Squint Junior is a game I have wished existed. My son started telling us the things he saw in everyday items that were different than what we normally saw. For instance, he would look at a ceiling frame in a house and say, "N," or look at the blinds in our home and say "H." Sometimes it would take us a while, but we'd finally be able to see things the way he does. This game is tailored to children who see the world a bit differently from most.

Squint Junior is for 3-8 players ages 8 and up. The game lasts approximately 20-30 minutes. There are 42 transparent shape cards, 40 scoring chips, 168 Squint Junior cards, a card viewer, a timer, and quick-play rules. The object of the game is to guess what shape another player is building with the shape cards. For every correct guess you earn a scoring chip. The player with the most chips wins the game. This game reminds me of charades. It also seems to get children thinking about the basic building blocks of drawing.

The game has to be set up before play can begin. To do this, all transparent shape cards are set out on a table so all players can see them and none of the cards overlap. Then a player is chosen to go first. The Squint Junior cards are placed in the viewer box so that only the player building the shapes can see them. The timer goes in front of the player to the left of the builder. The builder looks at the Squint Junior card and the name on the top of the card to see how to build the picture. Once the player (builder) is ready, the timer is started and everyone tries to guess what the builder is building. Here's where the name of the game comes into play. The game is called Squint, and if you do that while looking at the Squint Junior or transparent shape cards, you'll be able to see the picture better because the broken lines come together. This helps players guess what the builder is building. If someone guesses correctly, the builder and the player who guessed correctly each receive a scoring chip. If time runs out before anyone guesses correctly, no one gets a scoring chip. The next player to build is the player to the left of the first builder. The directions give preset rounds of play according to how many players are in the game. After those rounds, the player with the most chips wins.

This game was a joy for me and my children to play (and they were younger than the prescribed age), and I know it will become a very intriguing game for you and your children as well.

Product review by Lyria Moore, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, October 2006