Bakugan Battle Brawlers, it seems, are the current rage among tweens and teens here. These toys are actually action-figure warriors, that are tucked into spheres that pop open when they’re rolled onto a game card, where they gather points. My 9 year old has started a collection of Bakugan and so far, currently has 4 units of Bakugan balls and a couple of Gate and Ability cards. We made it a point to only reward him when he does well for his exams as these toys are certainly not cheap.

As a mom, I remain clueless on how the game is played but if you have some interest in finding out, here’s a link with some useful FAQs which might help. Amazingly, Spin Master’s Bakugan Battle Brawlers has been awarded the Toy Industry Association’s ‘Toy of the Year’ award for the second year in a row!

Product Description:

This fast-paced, energetic variation of Bingo is a guaranteed crowd-pleaser. Kids get a kick out of pulling the Zinger forward to reveal two mystery tiles and attempting to be the first to call out the tiles that match the images on their cards. The first player to fill his or her card wins! Ages 4 to 8. 2 to 8 players. 2 levels of play. 8 double-sided Zingo! cards and 72 picture tiles. 8 inches x 10.5 inches x 3.5 inches.

My son received this game during his recent birthday and we had a marvelous time playing it over and over again.  This game focuses more on pictures and images, which meant they were easy for the younger kids to play. The Zingo cards have a 3 by 3 grid that shows pictures and words.  Cards have a yellow side (the easier option) and a red side for the older kids. The zingo dispensor is extremely heavy duty and slides smooth. Players shout out to claim a piece, which is then placed over the appropriate square on the player’s card. There are also several different ways of playing.

My take : Though the game states that it is for ages 4 and up, I felt that it is simple enough that even 2 years old can play and yet equally suitable for middle-schoolers. Zingo is a great way to teach word recognition to younger children. An absolute fun for the whole family. I like that the game boards are thick and the Zingo pieces are made of sturdy plastic, which meant they are more durable. It’s also easy to take along on road trips.  Highly recommended!

Buy it :  Get yours at Amazon here.

Thanks to the wonderful people at JumpStart, I was recently sent the JumpStart Pet Rescue for Wii to review with my kids. ESRB, the Entertainment Software Rating Board, has rated Pet Rescue “Early Childhood” as it is aimed at children of age group 3-6.

The purpose of the game is for players to navigate through 5 different Discovery Worlds, to find lost pets. By choosing the Story Mode, there will be a JumpStart friend which will  guide you as you progress and go through each journey in the various worlds. My 5 year old daughter was very excited when she discovered that each time she managed to rescue a pet, it  will follow her throughout the game. She also enjoyed playing the matching games such as Matching Ladybugs but her favourite was definitely being able to adopt a pet, where she could feed, groom and play with it.

One point that should be noted is you need to get used to using the Wii remote and to be aware of how to point the remote at the sensor bar. My daughter had some difficulty using it at first but she was a quick learner, so it did not take her long to learn to navigate with the remote.

My 9 year old son, however, was a pro at using the Wii remote. He preferred to play Pet Rescue in Explore Mode as he could have a free hand to explore all the 5 worlds. Nevertheless, after playing more than an hour, my son was no longer interested in the game as he was used to more challenging Wii games.

As a parent, I like the fact that there is finally a Wii game that is created for younger kids as most Wii games in the market currently are aimed at older children. JumpStart Pet Rescue is also a wonderful tool to use to help pre-schoolers improve their pre-reading skills, memory, creativity, motor skills and listening. In a nutshell, JumpStart Pet Rescue is gettting the thumbs up from this mommy!

BUY IT : Retailing for $39.99, you can purchase JumpStart Pet Rescue from Walmart, ToysRus, , Best Buy, Sam’s Club, Frys and other retailers in US and Canada.

WIN IT : JumpStart is giving away copies of JumpStart Pet Rescue in a contest, so why not hop over to try your luck!