NYC schools were open today, but with the conflicting weather information, I decided to keep the kids home today. It turned out they could have gone to school after all because the snow just started to get worse right after they would have been dismissed. We made the most of the day anyway by taking a trip to visit their great-grandmother and then coming home to play some fun family games. It was a great day to receive a game code for the new Scribblenauts Showdown game for Nintendo Switch because it gave my girls something new to do on this dreary day.
My first impression of Scribblenauts Showdown is this game is not for a child who cannot read. They have to have some reading background as well as spelling skills because they will need that for the game. After watching my 5 and 8-year-old girls play Scribblenauts together, I decided to intervene as my 5-year-old was becoming increasingly frustrated that this wasn’t the game for her. A few more minutes of getting my footing in the game proved that the game is fun after-all, as long as the players are of appropriate age and skill for it.
My oldest (8-year-old) daughter and I had a great time exploring the various features of the game. There are a variety of super fun mini-games that get you out of your seat to compete against your opponent in the Showdown mode. I think we liked the Versus mode the best because it was a board-game style where you draw cards and compete against each other in the same mini-games as the Showdown mode. The person who wins each mini-game can move forward until they reach the end and a winner is announced. The last mode, where we had the most fun, was the Sandbox mode. In Sandbox mode, anything goes. You can change your character’s personalities, help them find true love, and go on adventures. It was fun watching my 8-year-old come up with quirky personality features, like the “stupid-scientist” or the “itchy chef.
While we received a Scribblenauts Showdown game code to check out this game, it’s definitely something I would have gladly paid for because it not only entertains the player, but it also stimulates their creativity, imagination, and almost forces them to expand on their vocabulary.
Scribblenauts Showdown is for 1-4 players and is available now digitally and at all major retailers for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.