Zingo! Time-telling Game from Think Fun Games: Reviewed

My daughter is 3 1/2 and has never been to preschool or daycare. She is mommy's helper at home with the new baby and in a way, she is unofficially home-schooled. We have not yet decided if she will start preschool at age 4 or just wait and go to Kindergarten at age 5. We like learning through a hands on approach. We think that going to a farm or zoo to learn about animals is just as important as reading about them in a book. We do a lot of reading in this home and we have not introduced her to video games, computer games or electronic gadgets. We feel she is much too young, and traditional board games and imaginative play are always best and really much more fun.

She likes playing games and whenever I see a fun game that has some educational use, I tend to select those for my daughter. I had the opportunity to review a Time Telling game from Think Fun Games. It is called Zingo Time-Telling Board Game.

I like how it is a simple to learn game and has bright colors of red, yellow (almost hinting towards an orange shade), blue, and green. The pieces are large enough for my 3 1/2 year old's small hands to hold easily. The cards remind me of bingo cards and have red on one side and green on the other. The cards are nice looking and seem sturdy. The green side of the playing board is the easier level, which is what we played. You just match numbers on the card to the brightly colored number tiles. The red side is more challenging, and we will need to wait to play that side. You need to know what time the clock is reading in order to know which tile to pick up and place on your board.

My daughter had fun playing with this a few times, and we will try to make it a special weekly learning game. It is intended for ages 5 and up, however I think that ages 3 and up could start playing it to help prepare them for preschool and kindergarten. I think this would be a great game for preschool and kindergarten teachers to have in their play group centers (often there are small areas of the room for activities for small group play). I like how older children can master their time telling skills by using it as a way to sharpen their skills.

Beginner

This game play option is simple matching for those that may not know how to tell time. Children begin to recognize the connection between clock hands and what time it is during their play. This is a great game to teach time and make it fun. I think it is much easier to learn something when it is a hands on approach. Visualizing something also helps.

1. Each player gets a card with 4 clocks. These cards are sturdy and easy for my daughter to hold.
Blue and yellow/(orange?) hands point to the time. The digital time is also shown in blue and yellow/(orange?).

2. Slide the red Zinger machine forward to reveal two tiles - one in hours (blue), one in minutes (yellow). My daughter loved being the Zingo slider ("Dealer").

3. Pick up the tiles that match the blue and yellow digital display numbers on your card.

The first to fill their card completely wins the game. Calling out "Zingo" makes the game even more exciting for little ones.

Advanced

This game option uses traditional clock time reading, so it is important that the players understand minute and hour hands.

1. Each player gets a card with four clocks. Blue and yellow hands point to the time. Digital display spaces are blank.

2. Slide red Zinger machine forward to reveal two tiles - one in hours (blue), one in minutes (yello).

3. This involves reading the clocks, children select tiles that correctly fill in the digital display spaces.

The first to fill their card completely wins! Zingo!


I think the red "Zing Zinger" is clever and makes it even more exciting for little ones. My daughter loved being the "dealer" and moving the Zinger to reveal new number tiles. I recommend this game. It is attractive, fun, sturdy, and educational. It is helpful especially in summer time when it is still bright outside and even though it is 8:00 pm at night, (and light outside) it is bedtime and night. My 3 1/2 year old would tell me it was not her bedtime, and delay getting into bed. Each night she would say, "No, its day time." She has yet to fully understand telling time, so this game will be a big help.


It contains:

1 Red Zing Zinger (Now how fun is that?)
32 Yellow Minute Tiles
32 Blue Hour Tiles
6 Double-sided Zing cards
Instructional Booklet


For grades K-3, ages 5 and up
2-6 players

MSRP: $19.99



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