Busy Playing: Family Games- Spot It

Before I had the baby, I wanted to have a few new toys around to keep the kids occupied when I was in the hospital.  This game, Spot It by blue Orange, was sitting right at the edge of the checkout counter. This game is one of my FAVORITE new games we have gotten this year!  This is a game that is fun for EVERYONE!!!  My kids can play it together, my husband and I can play it with the kids, or I would even consider pulling it out for my husband and I and possibly our friends to play- it's that fun and easy!

I wanted a game that we could all play (ages 3-me) together.  I also wanted something that would occupy the kids while I made dinner or  was distracted with the new baby.  This game is perfect for just that and then some!

The game is quite simple, each card in the deck has one object on it that matches one thing on every other card in the deck.  There are several suggested ways to play the game.  We play one way- you place all the cards in a pile face down in the center of the players.  Each player is dealt a card in front of them, face up.  When the top card in the deck is flipped, everyone rushes to find a match on their card with the card in the center.  The first one to shout out the name of the matching objects wins the card in the center. The player with the most number of cards at the end is the winner (great counting practice when you tally up your cards).

Seems simple enough, right?   Wrong!- each card has different arrays of the objects, some focus on objects of particular colors, and others seem to have great differences in object sizes.  Sometimes your eyes play tricks on you and no matter how much you compare, you will swear there is no match- usually someone else in the game can help you Spot it!  Here's an example of two cards- can you Spot the match?

I love this game because it doesn't invoke a lot of fighting, doesn't involve a lot of skill- so my 3 year old can play too (with assistance at times), and the kids can play it alone at the table while I am busy doing other things.

Here are my sons playing while I was painting one day:

My younger son is excited because he "spotted" the match before his big brother:

Both kids are stumped as the struggle to find the match:

If your little one has a birthday coming up or you're looking for a great game to add to your collection, this is the one for you!  It's small enough, you can even put it in your purse and bring it to restaurants to keep the kids busy.  Sometimes my son plays this on his own and just tries to find all the matches.

Hope you spot this game at the store next time you're looking for some fun!