Toy Insider Senior Marissa DiBartolo stopped by Better Connecticut to show off the best new family-friendly games for the holiday season! For more on the products featured in this segment, check out the notes below, and for a full rundown of the best toys of the year, check out our complete holiday toy guide.

shaboom_the-haywire-groupSHABOOM! (Haywire Group)

  • Looking to pull the multi-generations of your family together?
  • Want them to put down the technology for a bit and have fun together? SHABOOM! is what you are looking for! Face off against your opponents in a series of challenges sure to test your speed and agility.
  • Anyone can do these challenges – it all comes down to who can do it first. FLIP IT. STACK IT. SPELL IT. ROLL IT! SHABOOM!
  • Ages: 7+
  • MSRP: $19.99

rubiks-race_university-gamesRubik’s Race (University Games)

  • A new, competitive take on the classic logic game, the Rubik’s Cube!
  • Shake it – Slide it – Solve it! Be the first to match the pattern on the scrambler and shut the frame!
  • More than just a cube – here’s your chance for head to head competition!
  • It’s the ultimate 2 player Rubik’s challenge.
  • Enhances kids logic skills, spacial reasoning, and problem solving.
  • Also encourages friendly competition, confidence, and social skills!
  • Ages: 7+
  • MSRP: $19.99

brynk_winning-moves-games

Brynk (Winning Moves Games)

  • Will you be able to place your pieces on the teeter-tottering base and get it to stay? Or will you upset the balance and watch as it all comes crashing down in front of you?
  • Completely self contained, package doubles as playing surface and storage container, clean-up is fast and easy, learning to play takes less than 1 minute!
  • Ages: 7+
  • MSRP $19.95
  • Available: Amazon

Prove ItProve It (Play Monster)

  • Bet who can do the task best, and then Prove It!
  • There are four categories: Mad Skills (use your skill!), Know-How (use your noggin!), Fingers Crossed (it’s all about luck!) and Buddy System (teamwork!).
  • The two competitors bet back and forth until one person ends the betting by saying “Prove it!”, and now the other player must perform the task to get the point!
  • It’s fun for the whole family, but remember…It’s Easier Said Than Done!
  • Ages: 6+
  • MSRP: $24.99
  • Available: Amazon, Target, Toys R Us, Walmart

box-balls_fat-brain-toysBox & Balls (Fat Brain Toys)

  • Box & Balls. It’s a rolling, bouncing, banking, stacking, nesting game!
  • With dozens of playing options, this classic-looking set of 8 wooden nesting boxes and 8 bouncy balls is awesome at home or away.
  • Set yourself seemingly impossible challenges with the boxes; everything’s more fun with bouncy balls!
  • Ages: 5+
  • MSRP: $32.95
  • Available: fatbraintoys.com

Speak OutSpeak Out Game (Hasbro)

  • Get ready to be doubled over with laughter with this ridiculous mouthpiece challenge game!
  • The Speak Out game brings friends and family together for laugh-out-loud fun as players try to say different phrases while wearing a mouthpiece that won’t let them shut their mouth.
  • The laughter continues as players try to decipher what in the world their teammate is trying to say, and must correctly guess the phrase in order to earn the card.
  • The team with the most cards at the end of the game wins.
  • Ages: 16+
  • MSRP: $19.99
  • Available: Amazon, Target, Toys “R” Us

hedbanzHedBanz Electronic (Spin Master)

  • Bring home the fast-paced, team-based electronic version of Hedbanz!
  • There’s 3 ways to guess and give clues to figure out what’s in your headband: ask “yes” or “no” questions, have your teammates tell you about it, or have your teammates act it out!
  • Hedbanz Electronic features an electronic host that runs the game and keeps score for you. Hedbanz Electronic is the talking game of “What am I?”
  • Ages: 7+
  • MSRP: $19.99
  • Available: Toys R Us

About the author

Bill Reese

Bill Reese

Bill Reese is Business Operations Manager at Adventure Media & Events, where he's worked since 2014. A former editor at Playbill and graduate of SUNY–Purchase, he spends most weekends rooting for the New York Red Bulls pro soccer team and making subway systems out of Brio trains with his little boy Jonah.

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