The cards are 5"x 3.5" in size.
There are six green stars that represent the varying games and here are what they represent:
NAME JAMMER this is just for fun. Pick a letter and the game will grant you a silly name for the duration. G = Groovy Grasshopper and so forth.
WORD 5: Pick a beginning sound. So I pick an 'S' and it tells me to find an ending sound to make the word 'sun." I find the card 'un' and the game sounds out the word 'sun.' for me. Then it tells me to find more. I pick the card 'it' and it tells me I made the word sit and to find more words that start with S. If you pick a wrong combo, such as 'ig' which would make 'sig' it will tell you to try again. This exercise is timed and at the end, it tallies up your successes.
There is an additional fold out that has examples of words. Example: there is a bold 'G' with the words gap, get and got underneath it. It is a reference card to help with putting words together.
RHYME TIME: Choose an ending sound like 'ip' then the game will tell you to find the beginning sound 'zzzz' to make the word zip. I find 'z' and it sounds out zip. It then tells me to find 4 more beginning sounds to make more rhyming words.
WORD FUSER = It states find the beginning and ending sounds 'h' and 'ug.' There are a lot of cards, so for a kid to go 'hhhh' and find letter 'h' and the the sound 'uuu' and 'ggg' on the 'ug' card. Good game, but my child ran out of time. So this game for when his skills have improved.
DJ WORD touch a beginning sound. I picked 'r.' Now I have to find an ending card that will make a word that starts with 'rrr.' I picked 'id.' It now sounds out the word 'rid' for me and informs me I made a word, groovy grasshopper.
TUNE TIME (didn't like this one). Pick a beginning sound. I picked 'b' which has a picture of a bat and and bed. It tells me to choose a picture. I pick bat and it sings a short goofy song that after one time, wants me to sing along with it. Annoying to me trying to be all cute, but kids may like it and it helps with phonics skills.
Overall pretty good. The cards are fairly thick and sturdy. The cards incorporate learning letters and phonics, as well as utilize those skills to make words. The colors and design are attractive. It gives verbal instruction, but also allows the player independence to make words on their own. I like also the fold out with the words written on it, so the kids have something to refer to. The cards are color coded as end sounds have an orange border and beginning sounds are either purple or green. Not sure why though, the beginning sounds edging are two colors? The backs of each of the cards have the alphabet written on them that make fun phonetic sounds when selected.
Things I would change:
Perhaps make the cards a wee bit smaller. This takes up quite a bit of room and is somewhat difficult to put all the cards within arm's reach of a smaller child. My six year old had to keep getting off his chair to reach the cards he wanted, and this didn't help much with the 'timed' game.
How about some written instructions for parents.
Why are the beginning sounds edges purple(7) or green (12).
The fold out with the words has most of the word combos you could make, but not ALL the available combos. Under letter 'Y' it only has 'yet.' What about yip, and yap? There is still room available on the foldout?
I'm glad I bought this and my 6 year old seems to like it, though he still needs some help. He is adopted from another country and has lived here less than a year, so I am also using it to improve his ESL skills. I like that it incorporates, sound, sight and doing to learn, which is great.
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We are huge Tag fans at our house but this was a complete disappointment. It is impossible to play without spreading all the cards out on the floor around your child, and even then, the games are very slow moving because it takes a while for the child to locate the beginning/ending sounds that are called for. Additionally, there is a lot of "talking" from the Tag pen in between activities that is a real drag. I would not recommend this at all for a Pre-K or Kdgn child. It required WAY too much patience, even for and adult! Stick to the books with activities at the end. They are much more effective. This is a waste of money for use with the Tag pen. We do spend more time just playing with the cards and building words on our own. If you want a fun game for building words with your child, get the Sound Hounds game! My kids (aged 3, 4, & 5) love that game.
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