Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Scruble Cube New TOS Review

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Scruble Cube
http://www.scrublecube.com/


Ages 8 and up

Scruble Cube $24.95
Replacement Labels  $4.95

According to the companies website Scruble Cube is also available in retail stores.

The Scruble Cube


Scruble cube is 4 inch square handheld letter game with infinite possibilities for fun. Each letter of the alphabet, except q and z, are featured at least once and assigned a point value based on its occurrence in English words.  Each face of the cube has 16 circles for a total of 96 letters or bonus point spaces.  The letters in the cubes name appear in red. Also on the cube you will find special circles which give you extra points for letters or words if they fall within your word.  Scruble cube is extremely portable and can be taken with you anywhere so you can play on the go.  Additionally, Scruble Cube has won several major awards from the toy industry.


If this looks or sounds familiar that maybe because Scruble cube combines popular word games and puzzles, according to their website.  The makers of Scruble cube believe

"engaging others through play is important" 
and many other life skills and lessons can also come from playing together.
These include team work, good sportsmanship, problem solving, 
listening skills, communication, and strategic thinking.


To play, the user gently twists the rows and columns to rearrange the letters.  Through this twisting and turning the letters come to new locations and enable words to be formed. Additionally, each letter circle rotates on its square so that letters can be turned the proper direction to form words.

An additional challenge, especially for puzzle lovers, is putting all the letters back into their original position on the cube.  The enclosed directions include a diagram of the original cube to assist in this endeavor.


The Scruble Cube package



What you get in the package


This is the "Complete Game Set"







In addition to just playing with Scruble Cube on your own there are lesson plans and ideas available on the website. Replacement score forms are also available on the website in a pdf format.



How We Used Scruble Cube

Both of my children and I played with Scruble Cube and most of the time we just hunted for random words and experimented to see what words we could make. I had fun just playing around with it myself.   A couple weeks I worked with each of them individually to make their spelling words on the cube. We also played several rounds using Latin vocabulary words.  Both of them did get frustrated when they tried to make specific words, because they couldn't get the places they wanted.  Their focus was on making up a prechoosen word, not seeing ones already there or easily made. They weren't content with just small, easily made words, but wanted long ones.

When we played we never kept score, I was using it mainly to help teach spelling words.  My daughter was interested in seeing the point value of words, though. I am sure as we continue to play and both of them get better in spelling we will add the keeping time element to play.

I like this format for a word game for several reasons.

  • It is portable
  • Small enough to be used while sitting in a chair, I don't have to clean off the table or get comfortable on the floor to enjoy playing
  • There are not annoying beeps or buzzes
  • It can be played without the timer

Scruble Cube is a great toy/educational item that is fun and addicting while keeping the brain engaged in a meaningful way. Overall, we enjoyed playing, but my 7 year old had some difficulty with turning at times.  This really surprised me as he does everything with gusto.  Maybe my reminders to be gentle helped.

I am confident that Scruble Cube will be a product which will see continued and repeated use in our home and school work.  It will not easily be outgrown as its use is only limited by the players vocabulary and knowledge.


SCRUBLE CUBE - a handful of fun which brings word games to a whole new level



As people have different experiences and opinions about products, be sure to check out what other TOS Crew Members had to say about their experience with Scruble Cube at the Crew Blog.



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Disclaimer:  I received a complete game set to enable me to write this review.  I have not been compensated in any other manner.  All opinions expressed here are solely my own.

2 comments:

  1. I agree with everything you said.... I'm visiting from the crew! Great review. :-)

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  2. Thanks for the insight.. My 6 year old sounds a lot like your 7 year old... Most things he does with all the energy in the world... I'm still on the fence and thinking I might wait until next year for this fun school activity.

    ReplyDelete