Disclosure: I was sent a sample from the vendor in exchange for an honest review. All views shared are mine and mine alone.
If you follow my blog, then you know we are a game loving family. Each and every weekend we have a game night in our house. And, usually you will pull out games like TENZI, SLAPSI and ITZI. We have been playing these games for a few years now, after I was sent them to review. My girls love them, and are always quick to ask to play these when it is their turn to choose games for game night. So, when I was asked recently to review BUILDZI and PAIRZI games, from the creators of TENZI, I jumped at the opportunity as I knew my girls would love to play them, and help me review them.
Here is more about the two games, which are both perfect for ages 6-96, and can be played with 2 to 6 players (for PAIRZI) and 2-4 players for BUILDZI.
All about BUILDZI:
Buy now from Amazon for only $24.95
"BUILDZI is fun because it's fast and easy to learn. Flip over your Tower Card or Block Card and be the first to build your block tower. For more of a challenging tower game try using the yellow/black side of the Tower Card, these towers are a bit trickier to build and don't have colors to help identify the blocks.
If you're a fan of the TENZI family of games then you know there's not just one way to play this block stacking party game.
BUILDZI is a stacking game with instructions for 7 different ways to play including Together BUILDZI where you use your STEM skills to work as a team building a tower that includes all of the BUILDZI Blocks.
Playing BUILDZI can help develop and reinforce many STEM skills. Students will utilize Problem Solving, Creativity, Communication, Inquiry, Engineering/Design Thinking, Critical Thinking and Collaboration skills to complete any of the building block games included with BUILDZI. It's perfect for early finishers and is a great team building game.
Teachers love using BUILDZI for STEM activities for elementary aged kids and games for middle schoolers because it can help develop and reinforce many different skills that include fine motor skills used for stacking, spatial reasoning skills used to create a stable tower, creative divergent thinking by creating your own tower using the block cards, and building cooperative skills by working together to build a tower through cooperative play."
What's included:
- 32 BUILDZI Blocks
- 32 double-sided Tower Cards
- 32 Block Cards and instructions for 7 different fast-stacking, nerve-racking, building block games for kids that is easily adaptable for all ages.
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All about PAIRZI:
Buy now from Amazon for only $19.95
"Like TENZI, SLAPZI, and ITZI, PAIRZI is all about speed.
Find the most matching pairs of Critter Cards to win! Here’s the twist, before you can look for Critter Cards, you must roll a pair with your dice. If you roll two 3’s for example, you get to find 3 pairs of Critter Cards. Then back to rolling your dice, Roll a pair of 5’s, you get to find 5 pairs of Critter Cards. Gotta Getta Pair!
There’s not just one way to play PAIRZI, that’s why we’ve included instructions for 5 different PAIRZI games including PUSHOUT PAIRZI, SNAKE EYES PAIRZI, and PARTNER PAIRZI. You can even come up with your own fun, fast ways to play!
TEACHERS LOVE PAIRZI: Playing PAIRZI can help develop cognitive flexibility and speed, working memory, and directional skills while being extremely fun and simple to play. It's perfect for early finishers and team building activities."
What's Included:
- 60 multi-colored Critter Cards
- 60 yellow Critter Cards for more challenging games
- 6 pairs of dice
- Instructions for fast-paced, card matching
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What I love about both of these games is that they are easy to learn and easy to play. Within minutes of reading the instructions, your family is ready to play the game, and have hours of fun! :-) We ended up trying out the PAIRZI game first, as my girls loved the picture cards on the packaging. And, once we read through the directions, we were off and having so much fun rolling our two dice trying to roll a pair. If you like fast paced games, then you will love PAIRZI. My girls are very competitive and were eyeing each other across the table to see how each were doing with their dice rolling and matching. And, when one of them would make a match, the other would get upset and then try hard to roll a match. I lost count of how many games of PAIRZI we played the first go round with this game, as the girls kept wanting a rematch, in hopes of winner, and being called the PAIRZI champ for the night. :-)
After game night, my girls found themselves wanting to play PAIRZI during class breaks or in the evening, instead of watching television. They really got into this game, and loved the dice rolling and critter matching aspects of the game. Also, they liked how this game could be played with just 2 people, so they didn't have to wait until family game night to play it. Even though they practiced and played lots of times during the week, once we came together around the dining room table this past Saturday to play PAIRZI, it was so much fun, as you really leave it up to chance on you roll the dice and how you find the matching. So, no two games are ever the same, which makes for a very addicting yet fun game to play time and time again. I got lucky this past weekend and won 4 out of the 6 PAIRZI games we played. My girls are already asking for a rematch during the week, so I will have to check my schedule and pencil a few PAIRZI games in. :-)
In addition to the PAIRZI game, my family also recently tried out the BUILDZI game, also from the creators of TENZI. And, as the name suggests, this game has you building with the blocks. You can enjoy this game solo, or with up to 8 players, but the average game is good for 2-4 players. The object of the game is simple -- flip your card and then be the first to build your tower, without it falling down. Sounds easy, right? Well, it really is challenging, and with the fast paced aspect to the game, it can be nerve racking. I am not usually a fan of fast stacking games, but when I tried BUILDZI for the first time with my family, I was hooked, and found it to be not just a challenging game, but also super fun! The yellow/black side of the tower cards offer more challenging ways to play, and I found really make for a more engaging and entertaining family game night. I can see why so many teachers love BUILDZI, as it helps with developing fine motor skills, as well as help a child with their problem-solving skills. There really isn't much to this game beyond the build card and BUILDZI pieces, but as soon as you open the box and dump out the pieces to play, you know you are in for a brain-stimulating and of so fun game.
My husband is a computer programmer, and loves block building games like these. He thought he was going to win all the games, but found himself struggling to build his towers, once we yelled go, after flipping over the card. He was a little frazzled with the fast paced, race to win style of this game, but found himself wanting to play again and again, in hopes of coming in first. And, once he did build his tower first, he spent about 5 minutes gloating about how great of a building he was -- all while my girls were beating him left and right with the remaining BUILDZI games we played.
I can see both of these games being very popular for family game nights, as well as when we can all come together and have family and friends over. They are great party games, and will provide hours of enjoyment, time and time again. The folks at TENZI have yet to disappoint with their fast paced games, and BUILDZI and PAIRZI are right up there with their other games, as must play each week, when my family gathers for our family game night.
What will the folks at TENZI think of next? You can learn more about these other fun games for kids ages 6+ by visiting
https://ilovetenzi.com/. And, all of these games can be found and purchased through Amazon, making them super easy to get and gift this upcoming holiday season. Why not pick up BUILDZI and PAIRZI and add to your kids' stockings, or get these and a few other games from the creators of TENZI and wrap as a family gift, so you have so fun new games to play during your upcoming family game nights? However you choose to gift these fast paced challenging games, know you and your family will be in for a fun game night. We can't wait to play these two new games during the week. And, with rain in the forecast for Tuesday and Wednesday, I see lots and lots of BUILDZI and PAIRZI games in our future. :-)
Disclosure: I was sent a sample from the vendor in exchange for an honest review. All views shared are mine and mine alone.
