Wise Alec Family Trivia Game

Wise Alec Family Trivia Game
From Griddly Games

About the game

Hilarious fun with a witty twist!
Have a blast with this award-winning trivia party game! Wise Alec™ takes you back to everything you learned in grade school. With over 1000 questions covering a wide range of interesting topics in History, Science and Spelling, this game is guaranteed to entertain time and time again. Each card features both easy and hard questions – great for leveling the playing field between big and little kids. Pick up a Wise Alec™ card you and your family will laugh the night away as you discover your hidden talents, tie your tongue in knots with tongue twisters, learn basic manners and many other hilarious surprises.

My Thoughts

Are you looking for a family fun trivia game that will help you remember all the information you have read in school?  If so I have the perfect game for you!    It is called Wise Alec and it contains over 1000 questions based on the elementary school curricula in History, Science and Spelling.   Whether you are 8 years old or older this game will challenge you in many ways. 

The objective of the game is simple.    In fact you have three ways you can win!  

1. Be the first person to reach the goal chosen at the beginning of the game.
2. Be the person who has the most points in the amount of time decided at the beginning of the game.
3. Be the first person to reach the point goal decided according to your age or skill level.

When you roll the die it will determine the number of squares you have to move.    You can choose any path as long as it is in the clockwise direction.    If you land on a red, green, or yellow square, you will get a question from the corresponding deck.  Red cards will challenge you on the history, the green on science and the yellow on spelling!    If you land on a blue square, you get to pick which subject to answer.   If you land on an orange square, the player at your right get to choose the subject you have to answer.  Finally, if you land on the Wise Alec square, you pick a Wise Alec card and follow the directions.  These cards are a bit more challenging I find because you can have a tongue twister, a brainteaser, win or loose points, or do some wacky things like doing 10 sit-ups for example (and yes this is one of the challenges in the cards!).

Each card have two options in the points 3 or 7.  Depending of your age and/or skills you can decide to have more challenge in answering questions.  For example here’s a science question for you.

For 3 points –  What are herbivores?

For 7 points – Plants that have stems, roots, & leaves are called what?

You can play up to 6 players which is perfect for our family eventually.   Right now, the younger kids would have more trouble to play alone but we can them up with mom, dad or big brothers.

Wise Alec is definitively a game that I would recommend for homeschoolers.   This game will help you use the information learned in your history, science as well as language arts lessons.    This is a great game to practice your spelling and use your  brain cells to recall things you have learned.    Besides with the wacky things you might have to do with the Wise Alec cards, you can be sure that laughter will be part of your get-together with your family!

The Wise Alec game can also be expanded if you can also purchase some Travel Editions & Expansion Sets – Nature Nuts, Civilize This and  Sports Buffs.

The Wise Alec Family Trivia Game is available for purchase at various stores in the US and Canada. Check their retailers page for more details.  However for Ottawa you can purchase them at G Whillikers located at 3A-1910 St-Laurent Blvd.

Answers to the example of science:   For 3 points the answer was plant eaters and for 7 points the answer was vascular.

Disclaimer: Thanks to Griddly Games for sending me the product for review purpose. I was not monetarily compensated for this review. Please note that the review was not influenced by the Sponsor in any way. All opinions expressed here are only my own.

Wise Alec Sports Buffs Travel Game and Expansion Set

Wise Alec – Sports Buffs Travel Game & Expansion Set
From Griddly Games

About the game

Hey Sports Fans! For extra-curricular fun, challenge your friends with 300 questions to test your knowledge of sports history, athletes, and rules. Two levels of questions on each card let everyone from rookies to veterans play together. Plus, Wise Alec™ cards will have you doing tongue twisters, brain teasers, and fun exercises! No game board means this game is road-ready; no table required!

My Thoughts

Do you have a sport fan in your household?  If so this game would be for him or her.   The Wise Alec – Sports Buffs Travel Game is perfect to play a sports trivia game with friends while waiting for the game on television whether is it hockey, baseball, football, basketball or anything else for that matter.

More than three hundred questions will test your knowledge of sport rules and origins, professional sports as well as amateur sports.   Each card has two questions whether your are a rookie or a veteran.   In our house, we will more than likely pick the rookie questions as the one sporting event we will watch on television is the Olympics!  With the 2012 games in London coming next year, we are getting excited about watching them next summer.

The game is similar to the Wise Alec – Nature Nuts and the Wise Alec - Civilize This versions that I have previously reviewed.   Essentially you roll the die and if you roll a red, green or yellow color, you get a card from the deck of that color.   The red cards consist of question about rules & Origins like for example “Name the 5 rhythmic gymnastics events?” for 7 points.  The green cards will have questions about Athletes & Stats like for 3 points tell “Which basketball coach was known as the Wizard of Westwood?”.   Finally the yellow cards will contain questions on History & Moments like “After retiring as a player with what team did baseball great babe Ruth spend one year as a coach?” which will give you 7 points.

If you are in luck, you can roll a purple and get a Wise Alec card which will make you do exercises, tongue twisters, brainteasers and more.   With these special cards you can win or loose points, get special bonuses and other wacky things…   Here’s an example of a Wise Alec card – “ACTION!  Rub your stomach and pat your head for 5 seconds.  Then do the reverse for 5 seconds.  + 5 points.”

The cards from this game can also be used to expand your own set of Wise Alec™ Family Trivia Game.   This game can be played in different ways.   You decide the point goal or the time limit at the beginning of the game.  However, to make it more challenging, you can stagger the point goals to make it more difficult for the parents and easier for the kids, decide that the older players will only answer the 7 points questions and so on.

The Wise Alex Travel Games are original and concentrate on a specific theme.    I hope that other theme cards will come out in the future like for example geography or anatomy.   That would be fantastic!

The Wise Alec Civilize This! Travel Game and Expansion Set is available for purchase at various stores in the US and Canada. Check their retailers page for more details. However for Ottawa you can purchase them at G Whillikers located at 3A-1910 St-Laurent Blvd.

Disclaimer: Thanks to Griddly Games for sending me the product for review purpose. I was not monetarily compensated for this review. Please note that the review was not influenced by the Sponsor in any way. All opinions expressed here are only my own.

Wise Alec Civilize This! Travel Game and Expansion Set

Wise Alec – Civilize This!
From Griddly Games

About the Game

Cultural trivia with a adventurous twist!

Hello Time Travelers! Explore the world’s cultures across time with the trivia game based on the award-winning Wise Alec™ Family Trivia Game. There are 300 questions to test your knowledge of Ancient, Medieval, and Modern cultures. Two levels of questions on each card let everyone from young scholars to history buffs play together. Plus, Wise Alec™ cards will have you doing tongue twisters, brain teasers, and fun exercises!

The cards from this game can also be used to expand your own set of Wise Alec™ Family Trivia Game.

My Thoughts

As an homeschooler, I am always looking for extra-curriculum products that will strengthen the learning during our lessons.    Well the Wise Alec Civilize This! is the perfect game for history lessons!    The box is easy to carry around if you want to bring it on travel or just to kill some time while waiting at the doctor/dentist.    And this game can easily by included with the original Wise Alec game since not only the Civilize This! is a travel game but and expansion set as well.

I always loved history when I was younger.  I find you can learn so much about the past.   This specific game contains over 300 questions about Ancient, Medieval as well as Modern cultures.    Each card have two levels of question so that younger kids can play as well.   A dice is included in the box.  Depending of the color you roll you will have different cards to pick.   The easy question will give you 3 points while the harder one will give your 7 points.  The Wise Alec cards can add or subtract points from your total.   

Let me give you an example:

From an Ancient card you can read the following question for 3 points: “Ancient Egyptian clothing was mainly made out of what material?”  And the 7 points question is “What was the dark make-up Ancient Egyptians used to line their eyes?”.

A Wise Alec card example would be - TONGUE TWISTER “How many boards could the Mongols hoard if the Mongol hoards got bored?” Repeat 5 times.    This card would give you 5 points if you complete the challenge.

As I checked out the questions asked on the cards, I quickly realized that my history lessons from the past are far away…     But since I am homeschooling my kids I can re-visited Ancient Civilizations with them and learn as well as remember what I had learned.    These days, we are exploring history a little bit more with our homeschooling and I enjoy learning at the same time as them.    The Wise Alex Civilize This! are a great addition fro our homeschool.    They will help to revise what we learned and help us to discover new facts about history.

The Wise Alec Civilize This! Travel Game and Expansion Set is available for purchase at various stores in the US and Canada.  Check their retailers page for more details.  However for Ottawa you can purchase them at G Whillikers located at 3A-1910 St-Laurent Blvd.

Oh and if you are wondering what are the answers of the two sample questions I posted above…  Here’s they are 3 points: linen   7 points: kohl .

Disclaimer: Thanks to Griddly Games for sending me the product for review purpose. I was not monetarily compensated for this review. Please note that the review was not influenced by the Sponsor in any way. All opinions expressed here are only my own.

Chronicles of the Mind

Chronicles of the Mind
From Griddly Games

About the game

Recall, Recount, and Relate!
Break the ice and get talking with this outrageous collection of conversation starters. Or find out how well you really know your family and friends. Share your story, slip in a few fibs, and see how many people you can bamboozle!

This handy deck is perfect for parties, road trips, school, camp, or just hanging out with your friends. There are 4 different ways to play: The Chronicler, Kit & Caboodle, the Gamble, or Bamboozle! It's never the same game twice!

My Thoughts

Are you looking for some ways to break the ice in your Bible study or party?   Well look no more because Chronicles of the Mind will come to your rescue!  

In this game, you will find over 119 topics you can definitively find some great ice breakers or conversation starters.    Anyone can play from young ones to the older generation.   It is definitively a game for a family reunion – Mmmmm!   there is one coming up in 2013 on my mother-in-law side.  Something to pack in our RV when we go!

There are four ways to play with this interesting game.  

In the Chronicler version you pick a card and you share a story based on the category.  

For the Kit n’ Caboodle one person picks a card and the rest of the people have to share a story.  

In the Gambler version of the game, each player received five cards.  Players can “exchange” some cards if they desire.  Then everyone have to share the stories in the categories they have in hand.

The Bamboozle game, you will pick a game and without telling anyone else you can decide to share a true or false story.   Then the other players have to guess if your story really happened or not with their voting cards.

What I particularly  like about this game is that four language are included on each cards – French, English, Spanish and German.   

To give you an idea of the categories included in this game, I will give you some of them…

• Scar story
• Happiest moment
• Idea
• Stuffed animal story
• Fashion mistake
• Favorite school subject

I also find that the quality of the cards are amazing.   The box is quite small and can be packed in a suitcase for a retreat or a trip on a place.

Be prepare to giggle, laugh, cry and even pee in your pants with all the fun you will have with this great ice breaker game.

Chronicles of the Mind can be found in the US and Canada.  Visit their Where to Buy page for more details.

In Ottawa, the game can be found at:

G Whillikers
3A-1910 St. Laurent Blvd
Ottawa, ON K1G 1A4
613.680.8002

Disclaimer: I received the product for review purposes. I was not monetarily compensated for this review. Please note that the review was not influenced by the Sponsor in any way. All opinions expressed here are only my own.

Words of the Wise

Words of the Wise
Created by Griddly Games

About the game

Do your ABC's like you've never done before! Turn your ABC's into a hilarious and challenging game. Pick up a category card from the deck and think fast to find the words to match--alphabetically!
A, B, C might be easy,- see if you can get to X, Y, Z!

There are multiple ways to play. Try it on your own, go head to head, or compete in teams. Pick the one that best suits your group

My Thoughts

When I first read about this game I thought I would be interesting to have for our homeschool.   What a great way to expand your vocabulary while having fun!   Well…  after looking into it a little bit what I thought would be easy for me is a little bit harder than you would think.   It is a fun game but it can be challenging if you are really trying to go through your alphabet with your category.  

What I particularly like with this game is that we can play it in different languages – English, French, Spanish and Dutch.   For our family that means I can play it in English or French.  Eventually I would like to be able to add the Spanish as an option too but we are only at the basis of the language so far.  

So how does it play you might wonder…?   Well it is simple.   You pick a card from the deck (which has been shuffled previously) and each player has to give a word related to the category selected.  The player who can’t pursue the alphabet is eliminated.    The last player standing is the winner.

The categories are numerous has you have a total of 101 category cards included in the game.   Kids ages 10 and up can easily play this and you can play alone or with multiple players.    Words of the Wise is definitively a flexible game!

The box is so small that you can carry it with you when you go visit friends or even travel with your family.   

Wondering how you would do if you would get one of the categories?  How about I give you one just now?   Are you ready?  The category is…… side dishes.   Now please take the time to go through the alphabet and see where you will hit a roadblock.    Can you share your results with me?   Please do so by leaving me a comment.

As a homeschoolers I see enormous possibilities with this game.   It will be challenging but also much fun especially when my kids are a little bit older.    I would also strongly suggest for teachers out there to consider purchasing multiple games for their classrooms and organize a little vocabulary competition.

Words of the Wise is available in the US and Canada.   To see where you can get this game (and other Griddly Games) visit their Where to Buy page.   For my readers in Ottawa, ON go to G Whillikers on St.Laurent Blvd.

Disclaimer: I received the product for review purposes. I was not monetarily compensated for this review. Please note that the review was not influenced by the Sponsor in any way. All opinions expressed here are only my own.

Wise Alec Nature Nuts

Wise Alex – Nature Nuts
By Griddly Games

About the Game
Nature trivia with a nutty twist!
Hello Nature Nuts! Explore the marvels of nature with the trivia game based on the award-winning Wise Alec™ Family Trivia Game. There are 300 questions to test your knowledge of animals, plants, and the Earth. Two levels of questions on each card let everyone from the nature novice to the eco-expert play together. Plus, Wise Alec™ cards will have you doing tongue twisters, brain teasers, and fun exercises!
The cards from this game can also be used to expand your own set of Wise Alec™ Family Trivia Game.

Ages 8+ 2 - 4 players educational, nature, trivia, exercise

About Griddly Games

Griddly Games Inc. was founded in 2007 by a mom from Vancouver, BC, Canada. She took it upon herself to fill the void for quality products that inspired laughter and fun, while promoting healthy and active lifestyles.

Our Thoughts

My ten years old son and I sat down one evening and played this game.  It is a very portable game that you could easily bring at camping, at doctor appointments or on a picnic with your family.  

The game is quite easy to play.  Included in the package you will find a dice which is marked by colored dots.  For each dot you have to select the appropriate card, choose a card of your choice or let the person at the right of you choose a card.   On the animals, plants or Earth cards, you can ask to get the 3 points or the 7 points questions.   You get the answer right, you get the points.  You are wrong… you don’t get anything.   In the Wise Alec cards, you will be challenged to answer questions like:

• oops! your horse passed gas!  - 2 points   - should I mentioned that my son cracked up laughing on this one?   geeez!
• Name 3 reptiles + 3 points – to this I started with snake and Alexandre said “Shouldn’t you name specific ones?”  The challenged was on and I named them…
• Name 5 animals that starts with the letter “m”  + 5 points   - Poor Alexandre, he was able to name four of them; mosquitoes and maggots being some of his words…  He even tried to pass a quick one on me by naming one in French i.e. moustiques which is by the way mosquitoes. 
• Do your best impression of your favourite animal +3 points  - to which Alexandre did a cheetah running real fast. 

I think you get the picture…    These are what I call the “CHALLENGED CARDS” as you never know what you will end up having…

As a bonus, this game can also be incorporated to the Wise Alec Family Trivia Game from Griddly Games.    A wonderful way to expand a game you might already have or just to have fun on a subject you particularly like – in this case nature.

See this little video to visualize the travel game of Wise Alec Nature Nuts.

Alexandre and I were challenged in answering the questions included to this game but I can say that mom won in the end.  We had a great half hour of fun time just the two of us while the younger ones were already in bed.    It was also very instructive as we both learned some facts and discovered information about animals, plants and Earth.    As a French Canadian, I had the right answer in French but didn’t know the proper terminology in English so it was challenging on the language side as well.  But we had fun and plan to play again soon.  And to top it off, I am particularly pleased to discover that Griddly Games is a Canadian company.  

Wise Alec Nature Nuts is a smart game to have for your homeschool as it will cover the science part of it.    I highly recommend it as it is very portable and fun to play with your kids.   It is definitively a great way to use your knowledge and get “tested” on it  while having fun.   *grin*

Wise Alec Nature Nuts is available at your favourite game store, even amazon.com.

Disclaimer: Thanks to Griddly Games for sending me the product for review purpose. I was not monetarily compensated for this review. Please note that the review was not influenced by the Sponsor in any way. All opinions expressed here are only my own.