“Spot it!” and “Dweebies” – our current favourites!

When we went to visit our good friends in Perth this year, we bought three sets of games for their kids. And all of them were great hits! The children were playing with one game or another every day, before dinner time, and even in the car.

One of the games all the kids loved was “Spot it!”. So here we are to tell you more about it, and document the fun times we had, and are still having with it.

Spot It! (S$24.90)

What I love about this game, is that you can learn how to play it in 10 seconds, and there are at least 5 different fun ways to play it.

The fascinating thing about this game is that every and any pair of cards (amongst all 55) has one matching icon.

Sometimes, it’s really hard to spot it, cos the size can differ. (The colours don’t differ though.) Even adults stare and stare and then go, “But I can’t find the match! There can’t be one here!”

But there always is.

See how long you take to spot them in each pair here!

I find that it is one of the few games whereby K doesn’t have that much of an advantage over B, even though they are about 2.5 years apart in age.

B is very good at this game, and once it starts you can almost see the synapses firing away in her little head as she spots the matching symbol.

It comes in a hardy tin, which makes it especially convenient to bring around.

So when we are eating out, whether at the hawker centre or at a cafe, it’s nice to be able to whip the tin out for a quick game, instead of having everyone fixated on a phone screen.

Dweebies (S$16.90)

Dweebies is another card game that’s really easy to grasp. 5 year old B caught on to it in minutes, and all of us liked it so much we have played it every day for a week, and counting!

The premise of the game is simple – there are numerous cute Dweebie characters. Each player starts with 5 cards, plays one card at a time, and scoops up a row of Dweebies if they are bookended by the same character.

Gaps created by cards removed, must be filled by the next person having a turn. This also limits the amount of ‘scheming’ one can do, because your next placement may not be one of choice.

There’s a element of strategy (and memory) too, since tiny dots at the corners of the card indicate how many of each card exists in the entire dect. So if you remember how many have already been played, it will help you decide which card to play next, where.

We realised that if you sense that someone is planning to ‘bookend’ a pile of cards, then you should place a card next to the outermost card to stymie them!

And if you want to minimise the risk of someone making a huge haul, always keep the rows short, and aim for a more squarish pattern.

This game had the girls in peals of laughter as they scooped rows of cards up, and we have since all developed a special affinity for a few Dweebies!

K’s favourite is the “Headband Dweebie”, B’s is the “Rockstar Dweebie”, and mine is the “Spaceman Dweebie”.

The best part about these two games is that I enjoy it too! So it makes for great bonding times after a long day of work. Simple games, cheery colours and fun interactions with my kids. The best way to end a day!

All these and more are available from the local online store My First Games.

Note: We received “Spot It” and “Dweebies” from My First Games for the purpose of this review.