GoAwayMonster_Gamewright

One of the scariest things about being a kid is those pesky monsters under your bed. They ruin a perfectly good night’s sleep, and prevent kids—and let’s face it, parents—from getting their recommended eight hours. But Gamewright has a great solution.

Go Away Monster! is a new game for kids ages 3 and up to learn shape recognition, sharing, cooperation, and, of course, how to get rid of those nighttime monsters.

The game is super easy to set up. Each player gets one bedroom gameboard, or if you’re only playing with two players, you can each have two. Players place all of the bedroom pieces (there are four of each piece—beds, picturs, lamps, and stuffed animals) and the other eight monster pieces that have similar shapes and sizes to the bedroom pieces in the cloth bag and mix them up.

Players then take turns to reach into the bag and feel around for the item you need for the blank spaces on your game board. If you pull out a piece that you need for your gameboard, you can place it. If you already have that piece set up in your bedroom, you give that piece to a player who doesn’t have it.

So what happens if you get a monster piece? Well we get rid of it! No time for scary monsters here. If a player pulls out a monster, he or see tosses it into the center (the “monster pit”) and says, “Go away monster!” OR you can sit on it, hide it in the box, throw it out the door, etc. Players can decide how to get rid of the monsters, which also can be a helpful teaching tool in how to get rid of the monsters IRL at bedtime.

The game is over when all of the pieces have been pulled out of the bag. At the end of the game, all the monsters get put back into the monster bag and stored in the gamebox until you play next. Now those monsters really can’t get into your bedroom at night.

While the cooperative aspects of this game are great for kids to learn how to share, help each other, and get excited about teamwork, there is also a competitive version. Set up and gameplay are the same, except players are racing to complete their bedroom gameboard first. The monsters slow you down; after you toss it, your turn ends and you pass to the next player. If you pull out a piece you already have, you simply return it to the bag and pass to the next player. There’s no helping friends out in this version!

The gameboards and pieces are comprised of fun, playful illustrations that are brightly colored and sure to grab kids attention. The monster characters, while definitely not the most friendly, are certainly not too scary, so this game can really help conquer kids bedtime fears. In addition to that, they’re learning a lot of introductory skills, including shape recognition, cooperation, and even friendly competition.

About the author

Ali Mierzejewski

Ali Mierzejewski

Ali Mierzejewski is the editor-in-chief at The Toy Insider and The Pop Insider. With more than a decade of industry experience, Ali is a trusted source for parents, gift-givers, manufacturers, retailers, and more on the latest trends and hottest products. Whether you’re shopping for the best toys for kids — or looking for the latest in geek culture and entertainment for yourself — Ali’s expertise has you covered. When she’s not building LEGO sets or unwinding with a puzzle, Ali is obsessing over the latest season of The Bachelor, scrolling through Gritty’s Twitter, or rewatching The West Wing (for the 100th time). She is also a self-proclaimed expert on the history and lore of the entire Bachelor franchise. Ali has been featured on TODAY, The Wendy Williams Show, Yahoo Finance, Fox & Friends, HLN, The Weather Channel, ABC World News Now, and more. You can follow her on Instagram @hashtagtrendy.

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