As all the Christmas catalogues start arriving in the mail and all the children start to make their wish lists, game companies release new games as well as remakes of old games. Over the years there have been some great new releases, however there have also been some that have been horrible. Here’s why I am not a fan of these games:
1. They do not teach kids anything they can apply to the real world.
Many of the games we enjoyed as kids taught us real world lessons. For example, Monopoly taught us money handling skills, Scrabble taught us how to spell, and Battleship taught us strategy. New games such as Pie in the Face, Pop the Pig, Gas Out, and Gooey Louie have no practical applications.
2. They are gross.
Many of the new games mentioned above, plus the game Doggy Doo, are gross. For example, in Gooey Louie, kids have to pick green gooey strands out of Louie’s nose and if you pick the wrong one, his head opens and his brain pops out. Another one, Gas Out, has kids choose a card then press the green blob the correct number of times. Whoever presses it last before it farts loses.
3. They are messy.
Many of these games include slime or other material that can easily get everywhere and could be quite messy for parents to clean up.
4. They get old really quick.
You can only hear a green blob fart so many times before it gets old. These new games are the types of games that will be abandoned fairly quickly due to boredom. They do not really allow for variation in gameplay that keeps players engaged and entertained.
Without the types of strategic games and life lesson oriented games like we enjoyed, children could suffer in school and in life. Their attention spans could dramatically shorten since the average round of one of the above games is about 2 minutes. There is more technology available for kid’s games: however, game companies need to put it to good use and create new games that will help a child’s growth.
*Pictures are from the ToysRUs website*