the importance of teamwork by telling them to agree on one answer before shouting it out loud. This, of course, led to a very long argument about dolphins, sharks and whales. Seven-year-old Ito and 10-year-old Jaggy refused to believe 9-year-old Joel when he said dolphins and whales are both mammals. There was another hilarious moment. When asked about a famous grouch, one of the kids shouted with conviction: ?Gloria!? And when we all laughed, he said: ??Di ba masungit siya [Isn?t she grumpy]??
In five words or less: No-sweat tug-of-war
Best for: Families with kids ages 8 and up
Why your kids will love it: They?ll like the idea of beating you in a game.
Why you will love it: One, this game can bring the whole family together. Two, thanks to the pop culture-themed questions, you?ll have fun getting to know your kids? interests. Kids Battle the Grown-Ups can help bridge the generation gap. And yes, there is a generation gap. When asked in which movie an alien wanted to ?phone home,? the kids answered, ?Chicken Little!? ?Dora!? ?Mr. Bean!?
Warning: Some questions are too US-centric so you might have to skip them. Get ready for a dose of gloating if your kids beat you in a game.

All games are available at Hobbes and Landes.