Refresh the grandkids' #stayhome game night options (review)

While Covid-19 and all that goes along with it has had unprecedented negative impact on much of 2020 so far — and seems likely to continue doing so — there are a few positive things to come from the mess and distress. One of those is renewed interest in family game night and board games in general.

That said, as stay-home orders and advice will likely (for good reason) continue for some time to come, the stack of games our grandkids turn to for entertainment are in dire need of refreshing. Goliath Games and Pressman Toy come to the rescue with five new options, all sent to me free for review and to share my thoughts with you.

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Extend summer fun with Pressman Toy and Goliath Games (review)

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Though school bells beckon in the distance, there's still a fair share of summertime to spare. Why not gather the grands and try your hands at these six entertaining options for school-age kids and older?

I received the six following toys and games from Pressman Toy and Goliath Games free for review, and my review buddy, James, and I had a blast putting each to the test.

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Coming soon from Goliath Games: Pop Rocket (game review)

Game play is a given any time my grandkids and I get together. Despite last month's visit from my grandsons being their shortest stay ever, we still successfully fit in not only game time, but game review time.

Mere days before my desert-dwelling grandsons arrived at my door, I received a package from Goliath Games with new options for family fun launching at all major retailers this fall. First up for review by Brayden, Camden, Declan, and their Colorado-based cousin, James: Pop Rocket, featuring the intriguing tag line, Catch the most stars when he pops to win! 

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Greedy Granny from Goliath Games (game review)

Stereotypes of grandmas abound, and there's none more stereotypical than the star of Greedy Granny, the new offering from Goliath Games. Granny of the game is pin-curl coiffed, dons granny glasses, a lace-collared dress, and knee-high socks with pink slippers. She's wrinkled about the mouth and forehead and wears dentures that fly from her mouth when startled. She naps in a recliner, arthritic hands clutching the arms.

She's the stereotypical grandma caricature of comics and cartoons and commercials created by folks who apparently haven't seen a real grandma in several decades. A kind of grandma I can't imagine any child born in the past 30 years has ever seen, as grandmas are nothing like the stereotype. Or like Greedy Granny.

That said, it's silly to get one's grandma briefs in a bunch over the depiction, as Greedy Granny — stereotype or not — was surely innocently crafted for nothing but fun. And fun the game definitely is.

Click to read the review...

Retro '90s games your '80s and '90s kids will get a kick out of

Long, long ago, in what now seems an alternate universe, I had three daughters living at home, three daughters attending elementary school. Computers in the classroom were new, our home computer even newer. Games on both were DOS-based. And they. were. awesome. Especially in the pixel-dazzled eyes of my daughters.

At school, my girls and their friends clamored for computer time. Oregon Trail time, in particular. They so enjoyed attempting to survive the oft-deadly challenges of the trail west at school that we purchased the game — on 3.5-inch disk... or perhaps it was a 5.25-inch floppy — to play at home.

My girls (and my husband) spent hours at the screen hunting, scavenging, escaping bears, and crossing rivers as they traversed the seemingly never-ending Oregon Trail. Sometimes successfully, sometimes...

Continue reading the review in Grandma's Back Room...