Children's

Pop Belly has some interesting gameplay mechanics that should make it appeal to children, but it is just too simple for adults.

While Labyrinth Treasure Hunt should work well with younger children, the game is too simple for adults.

Become part of a group of acrobats as they try to raise their “Mama” higher and higher into the air. Carefully add another piece to the bottom in order to raise the tower. Make sure not to tip over the tower though and drop Mama. Don’t Drop Mama has some interesting gameplay mechanics but it gets boring pretty quickly.

In 1964 and 1965 a children’s gameshow called Shenanigans aired on ABC. In order to cash in on the show, Milton Bradley made a board game about the show. While the game had some potential, too many of the games rely entirely on luck.

Robo Force, a failed toy line from 1984, got a memory matching card game. Like most childrens memory matching games, the Robo Force card game is too easy for adults. Children with an interest in robots may enjoy the game quite a bit though.

XLR8 is a 2008 card game made by The United States Playing Card Company that is supposed to combine math with racing card game. XLR8 ends up being a boring broken card game.

Stampede! is a frantic card game created as part of Gamewright’s 12 Minute or Less line of games. Unfortunately the game is pretty boring for adults and may be too hard for younger children.

In 2007 Buffalo Games released the children’s card game Monster Maker. While way too simple for an adult audience, I think Monster Maker could be enjoyed by children who like the monster theme.

Fleas on Fred is another game in a long line of games from the early 1990’s that implement weird gameplay mechanics in order to appeal to children. While the game should be enjoyable for children, due to its’ easy difficulty level, the game is nothing more than a curiosity for adults.

Growing up in the early 1990’s I have fond memories of playing Grabbin’ Grasshoppers when I was young. After so many years the question becomes how well has the game held up? I think the game would still be quite fun for children, but it is only a quick distraction for adults.