A New Board Game That Has Us All Hooked!

“This shop is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group® and EQtainment, but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #Qsracetothetop http://my-disclosur.es/OBsstV”

As a family, we love playing Board Games; in fact, we started playing board games with our daughter when she was 2, and now even our 1 year old is joining the bandwagon. Board games are a wonderful way to channelize your thoughts and energy, and the bountiful games that are available in market these days ensure that your children actually learn a lot by playing these games, all while having fun along the way. For us, usually Friday nights are board-game nights. I have seen a lot of kids who are older than my daughter, and they still don’t have the patience to sit through a board game. While I have nothing against them, both me and my husband strongly believe that this is a skill that’s very essential, its part of a child’s emotional development to be able to sit through a long game, understand and follow instructions, exercise his brain to think and strategize and also develop the acumen to anticipate the opponent’s moves and intentions. I agree, games should be chosen according to your child’s age and interest, you don’t want to force them to do something that will throw them off, and thereby make them averse to the concept of playing. So start with something small, simple and popular, and you will see how they evolve to be critical thinkers and patient contenders over time, ready to tackle life’s real challenges with a smile!

As a mom, I am constantly looking out for new board games for my daughter, and recently I came across Q’s Race To The Top, a new board game developed by EQtainment. For those of you who don’t know them, EQtainment helps kids practice emotional intelligence through fun and affordable games, storybooks, and videos. EQ, or Emotional Quotient, as some of you might know it more popularly, is just as important as IQ – it pertains to all the important skills that a person should possess outside of their IQ or academic education, such as self control, motivation, empathy, and social skills. Studies have shown that having a high emotional quotient boosts career success, relationship satisfaction, leadership skills, health, humor, and happiness. As part of their Kickstarter campaign, Q Wunder has come up with this new board game which I think is brilliant, because by combining fun physical movements with important life skills, all co-ordinated on a game board, they help educate your children in a really fun way!

Physical Challenges
The cute board game card looks similar to Snakes & Ladders, but is more colorful. At each step, you draw a card, which can be a physical challenge or an emotional question that your child has to answer. My daughter loved the physical movement cards, especially the ones like jumping backwards on one leg, or imitate that you are sitting on a chair in 10 different motions. Have you ever tried log-rolling like a bear, or jump up and down like a shooting star? Some of these activities are really challenging even for adults, like rubbing your belly in one direction with one hand while tapping your head with the other hand – seriously, try it – both me and my husband had such a hard time doing this and it made my daughter laugh out loud! Its a nice way to get up on your feet and get some easy exercise.

Emotional Challenges
The emotional question cards are a wonderful way to introduce your kids to feelings and emotions and social etiquette. The open-ended questions like “How are you different from your sibling? IS it good to be different?” or “Why should you tell the truth” or “What are you most afraid of? What do you do when you are afraid?”- these are targeted to address valuable life lessons. They also help you know if there’s anything going on in your child’s lives, or how they would react to new, freaky, or sensitive situations, and your answers will guide them to react in an appropriate way. And the fact that its a mix of fun movements with intriguing questions thrown along the way makes it enjoyable, rather than boring for a child. We addressed some key values like being sensitive to your friends’ troubles, empathizing with others, how to tackle fears, how to talk to your elders, why are rules important, and many more which you’ll only know once you play the game.

Social Etiquette
Besides the above challenges, there is a third set of cards called the ‘Q CARDS’ which throw questions that allow the players to advise the monkey, Q, on what he should do in various social situations with friends and family, thereby letting them practice good manners, coping skills, and adopting a positive attitude.

And the book that comes along with it makes a great bedtime story. It’s about Q, an adorable and genius monkey that doesn’t understand the social behaviors of his human family, and how he learns to behave with them over time. I strongly believe that playing this game multiple times and reading the book will definitely improve your child’s social skills and address behavioral questions that flounder their little minds! Watch this video about Q’s Race To The Top and see how fun it can be. And then go ahead and order this game for your child! Sofia Dickens, the creator of this wonderful board game needs your support as part of the Kickstarter Project. Click that link to get more information about the game and the project.

So, this is our current favorite Board game that is making the rounds on Friday nights. You gotta play it to believe it, and see for yourself why it has us all hooked! What are some of your kids’ favorites? Please do share via comments below!