Say cheese! Or spell cheese, to be exact.

Cheese Dip, an educational game from PlayMonster, helps teach kids ages 3 and up basic spelling skills through sneaky mice hungry for cheese.

The object of the game is to spell out a word by looping one of the mice’s long, thin tails into the holes of the cheesy letters to pick them up out of the bowl they were haphazardly dropped into. The first person to collect all the letters needed to spell out their word is the winner—or, the big cheese, if you will.

To start each player chooses one of the four colorful mice: purple, blue, red, or green. Then, each player draws a card that shows which word he or she will need to spell to win.

The cards are double-sided with eight sets of five words in different colors. Each color is a different difficulty level for putting words together. The green, pink, and red cards are shorter words with pictures, and the brown, orange, blue, and yellow cards are longer words that don’t include pictures. This makes it easier for kids to play at their own learning level and also helps to set the amount of time dedicated to each round. The shorter the word the players have to spell, the less time it takes to complete a game.

The youngest player then rolls the included die, and whichever color it lands on is the mouse who gets to attempt to sneak some cheese first.

The game is easy to follow and looping the mouse’s tail through the holes shouldn’t cause any frustration because of how seamlessly they fit together. Still, there are a few tricks kids can use while they play to help them with the game. To start, they shouldn’t try to spell the word in order and should first pick up the letters near the top of the pile. They can also use their mouse’s tail to gently nudge some letters out of the way to reach the ones they need.

Kids also don’t necessarily need a group to play the game. They can practice on their own and simply draw cards themselves. Even if they aren’t playing competitively, kids can still learn to spell basic words through the repetition of going through the different cards. Because the words are so simple, they might not be stimulating for older kids, but they can still enjoy the tense turns spent trying to pick up letters without dropping them.

Whether they play with a group of friends or on their own, kids can enjoy the tension-filled turns similar to a game of Jenga while they learn how to spell. This educational game feels more like fun than it does like learning, which makes it all the more appealing for younger kids.

About the author

Casey Holland

Casey Holland

archivearrow-chevron-downarrow-chevron-left-greyarrow-chevron-leftarrow-chevron-rightarrow-fatarrow-left-blackarrow-left-whitearrow-right-blackarrow-rightarrow-roundedbookscalendarcaret-downclose-whiteclosedocumenteditorial-archiveeyefacebook-squarefacebookfilesgifthamburgerheadinghearthomeinstagram-squareinstagramlatestlinkedin-squarelinkedinmailmedia-inquiresmessagenewsopen-boxpagination-leftpagination-rightpauseplayprintproduct-archiverecent-productssearchsharesort-filterspotifysunteamtiktoktime_purpletimetrendingtvtwitter-squaretwitteryoutube