Review: Expanders by SimplyFun (TOS Review)

Our family loves games!  We were so excited to try out Expanders by SimplyFun. SimplyFun has lots of fun, educational games to choose from! 

Expanders is geared towards the ages of 7+.  It is a math based game working on addition math facts. 

I’ll admit at first glance the games seemed a bit confusion, but if you follow the directions, it quickly makes sense. 

Up to 4 people can play this game.  We typically played only 2, my 8 year old son and myself.  Though, I think my 6 year old son could play with a little bit of guidance; we have actually tired it with him yet.

The object of the game is to use up all your pieces.  You place a piece on a number, and then expand that number by places pieces on other numbers that are touching the original number, that add up to that number.  For instance if you put your first token on 10, you could expand by putting tokens also on 3, 2, and 5, as long as they were all touching each other. 

It’s really hard to explain, so I’m going to attempt to show you via pictures.  It is A LOT of fun though.  It uses

• Reverse Addition
• Spatial Reasoning
• Critical Thinking

Set up varies depending on how many players:

2 players                   3 players                 4 players

Every game the first 3 moves are specific moves, after that you can use any of the first 3 moves, whichever one you choose.  A game with 4 players would begin as such:

Turn 1 -  Action 1 (first move, first player)

Consists of the player picking any number on the first row of their side of the board and putting a token on it.

Turn 2 - Action 2 (first move, second player)

Consists of the player placing two tokens on two of the same numbers from the first row of his side of the board. 

Turn 3 - Action 3 (first move, third player)

Consists of the player placing one token on any number on the first row of his side of the board, and then expanding that number.  Here I picked 7, then expanded it to 5 & 2 (5+2=7).  The key is that the numbers you expand must be touching the initial number (either vertically, horizontally or diagonally).

After the first 3 moves are made, all other subsequent moves can be any of the 3 actions.

Turn 4 (first move, fourth player)  CHOOSE ANY ACTION

The 4th turn, any action an be used, however….it doesn’t have to be the first row any longer, as long as the tokens played are touching other tokens either vertically, horizontally or diagonally).  Here I placed a token on 11 and expanded it to 6 & 5.

Turn 5 (second move, first player)

Here I used Action 2, but the two identical numbers are touching my original placed token. 

If you are playing with 2 or 3 players (as opposed to 4), you still play the actions in order as outlined for the first 3 turns.

SimplyFun has a wide variety of games to choose from, all educational in one shape or form.  I love that they have a questionnaire you can fill out to find what games best suit your needs or learning interests.

They also have a Homeschool benefits program to receive discounts and free products.

They really believe in the importance of play in learning, which is a great philosophy in my book! 

We used this game as part of school time, family fun time, or any time.  That’s what is so great about learning through games, most of the time they don’t even know they are learning!

I’ve used games to teach my kids many concepts, so this is just one more to add to the collection (we have so many!).

I’m really excited to have found this company, to have reviewed this product and to hopefully check out more products in the future!  (They have direct sales representatives, you can host shows and get FREE products!).

I am hosting a SimplyFun online Party on Facebook this Saturday 8/15, there will be interaction from 9-930p EST, orders can be placed now throughout that weekend!  Please indicate Jennifer Altman as your hostess! Come join us!

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