Balloon Lagoon: Family Fun

As a parent with two small children, it's hard to find games we can all play as a family. My son often wants to play Battleship or Uno, while his younger sister wants to do a matching game or Candyland. Meanwhile, my husband favors Monopoly, and I like obscure games that I grew up playing. In my house, there is only one game we all like. That game is Balloon Lagoon by Cranium.

This game is four separate games built into one. The four sections are divided by a combination spinner/timer in the shape of a carousel. When the spinner stops, it tells you which one of the four games you will be playing. To activate the timer, you press a button on top of the carousel, and it plays a song. This is much less stressful than trying to beat a ticking timer, and the kids seem to enjoy it much more. After each player takes their turn, they receive different colored balloons for how many things they completed. These balloons fit into each players game piece, and when the game piece is full of balloons, they win.

The four games are as follows:

Letter Lake: this is a magnetic fishing game, where the players must spell words. For the children who cannot read yet, they are still able to match the letters to the word that is in front of them. This is one of the easier games to play.

Snack Hut: this game has a red hut and several dice with pictures of snack foods on them. The dice are dropped into the top, and then tumble down the inside of the hut. You try and get as many matching snacks as you can during the timed period. This is the easiest game for young children to play.

Tumble Tides: this one features pictures on a wheel, divided into 4 sections. The picture must be matched up to make one picture from the flipbook below it. It sounds easy enough, but young children seem to have trouble matching it within the time allowed.

Frog Pond: this is a game like Tiddleywinks or Ants in the Pants. You press on the back of plastic frogs to "flip" them into a pond. This game is the most difficult one for kids and adults alike.

Although the game is rated at five years and older, my children both played it before they were five, and had no trouble with it. Almost every day, they ask me if we can play this game. And even though it is fun for adults, busy parents will appreciate the fact that the games are short. I highly recommend this game for anyone with young children to teens.