0
0
Players: 2-4 (ages 3+)
Playing Time: 10-20 minutes
“Once upon a time in a beautiful rose garden, there were four ladybug friends who flew among the leaves, exploring their sweet-smelling home….”
Ella Yellow, Rickie Red, Tommy Teal, and Olivia Orange were out playing one day when a strong, cold wind blew them far from home. It’s your job to get them past the praying mantis and beyond the lazy ants at Ant Alley and help them find their way home.
To help the ladybugs find their way home, players take turns making their way across the board, collecting Aphids along the way. When it’s your turn, you draw one Ladybug Card, which will either allow you to collect a number of Aphid tokens or move a certain number of spaces (either forward or backwards) across the board.
Along the way, players face two challenges: the mantis and the ants. To get past the mantis, you need a Praying Mantis Pass. If you reach the mantis and you don’t have a pass, you’ll have to go back to the beginning and try again. And to get past the ants, you need to give them ten Aphids. If you don’t have ten, you’ll have to circle around and collect more before you can move on.
The first player to make it back home wins the game.
Designed by six-year-old Kylie Copenhagen, The Ladybug Game is a fun, colorful game that’s sure to be a favorite with kids of all ages. The board is well designed and covered in bright illustrations. Kids will love drawing the colorful Ladybug Cards and collecting the little Aphid tokens. If you’re planning on playing with four players, though, you might want to keep a few pennies around, just in case—since the number of Aphid tokens is limited.
The game even comes with a Ladybug Adventure story sheet that tells the ladybugs’ story. It would have been even better if it were an actual book, but it’s a cute story nonetheless—and one that your kids will undoubtedly make you read each time you open the box.
Though younger players will need a little help, the Ladybug Cards are designed to help players learn their numbers. Each one explains the required action in words and numbers as well as in pictures—so it will help kids learn to count for themselves. And, if you ask me, there’s nothing better than a fun kids’ game that tricks kids into learning something.
When it comes to games for younger kids, there are just a few big names that seem to be the standard. Who, for instance, doesn’t have a copy of Candy Land lying around? But all kids deserve a little variety—and I recommend The Ladybug Game as a great addition to any young child’s game collection.
