Holiday Gift Ideas -- Single Player Games from Thinkfun (Review)

I love it when I stumble across single player games, especially those that make you think.  This is the case with many of the games that Thinkfun has to offer. Having reviewed and fallen in love with their Thinkfun UnHinged Puzzle, I couldn't wait to try out a couple of their other games they suggested, which included Stenzzles and Turnstile.  Below is more information on each:

Stenzzles -Tropical
Ages 8 to adult, single player
Buy now at Amazon for only $8.05.

"Build stylish images and engage the creative side of your brain with this artistic layering puzzle. Rotate, layer, and stack the colorful Stenzzles cards together until the image exactly matches the challenge. These puzzles are as striking as they are clever and make great gifts for kids and adults alike."










Turnstile Ages 8 to adult, Single Player
Buy now at Amazon for only $15.01.

"Take your brain for a spin as you navigate through the maze. The goal is to get each of the four colored tokens into their respective corners, moving through turnstiles that shift and change the path as you go. An innovative new logic game that’s great for anyone who loves mazes."

Even though my daughters are too young to play these games my nieces and nephews who are 8 and older just love them, as do my husband and I. I don't know about you, but after a long and crazy day with the kids, I find doing brainteasers and puzzles not only fun, but a great way to unwind and relax.  So, I have these two games on the coffee table and will take turns playing them.  I have to say that my favorite is the Turnstile game, which has 40 challenges, ranging from beginner to expert, to complete.  At first, when I was completing the beginner challenges, I thought this puzzle game was a piece of cake.  Boy, was I wrong!  As the cards got more difficult, so did my frustration -- but in a good way.  I loved how I was being challenged to use my brain to navigate around this small board.  You would think that only having to move around a few tokens and turnstiles at a time that the puzzles would be quick and easy, but that is not the case.  Just the other night, I spent a good 2 hours trying to figure out one of the expert challenges, only to retire and have my husband give it a go.  He, too, had a hard time figuring it out, but with luck :-) he solved the puzzle.  When he was done gloating, he showed me how he solved this difficult mind-bending puzzle.  "Why didn't I think of that or see it?, " I thought to myself.  This only made me want to choose another challenge card and give it a go.  And, so goes this addicting, yet fun game the whole family can take turns playing.  My family and I love to see who can solve the puzzles the fastest.  And, being so compact, this game is easy to travel with, and keeps children 8+ entertained, which I love. :-)

Stenzzles, on the other hand is a puzzle challenge, which consists of 8 Stenzzles you flip, rotate and stack, to create 8 images.  Think it sound easy?  Well, you are wrong.  :-)  I couldn't get over how difficult it was to layer the Stenzzles in such a way to create each of these 8 images.  So far, I have only successfully made 5 out of the 8 puzzles.  This single player game, like Turnstile from Thinkfun, can be played by children 8+ years old, as well as adults.  I think adults will have more fun playing this game, as it looks like the images would be easy to solve. But, once you start playing, you can't stop.  Yes, you may get frustrated, speak a few curse words under your breath, and grunt and moan when you don't successfully solve a puzzle, but you will have a hard time putting it down.  This addicting game will have wishing there was more time in the day to solve these 8 image puzzles.  

So, if you love single-player, mind-bending games, why not give Stenzzles or Turnstile from Thinkfun a try today?  These games are a great way to help keep your mind sharp, and you as a mom sane after a crazy day with the kids. :-)  And, they would make for great gifts to give family and friends, or to have on hand for family game night. I can't wait to see what Thinkfun comes up with next for challenging single and multi-players games and puzzles.  Do you have a favorite Thinkfun game you enjoy playing solo or with family?  If so, leave me a comment below and let me know, so that I can check out the game(s), and pick them up for my family to enjoy.
 

--BUY NOW--

To buy these and other fun games for the whole family, head on over to the Thinkfun website and browse their selection of games -- 

Disclosure: I was sent samples from the vendor in order to write up an honest review.  The views above are mine and mine alone.