Source: Educational Insights/the Toy Insider

Educational Insights‘ award-winning Sneaky, Snacky Squirrel game celebrates its 10th birthday with a special-edition Sneaky, Snacky Squirrel 10th Birthday Edition. This premium edition features fuzzy flocking on Sneaky the Squirrel, gold foiling on the acorns, and a “10 Year Birthday Edition” foil sticker and lettering on the box.

While the game has these deluxe features, it still is the classic game that everyone knows and loves. There have been more than 2 million games sold since its original debut in 2011, and it’s clear why the game is popular: Kids can learn skills that focus on taking turns, color recognition, hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills, and strategic thinking — all while having fun!

The game’s gist is that the Sneaky the Squirrel is hungry and wants to collect all the nuts it can before winter! Players spin the spinner to see which color nut they can pick up as well as how many. Then, they squeeze the Squirrel Squeezer to pick up the acorns and place them into the matching color spot on their log. The first to fill their log with acorns by filling all the colored holes wins! Unless, of course, a windstorm blows all your acorns off your log — or if another squirrel sneaks away one of your acorns.

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The traditional gameplay of Sneaky, Snacky Squirrel is exciting, educational, and engaging. Adults will love that setting up and putting away the game is quick. All the pieces easily store in the collectors’ box. The playtime is brief but makes for a great first board game for kids ages 3-6. They can work on important social skills without too much attending needed for a long game.

Yet, there are alternative ways to play to make the game fit each member of the family’s needs. First, you can skip the gaming component. Let kids using the squirrel squeezer to pick up the acorns and place them on the tree stump — with or without color coordination. This alternative play pattern lets younger players work on fine motor skills without competition. However, add in a competitive aspect by timing each other to see who gets the acorns on the stump in the fastest amount of time. This really works on occupational therapy and builds up confidence for games.

You can also use the board game pieces as a math tool. Add an acorn to the log and ask kids how many acorns are on the stump. What if you added one more? What if you took away three? It is a fun way to work on early math skills.

Another way to play the Sneaky, Snacky Squirrel Game is to make the kids pick up the nuts in the mouth versus the paws of the squeezer paws. It variates the difficulty level. However, if your child is sensitive to gameplay, you can also play without the spinner pitfalls, such as the sneaky squirrel or sad squirrel. To make the game more engaging for older siblings, make each player use the squeezer while standing on one foot or only one eye open for an added challenge.

The Sneaky, Snacky Squirrel Game is one of those games that has great longevity and lots of ways to play. And now, with this special edition, it’s a game to pass down to future squirrels.

About the author

Charlene DeLoach

Charlene DeLoach

Charlene DeLoach is a contributing editor at The Toy Insider where she primarily covers parenting topics. Charlene has been featured in print and on television more than 100 times. Before joining The Toy Insider, Charlene was an attorney, real estate broker, and interior decorator. In her current life, she has vowed to get grownups using toys as decor and to teach parents and toy companies to think outside the toy box at her websites playroomchronicles.com and totaltoycreative.com. Follow Charlene on Instagram where you'll see that her account is mostly dedicated to pics of her cute dogs, kids, and fun finds.

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