University Games UG-01318 Five Little Monkeys Jumping On The Bed Game

This is a fun game to play with my 4-year-old sometimes and she does enjoy it, but we both lose interest quickly. It's hard to say exactly why, but I think it has to do with all the steps you have to do with each turn, and those steps feel a little arbitrary. First you spin, then you count spaces and put your monkey piece down, then you do the action associated with square, then take a token, then you put the monkey(s) on the bed, then you press down the button to see if it will pop, and all the while you keep track to see when someone wins. Oh, and after it pops you have to remember to push the bed down again to reset it. I find myself having to move the play along, 34;Okay, now do this and now do this, and now do this,34; just like I have to do in the real bedtime routine that the game simulates. 34;Brush your teeth already!34; It seems to lack that magical andnatural sense of cadence that makes a child want to keep playing some games. Note, my child LOVES playing all kinds of games. I know I'm being nit picky, but the first time we were playing it, I kept forgetting steps. I thought maybe my mind was just wandering (you know how it is playing mindless child games, ha) but it goes that way every time and I find myself wondering, 34;what's the point of this step?34; Maybe it feels a bit contrived. Anyway, props for cute graphics and a fun premise. Minus two stars for feeling like work to shepherd the game along.

It seems very difficult to get the monkeys, and way too easy to get all the little 'action' chips. I was a little disappointed. Game is made well, game play can be improved.

cheaply made

Purchased this to play with my 4-year old grand-daughter. It's okay, kind of a fun game but it doesn't hold her attention very long when played based on the instructions. She prefers to take turns placing the monkeys on the bed and pressing the button to see if they 34;jump34; rather than taking the little disks and spinning the spinner to see how many spaces to move. A little older child or a less active child might be content to sit and play as the instructions say, but it's a little slow moving for younger or very active children in my opinion.