When I was a kid, I was obsessed with the I Spy books — the thrill of trying to find the tiniest objects and details in a picture never got old!
eeBoo’s Spottington takes the classic ‘I spy’ concept and turns it into a fun and fast-paced board game. The game’s name says it all: Players race each other to try and spot the tiniest details on the gameboard. The game can be played with one to six players, meaning kids can have a solitaire style Spottington challenge on their own or play the game against the rest of the family for a competitive thrill.
The gameboard consists of seven, double-sided, hexagon-shaped boards that can be rearranged every game for a fresh challenge every time that you play. The gameboard is incredibly detailed and illustrated with scenes of the Spottington village. Looking closely, some things might seem out of the ordinary in this neighborhood — is that an elephant in someone’s backyard? A dinosaur standing in the park? A knight and caveman walking down the street? All of the silly details mixed in with the everyday neighborhood-scenes add to the fun of the game.
To play, kids set up the seven boards so that the edges touch each other and the illustrated roads connect to one another. The easiest set up is to place one board in the center and surround it with the six other boards. Then each player receives a Spottington token, and about 20 out of the 250 included game cards get shuffled and placed face down near the board.
The youngest player goes first and turns over the top game card for all to see. Players then look carefully and race to find the object or person pictured on the card — once a player spots the object first, they place a Spottington token on it and yell out “Spottington!” If the player made a correct match, they keep the card. Players take turns drawing a new card for each round of searching. For two to three players, the first person to collect five cards wins, and for four to six players, the first person to collect three cards wins. The winner is known as the Mayor of Spottington!
Spottington is designed for kids ages 5 and up, and considering how small some of the pictures are on the game board, kids might outshine parents or grandparents at spotting objects first. Players might do a double — even triple — take at the game card each round, seeing as some of the objects on the board look so similar to one another, but it all adds to the fun and competitive nature of the game. Kids will need to use quick thinking and work their memory when searching the board. This game is great for younger kids to refine their concentration skills, and the competitive thrill of searching the world of Spottington is fun at any age!
