L C R

Subject: General
Category: Preschool
Ages: 5 and up
# of players: 3 or more
Time to play: 20 minutes
Mechanics/Game Type: dice rolling

Ratings (1 to 5)

Educational Value: 2
Gaming value: 1

Aesthetic value: 3
Price value: 3
Ease of play: 5
Younger adaptability: 4

My comments: Left Center Right is a game that requires each person to know the difference between their left and their right and that is precisely why I purchased it. While I don't think the game is intended for preschoolers, I categorized it that way because it is really great for anybody who needs practice figuring out their left from their right, like my 4yo who just received it in her Christmas stocking.

You can purchase this game in a tube or a tin although I have found the tube to be less expensive and even better, I'm sure you can figure out how to make a version of your very own for next to nothing. The components include 3 dice, each one with an L, an R, a C and 3 dots on the remaining three sides as well as about 20-25 small poker or bingo chips. There is absolutely no strategy involved in playing this game, it is merely rolling the dice and passing your chips either to the left, right or into the center pot. Again, good for the preschooler who needs directional practice and who just needs time playing something that requires him to follow instructions.

Because it is so compact and is quick to play, you can get it out while waiting at the doctor's office or the airport or while waiting for the next game to start.

BoardGameGeek.com link to this game:http://boardgamegeek.com/game/3522

Corduroy's Birthday Games

Subject: Preschool
Category: Colors and Shapes
Ages: 3 to 6
# of players: 1 or more
Time to play: 10 minutes
Mechanics/Game Type: Pattern Recognition

Ratings (1 to 5)

Educational Value: 4
Gaming value: 4
Aesthetic value: 4
Price value: 4
Ease of play: 5
Younger adaptability: 3

My comments:
This is such a good quality made game from Ravensburger, I really love it for my wee ones. I have played it with each of my children when they were learning their colors and shapes and the game is still in excellent condition after 7 years of use! There are ten different variations of the game so you can really keep the toddlers coming back to this one.

Ravensburger says this game is for 3 -10 year olds, I have to disagree with that range. A ten year old would not be interested. This is strictly for the preschool/kindergarten crowd so I have adjusted the age range in the description. There are some small tokens that present a choking hazard but you can easily play this with a two year old if you play the non-competitive games which do not use the tokens.


BoardGameGeek.com link to this game:
http://boardgamegeek.com/game/21192