Spot It! (Color/Packaging May Vary)

This game is incredible! Not just because it is fun, but because the algorithm used to create is astounding to me. Somehow every little disk has one and only match with any other disk. I have actually watched multiple videos on the mathematics behind this and I’m still convinced that it is just magic. Incredible.Also, this game and its many variations are a lot of fun. Buy this!

This game is so fun and simple

This Christmas I got all my kids a few new games I found online. I wondered which would "stick" and spot It is definitely the one. we play it almost every day. I gave it to my 5 year old daughter, who loves it, but it is easily played by my 8 year old daughter, my 11 year old daughter, my 15 year old students, and my husband and I. And age does not make you better at the game. My 5 year old often beats us all.I originally bought 4 sets for one kid in each of 4 families I exchange Christmas gifts with. Then when I saw how much we all loved it, I went back and bought 3 more to have as birthday presents when you need one in a hurry. And I am out again (it's early February now) and will have to order a few more.The game is actually a set of round cards and there are a number of ways to play with them. The crucial thing is that each card has a number of images on it - a key, a raindrop, an igloo, a heart, for example. The images are different sizes, some are brightly colored, others are in black and white, and others in pale blue outline. For any 2 cards chosen at random, one and only one image will be on both cards. they might not be the same size, but it is the same image. So one card might have a heart that 1 inch across and the other might have a heart that is 1/2 inch across. Different people find different images more easily. for example, I find the black and white ones quickly but have a hard time seeing the pale blue outline images.So all the game variants are based on the idea of figuring out which image is shared between your current card and the card in play. It sounds easy, but it is deceptively difficult and even very young kids can do as well as adults.The cards are nicely sized and round. They are easy to hold in your hand or stack on top of each other. The cards are also well made. our deck has been played at least 200 times already and there is no sign of wear or folding on the edges. The game comes in a round tin which is small, easy to open and close, and brightly colored (easy to find).There are instructions that come with the cards for 3 or 4 variants of the game but as soon as you've played a few times, it becomes very clear to you which regular card games can be adapted to play with these cards. The games they do have instructions for are very easy to play -- the instructions are super-easy to follow.I only have 1 negative thing to say, and it is a minor one. I wish there were more cards. Some of the games go awfully quickly, especially when 3 or more are playing. I do understand why there aren't more cards, though. It would mean adding more images to each card and there really isn't much room to add more without making the cards larger, which I would not do. I while I wish there were more cards, I would have made the same decision they made about how many to include.I also like how they have so many other variants - Spot It animals, spot It shapes, Spot It baseball teams, Spot It on the road, etc. It's clear that some of them (the letters and shapes) are better for younger kids but most are great for all ages.

I played a number of times at youth group, but prior to that, I'd never heard about it before. I wanted to find it to give for Christmas to our children's families and nobody had any in the stores. But I liked it so much, I bought five and gave them at Christmas. The kids love the game!

There are a lot of pros for this, but one major con.Pros: To start with, children that are 5 years old (and some younger) can play this game very competitively after learning the rules which is awesome. The unique style of cards is nice, and the fact that the images are distinct enough for children to spot them well is great. Also, the fact that there are so many different ways to play is fantastic so that you can play with different groups of people in ways that might interest them specifically, or vary it up frequently to keep everyone interested for an extended period of time. The tin holds the cards well, and looks nice.Con: I do not like the card stock. With so many card type games out there that are produced on waaaaay better card stock for a similar price, I feel like this is a major letdown. Now I will say this - the only reason I complain about this is because I like playing the game, and I can already tell that it is not going to last a long time playing with little children (which is too bad because my children enjoy the game). As such, I enjoy the game, and like it where it will be put into our game rotation, but the fact that I very well might have to buy another set in the not to distant future is slightly disappointing. Lastly, I would like more cards too, but I am not taking any stars away for that. If they had added another 20 or so cards, and made it of better card stock, I would definitely pay 12 dollars for the game (instead of 8) and it would easily get 5 stars. As it is it get a solid 4 and am glad that I got it.