Twister (game review)

On days where we can’t get out much, it can be hard to keep the kids active enough to exhaust them of that ridiculous amount of energy they have. Games like Twister, however, can help that.

If you haven’t played Twister before, it’s really simple. The game mat has many circles in four different colours, and there is a spinner that determines what you place where. One person spins the spinner, and it lands on commands and colours like “Left foot Red”, then everyone has to put their left foot on a red circle. You can’t share a circle with someone else, and you can’t be resting on the ground (like sitting). The fun part is getting tangled up with other people!

I remember playing Twister as a kid, and I remember having trouble with it because I am short and had trouble reaching sometimes. The kids don’t mind, though. They like that they get to play so many times in a short period. You could also implement something like “3 falls and you’re out” if they have a lot of trouble reaching. 

The new spinner

The most challenging thing about this game for Bobble is that he doesn’t know his left and right yet. Obviously it’s a 50/50 chance as to whether he gets it correct or not, but thanks to this game he is stopping and trying to think about what left or right is.

The game, like many of them, has evolved a bit since I was a kid. It is no longer only a hand or a foot on a colour, but now it has random things like “in the air” and letting the spinner call something random. Honestly, I am not a fan of these additions. I thought the game was challenging enough as it was, and it is especially not needed for really young kids. I can see it being more fun for very flexible people, like gymnasts, if you add in things like raising an arm/leg in the air, but it’s unnecessary for young kids. I just call out something random when it lands on those.

Actually, the spinner sometimes takes a long time to spin and the kids get impatient, so I tend to just call out random things without ever spinning. Also, they left the spinner out and it got stepped on (and the plastic snapped), so we sort of have to do that now, anyway.

While I find the changes to the game unnecessary, it’s easy to just not implement them. The game is easy to store, teaches directions (left and right), and colour recognition. It also helps them use up some of that seemingly endless energy!

The game is recommended for ages 6+, and that makes sense due to average height and ability to tell left from right. Still, with a bit of patience (or improvising) you can play with kids much younger.

Twister is sold for approximately $15 at most retailers.

Disclaimer: Thoughts of Fluff is responsible for the content of this post. Twister was purchased by me and all opinions are my own and may differ from those of your own.