Posted on Romancing the Book's blog
Reviewed by Sarah L.
Review Copy Provided by the Publisher

Play These Games is the perfect handbook for those looking for inexpensive, easy to play games for a variety of ages and number of players. This book would have been a lifesaver for me the summer I was the games instructor at my son’s day camp or even back when I had my own in-home daycare. Each game has good detailed instructions including how many players, a brief overview of the game, materials needed, prep work and how to play. While the illustrations are fairly basic, they are still easily understandable.

The games are broken down by categories such as balloons, hula hoops, paper, cardboard boxes, etc. Each category starts off with interesting tidbits about the main item. For example, did you know that “early balloons were made from dried animal bladders”? The book is filled with lots of fun, interesting facts. Most of it probably could be called useless trivia but the kids and I got a huge kick out of it.

The book kind of reminded me of the game show Minute to Win It. I like how basic everyday stuff around the house was used in fun and unique ways. One thing I would have liked to have seen included was alternate directions for some of the games involving lots of players so they could be adapted to smaller groups. Some categories like balloons seemed to have mostly games for 3+ players but buttons however were geared more for 1 or 2 players.

Finally, I like the variety of skill levels throughout. Some games such as balloon battle or house of books were pretty basic but some like the pinball machine and mini foosball were much more elaborate and will be tackled sometime in the future. My family’s favorite so far is indoor tennis. ( )

There's 104 days of summer vacation, And school comes along just to end it, So the annual problem for our generation, Is finding a good way to spend it, Like maybe...." This is the beginning of the opening theme song to Phineas and Ferb on The Disney Chanel. If you have kids or work with kids there is a good chance you are familiar with this cartoon. If not, you should look it up. It's actually very entertaining for a kid's show. However you might be asking yourself what the cartoon and Play These Games have in common. Well, just like the cartoon you might be wondering what to do on your (kids) summer vacation. Heather Swain has some pretty good ideas in this book. "101 Delightful Diversions Using Everyday Items." This is one of the things I like best about this book. These games use everything from balloons, paper, buttons, books, and much much more. Even if you do need to go out and buy a few items, it won't be that expensive. Swain also introduces new variations to classic games such as tag and ping pong. Swain also gives facts about the materials mentioned in this book to go along with the games. You can play these games with just a few kids or a larger group. These games are easy to play with minimal preparations. This book would be great year round for rainy days or birthday parties. This is a great book to have to get the kids out from in front of the television/video games. The only danger in this book is having too much fun! ( )