PRODUCT NAME: Don’t Rock the Boat
PRODUCT TYPE: Board Game
AGES: 5 YEARS AND UP
MANUFACTURER: PATCH Products, makers of “Hangman” by Lauri Toys and these great magnet activity boards by Smethport (we bought the “Solar System” one ages ago). Also the company behind 100 Wacky Things.
RETAIL PRICE: $16.99 (though I have seen it for purchase at Target for as low as $9.99 in Long Beach (CA) area as of early December 2012)
The Toy Industry Association nominated Patch Products’ “Don’t Rock the Boat” for a “Toy of the Year” award in the Games category for 2012.
Argh! Pirates and penguins, together at last! At least I have to think this is what the makers of one of the newest balance board games was thinking. And really, it is a pretty genius concept to float to the youngest game-playing set.
T focuses hard on placing his penguin pirate atop the carefully balanced ship during the game “Don’t Rock the Boat.”
Patch Products’ “Don’t Rock the Boat” is making waves with kids of all ages with their newest game based on a pirate crew of peg-leg penguins that try to take over a wobbly pirate ship en masse one matey at a time. Players take turns, and the player who successfully boards the most penguin mateys without toppling the other shipmates and/or the boat wins.
C helps T keep a steady hand during a game of “Don’t Rock the Boat.”
Looks like Don’t Rock the Boat is making quite a splash with the toy experts, too. “Don’t Rock the Boat” has been nominated for a Toy of the Year (TOTY) Award for 2012 by the Toy Industry Association, the so-called “Academy Awards” of the toy business.
The back of the box for “Don’t Rock the Boat.” Take note of the pirate’s expression.
Gee, now I understand where they got the idea for the frustrated pirate on the back of the box of “Don’t Rock the Boat.”
T happily plays with his new penguin pirate boat, AKA he’s pretending “Don’t Rock the Boat” is his newest toy rather than an interactive board game. And that’s OK.
While this game appears to be receiving high accolades from all-ages, T’s reception has been somewhat tepid to date. Don’t misunderstand – he LOVES the pirate theme and he LOVES the penguins. In fact, he’s rather enjoyed his new pirate ship “toy.” However, T’s just turned five-years old, and I just think that the overall sit-down-and-concentrate concept isn’t his cup of grog at the moment whatever the game or toy involved. T was quite the frustrated salty dog while playing the few times that we’ve attempted so far anyway. While during our first time playing we didn’t realize that the deck of the boat wasn’t inserted properly until the end of play (the boat comes manufacturer-assembled), the other times after C had re-leveled the decks we still ran up against some of the same frustration issues.
“Poppa’s Pizza Topple” is another balance-themed board game for the younger set. We received this sometime around when T was 2 or 3 years old.
We’ve also had a bit of exposure to a balancing/ concentration game before in the form of “Poppa’s Pizza Topple.” Perhaps there just wasn’t the novelty with “Don’t Rock the Boat” that there’s been with other recent gaming hits in our house, such as “Chicken Cha-Cha-Cha” and even Patch’s other offering “100 Wacky Things.”
T watches as all his penguin pirates slide down to one side of the deck during “Don’t Rock the Boat.”
I clearly see the wonderful benefits to “Don’t Rock the Boat,” and I am going to keep bringing it out of dry-dock as T gets a wee bit older (meaning, in another few weeks or months). This game requires a gentle, steady hand, a rough understanding of how a scale works, and a basic comprehension of how symmetry works in a 3D space. While T has a basic grasp of these three skills independently, we’re still working on him being able to multi-task such skills together simultaneously (and manage age-appropriate levels of frustration, heh). I am glad to know that we have the perfect game on hand to help him develop these very useful traits in a jolly-good-time sort of way.
Thanks to Patch Products for giving me the opportunity to review their highly acclaimed board game “Don’t Rock the Boat.”
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
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