Iota, the game

Review post

You may remember that a while ago, a friend spotted this game in a shop.

I wrote to the company, Gamewright,  and asked them if they'd like to send me a free Iota, and if so, I'd review it for them. They did, and here is the review.

Iota is like a cross between Uno and Scrabble. The cards are categorised by colour, shape and number. So it's a red triangle with the number 5, or a green circle with the number 2. See? It's Uno's cousin.

You play by laying down on the table a row of cards. They have to be either all the same, or all different. Get it? You can put down a row of 3 red cards, or 4 triangles, or a row consisting of a 3, a 4, and a 2. It then becomes like Scrabble, as each player lays down cards forming new rows, but using what's already on the table as a starting point, and you're able to make two or more rows in a turn.

What we liked:

• It's a good game for a spread of ages. We have often struggled with this (what teenager wants to play snap, and what 3 year old can join her older siblings in Monopoly?). Iota seemed to work for 9 to 16.
• I really like the dinky little square cards, in a dinky little tin. It's nicely produced. Iota can fit in your handbag (and that's a sentence I never envisaged writing). The tin is 5 x 5 x 2.5cm - really dinky.
• It's a mental challenge, but not overload. The game moves quickly enough, and a round is finished before you start to feel it's dragging on.

What we didn't like:

• Scoring. Oh dear, yes, it's one of those games where add up the scores at the end of the round, and need to have a pencil and paper to keep track. I've never liked that in a game - but perhaps that's just a personal thing.
• I thought that Iota didn't know what it is. It's a hybrid looking for an identity. It seems like a travel game (dinky and handbag-sized), but you need a flat surface to play it, and it has to be a large flat surface. We found we were falling off the edge of our kitchen table as the grid expanded in one direction. So that rules out trains, planes, or camping. Come on, Iota, sort yourself out. Are you a travel game, or a home game? I have to add, though, that Husband couldn't see my point here, ("It's just a game. It doesn't have to be a something game or a something other game.") so maybe this is another personal thing. (I had no idea I have such fixed likes and dislikes in games!)
• It didn't quite work. Perhaps we haven't quite understood the rules, but there were occasional turns where we looked at the grid and couldn't work out whether the move was allowed or not.

The verdict

I wanted to love Iota. Of course I did. But I couldn't love it. I did like it, though, and given that it's not a serious financial outlay at only £7.00 on Amazon, I would say give it a go as a stocking filler. Not much to lose, and maybe for your family it'll be one of those games that's addictive over a holiday, and you'll think it was the best £7.00 you spent that Christmas. Whether a game catches on with a family or not is a very personal thing, and though my family didn't adore it, I think the elements are there for other families to do so. And since it's "Mensa Select", you'll be able to enjoy the notion that you are enhancing your children's brainpower as you play.  "Enhance your brainpower with Iota" - that sounds rather good.

Another thought

The Gamewright game that we have loved as a family is Sleeping Queens. I don't know what it is about that game, but though it looks quite girly, it was a huge hit with my two sons when they were 6 and 10, and their interest in it lasted a good 2 or 3 years. I would always take it away on holiday, because it would keep them quiet, guaranteed, when they'd run out of other things to do. My daughter has enjoyed it too.

The game was invented by a child, who wrote to the company with the idea. I like that aspect of it. Didn't we all invent games as a child, and think that they should be produced by a games company? Good for Gamewright for picking up a child's idea. There are a few quirky rules in it, so you have to persevere until you've memorised them and they've become second nature, but I'd say that only takes two or three rounds. The cards are nicely designed, so there is interest just in looking at the pictures. Also available on Amazon, and also an excellent idea for a stocking filler.

Note: I received a free copy of the game Iota (retail value £7.00) to review. All the opinions in this blog post are my own.

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New blog on the block

Well, since writing that last blog post, I have NOT been able to get I'm Your Man out of my mind. If you're going to do it do it right, right? I might even have found it on Youtube and danced round the study to it. Actually, dancing round the study to Youtube is strangely energising. You should try it some time.

Anyhoo, what I'm really wanting to tell you about is a new blog on the block. It's written by 10-yo, and you should check it out, for interesting opinions on why the clever children in films and books are always portrayed as wearing glasses, and whether Hermione should have married Harry or Ron. Helping her set it up has been an interesting litttle window into Wordpress, and I'm thinking of joining you Wordpress people. I'm so fed up with the whole Blogger experience.

It's over at this link, and if you wanted to leave an encouraging comment, that would be kind. If you're going to do it do it right, right?

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All about me

I've been tagged to answer a whole list of random questions, by Emma Kaufmann, who blogs at Mommy has a Headache. Thank you, Emma!

1. If you could go back in history who would you most like to meet?

I would like to meet some of my own forebears. That's rather ego-centric of me, isn't it?

2. What was one of the most embarassing things your kid said in public?

I'm going to have to write a post about the time I was in a doctor's waiting room, and joked with my daughter (aged about 5) about a bruise I had on my arm, and how I didn't want the doctor to see it because he might think Daddy hit me (why? why does one say these things?) and... you know the rest of the story. It's actually worse than you think, because this wasn't our GP or anything run of the mill like that. Oh no. This was the Immigration Center doctor, giving me the medical I had to pass to get a Green Card. "Embarrassing" isn't really the word. "Acutely inappropriate, painful, and possibly life-changingly significant" is more like it.

3. If you were an animal what would you be and why?

Elephant. They take life slowly and seem very sociable. Hm... they do have a 2-year gestation period, though, which would have been tough.

4. Have you ever eaten Haggis? Did you like it? 

Yes, I eat haggis regularly and really like it.

5. What's the stupidest thing you have said in a job interview?

I didn't say this, but I thought it so hard that I think it must have appeared on my face in neon writing.

I was fresh out of university, had no idea what I wanted to do with my life, but had applied to the graduate training scheme for M&S. First stage was to go and look round an M&S store, and have a preliminary interview with a local manager. So I went to M&S Aylesbury, and a keen young graduate trainee showed me round. I was horrified. She was so excited about stock control. She talked about how you had to be 100% committed to the company - you couldn't choose where you started. You could be sent to M&S Inverness, or M&S Penzance, or anywhere in between. I didn't have plans for my life, but I absolutely didn't see myself at the beck and call of a big company that sold socks and knickers. And I knew I couldn't get excited about stock control. I mean, I was going to use my life to make a difference to the world. (I have lost some of my youthful idealism about careers by now, you'll be glad to hear.)

After my tour of the store, she wished me good luck and showed me into the manager's office. The manager's first question was "So what attracts you to a career in retail management?" and I must have had "Nothing at all" written across my face for a good few seconds of embarrassed silence, before I managed to mumble something. I didn't get through to the next stage.

6. Do you believe in friendship between men and women?

Not really. And the more someone protests that they are "just good friends, but it really works", the more I know that they aren't and it doesn't.

7. Is Kate Middleton someone you look up to or someone who seems awfully nice but basically completely uninteresting?

I don't look up to her, but I don't think she's completely uninteresting. My mother thinks she is "a dark horse", and my mother is often right. She meant "dark horse" in a good way, by the way.

8. Do you feel like you are a slave to technology?

I try very hard not to be. I went through a blogging addiction phase, but I came out the other side. It's why I don't have a Facebook page, because I know I would spend hours on it. I can happily live for a few days without a computer or phone. No, truly (but only a few...)

9. Have you ever had a chip butty? If not would you like to?

Yes. One was enough. My children invented the Ritz Cracker sandwich (using toast, not just plain bread), which I think is probably similar in terms of carbohydrate overload. One of those is enough for me too.

10. If you were on a desert island what one record from the 80s would you bring with you?

If I could figure out the answer to that question, I would certainly be clever enough to figure out how to get off the desert island. So many to choose from, each with its own set of memories and associations. I think it would have to be something Fleetwood Mac, possibly Dreams, because, yes, I really am that unoriginal. It does sum up a whole era, though, you have to agree. From the point of view of health (physical, not mental), I should really take Wham!'s I'm Your Man. I and my flat-mate used to do DIY aerobics to it, and I can't hear it without wanting to launch instantly into various repetitious actions with my arms and legs. It's amazing how often that song is played in supermarkets these days. I almost have to leave if it comes on, so Pavlovian is my response. It would keep me fit if I took it.

11. Do you understand the rules of American football?

No. Of course not. I only lived there for 5 years. How many Americans living in Britain for 5 years would understand the rules of cricket? The only rule I know about it, if you're a mother, you're allowed to hate it and hope your young son will never want to play it.

Now I have to:

• Acknowledge the nominating blogger by linking back to their blog – thanks Emma, at Mommy has a Headache (I've already done that, actually)

• Invite 11 more bloggers to take up the challenge and give them 11 questions to answer. Please, Bloggy Friends, don't let your hearts sink. It took me about 15 minutes to answer the above 11 questions. This can be a very speedy blog post!

Here goes:

1. What is the view from the window of the room where you are currently sitting?
2. Do you buy lottery tickets?
3. If you had to live in the Arctic Circle, or on the Equator, which would it be?
4. What's the novel inside you (you know, the one that everyone is supposed to have)?
5. Do you still have your wedding dress (if you're married)?
6. Is your big toe longer or shorter than the one next to it?
7. Name a guilty pleasure.
8. If you could change one thing you've done in the last week, what would it be?
9. What's your middle name? (go on, we're all grown-ups now, it's not embarrassing any more)
10. Can you, with Edith Piaf, say "Je ne regrette rien"? 
11. What fairy story character do you most identify with? (don't over-think this one)

(Wow, that was fun, thinking up those 11.)

And I'm asking:

Gappy Tales (because you made a comment recently about having too much time on your hands)
Expat Mum
Nappy Valley Girl
Middle Aged Matron
12 Hours To Bedtime
Circles in the Sand
Ms Caroline
Bod for Tea
Carrot Crush in the Hindu Kush
Plan B
Sticky Fingers

Over to you, Ladies!

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Review of great product

Review post

Since cancer, I have become more careful about what is contained in products I use. Not obsessively, but where there is a (not ridiculously expensive) good option, I do use it.

Skincare is one area I'm careful about. Why would you want to smear onto your porous skin, chemicals that are known carcinogens? Why? There are some nice products out there, which don't contain those noxious chemicals. Use those instead - why not? But I've found it hard to find an eye make-up remover that fits my needs.

I don't ask much from eye make-up remover. I ask that it

• removes eye make-up easily and completely (reasonable, huh?)
• doesn't make your eyes sting
• isn't greasy.

Anything else is a bonus. That would seem simple enough, but I've bought some products that haven't met those criteria. Then I'm so flipping frugal, that I insist on using up the bottle, even though I hate it, and it takes me ages to do so, since I don't wear make-up every day.

When I saw the Amie range reviewed on a blog, it looked so good that I contacted Amie, and asked for a couple of samples.

                 
                      The first is a facial wash.

                       It's lovely. 

                       Smells flowery, is smooth, is soft. 

                       But I'll save my superlatives for the next one.

             Amie's eye make-up remover.

             Remember my three criteria? Well, this product

              -  is effective
              -  doesn't make my eyes sting
              -  isn't greasy AT ALL.




I love it. It smells delicious. I enjoy using it. If it could have walked me down the aisle, opened a joint account with me, and given me children, I might have married it (though given my previous post, I might revisit that last matrimonial obligation).

You can buy Amie products online here.

This was a review post. I received one Morning Clear Purifying Facial Wash, value £4.95, and one Bright Eyes Make Up Remover, value £4.75. The opinions are entirely my own.

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Aaaaaarrrrggghhh

Promise me there's light at the end of this mother-of-teenagers tunnel...

Is there?

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How do you teach your child to talk to adults? It might depend on which side of the Atlantic you live.

There was a blog post that I wrote several years ago. I think I just wrote it in my head and never got it out onto my blog. I'd forgotten about it, but I've just been reminded of it at a parents' evening at school.

I wrote that post in the early days of my blog, when it was all about our experiences of newly arriving in America, spotting the differences, picking them up and analysing them, turning them this way and that way in words, trying to make best sense of them, enjoying some of them, lamenting others. While they were still differences.

That post was about a difference in the way that adults expect children to relate to them. It struck me that in America, children are drawn into a conversation with an adult in a more genuine way. I think in the UK, when two parents meet with children in tow, they will start by questioning the children, but it's usually fairly cursory, and everyone expects the conversation to move quickly on to the point where just the parents are engaging, and the children are standing listening. I know we've come a long way since the days when children were expected to be seen and not heard, but even so, when was the last time you asked a child not your own "How was your week-end?" and expected them to say anything other than "Good, thank you"? You don't really expect the child (and we're talking quite young children here, primary school age) to give you more than perhaps one fact about the week-end. You might have a quick dialogue about a trip or an event, but that would be all. You certainly don't expect them to reply "Good, thank you, and how was yours?"

That's the nub of it. This side of the Atlantic, children are questioned, and they reply. We don't then expect them to do the questioning. That's an adult role.

That was the thing I noticed when we first arrived in America. I would say "How are you?" to a child, and they would say it right back. And then sometimes, they'd even ask more questions.

"How are you, Little Johnny?"

"I'm good, and how are you, Mrs Manhattan?"

(Hiding surprise) "I'm good too, thanks."

"How was your week-end?"

(Consciously having to lower eyebrows) "It was fine thanks."

"Did you do anything nice?"

(Whoa...) "Um, well, I took the car to the service centre, and I did a bit of shopping. Otherwise we were just hanging out really. What about you?" (Let's get back to ME asking the questions here).

I wondered if it reflected an underlying difference in attitude. Do we Brits see children as children, whereas the Americans see them as little adults? I think that's probably taking it too far, but perhaps we Brits do have a child-speak, a way of conversing with children, that is fundamentally to do with us doing the talking, and them doing the polite replies. I was struck by the confidence with which a school child would be asking me about myself. Sometimes it came across as bumptiousness, and definitely at first it felt like a pleasantry too far! I'd be anticipating that the mother would laughingly interrupt the conversation, and steer it back to herself and me, but they didn't seem to. They let the child chatter on. Then I came to enjoy it. Why on earth shouldn't an individual converse on an equal footing, just because they are a different age to you? So long as it's respectfully done.

As I mentioned, this all came flooding back to me at a parents' evening. I was talking to 16-yo's tutor, and she said that one thing she really liked about him was that he would talk to her as if she was a person too. "Most of the pupils", she said, "will just answer your questions, but 16-yo will ask me how I am, and he'll ask as if he really means it, and wants to know."

"That's what living in America does for your children", I replied. Inwardly I smiled, at the thought of those small primary children, out there on the Great Plains, who taught me and my son that it's ok for children to converse too.

Meanwhile, these cartoons aren't completely relevant, but they did make me laugh while I was googling "cartoon about kids' conversation".

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