Reel Girl’s game of the week: Hedbanz

I’ve blogged about games before: Sexist apps for little kids and the card games Slamwich and Sleeping Queens. But now Reel Girl has a whole new category. My family has started a weekend ritual of evening board games during quiet time instead of reading, so I’m looking at lots of games.  The switch in routine is a struggle for me, because I love reading and kind of dislike board games. It’s not that I hate them, I just didn’t get the point. I’d rather be reading. But according to my kids’ teachers, there is a point: math and verbal skills, art skills, rule following, winning and losing, and together time. The teachers are also right that my kids are at such different reading levels, that it is fun (when they’re not cheating or fighting) to do something together.

My first rec is Hedbanz. This game is super fun. All my kids, ages 3 – 9, can play this game and feel challenged at different levels. One kid holds a card with a picture up to her forehead (actually, most people place them there in headbands, thus the name of the game, but we lost our bands.) She asks yes or no questions (Am I alive, am I an animal etc) Because of the simple pictures, it’s easy for the three year old to feel like she’s a part of it. The older kids, obviously, like to guess the answer faster.

Needless to say, I love that the box that features two girls and one boy playing together and no sexist pictures.

Please send me your game recs!
Reel Girl rates Hedbanz ***HHH***

3 thoughts on “Reel Girl’s game of the week: Hedbanz

  1. We’re a dominoes kind of family. Easy for everyone. We also enjoy playing cards and dice games. Three generations playing together and visiting. If I had my way we would color more – I’ve always loved coloring – somedays it’s just what a niece or nephew needs- we are together but each can be lost in thought. (They also like looking up pictures they did years ago – we sign and date our art work. I love the giggles of how ‘so & so’ used to write/color.)

  2. Carcassonne is a great game – placing tiles that match and scoring points for completing cities, roads, etc. You can always alter the rules for the 3 year old, but basically you start with a tile on the board, then draw tiles from a bag and have to match them with what’s already been placed. Lots of fun 🙂

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