Board games for young children are not just for entertainment value alone, they also serve a unique purpose. While they are excellent at teaching about competition and strategy, they also encourage social skills, practicing patience, sparking creativity and depending on the game may involve things such as spelling, phonics, colour recognition, counting and lots more. They also provide the perfect opportunity for parents to bond with their children while at the same time helping to reinforce these important developmental lessons. And for the kids, well they offer a safe and fun environment to explore following rules, taking turns and celebrating small victories as well as learning to lose gracefully. The best children’s games combine education with entertainment and The Magic Tooth Fairy Game fits neatly into this category.
The Magic Tooth Fairy Game from Ideal is a magical spin and move board game designed for 2–4 players, aged 4+. The theme is instantly relatable: losing a tooth, placing it under your pillow and waiting for the Tooth Fairy’s visit, turning those lost teeth into golden coins. The aim of the game is to be the first player to lose 4 wobbly teeth and have the Magic Tooth Fairy turn them into 4 golden coins.
In the box:
- Circular Gameboard
- Magic Bed with Spinner
- Magic Tooth Fairy
- 4x Mini-Pillow Playing Pieces
- 16x Teeth
- 4x Smile Board
- 13x Golden Coins
- Sticker Sheet
- Instruction Manual
This is a magical board that is suitable for young children, and for four, five and six year olds is a really interesting game. Players spin the bed spinner to move one, two, three or four spaces around the board, moving their tooth and pillow playing piece around the board to try and land on a wobbly tooth space, avoiding the toothbrush space to land on the go to bed space, with your mini-pillow with a tooth, to see if the tooth fairy will visit and turn it into a golden coin – place the tooth under the pillow and it magically gets replaced with a golden coin (well, it seems like fairy magic when you are that young). Collect four of those special golden coins (which means your mouth is empty of teeth – well at least on your smile board anyway) and you are the winner!
Setting up the game is so simple. On the very first play you do need to attach some stickers to the side of the bedside cupboard and on the duvet spinner. The next part is top secret for the adults only so that the magic isn’t ruined for the youngest of players; take the 13 golden coins and post them into the slot on the headboard. With the bed loaded with golden coins, place the bed on to the game board, slotting the base into the holes and slot the Magic Tooth Fairy figure into position on the top of the bed cupboard. Now give each player a smile board, a colour-matched mini-pillow and four teeth. Players place their teeth on the spaces on the smile board. Setup is complete – I told you it was simple.
Now to play. The youngest player gets to start, with play moving to the player on the left throughout the game. On their turn, players spin the spinner on the bed and move their mini-pillow the number of spaces clockwise around the board. The player then follows the instruction that space gives, there are four different types of spaces:
- Wobbly Tooth (Tooth Space): You have a wobbly tooth – take one from your smile board and slot it into place on your mini-pillow.
- Brush Your Teeth (Toothbrush Space): If you have a tooth in your mini-pillow, brushing is keeping it good and unfortunately you must return it to your smile board. But if you don’t have a tooth in your mini-pillow you get to pick a player who does have one and they have to return theirs to their smile board.
- Extra Move Space (Move x Spaces): Nice and simple, move your mini-pillow the indicated number of spaces.
- Go to Bed (Moon and ZZZ Space): If you are lucky enough to land here with a tooth in your mini-pillow, it’s bedtime. Place your tooth under the liftable pillow on the bed and push down gently on the head of the Magic Tooth Fairy. Take your finger off her head and lift the pillow and now you should have magically received a golden coin under the pillow.
The first player to exchange their four teeth from their smile board for golden coins is the winner.
Overall, The Magic Tooth Fairy Game is a quick and fun game for young children. The game board is simple, uncluttered and easy to navigate while also being colourful and inviting. The magic bed and the Magic Tooth Fairy creates a sense of wonder for young players – how does the tooth change into a golden coin? As players move around the board and lose a tooth which they then place under the pillow to magically transform into a golden coin is the highlight of the game – young players never fail to be amazed by the magic of the Tooth Fairy.
It is a quick game to play, around 10-15 minutes, and has simple rules so it is perfect for children that don’t have a huge attention span.
As a game for young children to play together it is excellent and great for family bonding. Gameplay is straightforward and preschoolers can put counting, colour-recognition and turn-taking skills to the test. And it even promotes the idea of good dental hygiene.
The components are good quality and durable, although you do need to be a bit gentle when pushing down on the head of the Magic Tooth Fairy figure.
For young children of four and five it is a fun game and the “magic” of the tooth changing to coins never fails to delight. For older children it isn’t complex enough to keep their interest after a game or two. But for the younger players starting out on their board game journey it is engaging and fun.
The Magic Tooth Fairy is an amusing board game for young players, it has been designed for those players that still have the magic of the Tooth Fairy in their heart. Plus it blends education with enchantment. While it won’t satisfy those seeking strategic play, it shines as a family game for younger children. For parents looking to introduce their kids to board games, this is a sparkling choice that delivers both fun and magic.
Rating: 4/5
RRP: £19.99
For more information visit www.johnadams.co.uk. Available to buy from Amazon here.