Nothing brings the family together quite like family game night. Toy Insider Mom Laurie Schacht stopped by the offices of Family Circle magazine to show off some of the best games for the whole family to play along. For more on the products featured in this segment, check out the notes below, and be sure to view our complete holiday gift guide.
Box & Balls - It’s a rolling, bouncing, banking, stacking, and nesting game!
- With dozens of playing options, this classic-looking set of 8 wooden nesting boxes and eight bouncy balls is awesome at home or away.
- Set yourself seemingly impossible challenges with the boxes; everything is more gun with bouncy balls!
- Ages: 5+
- MSRP: $32.95
- Available: fatbraintoys.com
SHABOOM!- 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
- Available: Amazon, Target, Toys “R” Us
Rubik’s Race (University Games)
- Shake it, slide it, solve it!
- Shake the Scrambler to create a new Rubik’s pattern. Slide the tiles to match the pattern on your board to the pattern in the Scrambler. Then, solve it!
- It’s the ultimate two-player Rubik’s challenge.
- The first player to complete the match and slam down the center frame wins.
- Contains game base and center frame, 48 colored tiles, Scrambler, nine colored mini cubes, and instructions.
- Ages: 7+
- MSRP: $19.99
- Available: Amazon, Toys “R” Us, Barnes & Noble
- 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
- 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
LEGO Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them Story Pack (Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment)
- The Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them Story Pack will provide a complete movie-based gameplay experience with six action-packed levels and new LEGO Gateway bricks to build the Magical Congress of the United States of America atop the LEGO toy pad.
- Players can build Newt Scamander LEGO minifigure and help him find his escaped magical creatures in New York City and use a variety of spells, including Diffinfo, Reparo, and Lumos.
- The pack will also come with a 3-in-1 Niffler which can be rebuilt into the Sinister Scorpion and Vicious Vulture.
- Ages: 7+
- MSRP: $49.99
- Available: Amazon, Target, Toys “R” Us, Walmart
- Illuminate the night with the Firetek Zyclone Zing-Ring Blaster!
- Load the Flyer on the hand-held launcher, pull back, twist and watch the Flyer light up the night, traveling up to 100 feet!
- The Zing-Ring Flyers are constructed of soft, durable foam for a safe spin and cool catches with amazing accuracy.
- This incredible blaster brings amazing fun with a twist!
- Ages: 6+
- MSRP: $29.99
- Available: Target
Mini Arcade Games (The Bridge Direct)
- Pac-Man and Space Invaders are back!
- The new line of Mini Arcade Games features classic arcade games, such as Pac-Man and Space Invaders.
- These adorable arcade games are mini-sized with real-time game play. Use the joystick to move around the maze, but watch out for the ghosts of Pac-Man!
- Beat the invasion with the joystick and move the laser cannon across the screen on Space Invaders to fire at the aliens!
- Ages: 8+
- MSRP: $19.99
- Available: Amazon, Toys “R” Us, Walmart
Skylanders Imaginators (Activision Publishing)
- Skylanders Imaginators gives kids the power to create Skylanders and bring them to life for the first time in an all-new adventure with a compelling storyline, puzzles, battles, and a new lineup of heroes and villains.
- Skylanders Imaginators introduces a new toy type — a Creation Crystal. This vessel allows players to create and transport their unique Skylanders to consoles at anytime, anywhere! Creation Crystals are elementally aligned. Portal Masters can create one character per Creation Crystal.
- Skylanders Imaginators introduces new guest stars to Skylanders called Senseis. Skylanders
- Senseis include 20 new characters, including Crash Bandicoot, and 11 former villains
- Ages: all ages
- MSRP: $74.99
- Available: Amazon, Target, Toys “R” Us
