Postman Observation Game from Timberdoodle Review {1st Grade Curriculum Kit}

Today we are going to take a closer look at another one of our thinking skills components in our 1st Grade Elite Curriculum Kit from Timberdoodle, Postman Observation Game or the Observation Postman Game (I think both are correct).  This month we have been focusing on thinking skills so you can check out our previous review for Smart Cookies.

 Our new game

 Postman Observation Game Contents

What's included in our game?  Our game includes 8 puzzle pieces (that make up the gameboard), a deck of 80 cards, and 40 little postcard or letter playing pieces (inside the bag above).

A closer look at our postcard/letter playing pieces - we call them postcards and letters in our home interchangeably.

A close-up view of the back of our postcard playing pieces.

How do you play?  Assemble the board pieces together, arranging them with a space in the middle.  There are numerous combinations available so your board will look different every time you play.  Give each player (up to 6) the same number of postcards/letters.  Shuffle the cards and place them in a pile face down near the playing board (we like to place them in the middle of the board where the space is after dividing the postcards).  The youngest player gets to turn over a card from the pile.  Everyone searches for the house specified on the card.  The first player to find it gets to place their letter on that house.  You continue play until one player has delivered all of their letters and is declared the winner.  If a player delivers a letter to a wrong house, they just simply take the letter back.  This is how to play in a nut shell!

 One variation of a set-up of the board.

I want to note that some cards allow for delivery of more than one letter, this will be denoted on the card.  Also, there are 5 types of cards that are distinguished by color and progressively get harder (green is the easiest and red is the hardest).

• Green Cards = find the same house that appears on the card (matching)
• Blue Cards = find the house that meets the specific requirements on the card (description)
• Yellow Cards = find the houses related to the characters on the card
• Brown Cards = find the house that meets the specific requirements on the card, there is more than 1 solution
• Red Cards = follow the instructions on the card to find the correct house marked with a red arrow

 Above you can see a green card next to the match.  A player would place one of their letters on this house.

 You might think that the red circle above is the correct house for this blue card but it's not.  You have to look closely to see that it needs another window.

Above is the correct house for this card, it is blue, has two chimneys and has six windows.

 Above is an example of a character card with the 3 Little Pigs.  You are looking for their 3 houses.  Three letters will be placed this round, one on each house.

 Above you can see one of them.  I won't spoil the other two.

 Above you can see an example of a brown card with one of its solutions circled in red.  There is another house that meets this criteria as well.  So two letters will be placed this round - one on each house.

 And an example of a red card and the correct solution as well.

Postman Observation Game is geared for ages 3-103 (so it's multigenerational and almost everyone can play) and works for 2-6 players.  It is such a beautiful game.  I love the muted colors and tones and whimsical feel of the houses on the board.  This game definitely tests your observation skills as well as your response time.  I always find out how strong the competitive genes run in our family with games like this 😉.  You have to look carefully at ALL the details and be the fastest to deliver all of your mail to win!

 Above you can see E, F and G playing a round.

 Happy Kids

I really like that there are some very similar houses (on purpose) so you need to pay extra attention to those little details.  I think this is a great game as it helps strengthen visual sharpness and memory!  We are really enjoying this game and I'm glad to add it to our homeschool resources.  It would also make a fun and unique gift for a broad age range.  Postman Observation Game is a part of our Timberdoodle's 1st Grade Curriculum Kit and we definitely recommend it!

The backside of our gameboard puzzle pieces.

I have an idea for this game too!  I feel like the backside of the gameboard puzzle pieces are underutilized.  They could be used to create another scenery to play the game.  For example, it could be a different arrangement of the very same houses (so you can use the same cards) but maybe at nighttime.  There needs to be a clear distinction between the two sides so a daytime and nighttime works well but it could be something else too.  You would definitely vary up which houses are next to each other.  This would be an even greater challenge to find the houses.  Just a thought.

 

Disclosure:  Huge shout out to Timberdoodle for selecting me as a Timberdoodle Blogger.  I will be refunded the purchase price of our curriculum kit in exchange for my honest reviews.  All opinions are my own.