Robot Turtles - Game of the Month

This post is part of the ABC's of Raising Well-Rounded Geeklings series. Be sure to check it out, because there are lots of fun activities, crafts and educational posts being shared by a handful of different bloggers! 

Robot Turtles is also our Game of the Month! We love this game and it's one of our Top 5 games that we play on a weekly basis. Robot Turtles is engaging, creative, educational and most of all, fun! We also love that this game is semi-cooperative and allows players to work together if they want. Robot Turtles can also be used in STEM learning activities, since it teaches the fundamentals of programming. 

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links for your convenience.

Robot Turtles was designed by software entrepreneur Dan Shapiro. He created the game for his (at the time) four-year-old twins on a lazy afternoon. Robot Turtles went on to become the most backed game on Kickstarter! Then ThinkFun picked it up, and now you can find it at Target and Amazon! 

So what makes Robot Turtles special? It teaches the fundamentals of programming to children as young as 3! Why is programming important for kids? When he designed this game, Dan Shapiro wanted to give his children a wonderful gift, the skill of programming. He wanted to teach them how to program a computer without needing a computer. This is a great skill, especially in our technological age where understanding how coding works at a young age will help them in the future. 

Who is this game for? Children 4+ (or 3, if they are familiar with playing games) and for 2-5 players. Reading is not required either. There are only 4 turtles to play, but an adult can sit in as the 5th player to help the younger kids as a "Turtle Mover." The Turtle Mover represents the "computer" and should take responsibility for moving the player pieces around. 

However, for the most part, my children have always been responsible for moving their own player pieces. We explain the turn (choose a card to move the turtle), help them move the turtle or let them move it by themselves, look at the obstacles and work out a plan to overcome them to reach the jewel. This is because Bean is incredibly independent and will not allow someone else take a move for her that she herself can do. 

The Turtles come in four colors: blue (Beep), purple (Dot), green (Pangle), and red (Pi). There are four code card decks, color-coded to match their turtle, and the cards have a solid bar of color and a symbol, which tells you what the card does. Blue is Forward, Yellow is Left, Purple is Right, Red is Lasers (or Blasters, as Munchkin calls them), and Green is Function Frog. Each player also has a Bug tile, which they can tap to re-do their last move. 

Ignoring that Munchkin started his turn where Pi, the red turtle, is supposed to start, you can see how Munchkin took his first 3 turns. He moved forward twice and then turned left, but stayed in the same square. You only turn the turtle 90 degrees when you play a yellow or purple card. Then you can play a blue card to move them forward.

So how do you use the other tiles? There are stone walls, crates, and ice walls. Each one introduces a different type of obstacle and ways to move through it or around it. You should introduce them in order (ice walls, lasers, stone walls, and then crates) and only one at a time. Play the game a couple times between unlocking the levels, so your child(ren) can get used to the new rules before adding more.

When you first introduce the Ice walls, you are unable to move through them, so do not arrange them in a way that prevents any of the players from reaching the gems. If you run into one, make a turtle sound and wiggle about (the rule book suggests acting silly and making it fun!).

Once you add in lasers, you can blast down the wall, which results in a puddle (flip the tile over). You can now move through that space.

In the pictures below, you can see which cards were used to move and blast the ice wall.

Play until all the turtles reach their gems. We've always played until the turtle reaches the gem, occasionally they will play an extra turn and be on top of the gem. When you reach your gem, remove it from the game and place it in front of your cards. You can either stop playing, or you can help out the other turtles by blasting ice walls or moving crates around.

The one obstacle you cannot move or blast is the stone wall. Once it's placed and the game begins, you're not allowed to move it. Be creative with the placement! It's fun to make it difficult.

Below you can see how Munchkin moved the crate out of his Turtle's way.

The only card not pictured is the "Function Frog" card, because we haven't unlocked it yet. We try to play the game at least 5 times with each new "unlocked" level before we try to introduce a new one. The Function Frog should be used by experienced players, who are ready for a more difficult game. The Function Frog is used to represent a reoccurring pattern in the code.

There are also extension activities available, like creating an Adventure Quest. There's also a Quest Library of ready-made Adventures created by kids that you can play.

You can also pick up the interactive eBook for 3-8 year old's. You'll play the role of Beep the Robot Turtle and go on a quest to retrieve a precious jewel. It has all the same mechanics of the game and you can even print it out! And there are bonus coloring pages!

There are so many different ways to play this game and that makes it all the more fun! Start out at the most basic level with your children, regardless of age, and work your way up. Let them experience leveling up. Take pride in overcoming the obstacles!

Have you played Robot Turtles? If you're new to this game, what do you like about it? Let us know in the comments!

Game of the Month: eeBoo's Pre-school Lotto Game

Welcome back to our Game of the Month series! We absolutely love board games and play them often. Our kids share our love of games and this series is meant to share with our readers our favorite games. Our hope is to help you find awesome board games for your children. We will go over who makes the game, how the game is played, and our favorite features of the game. We also include any hiccups we may have had along the way, as far as rules go and young children being able to follow them. If that's the case, we will share the modifications or rule changes we have made for the game so that younger children can play with their older siblings.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links for your convenience.

This month we are featuring eeBoo's Preschool Lotto Game! eeBoo makes some of our favorite games and we picked this one up for Christmas. We own a handful of other games made by eeBoo and they are always at the top of our list when we are choosing a new game to add to our collection. eeBoo is a boutique manufacturer of well-made educational toys and games. They are 100% original and feature beautiful illustrations and unique art! eeBoo's products are wonderful for promoting literacy, story telling, drawing, imaginative play and basic math skills. Many of their products have won Oppenheim Best Toy Awards, including the Lotto Game!

eeBoo's Lotto Game is great for children ages 3 and up. A 2 year old who is familiar with matching activities may be ready for this game. We have a stack of other matching games, but they are only tile games. We love that this game comes with a cards for the tiles, which is ideal for younger children to practice their matching and recognition skills. This way they aren't trying to match two random tiles in a pile. It's a wonderful beginner game and there are many ways to play!

The game can be played by 2-6 children, but honestly you can use it for solo games too. The game comes with 6 different picture cards and tiles to match each card. Each card has a set of 6 pictures on it (themes include: fruits and vegetables, toys, vehicles, farm animals, jungle animals, and pets). The cards and tiles are color coded for easy sorting (this will also help younger children recognize the groups). 

How to Play

1 - Select a Lotto Card. Players can choose at random or pick one they prefer. 

2 - Tiles are placed face down and in reach of all the players. Use the tiles that match the cards being used. For added difficulty, use extra tiles from the unused cards. 

3 - The youngest player goes first and selects a tile.

4 - If the tile you chose matches your card, you may place it on your card, otherwise place it back face-down in the spot you picked it up from. If you are playing with younger children and their first tile does not match, they can choose a second tile. Show each unmatched tile to the other players before returning it face down to the table.

5 - The player on your left goes next. They choose a tile and either match it to their card or show it to the other players and returns it. 

6 - Play the game until one child fills up their entire card. They can then call out, "Lotto!" (My kids usually just say, "I'm done!" or "I win!")

Skills

- Early learning concepts that promote family interaction and fun.

- Visual discrimination to match tiles to Lotto cards. 

- Critical categorization skills - evaluate whether their chosen tile matches the theme of their Lotto card. 

- Keeping track of the tiles replaced - remembering the location helps build their memory skills.

- Social skills - taking turns, experiencing winning and losing in a supportive environment. 

eeBoo's suggestions on adding more elements to the Lotto Game:

- At the end of the game, ask the player's to name a few other things that could have matched the theme of their card. Example: fruits and vegetables - broccoli, banana, apple. 

-  Ask the players to explain why they are returning a tile to the pile. Example: it does not match the theme, the color does not match, the animal does not belong with this group, etc.

- Tell a short story after the game using all the tiles on one card as objects or characters in a story. 

These are wonderful way to promote social and literacy skills in a fun, gaming environment!

In particular, we love how durable the tiles are. They are made out of thick cardboard and I don't have to worry about a toddler picking them up (unless it's to put them in their mouth - I wouldn't suggest allowing that). The tiles and cards are bright, glossy and sturdy. They are easy to pick up and the box is pretty compact. I love that the box isn't huge and there's only a small amount of extra space inside (great for people who already own a ton of games and need to fit them on the shelf somehow). The box is also sturdy and opens slowly, so if a child is carrying the box, it's very unlikely that the button will fall out and scatter the pieces everywhere. Overall, it's a wonderfully designed game and we really enjoy it. 

Here are a few ways we have used this game:

Pattern Making - Each row is treated as a pattern to match. The tiles are mixed up and placed face-up in reach. The child has to make the pattern below the card. 

Theme/Color Matching - Skip the cards and just play with the tiles. Each child can choose a color and practice matching the other tiles in their group. (Munchkin will often use all of the tiles and line up each color in rows. He will then name each tile and then count them, either by row or all of them.)

Solo Game - Played just like the regular game, except with only one player. Mix up the tiles and place them below the card face-down. Flip one tile up at a time and match them to the correct picture. You can make it harder and try to match them in order, meaning you'll have to remember where some tiles are.

When two players play, let them choose their cards (unless you're working on a particular theme). Flip over the matching tiles and mix them up. You can make it more difficult by adding in tiles from the other cards. 

My children prefer when the tiles are lined up. It's ok if some of the tiles aren't facing the right way. Younger children may end up turning them around a few times to find the correct way  to match their tiles.

See, those peas don't match either card. So now they know not to choose that tile!

This is a great game for toddlers and preschoolers! Kindergarteners may find it too easy, which is why I sometimes try to make it more difficult for Bean. Older children will likely prefer a tiles only game.

eeBoo has a bunch of lovely memory games to choose from, such as Life on Earth Memory Game, Pre-School Animal Memory Game, eeBoo Number Memory Game, Preschool Nature Memory Game, and I Never Forget a Face Memory Game, just to name a few!

I encourage you to check out eeBoo's shop and I hope you find unique games for your children!  Happy Gaming!