I am always on the lookout for games, toys, and apps that are not only fun, but educational. My son, Christian, loves playing games (what kid doesn’t), so I feel like if he is going to spend so much time playing them, I might as well focus on buying ones that will also teach him valuable concepts. Earlier this year, I was hanging out with my friend and her son (who happens to be my cousin and Christian’s best friend). We decided to go to Target and do a bit of “window shopping”. As can be expected when walking through a store with two curious and excited 5-year-olds, we ended up in the toy section.
That is when I was introduced to Think Fun.
I was specifically looking for games that were funducational ( fun+educational – I may or may not have made up that word, lol), Boy, I feel like I hit the motherlode when I came across ThinkFun games. As I mentioned, I was looking for games that would seem fun, but that were also focused on learning, and with every single game I came across that had the ThinkFun logo on it, my mind was screaming “Take my money!”
I took pictures of the games to remind myself to look up the company when I got home. When I got on their website, I was amazed. They had funducational games out the wazoo! I was so impressed that I reached out to them, letting them know that I NEEDED to try out their games and let people know about them. This blog series is the result of that.
The ThinkFun team was awesome enough to send me a set of their games to try out in exchange for honest reviews. I will be doing one review each month for the next few months. The games I was sent are ones that are appropriate for my son’s age (he is going to be 6 in October).
The first game I will be reviewing is Balance Beans.
Balance Beans Review
About the Game
Balance Beans is both a logic game and a math game. It comes with:
- A seesaw (super easy to assemble – even for kids)
- 9 game tokens (3 single beans, 3 double beans, and 3 triple beans)
- A deck of 40 challenge cards that range from easy to super hard (solutions on the back)
- An instruction manual that teaches you how to play the game, explains why it’s so educational, and gives some info on the game’s inventors (Vesa Timonen and Timo Jokitalo)
- A really convenient drawstring bag that you use to store the game instead of having to keep it in the box.
How to Play
In order to play the game, you pick a challenge card (I recommend going in order of difficulty) and set up the red beans on the seesaw just the way they are on the card. It also tells you which other beans you will need to complete the challenge. Then you have to move the beans around in order to balance the seesaw so that it is no longer teetering. The trick is that you can’t move the red beans, which is what makes it challenging. As an added challenge, each row is calibrated differently, so that placing a single bean on row 1 has a different effect than when you place a single bean on rows 2 or 3.
The cool thing is that when you are balancing the seesaw, what you’re really doing is balancing an equation! In the beginning (especially with young kids), balancing it will likely be a case of trial and error. However, it is a great way to start practicing mathematics and reasoning skills that make up elementary algebra.
What I Love About It
I love that this has given me a chance to introduce Christian to math skills in a way that is fun and approachable. For those of you who are new to my blog, you may not know that I homeschool. I admit that, though I did well with math in school, it is something that makes me nervous when it comes to teaching my son. I know that it did not come easily to me and that it was sometimes frustrating. I imagine that is true for many people – whether they are students, parents, or educators. However, thanks to ThinkFun and Balance Beans, I have been able to get my son to understand some math concepts in a way that didn’t feel difficult.
I also LOVE that it is a one-player game, so he can play it by himself. As a WAHM, I love when there are things that Christian can do to occupy his time (and his mind) while I get some work done. Now that he has this game, we both can sit at the dining room table together (or out in the backyard)- I am working at my computer and he is playing his game. I stop sometimes to help him figure out a challenging one and give him a high five when he finishes one, but other than that, he is able to do it on his own.
Speaking of high fives, I think that one of the things I love the most is that he has more confidence now. He gets so happy and excited when he finally beats one of the challenges – especially the harder ones. The smile on his face and the shouts of “Oh yeah! I did it, mama!” are priceless.
What Christian Loves About It
Christian generally loves any type of puzzle game. I’ve mentioned that a few times on the blog when I talked about Puzzle Buzz magazine. I think that is part of why he loves these games so much. He has so much fun trying to figure out the challenges. When he is stumped, you can really see that he is trying to think things through. I have seen how he went from just moving things around and hoping to actually sitting there and trying to figure it out. He loves the game so much, that when my mom came over, he immediately ran to get the game, set it up, and then showed her how to play – even explaining what he was doing at every step. It was so cool to see how excited he was to show her what he had learned.
Overall Thoughts
I think this is an excellent game for young kids. My son loves it and I love that he is learning while having fun. It is a wonderful way to introduce kids to some pretty important skills, such as logic and reasoning. It also teaches kids how to persevere and not give up when things are challenging. It can also be a huge confidence booster as they begin to master the game. I highly recommend it and think it’s safe to say that Christian gives it two thumbs up as well.
How to Learn More
If you would like to learn more about Balance Beans and other ThinkFun games, you can click here to visit their website. You can also click here to buy the game on Amazon.
