Noodleboro – Learning about Manners, Picnic Basket Game – a review

Thanks to Mom Central, we received the game Noodleboro – Learning about Manners, Picnic Basket game to review. In our house, board games are a big hit, and this one was no exception.

Here’s a photo of the box before we opened it:

And here are the contents of the box:

How to play:
The Noodleboro Learning about Manners game is for ages 4 and up and is for 2-4 players. Personally there are plenty of kids younger than 4 who could grasp the concept and play this game, although they would require a bit more guidance and “reminders” from the adults. The game consists of a game board, a plastic picnic basket, a series of game tokens, a CD and a book.

The game is played by each person first selecting one of the 4 colors on the game board. The goal is to collect all 5 food tokens that match their selected color. Each person takes a turn selecting a token from the picnic basket, but only after using their manners by asking if they may take one and then thanking them. If the selected token is the same color as they are collecting, they can place it on their appropriate food circle. If it is not the color they are collecting, it goes into the center of the board and may be taken by another player. The next player repeats the same thing either taking a token from the picnic basket or the center of the board after using their manners. The first person to collect all 5 of their picnic food tokens, wins the game. There is no strict penalty for not using your manners, but if you repeatedly forget then you must put the token back in the basket and skip your turn.

Our take on it:
My son is 4 1/2 and even though he is able to handle games like Scrabble Junior and Monopoly Junior, he enjoyed this games even though it is a simple concept. We really enjoyed trying to catch each other NOT using our manners and honestly he did better than I did. The repetitiveness of “please” and “thank you” provides for a great learning opportunity and trying to be the first person to get 5 tokens is just plain fun!

When I asked my son if he liked the game, he said “yea I like it and we should get the other ones too!” He also said “it’s fun, and the other ones will be fun too, we should get them.” I was actually afraid it would be too simple for him, and that he would get bored, but he is ALWAYS asking to play it, and obviously wants to play the other 2 Noodleboro games as well.

Here’s a picture of Jake playing the game (we had our own pizza picnic while we played):

Some bonuses in the box:
The game also comes with a colorful illustrated book about manners and a CD filled with fun music and stories. I am constantly getting asked “can I turn the Noodleboro CD on?”

Where to buy:
You can buy all the Noodleboro games at the HasbroToyShop online. The Learning about Manners Picnic Game is $19.99. You can also buy it at Amazon.com for $14.99.

The bottom line:
If the 4 year old likes it, and wants to play it all the time, how can you go wrong? Even adults will learn some reinforcement of their manners, and the game is quick enough that you can play a couple of games while you have lunch. Since it is a picnic game, it fits right along with having lunch! It gets two thumbs up from my son, and I’d have to give it the same.

Win a Noodleboro game:
You can win one of 200 Noodleboro games that Mom Central is raffling off to moms. Sign up using the link below and be entered to win:
Win a Noodleboro game!

This post was made possible by: