Want a great, flexible game that is loads of fun to use in Speech therapy sessions or family game night with your preschoolers? “Richard Scarry’s Busytown Busy Busy Airport Game” encourages pretend play within the game using props from Richard Scarry’s classic, “A Day at the Airport” and themed drawings venturing through categories of a travelling preschooler’s experience. Take off for the beach, city or the mountains and learn vocabulary, describe activities, find details and pretend to fly your plane.
Here is my review:
Fasten you seat belts and get ready for take-off from Busy Town Airport on your very own passenger plane. Part pretend play and part game, this latest product is signature “I Can Do that! Games” fun. The box itself is loaded with airport detail–an early latte kiosk, x-ray machine, security stops, and baggage claim belt on the container’s bottom and shops selling bananas, books, flowers and snacks along the sides. Slip the control tower on the side of the box, assemble your airplanes, stand your passenger tiles in the slots of the floor of the airport, and place the destination cards around the room. Each card is a feast of Richard Scarry details around the theme of a mountain, forest, beach and city. Drop the dice down the top of the control tower, tumbling down to show two possible actions to take–involving loading a passenger in your plane or going to a destination. If a player chooses to fly her plane to a theme of fun, she drops off her passenger and picks up a souvenir to take home in her cargo slot. After all the passengers are delivered, players add up the numbers on their souvenir cards to determine the winner. Kids loved this game! It didn’t take long for them to add sound effects as they flew their planes to build sandcastles on the beach or go skiing in the mountains. The scenarios, loaded with rich detail abound with activities from building sandcastles to pitching a tent in the woods, providing an outstanding opportunity for language expression . Talking through choices of where to go, what passenger to pick, and activities on their theme card, kids can’t help but react to Scarry’s charming drawings. Talk about what activity you like best, or what you’ve experienced, drawing your child into a conversation about travel, experiences and fun.