Geistes Blitz Junior

Geistes Blitz Junior 

Geistes Blitz Junior is a speedy game by Zoch zum Spielen who also do the orginal game called Geistes Blitz (Ghost Blitz).  This game is for 2-6 people and takes about 10-15 minutes to play.  It says ages 4 and up and for once that is definitely accurate.

So far my son and I love this game as a quick, doesn't take up much table space and he is able to play well as many fast grabbing games are too fast for young children to ever win, so this one is much better in that respect.  Not because it is slower but because I feel like kids grasp the images and pieces easier.  I would say your child just needs to be able to grasp their colours easily to love this game.


Game Play

In Geistes Blitz is about a little ghost (named Gary) who is visiting the countryside and gets mixed up with Charlie the Chicken, Freddie the Frog and Peter the Piglet, which are all darling painted wooden pieces. This mix up is evident on the cards which have some or all of the characters' colours mixed up.

The basics of the game are simple: one person turns over the top card of the draw deck, then everyone attempts to grab the item (or items) that match the card perfectly.  For example in the picture above, the far left card you would only try to grab for the pink Pig as that is the only one that is it's correct colour on the card.  On the middle card in the picture above you would try to grab for the green Frog or the yellow Chicken (or both). For each correct answer you do you get the card drawn or an additional card from the pile as a point.  Most cards at the end of the game win! 

As an adult I play with the rules that I must grab everything with one hand (to make it more challenging for myself) but my son grabs with one or both if he is grabbing more then one item.  Grabbing the wrong one has no punishment (which is fantastic for kids) but if you are playing with adults I would add in that you have to put a point back for grabbing the wrong wooden piece to make it more challenging.

Review

I adore this game even though I have only just found it.  It has the great quality I have come to expect from Zoch and all the fun of the original game but made much easier for children.  I love any game that has wooden components too as then it allows my son to use them as toys and I don't worry about them breaking (though I do need to be careful I don't loose them as that would be tragic!).  I feel like this game is an absolute must as it can be played with adults or kids and takes up so little space.

Additionally it really works on spacial perception which is great for childhood development (Quick definition from this site of spacial perception - understanding the relationship between two objects which are different in space - a 2d card and a 3d wooden piece for example).

I found this one from Leisure Games in Finchley and I know they sell online but I am sure other friendly local game stores will have it too as well as online.  Happy gaming!