Looking for some super gift ideas for your little ones this holiday season? Try some Smart Games.
What are Smart Games?
Smart Games is a company founded in Belgium that makes a super selection of games to grow your kid’s brain. The games are designed to help kids develop problem-solving skills and other basic brain functions that will help them succeed, both in school and in life.
The games come in a range of age groupings. Each game includes a series of progressively difficult challenges to solve, so that players keep learning and stay interested as they advance through the levels. While they’re designed to be single-player, they are also fun to work through with one or more friends.
We first encountered Smart Games when my dear friend Raiah sent Camelot Jr. to Kimmie for her fourth birthday. Kimmie fell in love with it – and at nearly seven, she still loves it (as does four-year-old Essie).
Since then, over the course of many birthdays and Christmases, we’ve built up our collection to six total and counting.
Why the mama in me loves Smart Games
- They teach my kids something. (OK, even though my full-time classroom days ended with Kimmie’s birth, I’m still a teacher at heart.)
- They hold my kiddos’ attention over time. In our house, there are only two categories of toy that the girls have refused to let me “retire”: their extensive truck collection, and their Smart Games.
- They are beautifully designed: solid wood, sturdy plastic, cute faces. These toys are made to last. And the bright colors and cool patterns and shapes are fun, too.
- They can be used in ways outside of the set “challenges” at the heart of each game. This is especially true of the preschool-aged games:
- Trucky 3, for example, is great for little kids to just play with – loading and unloading the pieces of cargo, driving the trucks around, etc.
Same with Day and Night and Bunny Peek-A-Boo. Essie’s solved all the problems in Bunny Peek-A-Boo many times over, but she still has fun making the wooden bunny the star of various hiding games, theatrical productions, magic tricks, etc. Ditto with the open-ended pieces of Day and Night.
- They’re great for multiage play. We’ve gotten rid of most of our “baby” toys around the house. But when we have babies or toddlers over to visit, we just pull out the Bunny Peek-a-Boo and the empty trucks from Trucky 3, and our guests have something to play with that’s fun and safe. (And the girls will often play WITH their little friends when we pull out these toys!)
- At roughly $10-$25 US each, Smart Games are a great value, considering how well they’re constructed and how long they’ve lasted us.
The games come not only in a range of age levels, but also a variety of formats, from tabletop sets to more travel-friendly options (compact, magnetic, and/or pocket-sized).
And best of all:
- Smart Games has AWESOME customer support. I once found an Aqua Belle set at a thrift store. When we tried to play it at home, we realized two of the plastic bubble tiles were missing. Went to the Smart Games website to see how to purchase replacement parts. Guess what? If it’s a game they still make, they will ship you replacement pieces for FREE. In a few days, I had my missing pieces.
Why Smart Games work for teachers
The logic, problem-solving, and planning aspects of solving these puzzles are especially noteworthy. When Kimmie was in pre-kindergarten, she took Trucky 3 and Camelot Jr. to a bring-your-favorite-game-from-home day at school. Most of the kids had never seen anything like them, and were clearly newbies at solving spatial puzzles. But by the end of each round, through working together, they had made visible progress in developing these harder-to-teach skills (especially logic).- For kids who already have a head start in these areas, Smart Games are super for teaching persistence and stamina. These are areas where Kimmie struggles more; she gets impatient when she can’t figure something out quickly. But with a bit of encouragement, she’s worked her way through puzzles that stumped her at first – and learned to persevere.
- Solving the challenges with a friend or two at school is also great for promoting teamwork and communication.
- Have any doubts about what your kids are learning from playing these games? Check out their website for educators, as well as the long list of awards they’ve won.
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The options
Smart Games exist for kids as young as two (Bunny Peek A Boo, recommended for ages 2-5). Others will keep kiddos and grownups alike busy solving the challenges for hours. I’ve been stumped on Color Code (ages 5-99) puzzles that Essie breezes through, and Kimmie and I have struggled together to solve some of the harder Camelot Jr. (ages 4-9) challenges.
Besides covering a range of recommended ages, Smart Games also come in a variety of formats:
- Traditional or “original-format” games that work best on a flat surface (this is where most of ours fall).
- “Compact” games, such as Aqua Belle (ages 6-99) and Temple Trap (ages 7-99), which are sized for easy transport in a backpack and average $15-$20 US.
- The “pocket”-sized IQ Games series (around $10 US each), which are even smaller and more portable.
- Magnetic games such as Noah’s Ark (ages 6-99) – also priced around $10 US, and also great for travel.
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What one expert says
I took out our six Smart Games this morning and spread them out on the coffee table for a photo shoot. But before I got to put them away, it was time to pick Essie up from preschool.
She found the pile and was totally engrossed in it for over three hours straight, until she got hungry for a snack.
We’d planned to spend the afternoon putting up Christmas decorations, but the Smart Games won out.
“OK, Essie, shall I go do something else?”
“Yes, please – I’m busy.”
But for the first half-hour or so after she started playing, she didn’t really want me to leave her alone. Because every two minutes she came to show me a new creation, made from the pieces of Day and Night.
When was the last time you had a hard time tearing YOUR kiddos away from a non-electronic toy? (Especially one they first got two years ago?)
If that isn’t a sign of toy success, then I don’t know what is.
When was the last time you had a hard time tearing YOUR kiddos away from a non-electronic toy? (Especially one they first got two years ago?)Click To TweetYour turn:
Have you heard of Smart Games before? Have your kids tried them? Which are their favorites? Let us know in the comments!
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What great products. They look like great games.
They truly are!
Great selection of items here. I don’t know this brand but they seem to be on to something with their toys.
I agree! I had never heard of them til my friend Raiah gave us that first one so many years ago. Hence this post to let other parents know how amazingly cool they are!
I’m all for all types of educational games. I love this list, and plan to get a few for my daughter.
You won’t regret it! They are amazing games! 🙂
Great idea, I’m gonna show this to my husband (santa)
Do! My girls are getting a few more of the pocket sized ones for Xmas, and they will be thrilled!
I’m so excited to learn about Smart Games, I’m a homeschool mom (of 6) so I’m always looking for ways to work learning into play. I’m going to put these in my Amazon wishlist today.
They are really amazing – both fun AND educational!
My daughter would love these! I will have to look more into this brand, love toys that help with learning!
So do we! And they really ARE great at building problem-solving skills!
I love your ideas for games kids can play in the car and while traveling. I always have trouble figuring out what my kids will do when we travel. Thanks!
You are so welcome! Comes from WAY too many long, multi-state road trips back and forth to see their grandparents, I guess! 🙂
I’m also a teacher at heart so I love finding new educational fun toys for my kids. My son and daughter would love these.
It is really amazing how much they grow with the kids, too. My girls are obsessed with the pocket-sized IQ ones right now, and solve the puzzles in them almost like using a fidget toy.
These are all pretty cool! I have a friend with a small son that I will pass this list onto.
My girls LOVED these all for years, and I still pull many out for their carryons when we fly – they’re a bit passé for road-tripping now, but the novelty of seeing them again on our once-or-twice-a-year flights plus how compact they are means they’re always perfect again for those situations.
What great game ideas. I love these.
I’ve never heard of SmartGames. Thank you for sharing. I will check these out for my nieces and nephews.
Thank you for sharing these. I love educational toys and these seem so fun. I can see my son working on these for a long time.
Thank you for this list! With Christmas upon us, I’m gearing up to do a little holiday shopping 🙂
We love these kinds of toys most! They seem to keep the little ones entertained longer too.
YESSSSS!
Wow, how fun! What great ideas! The bunny peek a boo is my favorite
Love that these seem to have a wide age range. Perfect for both of my kiddos!
We keep some of the “outgrown” ones in the living room on a high shelf for when younger kiddos visit us, and our two dive right in/start playing with them again with their younger friends 🙂
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I was so excited to discover these toys/games. My grandsons are coming for Christmas this year from London. I’ve been looking for smallish toys that will appeal and be easy to transport back with them. Perfect!
Thanks for the ideas, but honest to the Mothering Gods, I am so glad that my baby is now 26, and that we’ve moved on to Cards Against Humanity (!)
Haha, yeah, maybe not your first place to look for gift ideas – but I have to say, I’ve had fun doing the challenges, too, and there are ones the girls breeze through that totally stump me! Always fun to stretch your mind as a grown-up 🙂
Now that I appear to have gained rather a lot of step-grandkids I’d better take a look. Thanks for the great post ?
Aww, so glad you like them, David! Hopefully you can find something useful here! 🙂
Oh wow how awesome are these. These are excellent ideas because of all of the technology age. Awesome!!! Thx for sharing!!
*Thanks*, Janice. I admit, that’s one reason I’m so fond of them – but also, I just am so impressed at all the kids learn while doing these. They really are quite clever and educational, so do check them out!
This is such a great idea. My daughter will enjoy this. Thank you for sharing this post.
You’re more than welcome, Anna; these games are the best! 🙂
This is a wonderful way to keep kids busy with creative play. i loved it. Thank you for sharing this.
This sounds like a great gift for Christmas! I can’t believe how soon that’s coming up! Great post, thanks so much for sharing!
You are so welcome, Corinne – they make amazing gifts, fun AND educational! 🙂
This is such a fun list! I think my little boys would love them all!
I’ve yet to find any of them that my girls DON’T like! (which is in and of itself impressive 🙂 …)
Wow what an awesome collection of toys! I love wooden toys and the fact that these are educational is a plus
They really are an amazing company. I’m so impressed at all my girls have learned from them – and when they have friends over to play, even after a half-hour with these toys, you can tell that their friends have improved their problem-solving and spatial reasoning skills! It’s really quite impressive. Definitely worth trying!
This is a great list!! Love all of these!
Thanks, Shelbi! They are truly one of our all-time favorite companies for kids’ gifts that my girls never tire of!
This was the first time I had ever heard of Smart Games. I will check them out, they look really neat and I think our kids would love them 🙂
DO give them a try! So far, my girls have loved every single one they’ve tried 🙂