We’ve been having record-breaking heat here at the Jersey shore. These four new products (a card game, a STEM/thinking game, a water toy and an art course) will provide you with hours of fun on a hot summer day. Three of the products are easily used indoors, making them perfect for enjoying on those super hot days. And the fourth product is made for outdoors and will cool you off while encouraging good old fashioned play.
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At first glance Build or Boom is just a game with colorful pieces. Once you start understanding how it works you’ll see that it’s a game that encourages analytical thinking. I’ve always felt that kids learn best when they’re having fun and don’t even realize they’re learning!
Build Or Boom
Age 4 Year and older
Number of players: 2
Available for purchase from Walmart or Barnes & Noble
The big boss is looking for the best builders in town! Step in line and see who can be the first to bring the blueprint cards to life. Build your structure quickly yet carefully on your platform. Then SMASH your boomer to send your opponent’s structure tumbling. There’s only room for one builder in this town… do you have what it takes? Or will you get boomed on your way to the top? For 2 players. Ages 4 and up.
Helps build STEM skills such as analytical thinking and shape recognition.
Unique game play that doesn’t need batteries!
High-quality components with bright, vibrant colors.
Game Contents:
4 Boards
4 Blocks
4 Triangles
4 Arches
4 Cones
4 I-Beams
4 Barrels
2 Builders
30 Blueprint Cards
2 Platforms
2 Boomers
2 Air Hoses
1 Card Holder
Complete Instructions
Stuff Happens is a card game that calls for some thought and discussion, making it ideal for home or travel. I thought the players would get to rank or score the situations but they have already been determined so the game is a bit of guess work and a bit of luck.
Stuff Happens Card Game
Age 13 Year and older
Number of players: 2 – 12
Available for purchase on Amazon and at Walmart
Fun for the whole family! Giggle your way through a gaggle of disasters
You’re going to read some really messed up stuff on these cards, and then rank them based on how bad they really are. Is a 3rd degree sunburn better or worse than seeing your father naked? Is it worse than dropping your phone in the toilet? Rank the card, and if our Misery Index agrees with you, you get to keep it. Correctly rank 10 cards and you win.
Game Contents: 200 PG-13 friendly (but still pretty awful!) Stuff Happens event cards and PG-13 friendly instruction manual
Zoom Ball Hydro is perfect for kids to get outside and cool off or cool down. I like that it’s an outdoor toy, encouraging kids to get out there and move around.
Zoom Ball Hydro
For 2 players, ages 8 and up
Available for purchase on Amazon
Get ready to have H2-Oh so much fun with the Zoom Ball Hydro! Hold on to one set of handles, while your friend holds the other. Open your arms quickly to send the Zoom Ball over to your friend! Be ready to send the Zoom Ball back- you never know when the balloons will pop, and soak you in water!
The Goliath Games Zoom Ball Hydro features 1 Zoom Ball Hydro and 25 water balloons.
You can learn more about these games and many others on the Goliath Games website. You can also keep up with Goliath Games on social media, on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
Manga is so popular, with children, teens and even adults. This book encourages people to express themselves artistically and creatively, and helps introduce them to a popular type of media.
Draw Manga
Paperback: 128 pages
Publisher: IMM Lifestyle Books; First edition (August 13, 2018)
ISBN-10: 1504801016
ISBN-13: 978-1504801010
Cover price $14.99
Purchase on Amazon
This step-by-step manga art course for beginners makes it simple to learn the creative techniques behind the most popular Japanese comic style. One hundred and forty color illustrations, plus easy-to-follow directions, are divided into three sections: basic tutorials; how to turn raw ideas into finished comics; and projects from the masters, with exhaustive detail on producing professional-grade artwork. Draw Manga covers not only traditional media such as colored markers, pencils, and watercolors , but also computer-generated manga. And there’s advice on special techniques for drawing the distinctive eyes and hairstyles that are the genre’s hallmark, as well as on character creation, developing a first sketch, using color and motion, sequencing, pacing, and more.
You can learn more about this book and many others on the Fox Chapel Publishing website. You can also keep up with Fox Chapel Publishing on Facebook and Twitter.
Which of these four things do you think would be a hit at your house on a hot summer day?
These all look like a lot of fun. Sometimes, you just want to stay inside on a hot day, but if you do go out, it should involve water. I think my kids would love all of these.
Anything outdoors when it’s a scorcher should involve water. We live outside when it’s summer out, but these will be great for down time.
I can attest to zoom ball b/c we have that and my son loves it. However, he can only play with it outside. The other games seems cool so I may check those out.
Awesome ideas for the summer! It’s always nice to have fun with the whole family and these games will definitely help. For the little artists, that draw your own manga is pretty awesome!
Those are great ideas – I hadn’t heard of any of these before. While we love summer, some days are just too hot to really function, and it’s nice to have some ideas to stay cool (and sane!).
These all sound entertaining. I definitely want to pick up Stuff Happens for family game night. Sounds like a hoot!
The Stuff Happens board game is SO something that’s up my alley. Would love to play it with my friends – I’ll make it a dinner party night!
I would like that draw manga for myself, so I would have to make sure my nephews don’t see it or they’d borrow it, and I would never get it back! 🙂
Water toys–yes!
The game Stuff Happens looks like a really fun one to play with older/grown kids. I am gong to get that so we can ROFL on our weekend game nights.
The Zoom Ball Hydro looks like fun! My kids would have great times playing with that. I’m also interested in getting that game “Stuff Happens.” Thanks for sharing this list!
These all look amazing! That zoom ball looks amazing! I know my kids would love to play with this and have a blast!