A fun way to learn about grids and simple counting. Players turn over picture cards to tell how many seed they can put on the grid on empty bird houses. If the card shows a bird the player gathers all the seeds in the grid on the matching line and puts them in the bird's nest above. If the player turns up a squirrel image the seeds in the grid go to the squirrel above. The object is to feed more seeds to the birds than the squirrel. In other words, all the players are playing against the squirrel rather than each other. Another easy to learn cooperative game for 2-4 players. Marked 3 and up, we think this is more like a game for older 4-5 year olds.

Age: Preschool, Early School Years. Award Year: 2012. Click here to purchase the product on Amazon.com.

Using the wooden blocks shown on each puzzle, players progress from sort-of-easy to really challenging tasks of building the image shown with just the blocks shown. There are 9 blocks all together of varying fixed shapes. But fitting them together to replicate the image takes logic and spatial/visual perception...not to mention patience and stick-ability. This is a game that can be played solo or take turns if you like. There are 60 challenges at 5 different levels. They say 5-99. We think 5 year olds are going to need help.

Age: Early School Years, Later School Years. Award Year: 2012. Click here to purchase the product on Amazon.com.

Learning right from left is not an automatic. It is one of those concepts mastered over time. Should you want to speed up the process, this is an entertaining game that just might help. There are 32 reflex cards in red, orange, yellow, green, blue, brown, pink, and white with a bolt of lightening on each and 80 action cards-10 of each color with an object and hand direction–left or right. Listen up! How quickly can you slap the right color card with the correct hand? Players try to collect one of each color of the reflex cards. Players race to be the first to slap the one of the reflex cards using the proper hand-left or right. This all sounds more complicated than it is in reality. It's a fun game for kids who are close in age. Very young sibs will have trouble keeping up. It is properly marked for 3-4 players ages 6 and up.

Age: Early School Years. Award Year: 2012.

It's pretty tricky making all the add-on antlers to Super Moose! A balancing game that calls for dexterity and some strategy. Players take turns adding on wooden form after another without making them go kaboom! Chances of getting all the antlers on as they appear here are remote. In fact, although this is marked for 3 and up, we think kids under six or seven are going to find this tough going! That said, we do think older kids will like it a lot.

Age: Early School Years. Award Year: 2012. Click here to purchase the product on Amazon.com.

Think Connect Four, but now imagine a beautifully crafted wooden board and you have Eternas. The game is designed for two-players. The dark wooden circular board allows you to place either your white or green wooden play pieces on one of the spokes.  You win if you get four of your pieces in a row--either vertically, horizontially or on the diagonal.  Learning how to play will be quick--but don't be fooled, this is a challenging game.  We love that it forces players to look at things differently in terms of strategy, offensive and defensive blocking moves.

Age: Early School Years, Later School Years, Tweens, Teens. Award Year: 2012. Click here to purchase the product on Amazon.com.

This is a number sequencing game that is played quickly. No turn taking. Everyone plays at once and tries to be the first to put down the number that comes next that is of a matching color. If you happen to have a wild card, so much the better--you still need the right number, but it can be played on any color. So there are two attributes at play here. A good choice for 6 & up.

Age: Early School Years. Award Year: 2012. Click here to purchase the product on Amazon.com.

To celebrate the upcoming Summer Olympics this version of Banangrams has five extra colorful joker tiles with pictograms of various Olympic sports. It is otherwise the same game in a convenient banana shaped zip up pouch. Players divvy up the tiles and play side by side creating their own connected words. It's different from Scrabble since you do not take turns, although you must take extra tiles when your opponent uses up her tiles and is ready to take more. A great take along for vacation time. Quick and easy to learn. 7 & up.

Age: Early School Years, Later School Years, Tweens, Teens, Adult. Award Year: 2012.

A beautifully crafted brain teaser for older school aged kids, tweens, teens and adults. Each player needs to use all of their pieces to create the cube but you can’t go beyond the grid of the board. If you no longer can use your pieces, you lose the round. A great game for working on spatial relations. The game is done in two tones of wood - and is the type of wooden toy you won't mind having out on your coffee table. The game is marked 4 & up which feels way too low for us   - but if you're playing with an older four they may enjoy turning the pieces. We'd say more like 7 & up to feel satisfying and not frustrating. Rounds move quickly - also a plus.

Age: Early School Years, Later School Years, Tweens, Teens, Adult. Award Year: 2012. Click here to purchase the product on Amazon.com.

Players are on a mission to the moon, you will travel over ten galaxy cards landing on space stations. But watch out. The galaxy shifts as you move through space! If you land on a black hole you'll be rocketed backwards. Land on an Asteroid field and you will be stuck! This is a fun game with a few molecules of science thrown in. Game play is about 15 minutes. 2-4 players. 6 & up.

Age: Early School Years. Award Year: 2012. Click here to purchase the product on Amazon.com.

There's a lot of pre-reading involved in this triple attribute game. Players use three dice to determine the color, pattern and shape of the hat they must find. Players use the suction cupped mallets to find the hat with those three attributes. The first to hit six hats and take 6 hats is the winner. It is possible that on your turn the hat you match is already taken. That's part of the big lesson - you win some and you loose some. This is marked for 4 & up. We'd say the three attributes at once may be a little challenging for young fours, but this is a fun way for pre-readers to sharpen their skills at seeing several attributes at a time. There are 35 hats, 4 slammers and three dice.

Age: Preschool, Early School Years. Award Year: 2012. Click here to purchase the product on Amazon.com.