Jan Jennrich
Phancypages.com (Homeschooling)
August, 2003
USA

Apples to Apples Junior is a real treasure and it's instantly obvious why this game has won several awards including Toy of the Year Award from Family Fun.

We bought the Junior version of this game on vacation and about fell over laughing as we played in the hotel. This product fromOut of the BoxPublishing, Inc. is easy to learn and quick to play. Any child who can read and adults to 120 years old will enjoy this simple game of comparisons.

To play, five Red Apple cards are dealt to each player. The current "judge" then puts out one Green Apple card. The trick is to offer the card you think the judge will choose as most like the word on the target card. For instance, if the judge puts out 'Sour' and you have in your hand 'Riding a horse,' 'Skunks,' 'Balloons,' 'Candles' and 'My Grandpa'...which do you choose as most sour? Some of the combinations are just hysterical and they are different every time. And it gets funnier as you run out of cards, have little choice, and try to think of silly reasons why balloons are tough or weddings are lumpy, for example. The complete game takes about 20 to 30 minutes to play, but you could play a few very quick hands anytime as well. This was our 13 year old daughter's favorite.

Besides being a lot of fun, Apples to Apples promotes several language arts skills including reading, vocabulary development, thinking skills and social skills...not to mention a sense of humor!

Apples to Apples comes in various versions including Junior, Junior 9+ (a little more challenging vocabulary), regular Apples to Apples (more advanced words and concepts) (ages 12+), Expansion Sets (ages 12+) and Customizable Cards so you can create your own cards on your computer.

For 4 to 10 players. We paid $16 for our game, but I have seen it sold for $20 (varies by version as well).

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