Customer Reviews

Cranium Bumparena

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

We have several Cranium games at our house, and have played various ones at various times, depending on the age and interest of our kids (currently ages 12, 9, and 6). This is a review of the ones we have used.

So, in no particular order:

Bumparena - In this game, players take turns adding bumpers and rubber balls to a sloped game board, base on easy-to-understand game cards (all pictures, no reading). When the balls are released, the bumpers divert the balls to one of three player goals. Collect 6 balls and win. This game sets up and moves quickly, you could probably complete one game within 15 minutes of opening the game box. It is simple to learn, and it probably could be played by most 6 year olds with minimal adult help. While the concept is easy to grasp, there is some strategy involved, as well as some appreciation of physics (angles, rebound, gravity, chance). This is another good game for getting young and old siblings to the same
table.

Zooreeka - This is the newest addition to our house and the current favorite with our youngest and middle child. In Zooreka, players roll a movement die to move around a game board in typical fashion. Spaces can bestow extra turns, allow players to draw cards, or allow trading of tokens. The tokens are the key. A second die allows players to collect "food", "animal", and "shelter" cards, ultimately turning a correct mix of them in for a "habitat". Four habitats make a "zoo". The first to make a zoo wins. It sounds pretty typical. The twists are that players essentially bet on the outcome of a die roll. Food is the most common outcome, followed by "animal" and "shelter". The odds are better for the food, but the other two are increasingly valuable. This is a great way to teach kids about probability. It also keeps players involved on every die roll, since a player can collect a card on any die roll. This focuses wandering attention spans. The cards are like the "chance" space in Monopoly; they can give or take away accumulated tokens. Finally, tokens can only be "redeemed" at a trading post space. This allows a trailing player a chance to catch up and tends to limit insurmountable leads. Games are of medium length (30 minutes or so).

Ziggity - Ziggity is a card game - think Uno with the added twist that, like other Cranium games, different parts of the brain are used. The cards have a number, a puzzle piece, a letter, and a shape, one in each corner. On each turn, the player is required to match shapes, add numbers, complete a puzzle or spell words in order to play the cards. There are also draw cards, skip cards, and wild cards. This is a fun game for kids old enough to spell and add, as well as for the rest of the family. The games are very quick, unlike the cranium board games. We will sometimes get in a quick few hands before bedtime when we want o play a family game but don't have much time. Finally, the plastic cards are very colorful and durable, a big plus when you have young `uns wanting to learn to shuffle.

Hullabloo - great, silly fun and very kinetic. It works best when a parent is willing to get down on the floor and be silly with their kids. It holds their interest for a relatively short time (10-20 minutes), but it does burn up the energy and generate the laughs.

Cadoo - a fun, quick board game that taps into different part of you brain - memory, analytical, creative, expressive, etc. - but keeps things fun and fast-paced. We found it more approachable for our younger kids than Cranium

Cranium - like Cadoo, it mixes in many different ways to use your brain, this time in a longer board game format. This one is a bit tougher on younger players. Also, both games do a fair job of letting younger players be competitive, but they are still games that can be a challenge to keep fair and interesting to all players if the age range between them is too great.

Cranium Family Fun Game - Teamwork is probably the best aspect of the Family Fun Game, and it's seems like such a novel idea that you are left wondering why more board games don't use this approach. Unless you have twins, then having multiple kids in your family means wide variations in ability. That is okay for games of chance, but for games that require dexterity or creativity, it's very hard to find a game that kids who are 13, 10, and 7 can enjoy together. This game solves the problem by dividing into two teams. Teams then alternate between completing certain tasks. Examples include "find three items that start the letter S", answer a true/false question, or "build a tower with blocks and then knock it over using the frogs" (they hop like tidily winks). Like other Cranium games, the tasks use your whole brain. Also, the team concept lets at least half of the players come away winners and teaches cooperation, both rare in board games. Another winner from Cranium.

Overall - great family games that stimulate parts of the brain often neglected by board games, yet keep it so fun that kids won't even realize that they are educational.

My 5.5 and 4 year-olds are serious Cranium fans. Bumparena has met every bit of their anticipation for a new Cranium adventure. (1) It's quick to set up (connecting two plastic pieces and sticking on 5 feet, and you are good to go) and easy to pack up. (2) It's easy to learn (I did a dry run by myself, and was able to explain the rules to the girls in 5 minutes). (3) It's a game the kids can play on their own (the game cards are self explanatory drawings easy to comprehend for non-readers). (4) The children may pick up some "strategic planning" by placing the bumpers in a way so that there is a higher probability that they will score. (5) In the meantime, the game has enough inherent unpredictability from game to game to keep the kids engaged. (6) It also helps teaching the kids how to accept "losing" in a graceful manner. The girls can't have enough of it, and they laugh so hard! They even invented new rules to make it more interesting. It's really a good addition to our collection of Cranium games.

This is a very fun game, for children and adults alike. You are given only a little time to place the bumpers on the board. So you have to think fast about how you want to place your pieces so that you will get the maximum points from the balls bouncing off of them.

This is a very exciting and fun game for a wide age range. If you would like to try out this game before buying it, you can play the online version of Bumparena at www.bumparena.com .

Bumparena doesn't live up to the high level set by other Cranium games. Our Grandkids love the other Cranium games such as Cadoo, Hulaboo, and Caribou, and I feel those games are well-designed and of a high quality - but Bumparena has some flaws:

1) The sliding scorekeepers are difficult to work even for an adult. One of these is stuck in place on the game we purchased.

2) The slope of the gameboard is not high enough and the rubber balls often stop in the middle without reaching the bottom. Of course, you can prop up the legs with your own items, but the game should be designed to work.

3) The game doesn't fit back in the box without requiring an adult to take it all back apart again.

It's too bad that the game is poorly designed, because the game concept is a good one - both fun and educational. The Grandkids still enjoy the game, and simply don't use the scorekeepers, and just shake the board if a ball fails to reach the bottom.

Having a 7 year old girl who is very bright and a 10 year old son with some learning problems this has been a terrific game to cover the gap of ages we are experiencing at this age spread in terms of finding appropriate family games for all. This is mixed with his hesitancy to play anything he does not know based on his fear of not understanding and his sister knowing more. He is the strategist however and yet she will win every time in a memory related game. Due to a shortened attention span he gets bored with any game of over 30 minutes so monopoly for example is too long and the junior version too easy. She is not ready on her own for monopoly but is not wanting help. This is typical or so many games right now. This is why I picked this wonderful game but it has turned out to be so much fun. It does involve the teaching of angles and movement of an object so there is strategy and the question of do I want to block them or help me. It has provided us the chance for the perfect family game as fun and teahcing of angles and ways of movement and yet how you trip the ball from soft to hard can have a great effect and therfore no guarantees. So despite having a stategy to it, the "winner" is equally shared between adults and all kids. You coud not let your kid win if you wanted to. It is educational in terms of figuring out angles and folowing something thru from a to b and yet a lower quality rating as for us the orange plastic pieces used to make the board seemed to be such a tight fit we worried about breakage. The only other problem are the balls are so tempting to take off and play with you really need a ball manager! Forget the stategy here and just have fun letting the balls all go or really get into blocking your husband and the kids dont notice your, shall we say determination to be a little more fiesty than one should be in terms of role modeling good sportsmanship. Such a great game and I spent twice the amount for it as needing something that night and no regrets. The perfect multi age level family game and I have actuallly gotten the tv off even when alllowing only 1/2 hour a night and this time was used by choice to play the game for three nights in a row now. A great bithday gift for any sex and with any family with various ages except under 3. excuse any errors but I am losing my sight due to a chronic illness so I do my best. It is also hard for me to even play a game with my kids due to health and this has inspired me. Next time your kid wants to play a game and your are to busy, stop and do it, you may wake up one day and find out you no longer can. Enjoy!

We have two boys, ages 3 and 6. They both like to play this game, but in their own ways. The three year old likes to randomly place the bumpers and release the balls. The five year old actually follows the directions and plays strategic games.

I enjoy it too.

To play, you pick a card, which tells you to either place a bumper, add a ball, move a bumper, move a ball, or release the balls. It's kind of like plinko meets pinball. The balls roll down the board and are bumped by the bumpers. The object is to get more balls into your goal than the other guy does. It's fun and easy to play. Comes with balls that are super-ball sized, so if you lose some, just get some superballs and you can still play. I would highly recommend this game. It is a fun thinking game. It touches upon concepts such as geometry, angles, trajectories, probablities, and spatial reasoning.

What a fun toy. My 9 year old daughter loves all of the Cranium games, this one included! The balls my pose a choking problem to children under 3, but good luck keeping them away from it- my 2 year old loves it too. Fun game of strategy. A little hard to get back in the box.

I got this for my 8th birthday and first played in teams of 2 with my not quite 4 year old brother and friend who are 5 and 9. The game takes a bit of strategy in blocking the other goal and planning ways to get the ball to fall in your goal. The 4 of us had a great time playing over and over for a couple hours. I play a lot with my little brother who does need a bit of help fitting the pegs in the holes on the board, but other than that he can play too. This game is quick and fun.

This is a great family game. Lots of laughs for the whole family. My 15 yr old & 8 yr old enjoy playing.

Most of the reviews here are for other Cranium games - not Bumparena specifically. While all of the Cranium games are great, Bumparena is a fun one because it is EASY to learn and play, does not require reading, and can be enjoyed by my 6 year old and my almost 9 year old. The adults like it too. My only complaint is that once it's out of the box, it does NOT fit back in very well... so much so that it almost makes me not want to get it out. That being said, it is fun, worth the money, and good for a wide variety of ages and skill levels.