Baby Girl loves to play games, but sometimes she needs something to keep her busy while I work with the older two. Apple Twist from Smart Games is just the right game for times like this.
*I received a complimentary copy of this game from Timberdoodle in exchange for my honest review. You can find out more right here*
Apple Twist is a four-piece puzzle game made for 1 player at a time. You have the twisting apple game board, and three different colored caterpillars of different lengths. There is also a gamebook with 60 different puzzles to solve ranging from starter up to master.
Apple Twist is recommended for ages 5 and up. Timberdoodle includes this game in their Kindergarten Curriculum Kit. This game is not only fun, but helps with spatial insight, logic, problem-solving, planning, and visual perception. How does it do all that? I am glad you asked!
So, you got Apple Twist, you open the box, now what? Check out your pieces, get familiar with the way they do, and do not move. You want to make sure not to force any of them to move in the ways they are not supposed to. Take a look at the apple. You can see that one side has the numbers 1-5 and the other letters A-E. Once you have done that you are ready to play the game.
Take a look at the first game in the book, you will want to adjust the apple so it says 1, 2, C, 4, and E. This changes the dents on the playing board. You also see where to put the green caterpillar and the starts of the blue and yellow. Now you need to think, plan, and figure out how the blue and yellow caterpillars will fit on the board.
Seems simple right? Not always! As I said, these challenges get harder. By the time you get to the end of the “starter” puzzles, you only see where the caterpillars start, no more helping of where one fully goes. Moving forward, you start to lose the colors, just starting points, until you work up to only one starting point, or none at all!
Baby Girl loves to do puzzles. She has been putting together picture puzzles since she was two. This game was a perfect challenge for her. She mastered the first page of puzzles and loved how they gradually got harder. She was able to build her knowledge and skills little by little after the first initial confidence booster.
I never really put this in our school schedule, rather I like to leave it open and accessible for her to use whenever she gets “bored” during the day. We actually have a small supply of games from Smart Games that we leave available for the kids to play with.
Knowing that I have this fun game for her to play when she wants makes her happy. Knowing that as she plays this game she is learning new ways to think, plan, and look at problems makes me happy. And this game is simple enough to take with us on the go.
I highly recommend that you grab this game for your kids. It was a hit in our house and I am sure it will be in yours also!
