Froggy Boogie: Eye-popping summer fun

Summer has arrived! Time to get out and have some fun in the sun. Unless, that is, you live where summertime outdoors is far too hot for fun in the sun or any other outdoor spot. Hot places such as in the desert... which is where my grandsons live.

Summers at my grandsons' house often mean finding fun inside rather than out, at least on those days when heat advisories from the National Weather Service prohibit outdoor play.

One game ideal for such times — perfect for play any time, any where, in fact, even outdoors in fair-weather climes — is Froggy Boogie from Blue Orange Games. The all-wooden game carries the tagline "The eye popping, frog hopping, memory game!" It's designed for two to six players, ages 4 and up.

As I'm a long-distance grandma and have not yet had the joy of playing Froggy Boogie with my oldest grandson (who celebrates his fifth birthday in June, putting him in the perfect age range), I'll share with you here a video of the game play:

My grandson adored the last game we received for review from Blue Orange Games (SpotIt!), and Froggy Boogie seems like it 'll be an equally great time. I'll surely bring it along on my next visit — and likely end up leaving it with my grandson, just as I did SpotIt! because he loved it so.

A few of the impressive aspects of the Froggy Boogie game, from a grandma's perspective, include the fact all the game pieces are fully (and finely) crafted of wood. Wooden games harken back to a simpler time and have entertainment value younger kids likely aren't exposed to often anymore. That also means it's sustainably made — a perk for the environment.

Other aspects I appreciate about Froggy Boogie:

• Players focus on memory skills, color identification, fine motor skills.

• Game play time is relatively short, right in line with the attention span of young players.

• Winner of several awards, including FamilyFun Magazine Toy of the Year.

Froggy Boogie has a suggested price of $29.99 and can be purchased from Blue Orange Games (with a 30-day money-back guarantee), as well as from Amazon.com and other game retailers. Blue Orange Games can also be found on Facebook and Twitter.

Disclosure: I received the product free for review. All opinions and anecdotes are my own.

Speedeebee and Spot it Jr.! Animals: Two super fun, super quick family games

My family and friends are big on playing games together. As a kid, playing games as a family just wasn't in the cards. As a mother and grandmother, though, I regularly seek out new games we can enjoy together.

Two new ones recently came my way for review, courtesy of Blue Orange Games.

The first is Speedeebee, a fast-paced word game for 2-6 players, ages 8 and up.

When the game I received free for review first arrived at my door, I shared with my husband during dinner that two new games had been delivered. Once we were through eating, I pulled out the games to show him — and Speedeebee looked like so much fun, we decided to try a quick game right then and there, before even clearing the table.

Quick is the operative word — as in we quickly decided we loved the game and it would be one of the games played with two of our daughters and their boyfriends after Easter dinner .

The game comes in a round tin and has 150 word challenges on 50 game cards. One or more of the four included dice are rolled in accordance with the card play, for challenges such as, "Name something shorter than one inch, starting with one of these letters (throw all 4 dice)" and "Name something that smells bad (to you), containing this letter (throw the die of your choice)."

Even with just two of us playing, the word play was fun... and fast. We decided to go through the entire stack of cards instead of just 20, as recommended in the illustrated rules for play. Still, the game was completed in about 20 minutes. (For the record, I won!).

Here's a look at the game play, courtesy Blue Orange Games:

Speedeebee has won a variety of toy industry awards and recognitions, including The National Parenting Center Seal of Approval. The game can be found where games are sold, online and off, with a suggested price of $14.99.

Speedeebee is the game recently offered for review by the Blue Orange Games representative. When I told her I'd be happy to try it out, she took a look at my blog and — because Speedeebee is made for ages far above the age of my grandsons — she graciously offered a second game to go along, one more appropriate for my grandsons.

The game she sent along was Spot it Jr.! Animals. This one is similar to Speedeebee in that it comes in a tin and features round playing cards. It's intended for 2-6 players, ages 4 to adult. According to the Blue Orange website, the skills tweaked for kids playing include visual perception, reaction time and focus.

I look forward to sharing it with my grandsons when I visit in a couple weeks, but my husband and I couldn't resist playing it, once we opened the tin. Spot it Jr.! Animalsmay be primarily a kid game, but I must admit that my husband and I both got quite the brain workout as we tried to beat one another in matching the animals on our cards to the card in play. (Okay, I admit it: My husband won this one.)

Take a look:

Spot it Jr.! Animals has won awards, too, including being named a "Dr. Toy 10 Best Games." The game has a suggested price of $9.99 and can be found most places games are sold.

Considering the fun they provide as well as their small size (making them perfect to tuck into Easter baskets!), both Speedeebee and Spot it Jr.! Animals would make super gifts for spring-time holidays,  school graduations... or just for the sheer fun of it.

For more information on both games, as well as plenty of other fun-looking family game options, visit Blue Orange Games.

Disclosure: I received the games free for review. All anecdotes and opinions are my own.