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Fred im Beet
Cross your heart: Games for small children do not usually come in a wide variety. The target group’s
level of development with regards to motor and cognitive skills has a limiting effect on the complexity of materials and rules. And while animals, knights, prin- cesses, or the fire brigade are thematically a safe bank, they tend to be a bit dull in
the long run. That is why publications for the youngest age range tend to sort the wheat from the chaff.
Fred Im Beet (Fred in the patch) by Ingeborg Ahrenkiel shows how to get it right. Players have to plant a flower patch on the box before Fred the mole can dig it up again. In the cooperative variant all children work together. A die roll shows
the color of the next flower pin, a joker, or a move for Fred. Should the mole jump into the hole in the middle of the patch before all flowers are planted, the junior gardeners lose the game. In competitive mode, each player has a certain amount of flowers they need to plant quicker than the others – and before Fred jumps into action.
The game works really well in both ver- sions. Even older kids like to keep going over several rounds. Particularly convincing is the attention to detail. The pins do not show imaginary, but real flowers (including bulbs or roots). The cardboard bank is designed like a mole house. And the clearly structured rule book contains more educational hints. The only downer: The flowers wobble in their holes and tilt over. Just like in a real meadow, actually, where everything blooms this and that way. Katrin Reil/cs
Fred im Beet (Schmidt Spiele) by Ingeborg Ahrenkiel; for 2–6 children, about 3+ years; duration: about 10–15 minutes; price: about 17 €.
Kleiner Vogel, großer Hunger
K leiner Vogel Grosser Hunger (small bird big appetite) by Tim Rogasch also manages to tell a coherent story. Right from the start every child gets a small chick in a shell, with a huge appetite. The hatchling has a crav-
ing for berries, flies, worms, or seeds, with each of the little birds showing specific culinary preferences on their meadow card. The kids take turns to roll the die, but all check simultaneously if their bird has an appetite for the respective nutrient. If
that is the case, they place a food chip from the middle on their bird’s meadow. If the die shows two symbols, the children can choose one of them.
As soon as a chick’s menu is completed, its card is flipped over. And the next thing you know the little bird has grown quite a bit – and demands more food in the next round. After three rounds the birds finally fledge, and the player whose chick reaches that life stage first wins the game.
The cute images go down really well. Even very young players are easily able to relate to theme and events here. The only problem: After playing the game the kids may want a real bird as a pet, which could lead to some discussions with mom and dad. Katrin Reil/cs
Kleiner Vogel, großer Hunger
(HABA) by Tim Rogasch; for 2–4 children, about 3+ years; duration: about 10–15 minutes; price: about 7 €.
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