In this color matching game the object is to get the owls home to the forest before sunrise. Players draw cards and move the owls along the pathway of matching colors. But watch out! If you draw a sun card from the pile you must move the sun toward sunrise. Be careful! All the owls must get back before the sun makes it all the way to dawn! The rules are simple, the turn taking is quick and there's even a little science thrown in with the concept of owls being nocturnal creatures. The colors on the playing board are not the usual primary colors, so there is an opportunity for extending the language of color names to include: lavender rather than purple, teal blue rather than just blue, hot pink rather than red, chartreuse or lime green rather than just green plus bright yellow and orange. A cooperative game for 2-4 players. Also see Count Your Chickens game from the same company. 4 & up. The company has signed a verification form complying with our safety requirements. We did not independently test this toy in a lab.

Age: Preschool, Early School Years. Award Year: 2011. Click here to purchase the product on Amazon.com.

Bed bugs are constantly in the news.  Patch Products has reintroduced the board game that was first introduced by Milton Bradley in 1985.  Here the plastic bed bugs jump around a motorized bed - our testers really liked this aspect of the game.  The youngest player calls out a particular color bug to collect--at the end of the round, the player with the greatest number of that color wins.  Each player must use the tongs which calls for great fine motor skills than just grabbing them with your hands. Designed for 2-4 players. 6 & up. The company has signed a verification form complying with our safety requirements. We did not independently test this toy in a lab.

Age: Early School Years. Award Year: 2010. Click here to purchase the product on Amazon.com.