Out of the Box Publishing; Board Game Fun for the Whole Family!
Monday, June 22, 2009
We're not big fans of television here at our house. My kids tend to behave much better if they're not allowed to veg out in front of the tube. Often when I tell people that we really don't let our kids watch TV, they ask in amazement, "So, what DO your kids do?"
Easy peasy! Aside from the wonderful outdoor things like mud puddles, chasing bugs, bubbles and sidewalk chalk, there are a plethora of indoor activities we keep on hand. Among them are board games that are geared for multiple ages and abilities.
Honestly, it's kind of hard to find a game that a 5 and an 8 year old can play together (and obviously my 2 year old isn't quite there yet!). There is such a difference in academic ability at those ages, it makes most board games irrelevant. When I was asked to review a game from Out of the Box Publishing, I was a bit skeptical, thinking that I'd have to choose which of my sons would get to enjoy the game. I was pleasantly surprised, however, at the wide range of choices they offer that could be easily adapted for a younger sibling.
I actually had a hard time choosing just one! I finally picked a game called Backseat Drawing Junior. It's kind of a cross between Pictionary and Taboo. The "director" has to help his teammate draw an image without telling him what the image is. For example, to have your teammate draw a house, you might say, "draw a square, with a triangle on top". The first person to correctly guess the image gets one point.
It's a very simple game to learn, and very funny once you get going. My husband and I and the boys played it while my daughter was napping (so she didn't sabatoge the game pieces!) and had a lot of fun. My five year old was trying to direct me to draw a stick figure with an arrow pointing to it's foot (the word was "foot") and amidst hysterical laughter managed to have me draw what looked like a five-legged alien with huge eyes!
The game comes with two sturdy dry-erase type boards, a set of cards (double sided- one side more difficult than the other), four dry-erase markers, and two very nice, well-made erasers. Everything seemed great quality, but I gotta say, plan on getting some dry erase markers of your own. We played for about 20 min. and two of the markers were starting to fade out pretty badly.
Out of the Box Publishing is the original distributor of the very popular game, Apples to Apples, and the company boasts over 30 different game titles. Many of their games are educational, and their games are grouped into categories such as "Party Games", "Quick Games", "Engaging Games", and "Distributed Games". Their age ranges are from 7 to adult, and games can be as quick as 20 minutes, or up to an hour for the more involved titles. With such a vast array of entertainment to choose from, it's gotta be easy to say "Adios!" to your TV!!
Buy it:
The entire line of Out of the Box Publishing games is availble online at
Win it:
Out of the Box Publishing is offering a lucky reader their very own Backseat Drawing or Backseat Drawing Junior game. Simply visit their website and come back and tell us what your favorite game is.
Contest ends midnight EST, June 29th
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STUMBLE: Stumble this post by clicking on the green and blue heart on the sidebar. Then return here and let me know your Stumble name.
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Giveaway Rules:
1. Giveaway is open to those with a US mailing address only, unless otherwise stated.
2. You must answer the question in the giveaway accordingly. Please don't just say "I want to win" or "Pick me."
3. You must have a visible email address in your Blogger Profile, otherwise it needs to be listed on every entry. (Don't worry, you won't be spammed).
4. Winner will be chosen via random.org and notified via email.
5. Winner will be asked to respond with full contact information within 48 hours of being notified. Failure to do so will result in another winner being picked.
2. You must answer the question in the giveaway accordingly. Please don't just say "I want to win" or "Pick me."
3. You must have a visible email address in your Blogger Profile, otherwise it needs to be listed on every entry. (Don't worry, you won't be spammed).
4. Winner will be chosen via random.org and notified via email.
5. Winner will be asked to respond with full contact information within 48 hours of being notified. Failure to do so will result in another winner being picked.
LifeAsWeKnowIt
meeUpBabyCarriers (tm)
June 23, 2009 7:15 PM
fish eat fish looks fun
June 23, 2009 7:18 PM
Pirate, Pirate looks like fun. I think the boys would like it.
June 23, 2009 7:50 PM
my kids would like gold digger
June 23, 2009 10:07 PM
My kids picked gold digger.
sweeps4us(at)gmail(dot)com
June 23, 2009 10:14 PM
I am a fan of yours on facebook.
ID: T H
sweeps4us(at)gmail(dot)com
June 23, 2009 10:27 PM
Fish Eat Fish looks like something my son would love!
June 23, 2009 10:28 PM
I am a follower of your blog!
June 23, 2009 10:31 PM
I am following you on facebook
June 24, 2009 7:33 AM
I like the Gold Digger
June 24, 2009 9:14 AM
I've played Apples to Apples with a large group and it was so fun! Backseat Drawing also looks like a hoot! Thanks for the contest!
June 24, 2009 9:43 AM
I would love to win
I like the fish eats fish for my brood
Thank you for the chance
tatertot374@sbcglobal.net
June 24, 2009 10:53 AM
My son loves Pirates
June 24, 2009 12:15 PM
We have 10 Days in the USA and really like it!
June 24, 2009 12:42 PM
My Word!® looks like fun.
June 24, 2009 1:36 PM
I like Rock!
Jennifer, jennem22 at yahoo dot com
June 24, 2009 2:07 PM
Pirates are cool!! Thanks for the chance.
mogrill@comcast.net
June 24, 2009 4:15 PM
We would like the Pirate Versus Pirate Game, that looks like alot of fun!
lgrieser(at)sbcglobal(dot)net
June 25, 2009 7:37 PM
I like the Radical Ring Race!
June 25, 2009 7:38 PM
I follow.
June 25, 2009 11:24 PM
Rock! looks fun too!
mommastaci33(at)yahoo(dot)com
June 25, 2009 11:25 PM
I follow.
mommastaci33(at)yahoo(dot)com
June 25, 2009 11:26 PM
And I have your button.
mommastaci33(at)yahoo(dot)com
June 26, 2009 12:09 AM
I like CINEPLEXITY looks like fun
sylviawhit@gmail.com
June 26, 2009 3:31 AM
Gold Digger looks like it would be a fun game to play!
espressogurl at hotmail dot com
June 26, 2009 3:32 AM
Email subscriber at espressogurl at hotmail dot com
June 26, 2009 10:19 AM
facebook fan
2kidsblogger(at)gmail(dot)com
June 26, 2009 10:20 AM
follow blogger
2kidsblogger(at)gmail(dot)com
June 26, 2009 10:25 AM
My Word!® looks like fun for us!
June 26, 2009 7:32 PM
Apples to Apples is a great game!
June 26, 2009 7:35 PM
I am a follower.
June 26, 2009 7:36 PM
I am following on twitter and I tweeted http://twitter.com/My3Sons33/status/2351797187
June 26, 2009 10:01 PM
Wallamoppi looks like fun. Thanks!
June 26, 2009 10:40 PM
Pirates
pkbailey@charter.net
June 26, 2009 10:41 PM
Follower
pkbailey@charter.net
June 27, 2009 2:48 PM
10 Days in Europe looks fun.
dancnwithmyself@aol.com
June 27, 2009 6:44 PM
Easy Come, easy go
June 27, 2009 11:14 PM
I think "LetterFlip" sounds neat!
autielady[at]live.com
June 27, 2009 11:35 PM
I like 10 Days in Africa.
msurosey@yahoo.com
June 27, 2009 11:36 PM
I subscribe.
msurosey@yahoo.com
June 28, 2009 3:02 PM
10 Days in the USA sounds fun and educational!
smchester at gmail dot com
June 29, 2009 12:06 AM
Radical Ring Race
June 29, 2009 6:53 AM
my kids would love gold digger.
erma.hurtt@sbcglobal.net
June 29, 2009 11:46 AM
The Party Pooper game sounds like fun.Thanks!
June 29, 2009 5:27 PM
My favorite is MixUp
June 29, 2009 5:35 PM
the Radical Ring Race looks like alot of fun :)
June 29, 2009 5:36 PM
fan on facebook kathy l pease
June 29, 2009 5:38 PM
https://twitter.com/klp1965/status/2393844857
June 29, 2009 8:01 PM
Super circles would be enjoyed by my grandson
June 29, 2009 10:05 PM
Super Circles sounds like so much fun!
doot65[at]comcast{dot}net
June 29, 2009 10:06 PM
I'm a subscriber!
doot65[at]comcast{dot}net
June 29, 2009 10:07 PM
I blogged about it here
June 29, 2009 10:07 PM
I have your button
June 29, 2009 10:07 PM
I'm a facebook fan: http://www.facebook.com/doot65
June 29, 2009 10:14 PM
10 Days in the USA sounds like fun :)
June 29, 2009 11:53 PM
I love Fish Eat Fish!
June 29, 2009 11:54 PM
June 29, 2009 11:56 PM
I subscribed to your blog.