Customer Reviews

Zobmondo Entertainment The Ladybug Game

5 star:		(43)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

This attractive, original, and educational game has provided a lot of fun for my two young sons. They enjoy getting their respective ladybugs past the bad praying mantis and the bully ants and back to their flowery home.

They've learned about ladybugs, aphids, ants, and praying mantises and they've gotten a lot of practice counting through the process of reading the cards and counting forwards and backwards on the board. Then there's the counting of aphids to give them even more practice with numbers.

But after playing this game five or six tims with my sons I found myself wishing they could just play against each other and leave me out of it. This is an open ended game which can go on for a long time. The cards basically contain numbers which move you forward and backward, forward and backward. Then there are instructions on some of the "squares" along the journey that have you moving backwards too. Furthermore, there is one place along your journey where you can get into a seemingly infinite loop going around and around trying to collect enough aphids to get past those bully ants.

As a parent who is obligated to play this game when the kids want to, I can say that it has gotten quite tedious, and when the kids want to play it I just wince. Still, it's not nearly as bad as Chutes and Ladders.

So, I recommend this as one of several games to cycle through over the course of days and weeks. If I had to play it every night, I'd just rather be eaten by the praying mantis.

I bought this game for my four year old. She now can count backwards and forwards upto twenty with ease. She loves playing the game all the time and has yet to get bored of it even after 6 months of constant play. The box is getting a little worn with all her use. But everything else is holding up great.

My daughter rec'd this game as a gift for her fourth birthday. It was wonderful because my son, who was two could play it too (with my assistance of course). Now they are 5 and 7 and still play it. It is a simple game that requires no reading skills and reinforces counting. I would recommend it to everyone.

My son is 2 1/2, and we're just now getting into playing games with him. He loves the Ladybug Game, and he asks to play it every night. After playing some of the other kids games (such as hi-ho cherry-o, the hungry caterpillar game), my husband and I are thrilled with the Ladybug Game.

I will grant that it is a kids' game, and therefore not super exciting for repeated adult play. But all kids' games are kind of boring for adults, and this one is much better than most. And, as a teaching game, I think it's quite good.

The game uses cards instead of a spinner, which offers more variety. Sometimes you move forward, sometimes backwards. Sometimes you get aphids. There are several visual cues on both the cards and the board to help young kids figure out what to do. The cards that send you backward are written in red, for example. And along the bottom of the card is a small picture showing the direction and number of spaces you need to move. The aphid cards will show both the number 4, for example, and pictures of 4 aphids.

We can complete the game in about 20 minutes, which is perfect for us. It's long enough that we only play it once per day, and we don't have to get into negotiations over how many times we'll play. And it's short enough that we can squeeze it in between dinner and bedtime.

The back-and-forth aspect of the game (move forward/backward and win/lose aphids) is appealing to me. It increases the opportunities for counting, and it reinforces ideas of addition and subtraction early on--focusing on the concepts of numbers as well as on the simple memorization of counting 1-10. I also like the small ways the game introduces the idea of loss/sacrifice. It's gentle in the ways it makes kids lose aphids. You win up to 5 at a time, but only lose up to 2 at a time. It also helps with ideas of short-term sacrifice and long-term gain. To get out of a little loop and onto the last leg before winning, you have to give the ants a whopping 10 aphids--something my son is often reluctant to do. My husband and I allow him to choose to keep trucking around the loop instead of giving up the 10 aphids...but then, of course, he doesn't win the game--which he also doesn't like that much<grin>. I like that the game gives him the choice.

It also works out that going first offers an advantage, so if the youngest goes first he/she will win more often than lose--which is nice.

My family loves to get together to play games. Now I have to admit up front that none of us are under the age of 29, but we have found that we love to vary more complex game playing with ones that take us back to simpler times (we also play Candyland). We really enjoyed Ladybug. For younger children you have counting practice as they move around the board and keep track of their aphids. There are also interesting things to learn about ladybugs from the story with it and the other insects they encounter. For adults like us playing it there is also enough challenge in collecting enough aphids to get past the ants. I would recommend this for "children of all ages".

This game is well-designed for the younger kids. I am just astonished that my son, not quite three yet, can play his part, by the rules, with only the rare correction. Even more unbelievable, he's been playing the game by *himself* lately!

He can interpret the cards and board directions, using a few tricks. We noticed that the Move Forward cards are written in green letters, and Move Back cards in red. The movement cards use numbers, but also a corresponding number of little pictures of "spaces." Many cards say Play Again at the bottom, and those cards always have a little ladybug next to those words--he sees that the card has a ladybug and knows to take another turn. The Get and Lose Aphid cards and board spots have similar color coding and pictures.

My son seems to think this is all a great deal of fun! I think a big part of that is the feeling of accomplishment. My seven-year-old, a good game player, enjoys the game also. For an adult, of course, it can get a bit tedious, but MUCH better than Candyland!

For an interested young child, this game does an excellent job of improving skills in counting, interpreting symbols, following directions, understanding typical game board pathways, taking turns, and having fun!

My "how much fun" rating is based on my child's reaction. Durability is about typical or a bit better--typical folding board, good quality large cards, thick cardboard aphids, thick cardboard ladybug markers with plastic stands.

This game is great for counting! One of the kids I work with, whom I didn't expect to recognize the numbers AND count, began to count out his spaces for each turn the second time playing this game! It motivates kids to count both the spaces and the aphids. I did tweak the rules a bit so we didn't have to give so many aphids to the ants--just made it so you only to give one or two to each ant. It keeps the game moving that way. I wish the pieces were not made of cardboard...I'm much more into the old school Candyland plastic pieces, but it's okay.

This game is just bad. I am writing this review because I saw that the game had four stars and I felt compelled to warn other parents that this game is NOT a great game. It was created by a Six year old and it plays like it; way too many "go backwards" cards and roughly half the cards have "take another turn" on them. This game involves no strategy or problemsolving, like chutes and ladders, it is 20-30 minutes of counting spaces and blind luck as to who reaches finishline. This game might be fun for some first graders playing by themselves, but parents will find "go fish" or "old maid" more exciting and educational.

My 3 daughters just love it. It came quickly and it was at a wonderfull price which makes it nice around the holidays.
thanks much

My granddaughter loves this game. She is 3 1/2 yrs. old. It is perfect for her. I am very pleased.