Penguin game — tap out the ice, don't drop him

A tray of ice blocks on four legs with a penguin standing in the middle. Players take turns spinning the wheel and tapping out a block of the colour it lands on. The one whose tap drops the penguin through the ice loses.

What it builds

• Taking turns and waiting for them, since everyone watches every tap
• A light, controlled hand. Hit too hard and the whole shelf goes.
• Early strategy: working out which block is safe to take and which one is holding the penguin up
• Losing gracefully, which it teaches fast because a round lasts only a few minutes

Why we stock it

Most games for three-year-olds are pure luck, so there's nothing to get better at. This one has a small piece of skill inside the luck. The spinner picks the colour, but the child picks the block, and by the fifth round they have noticed that some blocks matter more than others. Rounds are short, setup is quick, and nobody has to read. That makes it one of the few games a preschooler and a grandparent can play on equal terms.

The details

Age

3 and up

Players

2 to 4

Round

A few minutes

Contents

Ice tray, 4 legs, ice blocks, penguin, spinner, 2 hammers

Material

Moulded plastic

Power

None. No batteries.

In the box

The hexagonal ice tray, four legs, the ice blocks, the penguin, the colour spinner and two hammers, in the printed carton. Snap the legs on once and it's ready. Refilling the tray between rounds takes about a minute.

Care

Wipe it clean with a damp cloth. Store the blocks inside the tray so none go missing. The game gets easier with every block that's lost. Tap, don't smash. The hammers are light on purpose, and a hard swing sends blocks across the room.

Specifications colours and content may vary from illustrations