Melissa & Doug License Plate Game

Great quality! This board game let's you track the license plates you see on your road trip. No more wondering, "Did we still need Oklahoma?" Strong, tight bands make sure the plates stay flipped or unflipped. Little pictures even help the little kids play along. Highly recommended product!

I bought this game for my 4-year old son who is just starting to express an interest in identifying license plates. We used it on a 3-hour ride, and he loved it. Once he identifies the license plate, he flips it over, then his 6-year old brother reads the state's capital to him. It's a very educational toy. There's a way that you can play an actual game, but I don't think we'll use this feature. The rubber bands that hold the license plates in place are very durable. Overall, I was quite impressed!

The problem with most license plate games is that the pieces get lost. The great thing about the Melissa and Doug game is that you cannot lose the pieces. Also, this game could be used for a wide age range of children... anywhere from kindergarten up through teenagers. Even if you're not traveling, this game could be used to help children learn the state capitals.

We bought this to use on trips, I put it in the car and we have flipped 40 states WITHOUT EVEN LEAVING OUR TOWN! Well, 3 of them were pictures from Dad's travels... But, we get so excited when we find a new plate! We DO live in a resort area, so it's kinda cheating, but when we found Alaska we all screamed with excitement. The kids fight over who gets to flip it this time! The other day, I couldn't believe it, we saw an actual HAWAII tag!! We have laughed about that for awhile. We are on the East Coast and when I saw a California tag, we pulled up next to them at the redlight and I held up the game and said, "Thanks for the California tag!" She got a big kick out of it and we all laughed. My 7 year old daughter was MORTIFIED with embarrassment, but.. that is what I live for!

My only comment would be to put Alaska toward the top of the board, and don't put water where Canada is.. but that is an anal retentive home schoolers humble opinion!! I simply explained to the kids that it is practical to do it this way on this because it is a game, not a geographical tool!

What happens when the portable DVD player in the car blows up 3 miles into a 1,700 mile one-adult-in-the-car roadtrip from IN to CT and back? Well, the kids take out the ipod and kindle without missing a beat. But, they also pulled out this recently purchased license plate board and it was a total hit. The children (ages 10 and 6) were so proud of their state conquests (31 seen on the way out, 35 on the way back; 42 unique states roundtrip -- the four-sided markers allowed them to uniquely tag those seen outbound, homebound or both ways). No removable pieces, super durable as it bounced from child to child to floor. One side of each marker shows the state capital, which led to numerous quizzes of dad and each other. Fun trip and great product.

We picked this up for our drive from PA to Florida. It did hold my daughters interest for a few hours. We drove down rt81 and 95 so there were plates from all over the country to spot. The game help up to the two children who lived in the back seat.

The placement of some of the plates are hard to find since they are off the map. I dont see a way around it unless you made the map 3x bigger or the plates 2x smaller, both would make the game unusable.

Overall it is a good game and well made.

I purchased this license plate game two years ago for my son and it has been one of our most played with toys that we have. Not only have we found plates from all of the states several times, but it has also greatly enhanced his understanding of the United States map (with a footnote on the placement of Alaska and Hawaii). We also talked about population and why some states like Wyoming and North Dakota are so hard to find and why some like California that are far away, but that we see plates from there often. Many of the plate designs that we see on the road contain information about the state - like a landmark. This game is such a great starting point for learning about our country.

The toy itself is very well made. I love the fact that the pieces rotate on the board and can't fall off. It is a great design.

I got this as a gift for my nine year old son for Christmas with an upcoming road trip in mind. He chose four stars for its "fun" factor. I appreciate the heavy duty elastic with which the pieces are attached to the board. The biggest disappointment is that on removing the plastic shrink wrap, we inadvertently removed the printing on no less than 7 or 8 of the pieces! I exchanged it for another and again one of the plates was damaged. I opted to keep it and am in the process of coating the pieces with 5 coats of Mod Podge to protect them. The wood it is made with is sturdy, it is just the paint printed on top that can easily be scraped off with even light use. It was on sale for $9.99 here for a while; I waited too long and ended up paying $15 for it. I think if the print on the pieces weren't so easily damaged that it would be worth even the higher price.