HABA ~ Where is Leo? Game Review & Giveaway

As many of you know, we finally sold our house. In just a few short weeks we will be moving...which means lots of excitement, but also A LOT of packing. I've already started to fill boxes and a room I've been spending much of my time in lately is the kids' toy room. As I pull toys off the shelves to pack away, I've been amazed with how many we've forgotten about. It seems the ones my kids continue to play with day after day aren't necessarily the most high tech, but those that are high quality, fun, educational ones that keep them challenged and interested. That's why I love HABA!
Found nationwide in over 1,000 U.S. specialty retail stores, catalogs and websites, HABA products have been recognized with German and American awards including Parents' Choice, National Parenting Center, Creative Child, Dr. Toy and The Oppenheim Toy Portfolio. They are a name parents know and trust...one that provides both fun and education for children, which is why I was not surprised to hear that two of their games were named winners of a Parents' Choice Recommended Award. We were given the opportunity to review one of these games.... Where is Leo?

When the game arrived, I was excited to check it out. The age recommendation is 5-99 years, and although Kaelyn is not quite that old, she has always enjoyed a challenge and anything to do with games...so we decided to test it out together.

Before playing, we read up a little bit about the game and how to play. Basically, Where is Leo? is a searching game based on speed. Players have to hunt for and describe where Leo the Lion may be hiding. Cards show the "real location" in the lower corner, and the "last place I saw Leo" is in the speech bubble above each animal's head. Players go quickly, following the route to find Leo's real location.

Setting up the game couldn't have been easier. Each player gets a bone and places it in front of him. Then, place any four cards in a pile, and the rest arranged in a circle. Next, place the dog...Terry Terrier next to any location card. All of the cards except for that one are to be turned face up. Once the card in front of Terry is flipped...the game begins. Players search for Leo's location based on the images on the card.
For example: The frog last saw Leo asleep in his bed. Players scan the circle of card tiles to find the bed in the lower left corner of the tile. Ah ha! The bed is in the Bear's room. But Leo is not there. The bear last saw Leo at the lighthouse. And so it goes.

The search ends when a speech bubble is found without a corresponding real location. When the location is found...it's marked with a bone by the player who found it. The other players can mark any other location cards if they think Leo is somewhere else. However, there can be only one bone on each card. Whoever picks correctly, gets a food bowl.

Then players take any location card out of the circle and place it underneath the pile, face down. You then place the card off the top of the pile in the empty spot, facedown with Terry Terrier next to it. The card is turned over and a new round starts. All players once again search for Leo. In the end, the player who is the first to collect four feeding bowls wins the game.

Since Kaelyn is a bit younger, we started out playing more slowly, and have gotten faster with each time we play. She is really getting the hang of it!. It definitely takes a lot of concentration and is similar to a memory type game which she loves. She seems to really enjoy searching for Leo and I am sure this is game we'll be pulling out to play for years to come. I definitely see the fun and educational value in this game and would recommend it to families...especially those with older children. We've enjoyed it a lot.

Buy It: Where is Leo? is available for $12 at Maukilo.com.

Win It: One very lucky reader is going to win a Where is Leo? Game of their own!

Mandatory Entry - Visit HABA and let me know another product you'd love to have.

Extra Entries: (Only valid after the mandatory entry has been completed. Leave 1 comment for each extra entry)

1. 3 extra entries- Blog about this giveaway (linking to this post and HABA) and leave THREE comments with the URL to that post.

2. 1 extra entry- Follow me on Twitter and tweet about this giveaway (You can tweet once a day for one extra entry every day)! You can copy and paste:

#WIN a Where is Leo? Game from HABA! http://bit.ly/ppfEIW Ends 8/24

3. 3 extra entries- Post my blog button or blog URL to your blog and leave a comment with the URL to your blog. (If it already is, leave me a comment letting me know)

4. 2 extra entries- subscribe to A Mom's Balancing Act via e-mail (found along the side column) and leave TWO comments letting me know.

5. 2 extra entries- 'Like' A Mom's Balancing Act on Facebook

6. 2 extra entries- Follow my blog publicly on Google Friend Connect

7. Enter any of my other current giveaways. Leave me a comment on which one(s)....ONE entry for EACH giveaway you enter!!

Leave one comment for each entry you complete above including with each, your e-mail address (or make sure it's visible in your profile) so that I can easily contact the winner!!

This giveaway will end August 24th and is open to US Only!

**The products for this review & giveaway were provided for free. All opinions are my own and were not influenced in any way.**