Timberdoodle IQ Gears

I want to share with you today a fun game from Timberdoodle, IQ Gears.  IQ Gears is a one player game recommended for kids 7 and older or 3rd grade and up.  Even adults will enjoy getting their brain in gear!

What's included in our game?

Our set includes the compact game board with transparent lid, 7 puzzle pieces with gears and a booklet containing 120 challenges and their solutions.  The 120 challenges increase in difficulty from Starter, Junior, Expert, Master, and Wizard.

 

Above you can see the 7 different colored gears pieces and their various shapes.  Also notice the big wheels on the side of our game board, these are important.
 

How do you play?

Simply try to fit all the gears on the game board.  When the solution is correct, the pieces will connect and the big wheels on the side of the game board will spin together!  That's it.  Challenges begin easy and progressively get harder as there are five levels: Starter, Junior, Expert, Master and Wizard.

 

First 8 challenges at the Starter level 

You can see that these challenges are easier as they give you the outline shapes of every piece in the puzzle.

So a player will choose a challenge from the booklet.  The challenge will show them which puzzle pieces to place on the game board and where to place them.  Players will continue to play pieces on the game board.

 

 They are finished when all pieces fit and they have created a connection between the big gears (wheels) on the right and left of the game board (see above diagram).

 

A player needs to pay special attention to the placement of the gears in some of the challenges, especially when setting up the board to begin.  This can be seen in the Expert challenges above.  This does not apply in the Starter challenges.

 

The Master challenges only show the position of all the gears, you have to figure out the position of the full puzzle pieces.

F was my first to play IQ Gears

F double checking to see that he has the solution correct!

G was next to play.

G is trying various combinations in the photo above as he works one of the Expert challenges.

 

If you have previously read my blog you know that we really enjoy Smart Games and own a plethora of them.  Smart Games encourage concentration, planning, problem solving and flexible thinking and we 💕 them.  It's so great to have a selection of creative and quality single player games in our home and IQ Gears fits right into the mix.  I also love that they are relatively inexpensive and make great gifts!  If you are looking for a new single player logic game, we highly recommend IQ Gears.  It's fun and makes you think!

Disclosure:  Huge shout out to Timberdoodle for selecting me as a Timberdoodle Blogger.  I received IQ Gears in exchange for my honest review.  All opinions are my own.

IQ Circuit Smart Games Review

If you know us then you know we love games!  I have another fun game to share with you today from Timberdoodle, IQ Circuit!  It is a single player game manufactured by Smart Games geared for children ages 8 and older.

What's included?  This game includes a game board with lid, 10 double-sided puzzle pieces and a booklet with 120 challenges and solutions.

 

Above you can see the puzzle pieces out of the game board.

 

And here you can see the other side of the pieces as well.

 

While all the pieces are double-sided, the rectangular pieces in particular can also be used blank-side up (on their side), so they are really triple-sided.

How to play?  Choose a challenge and set up the board as indicated on that challenge.  Then, this is basically a game of connect the dots!  Your goal is to place all the pieces on the game board to create a path that connects the dots.  Each path must start and end at a dot and all of the puzzle pieces must be used on the game bard.  Unconnected paths would result in a short circuit, fictitiously of course 😉.

We found the video below from Smart Games to be super helpful so I'm including it!

The challenge and solutions book contains 120 challenges with 5 levels of difficulty - Starter, Junior, Expert, Master, and Wizard.  The difficulty increases with each level and every challenge has one unique solution.  The answers for each challenge can be found at the back of our booklet.

Above you can see some of the starter puzzles.

And here you can see the unique solutions to those puzzles.

As always, Smart Games encourage planning, concentration, problem solving, spatial insight and flexible thinking and we 💕 them so much.  I appreciate having a great selection of creative and quality single player games in our home including IQ Circuit.

 

IQ Circuit is currently included in Timberdoodle's 9th grade curriculum kit and we surely recommend it!  C has just begun his 9th grade year so he is working through all of these puzzles as part of his curriculum.  I really appreciate having challenging and fun items like this added to our homeschool.  I also appreciate that IQ Circuit is so compact and has a great lid so it makes for a wonderful travel or on the go game as well.

Disclosure:  Huge shout out to Timberdoodle for selecting me as a Timberdoodle Blogger.  I received IQ Circuit in exchange for my honest review.  All opinions are my own.

Apple Twist Smart Games Review

I have something to share with you today from Timberdoodle, Apple Twist!  It is a single player game manufactured by Smart Games geared for children 5 and up or Kindergarten and beyond.

What's included?  This game includes 1 apple shaped game board that is divided into 5 rotatable segments making it double-sided, 3 bendable caterpillars (yellow, green and blue) and a booklet with 60 challenges and solutions.  The front sections of the apple board have numbers on them (1-5) while the backside of each segment has letters (A-E).

 

Above you can see how the segments rotate so you can have numerous game board set-ups.

 

The caterpillars are cute and bend at certain places.

 

There are a few segments that are fused and they won't bend at those locations (see the red circle above).

 

There are 4 levels of challenges: Starter, Junior, Expert and Master.  As expected, the increase in difficulty as you go along.  Each challenge has one unique solution and they can all be found at the back of the challenge booklet.

How to play?  Children choose a challenge.  Next, they turn the apple segments as indicated on the challenge card (set up the board).  Now they have to fit the caterpillars in the dimples of the board.  The caterpillar heads need to be placed as shown in each challenge.  That's it!  Basically the caterpillars are competing against each other for the same apple.  Each challenge has only one unique solution, which can be found at the end of the booklet.

 

Above you can see some of the challenges.

 

After setting up the board, all parts of the caterpillars must fit inside the dimples of the apple.  A yellow, green or blue head lets you know that the head of that specific caterpillar must be placed there.  A white head indicates that one of the caterpillar heads must be placed there but it doesn't tell you which one.  It is not uncommon for a few of the dimples to be empty once the challenge is complete.

 

In some of the harder challenges you only get the board set-up and no hints about caterpillar heads.

Above you can see Starter Challenge 1 completed.

 

G after solving Starter Challenge 2.

F with his finished challenge!

E with her completed Challenge 17 (Junior Level).

It's hard to think that we weren't familiar with Smart Games ~ 3 years ago.  Now we own a plethora of them 😉 (including Asteroid Escape & Walls & Warriors).  Smart Games encourage planning, problem solving, spatial insight and flexible thinking and we 💕 them.  It's so great to have a selection of creative and quality single player games in our home.

 

 

Apple Twist is currently included in Timberdoodle's Kindergarten curriculum kit and we highly recommend it!

 

Disclosure:  Huge shout out to Timberdoodle for selecting me as a Timberdoodle Blogger.  I received Apple Twist in exchange for my honest review.  All opinions are my own.

Cat Crimes Game Review

I have a fun game to share with you today from Timberdoodle, Cat Crimes!  This single-player game manufactured by ThinkFun is geared for children 8 and up.

 

What's included in our game?  Our game includes a game board, 6 cat tokens (with token stands), 6 crime tokens and 40 challenge cards with solutions.  The challenge cards slowly increase in difficulty (beginner, intermediate, advanced, and expert).

Game Pieces

Challenge Cards

How do you play?  Using logical deduction and reasoning skills you must figure out which of the six felines (Duchess, Ginger, Sassy, Tom Cat, Pip Squeak or Mr. Mittens) was responsible for each crime.  The crimes are spilled coffee, broken flower pots, tangled yarn, missing bird, missing fish, and ruined shoes.

 

E solving the first beginner challenge.

 

D and E working together on an intermediate challenge card!

{This is a single player game but sometimes the kids like to solve the challenge together.}

After selecting a challenge card, you read off the clues to determine the location of each cat.  You will have to use cat traits, paw prints, toy placement and location of other items to figure out the cat culprit for each challenge.

Above you can see example challenge cards for the beginner and intermediate levels along with their solutions.

 

Likewise, above you can see example challenge cards for the advanced and expert levels along with their solutions.

This is a fun game and we are thrilled to have it among our homeschool games and resources!  Cat Crimes is currently included in Timberdoodle's 5th grade curriculum kit and we highly recommend it.  If you like this be sure to check out our review of ThinkFun's Brain Fitness Solitaire Chess!

Disclosure:  Huge shout out to Timberdoodle for selecting me as a Timberdoodle Blogger.  I received Cat Crimes at a discount in exchange for my honest review.  All opinions are my own.