A few years ago, I thought I would help out the parents of my gifted and talented students by writing about some games, toys, or books that I thought might make good purchases during the holiday season. I called the series of posts, “Gifts for the Gifted,” and I have continued to do it annually on every Friday in November and December. These gifts are suggestions for any child – not just those who qualify for a GT program. Sometimes I receive a free product for review, but I am not paid for these posts, and I never recommend a product that I wouldn’t buy for my own child. For past “Gifts for the Gifted” posts, you can visit this page.
This year, I have decided to do my annual “Gifts for the Gifted” posts all in one week. This should give anyone who likes to shop ahead of time a good start! For this year’s suggestions so far, click here.
No gift list is ever complete without one or two suggestions from ThinkFun! If you search my blog for “ThinkFun” you will see that I have done many reviews of their games. Periodically, ThinkFun sends me free games to review, but the only ones that appear on this blog are the ones I really, really like!
Laser Chess is a two-player game recommended for ages 8 and up. If someone teaches them the game, precocious 5 year olds can probably play – though they may be more interested in enticing their cats to chase after the laser beams. Knowledge of chess is not a prerequisite. (For a good game to teach chess moves to beginners, I recommend Tic-Tac-Chec or Solitaire Chess.) Although Laser Chess does require similar strategic thinking as chess, the King is the only piece that they have in common.
Players can choose from a variety of game board set-ups in the instruction booklet to begin. The object of the game is to capture your opponent’s King by directing the laser beam to it. Each person has several pieces that have mirrors on them as well as some that don’t (to block the laser). Pieces “struck” by the laser are eliminated.
For a more detailed description of Laser Chess game play, I recommend this blog post. The only suggestion that I would add is to let the recipient play with the pieces for awhile before playing a formal game. If you give him or her the opportunity to explore how the laser reflecting works, more time can be spent on strategy during the game.
Oh, and by the way – batteries are included!
