I fell for the eeBoo Animal Rummy cards as soon as I saw them. The cards are a bit bigger than average so they are easier for small hands to hold. They are also laminated , and nice and thick so that they will hold up to those small hands.
What is really so great though, are the illustrations on the cards. They are done by book illustrator Melissa Sweet. You can see of the books she has illustrated here. The pictures on the cards are of fish, giraffes, raccoons, foxes, lions, cats, birds, bats, dragonflies, elephants, and bears. All the animals are friendly looking with inviting smiles and eyes. The cards also have small hearts, diamonds, spades, and clubs painted in the corner. The cards come in a sturdy box that slides open to store the cards.
Directions for playing a children’s version of rummy are included with the cards. This version still has “books” which are groups of the same animal, and “sets” which are groups of diamonds or clubs, or any suit. The idea is to get rid of your cards first. You can also build on others plays. For example, if one person has played a Book of dragonflies, you can put down a dragonfly. But be careful, you may want that dragonfly to match a Set of hearts. Younger children may have trouble with that concept, that a card can be used in different ways. Just like real Rummy, the game involves a lot of decisions.
When we first got these cards, my children didn’t get the concept at all. The cards also work for a lot of other games though. We played “Go Fish” with them, concentrating on the animal pictures and not the card suits. They also work for a concentration game, or even a simple matching game.
And really and truly, they are so beautiful, they are just fun to play with.
Also See:
Lilly’s 3 For All – Game Review