Wii Super Mario Bros Party Pack Giveaway!

Do you love word games?  I do and so does my family.  When I first heard about the game Dabble, I thought it would be a good fit for our family.  Dabble is a fast thinking word game that has won many awards including

• Dr. Toy’s 10 Best Games 2011
• Dr. Toy’s 100 Best Children’s Products 2011
• Creative Child Magazine’s Word Game of The Year 2011
• Top 10 Play Advances Language (PAL) Award Winner 2011
• Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Seal Award 2011
• Parents’ Choice Gold Award 2011
• The Washington Post Great Games for 2011
• The Noise on Toys Award of Excellence

The rules of the game are very simple.  Each player selects 20 lettered tiles.  The first person to spell 5 different words (2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 letter words) within five minutes is the winner!  To score each round, the player tallies the points from each of the unused tiles left by his or her opponents.  The first player to score 100 points wins the game.

I played this game with my 18 and 12 year old daughters.  My 18 year old daughter was a wiz at it!  At first, it was difficult to use all the tiles in one round.  According to the rules, if no player finishes in the first round, players can exchange some of their tiles for new tiles and a second round is started.  The first time we played it took as three rounds to finish.  The next game, I let each player take two additional tiles for a total of 22.  Since we only had to use 20 of the tiles, this gave us enough flexibility to complete the challenge in one round.  For scoring, we allowed each player to discard two of his unused tiles before tiles were counted.

I also have a nine year old son and even this addition proved a little too hard for him.  However, here are some suggestions to make this game enjoyable for younger players as well:

• Omit the 5 and/or 6 letter word requirement
• Omit the timer
• Let the younger player(s) choose 5 additional tiles

Welcome to the Trick or Treat Halloween Hop hosted by Tales From the Nursery, Formula Mom, and Mama on a Green Misson. Trick-or-Treat to each blog and enter to win fabulous prizes! The linky below will take you to each blog in the hop.

Here at The Shopping Duck I am giving away two fabulous games from Simply Fun! These games will make great holiday gifts!

Grabbage & More!

This fun paced card game for ages 8 & up puts you in teams of two to try and get four of a kind. However, your partner is the one that must announce when you have the set. How do they do this? When you give them a secret signal such as a wink, nod or hand movement. Be careful! Others can catch you and then you lose! Also included in the set are cards that let you play ten family fun games such as Scum, Spit, Slap and Bust.

Take Your Pick II

This fun party game lets you get to know your guests! Each of the cards have two different options, you choose which best fits you and the rest of the guests get to guess. The most correct guesses wins! Players: 3-8, Ages: 10 and Up (although I think younger kids might be able to get in on the fun as well).

To win these two great games, fill out the Rafflecopter form below. Remember to follow the links at the end of the post to enter more giveaways!

Disclaimer:
Please note that Tales From the Nursery, “Trick or Treat Halloween GiveawayHop” or the “Trick or Treat Halloween Giveaway Hop” bloggers are not responsible for sponsors that do not fulfill their prizes. We have represented each sponsor with the expectation they will fulfill their prize and in a timely manner. We will contact the sponsor regarding your prize(s). The sponsors, in most cases, are shipping their items to you directly. We will make every effort to assist you obtaining your prize. If there is an issue with a sponsor, please notify the blog you won a prize from within 30 days for assistance, after that we may be unable to assist you.

We were fortunate to be invited by BzzAgent to host a Cars2 Video Game Party at my house! We invited friends and family to come and experience the new video game from Disney. The kids got to play the game, eat snacks and watch the original Cars movie.

Cars2: The Video Game is based on the Disney-Pixar animated film. During the game you get to choose your character and train to become a world class spy at the international training center, C.H.R.O.M.E. (Command Headquarters for Recon Operations and Motorized Espionage). During game play, the players take on dangerous missions, compete in racing events and use spy skills in combat racing and battle arenas. The game is either single or multiplayer with up to four players.

You can choose between 20 different characters including, Mater, Lightning McQueen, Finn McMissile and Holley Shiftwell. You get to perform cool maneuvers such as backwards driving, air tricks and two-wheel driving.

The game is made for the following platforms: Nintendo Wii, Playstation 3, XBox 360, Nintendo DS and PC/Mac/Linux/Unix.

The kids had a great time playing the game. Since only four kids could play at one time, we switched it up a bit and had snacks and a movie at the same time. Even my older daughter who is 12 had a great time playing the game. My son really loved the missions and all the characters that you could choose from. He even showed me the car tricks that he could do!

All the attendees at my party received a $5.00 off coupon for the Cars 2 video game, but I saved a few for my readers! If you would like a coupon (good at Toys R Us), please leave a comment below and I will send you one (I only have a few left). The Coupons expire on August 31st, so if you want one, I will mail it in the next day or two to ensure you get it one time.

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment is released a new video game this August: Ready, Set, Grover (with Elmo)! This educational game for Wii for Nintendo DS promotes healthy habits for life including physical activity, good nutrition, hygiene and rest and relaxation. The directions are easy to follow and as a parent you can even use a second Wii Remote to drop-in and assist your child if needed. The game is designed Sesame Workshop’s “Healthy Habits for Life” initiative. This initiative helps young children and their caregivers establish healthy habits that can last a lifetime, Ready, Set, Grover! reinforces these messages.

Both game versions come with accessories to make the game easy to play for young children. The Wii game comes with a Grover Wii Remote character cover to minimize unnecessary buttons. The Nintendo DS version including a Grover Jumbo Click Stylus which makes it easier for a child to grip and play.

The game revolves around Grover, who sets out to create challenges to help his Sesame Street friends be more active. Elmo and Abby participate in these challenges such as jumping over obstacles, rowing a boat or playing “Grover Says.” At the same time, they are learning about healthy habits. This short YouTube video gives you a preview of the game:

Win It!

I have one copy of the game Ready, Set, Grover! to give away to one lucky reader! You can choose either the Wii version or Nintendo DS version. Open to US Residents only. Follow the directions in the Rafflecopter form below.

Monkey Quest is Nickelodeon’s new multiplayer online game that is free to play. The game is set in the World of Ook where brave young monkeys can follow in the footsteps of the Monkey King to defeat evil in the land of Ook. Each player gets to create their own monkey to play in the game. As you move around the game, you are challenged to complete tasks. After each task is complete you earn levels. At level ten, you can team up with other players in the game to complete tribal quests helping each other along the way.

You can play Monkey Quest for free, but you get more opportunities if you become a member. You can purchase membership for a single month, three months or a whole year. As a member you receive special perks including: unlimited trails, special abilities, weekly bananas, crafting recipes and collectible items.

If you hurry, you can buy a $25 Nickelodeon Game Card at Toys R Us AND receive $15 Free Game Play on Monkey Quest! That is like getting one free month of membership or 500 NickCash! Offer expires August 8, 2011. You must active your gift card by this date.

What I Liked:

I set down with my son and we created an account on Monkey Quest. I loved the graphics and how easy it was to move your monkey in the game. It was easy to find tasks to complete and travel the World of Ook. My eight year old son really enjoyed playing the game. He made a few friends and complete four or five tasks. He could have kept playing this game for hours, but he has a limit on his computer time.

I have a Monkey Quest Prize Pack to giveaway to one lucky reader! Included in the prize pack is a Monkey Quest Tote Bag, T-Shirt, Cap and an Insider’s Guide to Monkey Quest. Open to US Residents only. The first entry is mandatory. Visit the Monkey Quest website and tell me why your child would love playing Monkey Quest! Use the Rafflecopter form below to complete all entries.

My kids were invited to play an new online computer game – Time Island. Time Island is a new virtual world. In this world, you learn how to survive. You can play games and meet kids from all over. You can even create tribes with your new island friends. When you first visit Time Island, you create an avatar. It is free to join, but you must provide a parent email address to get access to the game.

My kids both open accounts on Time Island and had a great time exploring the island. The formed a tribe with each other and played some fun games. As you move around Time Island you lose some of your energy. Energy can be refilled by keeping your avatar clean, making sure your avatar eats and keeping your hut clean and warm.

Your hut can be furnished with items that you buy from the stores located around the island. Stores are specific to certain items, you may need to visit more than one store to find what you are looking for! You can buy items by accumulating Time Chips. You will receive Time Chips for completing games and progressing on the island. You can also be assigned tasks to complete which will appear as messages in a pop-up window or sent to you via your Media Wizard. You will be able to earn equipment, energy or Time Chips by completing an assignment.

Time Island strives to keep this environment safe, however, reminding your children that they should never reveal any personal information to others is a good idea. Also, please tell your children that any avatar that uses inappropriate language or is rude or insults them should be reported by clicking on the person’s avatar and clicking on “Report for Bad Behavior.”

Win It!

Sign Up your child for a Time Island account, it is fast, easy and free! Here is the prize pack that your child could win:

I picked up the Dicecapades Board Game for Christmas to give to the family as a present. I usually pick up one new game each year because we love playing games. This game is so much fun and is great for ages seven and over (younger players will have a difficult time with the trivia questions).

The game comes with 133 dice and 100 cards. The object is to move your token around the board completing three different style of tasks. You will be tested on trivia, dice games, physical activities and artistic creations.

While there are plenty of cards to play a number of games, I can see how the cards would start to get repetitive. Perhaps they will come out with a expansion pack.

I recently received a copy of Just Dance 2 for the Wii for my kids to review. I had never heard of the game before and hoped it would be something fun that my kids would enjoy. They game is easy to learn and use. Simply choose a song, the number of players and go! Each player uses a Wii Remote held in their hand to record their moves. The song starts and a character dances along with the music, you just have to follow his or her moves!

We invited a few people over to take part in the fun. The best part of the game is you don’t need a Wii Remote to participate. Kids without the remotes danced along too. The wide variety of music on the game is sure to please everyone. The song lists includes 44 songs and you can download even more. Some of the songs are:

Avril Lavigne – “Girlfriend”
Bangles – “Walk Like An Egyptian”
Beastie Boys – “Body Movin’ (Fatboy Slim Remix)”
Benny Benassi presents “The Biz” – “Satisfaction”
Blondie – “Call Me”
Bollywood – “Katti Kalandal”

My son’s favorite was “Viva Las Vegas” by Elvis Presley.

Win It!

I have a copy of Just Dance Kids to give away! Take a look at the Just Dance Kids track listing and let me know which song your child would love to dance to (under Product Description)! Just Dance Kids delivers all of the fast-paced, music-packed fun of Just Dance with songs, moves and themes designed just for kids.

NOTE: You will receive a 404 error when leaving a comment. I am trying to fix the problem. I still get your comments, so no worries!

Extra Entries

Please leave a separate comment for each extra entry.

• Follow me on Google Friend Connect.
• Follow me on Networked Blogs.
• Follow me on twitter and tweet the message below (copy and paste):Lots of Giveaways at The Shopping Duck! http://www.theshoppingduck.com @ablogger
• Become a Fan of the Shopping Duck on Facebook

Other Details

• One winner will be chosen at random using Random.org
• Please make sure you leave a valid email address. The winner will be contacted by email and have 48 hours to respond, or another winner will be chosen.
• Contest ends December 17th at 11:59PM EST
• US Entries Only.

If you have a lot of books laying around like I do, you might want to swap them with someone else. Swaptree is a website where you can list the books, music, movies and games that you have and then compose a wish list of the things that you want.

After you list all the items you have that you want to trade, Swaptree automatically makes a list of items that you can trade for. You print the postage and mailing label right from your computer and mail the item in a envelope. It is that easy.