Spell Shot Zapped Edition Review

Cast spells head-to-head on your iPad with SPELLSHOT zAPPed edition! When you download the free app to your iPad (iPad required, not included), you can play your Wizard and iPad together! Choose from 4 Wizards and battle through the Island and Jungle worlds. Your iPad will recognize your Wizard and put incredibly cool battle spells at your fingertips! Who will win the iPad battle of spells? There’s only one way to find out!

Play your Wizard and iPad together with SPELLSHOT zAPPed Edition! Cast spells on your iPad! Works with your iPad (iPad required, not included). Choose from Air Wizard BREEZICUS, Fire Wizard NOXIUS, Tree Wizard LANDOR or Water Wizard STORMICA. Your iPad recognizes your wizard! 2 magical worlds!

Includes 4 Battle Wizards and 4 Spell Cards.

I'm sure it is probably just me but this game seems totally 'mom-proof' to me.  I swear I could not play this to save my life.  I attempted it first with my youngest (4) thinking that while it said '8 and up' for recommended ages that it'd be fine if I played with him. Usually I find that this rating often because reading is required.  We messed with it and I swear I followed the directions but no matter how many times I felt like I did the moves it was telling me to, I was not casting any spells.  But as much as I hate to feel dumb, I've resigned myself to the fact that my (almost) ten year old is smarter than I am.  So I put it away and figured I'd have him give it a try.
I forgot about it for a couple days until I found him and his brother playing it.  I hadn't told him about the trouble I'd had. And he just looked at me like I had three heads when I asked if they had trouble playing it.  I'm still pouting so I haven't touched it since but the older two boys like it.  But for us it's better if they don't play each other.  I probably make it sound like I have the worst kids ever, I know I don't, but they have serious trouble playing with EACH OTHER nicely.  They fight about everything and playing games against each other only insights accusations of cheating, which usually leads to yelling and sometimes even crying.  But that's just that them, can't blame it on the game.  Things go much better in our house if they can be played as a full family or can be played individually. Which Spellshot CAN be done with just one player.  But appearently it was more fun as 2 player because they've tried to play together several times.  Each time lasts slightly longer than the last, probably due to my threats of never letting them have the iPad again.

As I've mentioned with other zAPPed reviews, remember that there is some downloading involved so be sure to set it up before you're ready to play.  And don't for instance take the stuff with you somewhere without Wi-Fi (how dare such places even still exist) in hopes of playing.  And I'm still hoping for the perfectly designed case to keep the zAPPed pieces and cards organized and safe.

For 1 to 2 players.  Ages 8 and up.   iTunes account and adult assistance required. iPad required, not included. App in English language only. Works with iPad 4.x or newer.

If you enjoy using the iPad with nondigital elements as much as we do, be sure to check out the other zAPPed games such as Battleship and our current family favorite the zAPPed edition of the Game of LIFE.

Disclosure: We received a complimentary copy of this game for review purposes from Hasbro.  All opinions expressed are my own honest, personal feedback. I have not been compensated for a positive review.

Battleship Zapped Edition Review

Battle aliens and protect the planet on your iPad with BATTLESHIP zAPPed edition! After you download the free app, you can play your BATTLESHIP game and iPad together. Go on epic missions around the globe to hunt down alien targets – and destroy them! Choose one of the 3 zAPP ships and set it on the screen. Your iPad will recognize your battleship, aircraft carrier or destroyer, and put each ship’s super weapons at your fingertips! Who will win the iPad battle of you versus the aliens? There’s only one way to find out!

Play your BATTLESHIP game and iPad together with BATTLESHIP zAPPed Edition! Hunt aliens on your iPad! Works with your iPad (iPad required, not included). Choose from battleship, aircraft carrier or destroyer zAPP ships. Your iPad recognizes your ship! Each ship has its own super weapons!

Includes 3 zAPP ships and 3 Strategic Battle Cards.

If you don't mind sharing your iPad a little more, check out Battleship zAPPed Edition for the iPad.  For me the iPad is already sort of a family gadget so I am ok with sharing (back away from my laptop though).  I was surprised that it was a 1 player game given that the well known game has always been a two person game.  But once we worked out sharing and taking turns (yes by 9 and 10 years old this should probably not be such and issue but it still is) the boys really enjoyed Battleship zAPPed.

And it should probably go without saying but since I always forget, there is some downloading required so if you have impatient kids (like I do) you might want to go ahead and open this and download the app before asking them if they want to play! 

Now I just need someone to design a great case to hold all our zAPPed pieces and cards.  Right now they are in a ziplock baggie because we are REALLY good at losing juts about anything but especially cards!

My four year old did give this a try and was just frustrated by it so I'd say the 8+ age rating is pretty fair because my almost 9 and 10 year old loved it.

Ages 8 and up.   For 1 player.   iTunes account and adult assistance required. iPad required, not included. App in English language only. Works with iPad 4.x or newer.

I really enjoy using the iPad with nondigital elements.  There are other zAPPed games such as SpellShot Wizards and our absolute family favorite game right now the zAPPed edition of the Game of LIFE.

Disclosure: We received a complimentary copy of this game for review purposes from Hasbro.  All opinions expressed are my own honest, personal feedback. I have not been compensated for a positive review.

#DipDipHooray Family Game Night Picnic

After a week of running from work to sitter to practices, I'm ready for an easy meal solution.  This Labor Day weekend I headed to Walmart to get some help putting together an easy family game night picnic.  The three day weekend actually left us with an evening without any commitments and since I knew we would have a long busy day on Labor Day, I thought a great Family Game Night at home might be just what we needed to spend time together but also be able to be well rested the next day.

My littlest shopping partner and I picked up Tyson Chicken Nuggets, Heinz Ketchup and Ore Ida French Fries to make a easy dinner that my kids would LOVE and would allow me to join in the Hasbro game night fun!

I did find that the nuggets and fries actually had different prep times and temps but I made some slight modifications and managed to make some yummy stuff all ready at about the same time.  (I know you're wow'd by my expertise in the kitchen.  But with a little work you too can master these fabulous skills.)

I dished it up for our indoor picnic....

But then decided I didn't want the boys eating ketchup on my new rug so they ate with plates on the coffee table...almost picnic style!

They were still pretty happy with it. 

But the best part was that this simple, kid approved meal allowed mama the time to get down on the floor and play with the kids.

We broke out our current favorite Hasbro family game Life Zapped Edition.  A fun classic with a hi tech twist.

 Pick your car and your peg but interact with your pieces on the iPad.

I sometimes really struggle to find the time to plan something like a family game night, even though we do play games together regularly.  But having something like Tyson and OreIda on hand means I can always have an impromptu family game night indoor picnic whenever we find ourselves with a (very rare) evening with nothing to rush off to.

Check out more photos of our shopping trip 

and game night on Google+!

Be sure to check out the current promotion going on right now at DipToPlay.com where one grand prize winner will receive a $1,000 Hasbro Game Night Grand Prize of top-rated board games and dinnertime favorites from Heinz® Ketchup, Ore-Ida® French Fries, & Tyson® Chicken Nuggets!  They are also giving away 250 Hasbro games.  Check out the official rules and then enter to win!

Ready to keep dipping? Check out the brands online:

Heinz on Facebook & Heinz on Twitter

Ore-Ida on Facebook

Tyson on Facebook & Tyson on Twitter

I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™ Tyson and Heinz #CBias #SocialFabric