Hungry to Try a New Game with your Preschooler?

I was lucky enough to be approached by Think Fun to try out their new game: Snack Attack!  So in the mail today I received my happy little package, and the kids were eager to try it out.

Snack Attack is rated for 4 and up (though Mudge is 3 1/2). The basis of the game is to scan and match food items from the spinner tray to those on your plate, and once there are no more matches to make, you can yell "Snack Attack!" and play again.

It was easy enough to play with my 3 year old, but I do recommend that you do not try to play it with a competitive 6 year old, as they both may get frustrated.  It took them a few turns to understand to flip the 2 sided disc so that the matches touch, but overall, it was a quick game that the four of us played as a family for about 10 minutes.  Boog could have gone longer, and it was enough for Mudge.  Mind you, this was just before bedtime...  Either way, I got 2 thumbs up from the boys.  When asked what they liked best, it was being able to "yell Snack Attack" and being the chef.

It was super easy to set up, which is nice because games and toys now-a-days are not parent friendly.  There are not a lots of parts to lose, but I can see losing the food discs.  Think Fun did try to limit the loss with their plastic tube in which to keep and spin them around its track, though.

Therapeutic uses:
Language development-  Snack Attack promotes food related vocabulary expansion, categorization, articulation, social pragmatics, and turn taking through a playful matching game.

Visual Perceptual Skills- Snack Attack can be used for scanning activities, matching, figure ground, visual discrimination, visual memory and more....

Special Needs- The game can help or be adapted for fine motor development, and can be easily used by those with upper extremity issues by having them be the "Chef" and having them turn the spinner with little resistance.  Through some dycem or other non skid under the plates and serving platter piece to keep it more stable on a slippery surface.  You could also adapt a universal cuff to hold a suction to pick up the discs.

One of the only flaws I see with the design is the slipperiness of the the food discs on the plates.  As they are both a glossy finish, the items do slide around a lot.  And occasionally I got a too few many discs to come out and be "served" on the platter.

Overall, the game will definitely be coming to school with me for sessions and it is a nice addition to our family game closet.