I Never Forget a Face Memory Game by eeBoo
What makes a face a face? We all have the same basic ingredients right? Two eyes, a nose and mouth…so how is it there can be such variation?! The I Never Forget a Face memory game by eeBoo can help children sharpen their attention to detail, improve their memory and concentration, foster their development of social skills, and teach pattern and spatial recognition. There are many different memory games available, but this one throws in a cultural twist to the mix; highlighting children from all over the world.
The game consists of 24 pairs of face cards. The cards are very sturdy—built for years of play—and, as the box proclaims, are made from 90% recycled gray board. The cards are small enough (2.25” square) to make the game more transport-friendly, but big enough for little hands to manipulate. On the back cover the ‘home’ country under each child is listed.
The point of memory games is to match as many paired cards as possible—of course it’d be fairly easy if all the cards were face up, but the challenge comes when the cards are face down and a specific card’s placement to make a match is dependent on recollection! Even though the I Never Forget a Face memory game says it’s for children ages 5 years and older, I’ve had a lot of past experience adapting memory games for a large groupings of children OR just to make it a more successful experience for a younger child. In any event, families typically can enjoy memory games for many years with their children.
The I Never Forget a Face memory game gets a so-so PLAY ON stamp of approval mostly because I think it had so much promise, but because of a pet-peeve design flaw and some outright misinformation, I can’t get whole-heartedly behind it.
Design missteps and/or outright misinformation:
●If it’s going to be a multi-cultural game, why not use actual children’s faces on the cards rather than ‘cartoonized’ faces? The images aren’t disrespectful, but I’d have preferred seeing real children.
●eeBoo missed a logical step by neglecting to include a map of the world with the home countries noted. Having that would have helped any child playing gain a better global perspective.
●Hawaii has been part of the United States since 1959 so I have no idea WHY it’s listed as if it was another country!
Yours in Play!
Teacher Karen